The Air Force’s 19th Defense Meteorological Satellite Program weather satellite arrived at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., in preparation for its scheduled launch into orbit next year, announced prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The satellite touched down at Vandy on Aug. 1 aboard a C-17 transport that flew in from Sunnyvale, Calif., states the company’s Aug. 2 release. Sunnyvale is the site of Lockheed Martin’s satellite assembly facility. DMSP-19 is slated to go into orbit in March 2014 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The satellite will now undergo final launch preparations, encapsulation, and then eventually transport to the start pad for the launch, states the release. Northrop Grumman is the DMSP sensor provider. For the past 50 years, DMSP satellites have allowed the US military to forecast and track weather fronts. DMSP-20 is already built and available for launch. It is the last satellite planned in the series before a yet-to-be-defined, follow-on weather satellite comes along.
Desert Storm Memorial Misses Its Target
Nov. 12, 2026
The time has come to honor the men and women who fought in Operation Desert Storm with a memorial in Washington, D.C. the approved design is an ode to the final stage of that conflict, the last 100 hours of a 1,000-hour fight. And while artfully executed, this landscaped left…