NOTAMS for Minuteman Missile Launches for Tomorrow for VAFB?

Where can I find the NOTAMS area under the FAA for a missile launch from Vandenberg AFB?
There is going to be one for tomorrow that would intercept a GBI Target missile from the Marshall Islands.
www.spacearchive.info...

And in general, is there a NOTAM for these launches? If so, where is the best place to view the NOTAM details?

Thanks

reply to post by darpa999


There's always a NOTAM for any kind of launch, whether it's a satellite, or a missile test. I'm currently not pulling up anything for Vandenberg for tomorrow though. I'm either getting "No Active NOTAMS" or "Current data unavailable".

Usually a NOTAM is published several days in advance minimum, weeks if possible to give pilots plenty of warning.

ETA: The only thing I'm seeing right now is ATIS is unserviceable until July 17, there's a 400' unlit tower 6.7 miles NNE of the runway, and the Base Ops frequency is unavailable so you have to contact Command Post.

reply to post by darpa999


Vandenberg and the missile rasnge are covered by several FAA Restricted Areas; R-2516, R-2517, and R-2534. So, NOTAMS need not be issued for a test to be conducted inside already restricted airspace. It's not a 91.143 space operations area like there is off of Cape Canaveral, which does issue NOTAMS.

I live like an hour north of VAFB. Im im the lovely town of Arroyo Grande. The last launch they did last week was frickin loud. It sounded like jet tethered to the ground by chains.

reply to post by darpa999


NOTAMS website

For just Vandenberg, you would enter KVBG in the locations box, then search. However, I like to do radius searches since sometimes the base NOTAM will not include the airspace outside the base.

This one is starting at 11:30 local.

ZLA LOS ANGELES (ARTCC)PALMDALE, CA.

!CARF 07/020 (KZLA A1616/13) ZLA AIRSPACE DCC 2 ROPS AIROP DO-1304 ASCENT/VENT COVERS/STAGE1 STATIONARY RESERVATION WITHIN AN AREA BNDD BY 3450N/12049W 3452N/12049W 3452N/12036W 3450N/12036W WITHIN AN AREA BNDD BY 3458N/12355W 3457N/12050W 3438N/12050W 3438N/12355W SFC-UNL WEF 1307071830-1307072102

!CARF 07/013 (KZLA A1614/13) ZLA AIRSPACE DCC 2 ROPS AIROP DO-1304 ASCENT/VENT COVERS/STAGE1 STATIONARY RESERVATION WITHIN AN AREA BNDD BY 3450N/12049W 3452N/12049W 3452N/12036W 3450N/12036W AND WITHIN AN AREA BNDD BY 3458N/12355W 3457N/12050W 3438N/12050W 3438N/12355W SFC-UNL WEF 1307061830-1307062102

!CARF 07/006 (KZLA A1613/13) ZLA AIRSPACE DCC 2 ROPS AIROP DO-1304 STATIONARY RESERVATION WITHIN AN AREA BNDD BY 3450N/12049W 3452N/12049W 3452N/12036W 3450N/12036W AND WITHIN AN AREA BNDD BY 3458N/12355W 3457N/12050W 3438N/12050W 3438N/12355W SFC-UNL WEF 1307051830-1307052302

I too subscribe to the Launch Alert Newsletter. It lets me keep up to date on Vandenberg and White Sands missile launches.

The launch window opens at 11:30 a.m and closes at 3:37 p.m. It is an operational test of the first-generation Capability Enhancement 1 (CE-1) exoatmospheric kill vehicle. If all goes as planned, the Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) missile will intercept and destroy a dummy warhead from a ballistic missile launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific. I plan to be at Vandenberg for the GBI launch. So far, the weather looks good at least and there have been no reported technical issues.

Note that good weather for a KVBG launch can include the coast being totally in the fog. It depends on what phase of the launch you want to see (ground or flight).

If you use the Santa Ynez viewing location, you will be above the fog bank. The missile basically pops out of the fog. The KVBG observatory is off limits. Rather, you bear to the right and stay along the mountain edge. If you don't go to the very top but rather stay by the edge but near the observatory, you can hear the base annoucements over the PA, plus the count down.

The twitter feed sometimes is useful. They feel obligated to use it even when there is nothing really twitter worthy.
KVBG twitter feed

Are the GBIs a Minuteman III missile?

reply to post by darpa999


The Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) missile consists of a multi-stage rocket booster that delivers a kinetic kill vehicle for exoatmospheric intercept of ballistic missile warheads. Boeing's original concept for the booster came was called the COTS (Commercial Off-the-Shelf) booster because it used three commercially available rocket stages. The GBI booster development program was transferred to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, which developed an improved version known as BV-Plus in 2002. Orbital Sciences Corp. (OSC) was also awarded a contract to build an alternative booster for the GBI. The OSC booster looks a lot like a Minuteman III.

I had a nice view of the launch from a distance of just 4 miles. It was a brief show because the missile disappeared into the low cloud deck in a few seconds, but the sound was awesome and it is always great to listen to the countdown. The viewing site was adjacent to the Ronald Reagan Memorial at Vandenberg Air Force Base. After liftoff, we awaited word on whether the primary objective, intercept of a long-range ballistic missile target launched from the Army's Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll, had been achieved. Chatter in the control room included phrases like, "There has been no indication that sep [separation] has been achieved" and "No data will leave the room." Apparently something malfunctioned (perhaps the kill vehicle failed to separate) and there was no intercept. All data were impounded pending an investigation.

reply to post by Shadowhawk


The GBI has had quite a few problems with it. If I remember the last time I actually checked the test results, it had about a 50% success rate. I realize hitting a bullet with a bullet isn't the easiest thing in the world, but a lot of the failures have been failure to separate, and failure to track, which are pretty basic things.

reply to post by Zaphod58


And it failed to hit the target today.

This might be off-topic, but what is the actual speed of the GBI Booster itself? Is it the same as the Minuteman like around 15,000 mph?

I looked all over online, but could not find any performance specs about the GBI itself.

And what about the EKV? I read somewhere it travels like at speeds around 20,000 mph.

reply to post by darpa999


You would probably have to research at what phase in the flight they do the intercept. Obviously it would be easier to "hit the bullet" during launch than reentry.

Just speculation here on my part, but as you know, most objects hitting the atmosphere have a plasma issue. The hot gasses block radio waves. I would guess there is a short period in the reentry where the missile can't be tracked cleanly due to "plasma stealth."

My theory on why this had failed to intercept, is the wind factor or weather.
Maybe....

At here on the surface of the earth, wind can be a huge factor when hitting something with something while moving through the air.

Its a like trying to hit a beach ball with a rock for example and a gust of wind or a even a slight breeze cannot make it hit each other.

reply to post by darpa999


The intercept apparently failed because the EKV did not separate from the upper-stage booster, thus preventing it from engaging the target warhead in space.This happened previously in July 2000 and again in December 2002.

I'm not sure about the GBI missile's speed, but the speed of kill vehicle after separation is roughly 22,370 mph. Add the speed of the incoming warhead to get the closing speed. Almost double perhaps? Only about half of the intercept tests have been successful, so far.