August 5-11, 2024 / Vol 43, No 32 / Hawai`i Island, USA

First Africa General Assembly Held by International Astronomical Union in its 106th Year

The XXXII IAU General Assembly (GA2024) is taking place in Cape Town, South Africa, August 6-15. This historic first meeting on Africa soil will have 200 scientific sessions, posters, live 10-minute link to International Space Station Astronauts, a public talk by Sian Proctor, workshops, hackathons, unconference sessions, outreach & public engagement events, exhibition hall, pop-up radio station, marketplace, technical tours, an art exhibit – and include free online open access to all talks. The goal of GA2024 is to share scientific advancements while learning about Africa contributions to infrastructure, society, equity, diversity, sustainability and the environment. There are over 2,200 registered participants (in-person and virtual) and 2,681 accepted abstracts for the meeting, which is chaired by Kevin Govender and includes 6 Symposia, 12 Focus Meetings, 6 Working Groups, 9 Division Days and 5 IAU Offices Institutional Meetings. Some of the lunar astronautical and astronomical talks are Mark McCleran on “Proposed Grid System and Projected Coordinate Reference Systems for Lunar Surface Navigation and The Artemis Missions”; Gaurav Singh “Data Processing And Scientific Exploration of the Moon-Based Ultraviolet Telescope on the Chang’E-3 Lander”; and Steve Durst “Status of the International Lunar Observatory”. Cultural Astronomy presentations include “Unearthing Rich Cultural Astronomy in Ghana” by Emmanuel Proven-Adzri, “Commission C5 Cultural Astronomy” by IAU Chair Steven Gullberg, and “Astronomy Day in Schools” by Akihiko Tomita. Women in Astronomy covers “Addressing Gender Disparities in Astronomy” by Mamta Pommier, “Training and Support for Women Astronomers” by Priya Shah, and “The Role of Women in Astronomical Observation and Astrophotography in Iraq” by Najah Al-Salihy. (Image credits: IAU, SpaceInAfrica, et al)

MONDAY 

☆ Aug 5 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 71 seven members plus 2 Boeing Starliner crew plan to oversee the rendezvous, capture and installation of Northrop Grumman Cygnus NG-21 cargo spacecraft today; working with Thor-Davis thunderstorm study and KERMIT Research Microscope Testbed; Starliner CST-100 is now 61 days docked at ISS (originally slated for 8 days with max of 45 due to battery rating).

☆ Aug 5 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 18 three-member crew performing studies in space through use of devices to counteract bone loss, stimulate nerves and muscles – will continue biomechanical characteristic comparisons after returning to Earth in late October.

★ Aug 5 — Juno, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft reaches 13 full years in space today, having launched in 2011 and reaching Jupiter on July 4, 2016; one-way transmission signal to Earth is 48 minutes, mission extended through September 2025.

☆ Aug 5 — CNSA, Launch Long March 6A / G60 Qianfan Xingzuo F1, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China: Launch expected to carry first 18 of China G60 “Thousand Sails Constellation” of more than 12,000 satellites, aiming to provide global internet access and national data security.

☾ = Moon activity

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

Utah State University Convenes 3,400 for 38th AIAA-USU Small Satellite Conference

The 38th Small Satellite Conference August 3-8 with theme ‘Automation Enabling New Capabilities’ shows an astounding global collaboration among academia, industry and government entities. Represented for both technical sessions and poster presentations will be over 80 learning institutions, more than 100 companies, dozens of nation-level agencies – coming from at least 36 countries plus 25 USA states. A majority of the displays and 15-minute lectures show academicians working with engineers / scientists from companies and state agencies, and many show inter-country colleagues. Scattered-in are participants from a couple high schools, 4-H, homeschooling, and the age 10-18 Wolfpack CubeSat group. Keynote speaker Steve Isakowitz heads 4,600 employees at The Aerospace Corporation and is also an initiator of Space Workforce 2030, which has 30 companies advancing diversity and representation in the space industry since 2022. Being highlighted are missions expected to launch within the next 18 months: TRACERS by Millennium Space Systems, ACMES Triton Satellite by Orion Space Solutions, GARAI Mission by SATLANTIS and OHB Sweden.  Held each year since 1987 at the campus in Logan, Utah, the conference has grown from less than 100 attendees to over 3,400. Awards are given to undergraduate and graduate students. “Small satellites” are generally assumed to be 250 kg or less. Pat Patterson, Director of Advanced Concepts at the USU Space Dynamics Laboratory, is Chairman of this annual event. (Image credits: The Aerospace Corporation, Utah State University)

☾ Aug 5 — Moon: With Venus, and Regulus within circle of diameter 2.66°, 12:00; 2.66° NNE of Regulus, 13:00; 1.57° NNE of Venus, 14:00; 6.8° NNE of Mercury, 21:00.

☆ Aug 5 — Aten Asteroid 2023 HB7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.037 AU)

☆ Aug 5 — Aten Asteroid 2017 TU1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.025 AU)

TUESDAY

☆ NET Aug 6 — ISRO, Launch SSLV Flight 3 / Rideshare, Satish Dhawan Space Center, India: India Small Satellite Launch Vehicle to carry multiple payloads, including Space Rickshaw-0 and IITMSAT, on 3rd flight; SSLV has payload capacity of 500 kg to Low Earth orbit or 300 kg to SSO.

o Aug 6 — Brazil Air Force University (UNIFA), Online / Brazil: Webinar: International Space Security: Building a Sustainable Future.