The upcoming Delta II launch from Vandenberg AFB scheduled for Thursday morning January 29th should be a GOOD one visually. The SMAP payload will be launched into a 98.1-degree inclination orbit, so the launch trajectory will be very similar to the OCO and many Iridium launches. Also, with a launch time of 6:20am near Civil Twilight (Sun -6), the booster will get up into sunlight 2m50s after launch, producing a nice "wake"effect". Photographers should be ready for this! See https://www.flickr.com/photos/xb70man/sets/72157622839798753/ The SMAP launch will not be quite as nice as the Iridium launch photos shown in the link because the twilight will be stronger, but it's certainly worth a look! Sample charts and photos of the similar OCO launch appear on my FLICK account at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/xb70man/sets/72157649932234418/ Should anyone within about 250 miles of Vandenberg AFB desire a trajectory plot specific to their location, send me your coordinates (decimal degrees DD.DDDD preferred) and your altitude (meters preferred) directly to my e-mail rickbaldridge_at_comcast.net and I'll reply with a plot. Do NOT reply to this message through SeeSat-L. Good viewing! Rick Baldridge Campbell, CA _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-lReceived on Tue Jan 27 2015 - 11:15:52 UTC
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