SLS Mobile Launcher Rollout Test Scheduled Aug 16, Next Crucial Step for Exploration Missions
The NASA Crawler Transporter-2 (CT-2), carrying a modified Mobile Launcher (ML) which includes rocket stand and umbilical tower, is being prepared for a rollout test at launchpad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida August 16. Success of this test could confirm or set back CT and ML capability standards to support the entire Space Launch System (SLS), including launch of Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) maiden flight, projected for June 2020s. EM-1 will debut with an uncrewed Orion spacecraft in Block 1 configuration containing an Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Upper Stage, two 5-segment Solid Rocket Boosters, and 4-engine liquid propellant Core Stage. Boosters and Core Stage could send Orion and Upper Stage into elliptical Earth orbit in ~8 minutes from liftoff. The rollout will test hardware, sensors, connections and leaks, structural responses, structural clearance, HVAC pressurization, Tower Fire Suppression, Flame Defector, and power ignition from launchpad 39B power supply. NASA plans for SLS to launch crews of up to 4 Astronauts on Orion spacecraft to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Block 1 configuration will stand ~98 meters tall, be able to carry a minimum of 70 metric tons of cargo to LEO, and produce liftoff thrust of 39,000 kN. With US$350 million included in the 2018 fiscal year Appropriations Act budget, NASA mentions intent to build flexibility and expandability into a second ML to accommodate future modifications in vehicle design. (Image Credits: NASA) |
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MONDAY
Highlights…
 Aug 13 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 56 six-member crew to oversee Russia EVA #45 this week, finalizing Progress MS-08 cargo mission / filling craft with waste, working to fix leak on Japanese Experiment Module Moderate Temperature Loop, performing experiments involving combustion, fluid shifts, protein crystal growth, magnetic fields, and microbial tracking.
 Aug 13 — NewSpace: Rocket Lab planning 3rd and 4th launch back-to-back in November, and Ecliptic Enterprises hosted payload launches in 2019; Planetary Resources selling equipment to ‘reduce overhead as we go forward with our smaller team’ according to CEO Chris Lewicki; SpaceX aiming to reuse same Block 5 first stage for the 3rd time this year.
Aug 13 — Solar System: Upcoming missions to Jupiter may help improve German Research Center study showing Europa and Ganymede hum due to “whistler” radio waves; Hayabusa-2 to return to 5-km altitude, relays images / gravity data measurements of Ryugu from 1 km; ESA planning for Mars Express science operations until at least 2021, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter NET 2023.
Aug 13 — Galaxy: HaloSat 6U CubeSat is one month into ‘Hot Galactic Halo‘ astrophysics investigation to map distribution of hot gas in Milky Way; video summation of Andrea Ghez talk on ‘Monster at the Heart of our Galaxy‘ and HPR audio interview available online; estimates based on Gaia suggest TESS could identify 10,000 planets within 2 years, first set of data to be returned this month.
Aug 13 — Global: UN COPUOS recommends For All Moonkind to be granted status of Observer to Committee; UAE Director General discusses upcoming Russia collaboration in Kazakhstan, and invitation to Virgin Galactic to fly from Al Ain Airport; ESA and UK Space Agency open public rover naming competition for ExoMars Rover launching 2020.
 Aug 13 — USA: Commercial Crew Program Astronauts (2 Women, 7 Men) undergoing safety / preliminary tests, selected to fly on 1st ships to ISS NET April 2019; new space technology partnerships with 6 companies to award US$44.4M to develop 10 “tipping point” technologies; NASA audit discusses risks involved with ending ISS 2024.
Aug 13 — Hawai’i: State Supreme Court to decide whether TMT will be issued a conditional use permit on Mauna Kea following recent ruling; most distant radio galaxy at 12B LY, pinpointed by Gemini Telescope, to be studied for black hole effects on galaxy evolution; community groups are welcome to visit HI-SEAS habitat on Mauna Loa by special arrangement.
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= All times
for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Venus (W), Mars (S), Jupiter (SW), Saturn (S); Morning Planets: Uranus (E), Neptune (SE).
Canada Advances Robotics and Research Toward Human Moon Missions
Canadian Space Agency (CSA/ASC) headquartered in Saint-Hubert, Quebec is collecting proposals for the Lunar Surface Mobility Precursor to Human and Science Rover phase 0 project until August 15. It will choose up to 2 proposals, for a 12-month study at US$800,000 each, to assess feasibility, options, costs, schedule and risks for Canada to contribute a rover to International Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOPG) as a precursor to a larger human-rated rover dubbed Lunar Pressurized Rover. Working under International Space Exploration Coordination Group and the ‘Human Enhanced Robotic Architecture and Capability for Lunar Exploration and Science’ (HERACLES) mission, Canada continues its international collaborations to define concepts beyond LEO as outlined by Global Exploration Roadmap 2018 (GER18). HERACLES is a 2020s ESA-led mission with a ~1,800-kg lander, ascent module and rover planned to reach Moon and return samples to Astronauts at LOPG. The 14 Space Agencies which developed GER18 published their consensus about the importance of the Moon on the pathway into the Solar System, and international cooperation for individual and collective progress. CSA/ASC currently has 11 lunar / extraterrestrial rovers in its fleet ranging from the 30-kg Micro-Rover Platform with Tooling Arm (MRPTA) to the 967-kg Lunar Exploration Light Rover (LELR) which could be could be upgraded to carry Astronauts. (Pictured CSA/ASC Astronauts; Image Credits: CSA/ASC, NASA, ISECG) |
Aug 13 — Keck Institute of Space Studies, Caltech, Pasadena CA: Lecture: Dusty Planetary Systems and the Hunt for Planets; by Prof. Farisa Morales of JPL, Moorpark College, CSUN.
Aug 13-17 — National Science Foundation, Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), U.S. Department of Energy, Tucson AZ: LSST 2018 Project and Community Workshop; at Hilton El Conquistador.
Aug 13-17 — Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA, Sagamihara, Japan: The 11th Meeting on Cosmic Dust.
Aug 13 — Perseid Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Perseus, shower may produce up to 60-70 meteors per hour this year – can be fast, bright and frequently leave persistent trains.
Aug 13 — Apollo Asteroid 2008 AG4N: Near-Earth Flyby (0.094 AU)
Continued from…
Jul 15 – Aug 23 — Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, NASA, Dubai, UAE: NASA Space and Rocketry Summer Camp; at Lapita Hotel Ballroom, Dubai Parks and Resorts.
Jun 25 – Aug 24 — International Space University, ESA, Netherlands Space Office, Delft University of Technology, Leiden University, Noordwijk, The Netherlands: ISU 31st Space Studies Program (SSP 2018).
Aug 12-17 — NASA, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado – Boulder, Boulder CO: The Final Cassini Science Symposium; invited and contributed talks will include latest Cassini findings on Saturn system, including interpretation and synthesis of results.
Aug 12-17 — Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry, Boston MA: Goldschmidt 2018; annual, international conference on geochemistry and related subjects.
TUESDAY
Aug 14 — SETI Institute, Menlo Park CA: Inspiring the Next Generation of Explorers – Education Programs; by Pamela Harman, Acting Director of Center for Education at SETI, 19:00-20:00.
Aug 14 — Moon: 5.9° NNE of Venus, 08:00. |
WEDNESDAY
Aug 15 — ISS, Expedition 56 Russia EVA #45, 405-km LEO: Expedition 56 crew members Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Prokopyev to perform 6 hour 50 minute spacewalk starting 15:58 UT exiting from Pirs airlock to prepare for ICARUS antenna and Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) ‘Nauka’ installations; live coverage available.
Aug 15 — Canadian Space Agency (CSA-ASC), Online / Longueuil, Quebec, Canada: Responses Due: Lunar Surface Mobility Precursor to Human and Science Rover- LSM PHASR- Phase 0.
Aug 15 — International Astronautical Federation, Online / Paris, France: Entries Due for #UnlockYourIAC2018; contest for a chance to meet a renowned space expert during 69th IAC in Bremen, Germany; winners announced September.
Aug 15-17 — University of Arkansas Walton Conference Center, Fayetteville AR: Experimental Analysis of the Outer Solar System Workshop.
Aug 15 — Moon: 7.2° NNE of Spica, 12:00.
Aug 15 — Amor Asteroid 2011 UA: Near-Earth Flyby (0.081 AU)
THURSDAY
Aug 16 — Kennedy Space Center, NASA, Cape Canaveral FL: Space Launch System Mobile Launcher test rollout to Pad 39B to occur today; will test foundation to validate Crawler Transporter-2 and Mobile Launcher toward SLS EM-1 mission.
Aug 16 — Frontier Development Lab, NASA, Santa Clara CA: Event Horizon 2018; 7 teams of NASA Frontier Development Lab researchers to present results of 8 intense weeks of work to address important space science challenges using AI and machine learning tools, 14:00-18:30.
Aug 16-17 — Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD: 3rd Planetary CubeSats Symposium.
Aug 16-20 — San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions Inc., World Science Fiction Society, San Jose CA: WorldCon 76: World Science Fiction Convention; annual convention of World Science Fiction Society, first held in 1939.
FRIDAY
Aug 17 — `Imiloa Astronomy Center, University of Hawai’i at Hilo, Hilo HI: Maunakea Skies Talk; astronomers from Institute for Astronomy UH 2.2 Meter telescope discuss research, recent discoveries and science; 19:00-20:00.
Aug 17-19 — International Space Elevator Consortium, Seattle WA: International Space Elevator Conference 2018: “Multi-Stage Space Elevator” and “Technology Readiness Assessment of the Space Elevator Transportation System“; featuring 3-day technical program, Robo Climb 2017 – A Youth Robotics Competition, 1-day Family Science Fest; at Museum of Flight.
Aug 17 — Moon: 4.3° NNE of Jupiter, 03:00; At first quarter, 21:49.
Aug 17 — Aten Asteroid 2016 JJ17: Near-Earth Flyby (0.065 AU)
SATURDAY
Aug 18 — Oregon L5 Society Chapter of National Space Society, Vancouver WA: Monthly meeting of Oregon L5 Society; at DuckTales Kitchen, 14:00.
Aug 18 — Clear Lake Area National Space Society and Moon Society Chapter, Nassau Bay TX: Annual Summer Social; 13:00-19:00.
SUNDAY
Aug 19-23 — American Astronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Snowbird UT: AAS / AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference.
Aug 19-24 — U. S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville AL: 2018 Space Camp; for ages 9-11.
Aug 19 — Moon: 8.9° N of Antares, 03:00.