June 29 – July 5, 2020 / Vol 39, No 26 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Asteroid Day Celebrated Internationally June 30; DART Asteroid Mission Target Named

Fascination, fear and ambition are human attributes provoked by Asteroids – rocky, atmosphere-free planetoids officially designated ‘Small Solar System Bodies’ per IAU. NASA counts 958,881 asteroids and 23,013 NEOs, of which 9,164 are >140 m in diameter – largely via Steward Observatory Catalina Sky Survey and IfA Pan-STARRS on Haleakala. ESA Planetary Defense is managed by Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre, located in Italy, while international collaboration is fostered through International Asteroid Warning Network and Space Mission Planning Advisory Group. June 30 commemorates the most impactful asteroid in recorded history, the 1908 Siberian Tunguska event which flattened trees over 2,150 km². Recognizing the existential threat Asteroids pose to life on Earth as well as the promise of scientific advancement and resources, a disparate group of intrepid futurists including Rusty Schweickart, Danica Remy, Brian May, and Grigorij Richter declared Asteroid Day in 2014, gaining formal UN recognition in 2016. ESA and NASA are collaborating on Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment, set for 2021 launch, in which the orbit of newly-named Dimorphos – satellite of Didymos – will be affected by the kinetic energy of NASA DART spacecraft and later analyzed by ESA Hera. Ongoing asteroid missions are JAXA Hayabusa2, on Earth return trajectory with Ryugu surface and subsurface samples, while NASA OSIRIS-Rex orbits 101955 Bennu, preparing for sample collection and 2023 return. (Image Credits: NASA, ESA, IfA, Steward Observatory, BCE, LSA, B612, SES, OHB)

MONDAY

Jun 29 — AIAA, Online / Reston VA: Webinar: NASA’s Jim Reuter discusses Space Technology Mission Directorate; including commercial missions, opportunities for involvement, Moon, Mars and Beyond; free, 11:00 EDT.

SpaceX to Launch #3 Third-Gen GPS Satellite Toward MEO to Join 31 Active USA GPS Sats

GPS 3 SV03 is scheduled to launch June 30 from Cape Canaveral AFS FL on SpaceX Falcon 9 to reach 20,180 km orbit. It incorporates the latest accuracy in the public Safety of Life (L5) frequency 1176 MHz which will enable pinpointing to ~30 cm when broadcast by 24 satellites in 2024. NASA is developing a special receiver to extend GPS to higher altitudes for a lunar comm & positioning system for Artemis human Moon missions. Russia Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) with 24 sats at 19,130 km, is currently producing its 3rd-generation series K2 with ½ the mass of the previous generation and 3-year lifetime extension. Glonass accuracy is ~2.8 meters and with new improvements it is expected to reach 0.6 meters NET 2021. China / Zhongguo BeiDou “Big Dipper” Navigation Satellite System saw its 35th satellite launch June 23, the final of its 3rd gen network which is expected to have millimeter-level accuracy with post-processing. Uniquely, BeiDou has 27 at MEO, 5 at Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit, and 3 at Inclined Geo-Synchronous Orbit. European Union Galileo positioning system with 22 satellites reaches accuracy ~1 meter for public and 1 cm for encrypted. Galileo 2nd gen sats are planned to launch late 2020s. Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System is operational at 8 satellites. 4 Japan Quasi-Zenith Satellite System sats enhance GPS in Asia-Oceania, with plans for independent GNSS of 7 sats launching 2023. (Image Credits: USAF, NASA, SpaceX, EU, ESA, CNSA, Roscosmos, ISRO, JAXA)

Jun 29 – Jul 3 — European Astronomical Society, Online / Leiden, The Netherlands: Virtual Meeting: European Astronomical Society Annual Meeting 2020.

Jun 29 – Jul 3 — ESA, Noordwijk, The Netherlands: Space2Connect Conference; to explore and discuss emerging space-based solutions to address challenges and opportunities of the digital economy; postponed to Q2 of 2021.

Jun 29 — Moon: At perigee (distance 368,657 km), 16:07.

Jun 29 — Asteroid 3 Juno: At opposition, 10:00.

Continued From…

Jan 2019 – Sep 2020 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt: Full data collected from 7 instruments during KBO Arrokoth flyby to be transmitted to Earth over this time period.

Nov 2019 – Nov 2020 — Hayabusa2, Earth Trajectory: JAXA Hayabusa2 with two samples collected from C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu on trajectory for Earth return.

May 9 – Jul 11 — AIAA Los Angeles – Las Vegas Section, Online: Virtual Aerospace Art Gallery Exhibition.

TUESDAY

Jun 30 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / GPS 3 SV03, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: SpaceX to launch the third USAF third-generation navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System.

Jun 30 — Asteroid Day Ltd., Global: Asteroid Day 2020; education, events, films and entertainment hosted by organizations and individuals to increase awareness about asteroids.

Jun 30 — Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), Stanford CA / Online: Public Lecture: Supermassive Black Holes; by Dr. Dan Wilkins, 18:00.