August 22-28, 2022 / Vol 41, No 34 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Artemis 1 Launch NET Aug 29 Starts 21st Century Human Moon Mission Sequence

Next-generation American Artemis Moon program is set to make a significant first with launch of super heavy Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft NET August 29 from LC-39B Kennedy Space Center 08:33-10:33 EDT. With backup dates Sep 2 & 5, and 4 other launch periods before 2023, the circumlunar flight trajectory may take 26 to 42 days, and employ a trans-lunar injection 20-minute burn, outbound trajectory correction burns for lunar flyby to enter distant retrograde orbit. SLS fully stacked will weigh >2.6M kg and stand ~100 meters tall, utilizing five-segment solid boosters and four RS-25 liquid propellant engines. It carries 3 Moonikins (1 donning AstroRad radiation vest), 2 mascots (Shaun the Sheep, and Snoopy), ~30,000 names engraved on microchips of Artemis 1 personnel, ~3M digital passenger names, an electronic assistant (Alexa) and ten 6U CubeSats: ArgoMoon, BioSentinel, CubeSat for Solar Particles, EQUULEUS, Lunar IceCube, Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper, Near-Earth Asteroid Scout, OMOTENASHI, LunIR and Team Miles. The Artemis goal to land the 1st woman, 1st person of color, and next man near the unexplored Moon South Pole extends from the 2017 reinstatement of USA National Space Council & Space Policy Directive 1 — and has branched into human systems development (SLS, Orion, spacesuits, human lander systems, rovers, International Lunar Gateway), cargo systems (CATALYST, CLPS), instruments development (CLPS science payloads, CAPSTONE), major international collaborations, R&D programs, and Artemis Accords / policies developments. (Image Credits: NASA, Cory Huston, ESA, Lockheed Martin)

MONDAY

☆ Aug 22 — ISS, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 67 seven-member crew continue low-gravity experiment; Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev troubleshooting power fluctuations on Orlan spacesuit worn during Russia EVA #55; NASA publishing ISS Benefits for Humanity 2022.

☆ Aug 22 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 14 three-member crew Chen Dong, Liu Yang, and Cai Xuzhe work to test and calibrate pair of 30% efficient, 110m² solar arrays on Wentian, capable of providing 40% of total station power.

o = International terrestrial events in local time.

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

Lunar Science, NewSpace, and Exploration Communities Gather in DC Area, Seattle, NYC

Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), established in 2004 to support NASA Moon operations, meets for its annual conference August 23-25 at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Laurel MD, ~15km outside of the Washington DC beltway. This year’s LEAG meeting is being convened by geologists (L-R) Amy Faganand of Western Carolina University and Erica Jawin of Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Updates will be given on Artemis, Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), and Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM). CLPS providers Astrobotic, Firefly, and Intuitive Machines to present on their missions. International lunar progress will be shared by KARI, JAXA, and ESA. On the West Coast, Space Frontier Foundation is hosting NewSpace Conference 2022 August 24-26 at Hotel Graduate Seattle near the University of Washington. Co-chaired by electrical engineer Megan Bennett and biomedical engineer Michelle Del Valle, NewSpace 2022 is to feature nearly 50 speakers on a range of space activities and enterprises including keynote speaker / private Astronaut Audrey Powers, who flew above the 100km Karman line aboard NS-18, the 2^nd crewed flight of Blue Origin New Shepard. The Explorer’s Club meets at its NYC HQ for the 12th Annual Three Island BBQ, with theme “The Journey Continues—from Zanzibar and the spice islands of the Swahili Coast to the James Webb Telescope”, featuring honored guest Daniel Goldin, the 9^th and longest serving NASA administrator (1992-2001); chaired by Jonathan Conrad. (Image Credits: LEAG, SFF, The Explorer’s Club, JHAPL, NASA)

o Aug 22-24 — The People Events, NobleNet, DPR, World Conference Alerts, et al, Frankfurt, Germany: World Conference on Climate Change & Sustainability.

o Aug 22-26 — Earth Observation Australia Inc, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia: Advancing Earth Observation Forum 2022.

☆ Aug 22 — Moon: At apogee (distance 405,459 km), 12:00.

☆ Aug 22 — Amor Asteroid 2020 QW3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU)

☆ Aug 22 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 OR2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.074 AU)

☆ Aug 22 — Apollo Asteroid 2015 QH3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.014 AU)

☆ Aug 22 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 OR6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU)

Continued From…

★ Jun 28 – Nov 13 — CAPSTONE, Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit Trajectory: Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment heading to operating position at NRHO / cislunar space.

☆ Aug 4 – Dec 16 — Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), Lunar Trajectory: South Korea ‘Danuri’ to search for lunar resources, test technologies using Ballistic Lunar Transfer, 3 highly elliptical Earth orbits to initiate a trans-lunar injection and arrive at 100-km lunar orbit.

TUESDAY

● Aug 23 — Space Foundation, Online / Colorado Springs CO: Symposium 365 Seminar: Start Here for Space / Le site du Centre National d’études Spatiales (CNES); 13:00-13:30.

● Aug 23-25 — Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), NASA, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, Hybrid / Laurel MD and Online: Annual Meeting of LEAG 2022.

● Aug 23-25 — Applied Technology Institute (ATI), Online / Riva MD: ATI Course: Astropolitics; taught by Eligar Sadeh of Astroconsulting International; US$2,090 per person.