September 30 – October 6, 2024 / Vol 43, No 40 / Hawai`i Island, USA

21st Century Solar System Complete and
USA 2024 Campaigns  

2025 Q1 will mark one quarter of the 21st Century and prompt high-importance planning for the next 75 years, not only for terrestrial Earth matters, but also exploration of our Solar System. Shaping the future of USA contribution toward deep-space exploration are the space policies to be enacted by the next US Administration. Current vision for NASA, guided by Space Policy Directives 1-7, is the international Artemis program to land the 1st women, 1st people of color, and 1st internationals near the unexplored Moon South Pole, while building a sustainable lunar base and testing technologies for Mars and beyond. By 2100, how many of the potential 10B people of Earth might be permanently living on the Moon and Mars? How many worlds of the Jupiter and Saturn systems will be inhabited? When will more support be given to the pursuit of peaceful, scientific, international expansion and exploration of the Solar System for the benefit of humankind – and less to the US / World’s largest DoD budget (33:1 DoD:NASA)? International space agencies, universities, NewSpace enterprises, think tanks and aerospace companies should give diligent consideration and 21st Century planning for this highly valuable, almost imperative challenge to explore / travel beyond, for science and discovery. China, India and Japan have laid out plans to land humans on the Moon as soon as reasonably possible, while long-range planning for China includes Uranus, Neptune, Kuiper Belt and interstellar space. Short-sighted space policies could see USA Astronauts on the Moon / Mars by mid-Century while other nations pass them by. (Image credits: ILOA Hawai’i, NASA, SpaceX) 

MONDAY 

☆ Sep 30 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 71 Astronauts and Boeing Starliner CST-100 crew are brought new science investigations with planned arrival of Crew-9, Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, including studies of heart muscle atrophy, plant growth, gene editing mechanisms, neurodegenerative pharmaceuticals and heatless welding.

☆ Sep 30 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Of a maximum occupation of six, 3 Taikonauts onboard continue to be Commander Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guansu, enjoying foods such as ‘Space Mooncakes’ with lotus paste, spicy lamb and braised pork chops.

o Sep 30 — International Astronautical Federation, Italian Space Agency, Italian Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Leonardo Space, et al, Online: Registration Due for Technical Tours at 75th International Astronautical Congress; to be held Oct 14-18.

★ Sep 30 — Parker Solar Probe, Heliocentric Orbit: Spacecraft reaches 21st perihelion today.

☆ Sep 30 — Apollo Asteroid 2024 SC: Near-Earth Flyby (0.010 AU)

TUESDAY

☆ Oct 1 — Deep Space, Jupiter Trajectory: ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE)  spacecraft now 0.96 AU from Sun with accumulated distance of 1,336,937,857 km, science instruments confirm Earth is habitable, planning to fly by Venus and Earth next year.

☾ = Moon activity

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

World Space Week and “Hackathon” Show Humanity Working Together

Observed globally, both events seek to engage youth / students in forwarding human presence in space. World Space Week Association (WSWA) mission is “to strengthen the link between space and society through public education, participation and dialogue on the future of space activity.” World Space Week first theme was “The Space Millennium Begins” after a 1999 UN declaration to hold it in honor of October 4, 1957 launch of Sputnik 1 and October 10, 1967 signing of the Peaceful Uses of Space treaty. WSWA National Coordinators are listed for 68 countries with ~83 expected, encompassing ~16,000 events. The NASA International Space Apps Challenge, October 5-6, called the “largest annual global hackathon,” expects 280,000+ registrations / 2,400+ local events in 185+ countries / territories, 13 space agency partners including those of EU, Japan, India, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, South Africa, Paraguay. Invited are “coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, technologists and innovators” of “all ages, skill levels and professional backgrounds”. Part of NASA Open Government Initiative to share data, participants are given tasks by NASA Subject Matter Experts, varied in complexity, ranging from visualizations of NASA data to developing apps / software, and this year asked to incorporate the idea of the influence of our Sun. This year’s theme is “The Sun Touches Everything.” Ten Global Awards are given. (Image credits: WSWA, NASA / Space Apps Challenge)

★ Oct 1 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink Group 10-10, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Falcon 9 to launch next batch of Starlink v2-mini satellites to LEO for space-based internet communication system.

● Oct 1 — American Astronautical Society (AAS), Huntsville AL: Student Poster Contest abstracts due for AAS 2024 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium.

● Oct 1 — National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 66th Observation, USA Nationwide: Celebrations and educational events occur to observe NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) becoming NASA on this day in 1958.

● Oct 1 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Washington DC: 2024 Yvonne C. Brill Lecture In Aerospace Engineering & Reception, biennial lecture with Penina Axelrad; National Academy of Engineering, 11:00-14:00 EDT.

☆ Oct 1 — Apollo Asteroid 2024 RN15: Near-Earth Flyby (0.021 AU)

WEDNESDAY

☾ Oct 2 — Moon: New Moon, 08:49; at apogee (distance 406,543 km), 10:00; 1.59° SSW of Mercury, 13:00.

☆ Oct 2 — Sun: Annular eclipse of Sun, 08:49.

☆ Oct 2 — Apollo Asteroid 2024 RO2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.010 AU)

THURSDAY 

☾ Oct 3 — Moon: 0.49° NE of Spica, 14:00.

FRIDAY

★ Oct 4 — United Launch Alliance, Launch Vulcan VC2S / Certification Flight 2, SLC-41, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Second Vulcan test launch with inert payload, experiments, and demonstrations for certification with USSF, 06:00 EDT.