November 27 – December 3, 2023 / Vol 42, No 48 / Hawai`i Island, USA

ISS Expedition 70 Expecting Progress 86P Arrival, Participating in Earth-Space Broadcasts

The seven-member crew of International Space Station Expedition 70, now commanded by ESA Astronaut Andreas Mogensen, is awaiting the arrival of additional cargo set to launch December 1. Progress MS-25 (86P) is planned to fly aboard Soyuz-2 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan and rendezvous with ISS about 3 hours later with ≤ 2,400 kg of supplies. The crew is currently working with transfers to-from Progress 84P, 85P, Cygnus-19 ‘S.S. Laurel Clark‘ and Cargo Dragon CRS-29. Also docked to ISS are crew vehicles Soyuz MS-24 and Crew-7 Dragon. Some of the new experiments being set up include Neuronix (forms 3D neuron cell cultures in microgravity and tests a neuron-specific gene therapy), MVP-Cell-02A (testing Bacillus subtilis bacteria adaptions), ILLUMA-T (to test laser communications data transfer speeds ≤1.24 Gbps), CapiSorb Visible System (demonstrating liquid flow using capillary forces), and Tanpopo-5 (space exposure of radiation-resistant microbes, moss spores and biochemical compounds including amino acids). On November 27 an in-flight interview will occur between JAXA Space Education Center and JAXA flight engineer Satoshi Furukawa. The Space Education Center supports educator information and learning programs for students. On Nov 29, NASA flight engineer Jasmin Moghbeli will connect with Stanford University Iranian Studies Program students. Andreas Mogensen and Jasmin Moghbeli will also participate in a Fox Weather broadcast on Dec 1. Tiangong Space Station is currently hosting the 3-member Shenzhou 17 crew which is 1-month into its 6-month mission and working with cargo from Tianzhou 5 and 6 craft. (Image Credits: NASA, Johnson Space Center, JAXA, SpaceX, NG)

MONDAY 

☆ Nov 27 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 70 seven-member crew testing BEAM module (which is set to operate until at least 2028), working with 5 varieties of Choctaw Heirloom Seeds, preparing for undocking of Progress 84P before end of year; today is ISS Expedition 70 in-flight event with JAXA Space Education Center and JAXA flight engineer Satoshi Furukawa, starts 06:20 EST; live coverage available.

☆ Nov 27 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 17 crew Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, Jiang Xinlin continue configurations of TSS including experiment modules and payload check outs, taking images of Earth and TSS components; CMSA sharing compilation video with public of SZ-17 crew working, eating, exercising in space.

★ Nov 27 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink Group 6-30, SLC-40 Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Next batch of Starlink satellites to launch to LEO; first stage Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship.

o Nov 27 – Dec 1 — International Astronomical Union, Montevideo, Uruguay: XVII Latin American Regional IAU Meeting.

☆ Nov 27 — Aten Asteroid 2013 UB3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.047 AU).

TUESDAY

☆ Nov 28 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / QPS-SAR-5, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Launch of Electron on ‘The Moon God Awakens’ mission for Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS) high-resolution X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth observation satellite; 18:00 local time.

● Nov 28-30 — NASA Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG), Online / Boulder CO: 2023 OPAG Meeting.

☆ Nov 28 — Venus: At perihelion, 0.7184 AU from Sun, 03:00.

☆ Nov 28 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 VR5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.013 AU).

☾ = Moon activity

★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).

Rocket Lab Expanding USA Manufacturing Footprint, Returning to Flight with 42nd Electron Launch

Continuing a business plan in which vertical integration has played a central role, Rocket Lab is to convert the 10,498-square meter former Lockheed Martin Vertical Launch Building in Middle River MD into Space Structures Complex where composite spacecraft, pressure tanks, heat shields and other components will be fabricated. This latest expansion comes on the heels of the opening of the 13,378-square meter Engine Development Center in Long Beach CA, formerly the HQ of Virgin Orbit, where Electron rocket Rutherford and Neutron rocket Archimedes engines are being produced. The 42nd launch of Electron dubbed ‘The Moon God Awakens’ is set for a window opening NET Nov 28, from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, NZ. Payload QPS-SAR-5 / TSUKUYOMI-I satellite built by Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS) of Japan is to be the second in a planned 36-count synthetic aperture radar constellation after losses of QPS-SAR-3 & 4 on JAXA Epsilon in Oct 2022 and QPS-SAR-6 was successfully deployed during SpaceX Transporter-8 in June 2023. The mission comes following an anomaly review of 41st Electron launch ‘We Will Never Desert You’ (Sep 19) which concluded electrical arcing was to blame for mission failure, prompting changes to power supply testing and pressurization to mitigate future fault probability. Rocket Lab has set revenue expectations at US$65-69M for Q4, with space systems accounting for $48.5-52.5M and launch services slated to bring in $16.5M. (Image Credits: Rocket Lab)

WEDNESDAY 

☆ Nov 29 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: ISS Expedition 70 in-flight event for Stanford University Iranian Studies Program with NASA flight engineer Jasmin Moghbeli, starts 12:00 EST; live coverage available.

● Nov 29 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: What’s on Board Media Teleconference; to discuss science payloads flying to the Moon for NASA CLPS Program aboard Astrobotic Technologies lunar lander; 14:00 EST.

● Nov 29 — NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD), Online / Washington DC: Entrepreneurs Challenge, Pitch Day; 8 round 2 winners to receive US$85,000 each.

☆ Nov 29 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 VY8: Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU).

THURSDAY 

● NLT Nov 30 — Intuitive Machines, Kennedy Space Center FL: Intuitive Machines IM-1 Nova-C lander to arrive at launch site for Falcon 9 launch integration activities and checks.

★ Nov 30 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / 425 Project Flight 1, SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB CA: Falcon 9 to launch 5 satellites for South Korea Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

● Nov 29 — National Innovation Center, USGS, Online: Geophysical techniques for the Detection of In-Situ Resources on Planetary Bodies.

● Nov 30 – Dec 1 — Consortium of Space, Policy, Agriculture, Climate and Extreme Environment (Space2), Lincoln NE: Nebraska Space Ag Symposium (Ag4Space); at Nebraska East Union.

☾ Nov 30 — Moon: 5.0° S of Castor, 13:00; 1.58° S of Pollux, 18:00.

☆ Nov 30 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 WC1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.014 AU).

FRIDAY

☾ Dec 1 — Chang’E-5, Mons Rümker, Oceanus Procellarum, Moon (43° N, 51.9° W): CE-5 lander as part of sample return mission reaches 3 full years / enters 4th year on lunar surface, having landed on this day in 2020, with sample return launching from the Moon 2 days later.

☆ Dec 1 — Roscosmos, Launch Soyuz-2.1A / Progress MS-25 (86P), Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Soyuz rocket to launch 86th Progress cargo delivery ship to ISS; to dock about 3 hours after launch.

☾ Dec 1 — Moon: 3.7° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 22:00.

☆ Dec 1 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 VM7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.016 AU).