Re: Pegasus WIRE Launch
Robert Sheaffer (sheaffer@netcom.com)
Thu, 04 Mar 1999 21:54:24 -0800
At 09:56 PM 3/4/1999 -0700, John P. Jordan wrote:
>
>After reading the reports that the previous Pegasus was seen from Tucson,
AZ, I decided to look for this one. I saw it very low on the horizon
nearly due West from my street. It looked like a comet with a very bright
and diffuse tail.
I watched it from San Jose, CA, about 150 - 200 km from the drop point. The
sky was almost completely dark. I could see Mercury setting in the west,
right below Jupiter and Venus. Right at 02:57 UT I saw a bright orange
object climbing steeply upwards, just like a fireworks rocket, only slower
and longer-lasting. In binoculars, it looked like a comet. I could not see
the launch plane - probably too low on the horizon. At its brightest the
rocket was just a little less bright than Venus.
I could see the first stage break away. The second stage had a bright
intense-white light, which made its exhaust plume glow in a big, round
circular ball almost like the full moon. It had an elevation of about 20 or
25 degrees. After about a minute the second stage went out suddenly,
leaving only the spreading white cloud, still illuminated by the sun. At
this point watching in binoculars, I could not see the rocket at all. I
could, however, see two flashing lights looking almost like aircraft wing
lights, alternately flickering, seemingly falling away from it, apparently
very slowly. I don't know what these were; the second stage, maybe. Then,
suddenly about 03:03 UT, the red light was back! It was at a lower apparent
elevation, about ten degrees, and much further away. I watched it appear to
descend as it got farther away, until it disappeared behind a mountain.
my GPS tells me I'm at 37 deg 17.3' N.,
121 deg 59.2' west (San Jose, CA)
Robert Sheaffer - robert@debunker.com - Skeptical to the Max!
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