The below information just in Launch-Alert mailing list (see http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/launch-alert for more info about the list.
There’s a launch tonight that should be visible if the weather holds.
Tonight’s planned launch of an Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg AFB remains on schedule for 11:13 p.m. The probability of acceptable weather at launch time has greatly improved.
After liftoff, the Atlas will fly southward and could be visible over a wide area.
For current countdown status, go to:
http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av042/status.html
and from earlier post:
Although the weather forecast does not look promising, tonight’s Atlas V launch from Vandenberg AFB appears to be on schedule for 11:13 p.m. PST.
In addition to seeing the launch, Ventura County and Malibu residents may hear a sonic boom several minutes after liftoff. This happened following the 2011 April 14 Atlas V night launch from Vandenberg. As an experiment, I may place a pro-quality microphone near an open window and use my audio software to start an all-night recording before I turn in.
Here is updated info from Vandenberg AFB regarding the satellite feed for the launch:
ALL TIMES PACIFIC STANDARD TIME
LAUNCH ? THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013
BARS AND TONE ? 10:15 P.M.
PROGRAM START ? 10:53 P.M.
Transmission FOR digital HIGH definiton
SATELLITE: AMC-1
TRANSPONDER: C24
BAND: C-Band HD
ORBITAL POSITION: 103 degrees west
HD BANDWIDTH: 18 MHz
DOWNLINK FREQ: 4171 MHz (Horizontal Vertical)
SYMBOL RATE: 13
FEC: ¾
DATA RATE: 17.9705
DVBS-QPSK
MPEG-2
AUDIO EMBEDDED
