Re: Mystery launch off California coast

From: rickbaldridge@comcast.net
Date: Tue Nov 09 2010 - 18:50:52 UTC

  • Next message: Skywise: "Re: Mystery launch off California coast"

    With due respect to "Skywise", I don't believe this is an aircraft contrail.   True, they can appear to the general public like missle tracks, but the video shows far too much "smoke", especially at the lower end of the appa re nt track.  Contrails always appear to split in two fairly near the generating aircraft, whether they are 2 or 4-engined as the vapor is confined by the wingtip vort ices.  Nothing like that appears in the video when it is zoomed in close on the head of the vehicle .  Contrails tend to stay fairly narrow and confined within the first few minutes of generation, even if generated in the jet stream -- again, not what the video shows. 
    
    
    
    A few good contrail photos showing the effects described are at: 
    
    http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/aircraft-pictures/contrails%2028-9-08-thumb-450x300.jpg 
    
    http://www.xwaylimited.com/userimages/Con-trails.jpg 
    
    
    
    An EXCELLENT video appears at: 
    
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_N5ZgYzj44      
    
    
    
    The speed isn't all that far off if it was a missile going mostly straight away from the viewer.  The "glow" at the head of the trail could be a sunlight glint off an  aircraft, but it looks consistent with a second or third stage solid rocket motor exhaust plume as well.  Wish the video was zoomed in closer on the head of the trail, or recorded a staging event  -- that would have narrowed the possibilities.  
    
    
    
    It would be interesting to know where the video was taken from.  If a US launch from a sub, likely the target area would still be the Reagan Test Area around Kwajalein, so a rough  launch azimuth could be obtained to verify that assumption . 
    
    
    
    Just my $0.02 
    
    
    
    
    
    Rick Baldridge 
    
    Campbell, CA 
    
    
    
    ____________________________________________________________________________________- 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: "Skywise" <skywise@skywise711.com> 
    To: "SeeSat" <SeeSat-L@satobs.org> 
    Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2010 9:41:59 AM 
    Subject: Re: Mystery launch off California coast 
    
    Out of Pacific - a Possible Show of U.S. Military Might 
    
    This pops up every once in a while. Seen it myself. 
    
    It's an airliner leaving a contrail that's being lit by the setting sun. 
    It appears to be going straight up because it's coming straight towards 
    the observer from over the horizon. 
    
    If we had a time, direction, and location of the viewpoint it would 
    not be difficult to determine which flight it was. 
    
    The contrail more than likely also shows on satellite weather imagery. 
    
    As many of us here know who have observed known missile launches, this 
    thing is moving WAAAAAAAAY too slow. 
    
    Brian 
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