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As I was on the bus this morning I saw some guy snapping photos of this missile contrail.
At the time I didn't know what it was, until I read it in the newspaper later on today. Unique contrail seen in Phoenix area from N.M. missile launch by Cassondra Strande and Mike Clancy - Sept. 13, 2012 01:15 PM The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team A contrail from a missile launched from New Mexico early this morning could be seen from most of the southwestern United States, including Arizona. The morning sun reflected from the contrail of the target missile, which was shaken by wind, creating a light show across the sky between 5 and 6 a.m. Thursday morning, according to Monte Marlin, a spokeswoman for the White Sands Missile Range. The 40-foot tall Juno Tactical Ballistic Missile was launched from Fort Wingate, an Army depot south of Interstate 40 and a few miles east of Gallup, and directed toward the White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico. The booster rocket separated over Cibola National Forest. At White Sands, a Patriot Missile was launched to intercept it. Dan O'Boyle, spokesman for the Army's Aviation and Missile Comman at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., said the test was successful. Officials were testing the PAC-3 system, or Patriot Advanced Capability, the latest modification to the missile system. Since the mid-1990s, White Sands has conducted 14 tests involving large targets launched from Fort Wingate, Marlin said. Thursday afternoon, an Atlas V rocket carrying a National Reconnaissance Office payload is expected to be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, according to Jennifer Green-Lanchoney, a spokeswoman from the base. That launch was scheduled for 2:39 p.m. She had no details, but the NRO is in charge of America's intelligence satellites. Vandenberg is near the Pacific Coast outside of Lompoc, northwest of Santa Barbara. |