August 17-23, 2020 / Vol 39, No 33 / Hawai`i Island, USA

South America Space Activity and Enterprise Advanced by International Collaboration

Space industry leaders are increasingly focused on the launch capacity and technical infrastructure of South America. The east / northeast coast offers a clear downrange and the most equatorial sites thus far developed for space access: Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, and Alcantara Launch Center located in Brazil. Kourou saw 8 orbital launches in 2019 and 2 YTD in 2020, with a slate of current launches: return to flight is set for Aug 14 with Ariane 5 sending Galaxy 30, MEV-2 & BSAT-4B payloads to GTO; Vega-C rideshare variant inaugural flight Aug 24 with 53 payloads; and 14 other ESA launch attempts by year’s end. Alcantara is less utilized — while China and Germany have assisted Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) in building Earth observation satellites and sounding rockets, it now appears that USA is most interested in Alcantara. AEB with Secure World Foundation hosts online ‘Opportunities and Benefits in Space Resources Utilization’ Aug 19 to discuss the untapped potential of space resources — Brazil being a global leader in energy production and mining. Under U.S.- Brazil Technology Safeguards Agreement, cooperation is fostered with plans to bring USA space concerns to Alcantara, a move supported by trade group Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) and affiliated Space Enterprise Council. CompTIA also has an MoU with 4 Argentina space companies and Argentinean Aeronautical and Space Chamber of Commerce to accelerate domestic space business. (Image Credits: AEB, ESA)

MONDAY

Lunar Surface Workshop Addresses Dust & Regolith Studies, Impacts on Instruments, Human Missions

The third 2020 virtual Lunar Surface Science Workshop: Lunar Dust and Regolith will be hosted by NASA, LPI and USRA on August 20. These Workshops produce strategy and recommendation reports in support of Space Policy Directive-1 / Artemis Human missions to Moon South Pole 2024 and sustained lunar presence by 2028. The first workshop (May 28-29) presented on tools and instruments; the second (July 29-30) on lunar volatiles and samples. Presentations at this Workshop cover polar regolith sampling and experiments to understand space weathering, ballistic sedimentation, near-surface plasma environment, cratering, and Astronauts developing a tool-kit for architectural design of Moon villages and observatories to optimize risk management of lunar dust movements. Science payloads / tools are to be delivered via CLPS landers and Artemis 2024 human lander, which then can be deployed and operated by Moonworkers, maximizing science return and probability of payload success by allowing for additional mobility, dexterity, communications and overcoming potential challenges. One of the Workshops’ overarching themes is to identify the highest priority locations within 6° of the South Pole. Of great interest are Shackleton, Malapert and De Gerlache which include nearby permanently shadowed craters reaching temperatures as low as -248 °C and thought to be harboring significant, ancient ice deposits; and ‘Peaks of Eternal Light’ illuminating areas in sunlight for over 200 Earth days. (Pictured Speakers: B. Bussey, B. Denevi, X. Wang, B. O’Brien, E. Palomba; Image Credits: LPI, USRA, NASA, LRO, JHUAPL, Univ. of CO, ANU, INAF)

Aug 17 — The National Academies,

Aug 17-18 — NASA Planetary Science Advisory Committee, Online / Washington DC: Planetary Science Division Update Meeting; 10:00-18:00 EDT.

Aug 17 — Kappa Cygnids Meteor Shower Peak: Shower appears to line up in sky by Cygnus and star Kappa Cygni, typically produces slow (25 km/sec) mostly faint meteors 3-5 per hour with a few very bright.

Aug 17 — Moon: 1.99° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 09:00.

Aug 17 — Mercury: At superior conjunction with Sun, 05:00.

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.

Jul 20 – Aug 21 — International Space University, Online / Strasbourg, France: Interactive Space Program (ISP2020).

Jul 29 – Oct 31 — CNSA, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Online / Beijing, China: Students to submit ideas for payloads for Chang’e-7 lunar south pole craft, and ZhengHe mission that will return samples from Asteroid 2016HO3 and visit Comet 133P.

TUESDAY

Aug 18 — ISS, H-2 Transfer Vehicle-9 (HTV-9) Release, LEO: JAXA craft filled with waste to be released from ISS for Earth atmosphere disintegration over South Pacific.

Aug 18 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable (MSBR), Online: MSBR Roundtable Webinar with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Director Dennis Andrucyk; 13:00 EDT.