China Poised to Launch, Fuel, and Crew Modular Space Station
Core module Tianhe is being prepared at Wenchang SLC, Hainan Island alongside Long March 5B Rocket which will attempt to lift it to LEO (340-450 km) on April 29 for nominal 10-year service life. The core is 22,500 kg, 16.6 m x 4.2 m, providing 50 m3 of living / control center space. The first of 4 cargo missions, Tianzhou-2 space barge, also in Wenchang, is to launch via Long March 7 in May, carrying propellant and crew supplies to be autonomously transferred. Shenzhou-12 Taikonauts may arrive from Jiuquan SLC on Long March 2F by June – 12 total crewmembers are scheduled for 4 missions over 2 years, with 3 crewmembers typically sharing a total of 110 m3 (up to 6 during crew change overlaps) once Laboratory Cabin Modules Wentian and Mengtian are connected, with goal of full operability by 2022. In complete form, China Large Modular Space Station is estimated to be upwards of 100,000 kg, nearly 24% of International Space Station mass and will feature a 2-m class Chinese Space Station Telescope Xuntian paired with 2.5B pixel camera for astrophysical investigation. While China is making this effort independently, international science opportunities are to be coordinated by UNOOSA; Lunar base partner Russia, planning its own Russia Orbital Space Station by 2024, may provide technical and logistical assistance. (Pictured: Zhou Jianping, Chief Designer of CMSA; Image Credits: CMSEO, CMSA, Xinhua, CCTV) |
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MONDAY
Highlights…
 Apr 26 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Newly arrived SpaceX Endeavor brings number of docked craft to 7 total, and Crew-2 Hoshide, Kimbrough, McArthur, Pesquet bringing census to 11 until Resilience undocks for splashdown Wednesday, returning 4-person Crew-1 to Earth.
 Apr 26 — NewSpace: Planet-led Carbon Mapper consortium to launch emission hunting constellation 2023-2025; NASA seeking commercial spacesuit / EVA options through RFI; Voyager Holdings CEO believes space is new “gold rush”.
Apr 26 — Solar System: China satellite Shiyan 6 (experiment) testing light-absorbing coating from 1,000-km polar orbit; Acta Astronautica paper analyzes efficacy of neutron blast profiles for future asteroid deflection; New Horizons crosses 50-AU mark.
Apr 26 — Galaxy: China ‘Interstellar Express’ 2024 mission to probe heliopause per Wu Weiren; quantum data transfer may make EHT-scale optical interferometry possible; VLT observation of gas giant YSES 2b with 115-AU orbit challenges formation theories.
Apr 26 — Global: France CNES and India ISRO to collaborate on human spaceflight; Github platform recognizes contributors to open-source code controlling Ingenuity; Roscosmos delivers final 6 contracted RD-180 engines to power ULA Atlas 5.
 Apr 26 — USA: SpaceX to build Artemis HLS with US$2,941,394,557 NASA funding; ULA wins 9-launch contract for Amazon constellation Project Kuiper; SLS core stage for Artemis 1 en route to KSC via Gulf of Mexico.
Apr 26 — Hawai’i: Keck and Subaru observatories to compliment JWST COSMOS-Webb galaxy survey; incoming IfA Director says Astronomy is “modern cartography”, stresses education access; cosmologists from Universities of Hawaii and Michigan propose spectroscopical universe measurement technique.
 Apr 26 — United Launch Alliance, Launch Delta 4-Heavy / NROL-82, Vandenberg AFB CA: ULA to launch classified satellite for U.S. National Reconnaissance Office on Delta 4 Heavy rocket.
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= All times
for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Mercury (WNW), Venus (WNW), Mars (W); Morning Planets: Jupiter (SE), Saturn (SE).
2021 Cubesat Conferences Look Beyond LEO to Advanced Applications
The 18th CubeSat Developers Workshop is being held April 27-29, followed by 9th Annual LunarCubes Workshop Apr 30 and Interplanetary Small Satellite Conference 2021 on May 3-4. Held online by organizers at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, NASA and JPL, CubeSat Developer’s Conference with theme ‘Working Together” will have live sessions, pre-recorded content, 3rd CubeSat Training Course, XinaBox Satellite building Workshop and a virtual exhibit booth. LunarCubes Conference will highlight the Lucky 13 CubeSats on Artemis 1 launching NET November 2021, including 3 that will map lunar volatiles. About 25 participants are expected to interact on recent advances as well as ‘lessons learned’ from existing deep space CubeSats. The Interplanetary Small Sat Conference will see a Keynote by Craig Kundrot of NASA on ‘Expanding the use of CubeSats and SmallSats in SMD’s newest division: Biological and Physical Sciences’ and Scientist Tony Ricco on ‘Leveraging Cubesat Payload Technologies to Search for Life on our Solar System’s Icy Worlds‘. Mars Cube One dual CubeSats were the 1st interplanetary CubeSats, China Longjiang-2 was 1st microsat around the Moon, and advanced astronomy CubeSats included ASTERIA, HaloSat and PicSat. Breakthrough initiatives aim to send interstellar nanosats to Alpha Centauri. NASA is funding US$2M for Wichita State University Phase 3 CubeSat neutrino detector project. (Image Credits: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, NASA, JPL, NASA, ESA) |
Apr 26-27 — SMi, Online / London, United Kingdom: Small Satellites Conference 2021.
Apr 26-30 — International Academy of Astronautics, Online: 7th IAA Planetary Defense Conference.
Apr 26 — Moon: Full Pink Moon, 17:32.
Apr 26 — Mercury: At aphelion, 0.3075 AU from Sun, 15:00.
Apr 26 — Mars: 0.55° N of M35 cluster, 21:00.
Apr 26 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 HF4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.020 AU)
Apr 26 — Apollo Asteroid 2015 HA177: Near-Earth Flyby (0.048 AU)
Continued From…
NET Early 2021 — ISRO, Launch SSLV / Demonstration Launch, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: New Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) to launch on first orbital test flight.
NET Apr — Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), Guizhou, China: International applications for international scientific community participation in FAST to be reviewed starting this month, becoming effective in August 2021.
Apr 19-30 — UNOOSA, Vienna, Austria: 58th Session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.
TUESDAY
Apr 27 — ISS, Expedition 65 Change of Command, ~405-km Altitude: Shannon Walker hands off ISS command to Aki Hoshide, 13:35 EDT, live coverage available.
Apr 27 — Arianespace, Launch Vega / Pléiades Neo 3, Kourou, French Guiana: Arianespace Vega , designated VV18, to launch Pléiades Neo 3 Earth observation satellite for Airbus.
Apr 27 — Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Online / Washington DC: Lecture: Sampling an Asteroid to Understand the Birth of Our Planet; free, 20:00-21:00 EDT. |
Apr 27 — SETI Institute, Online / Mountain View CA: Lecture: Space Science for Families – Near-Earth Asteroids, The Impact Hazard, and Space Missions; by SETI planetary astronomer Michael Busch, 19:00-20:00 PDT.
Apr 27-29 — Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Online / San Luis Obispo CA: Cubesat Developers Workshop 2021.
Apr 27-29 — International Academy of Astronautics, Online / Berlin, Germany: IAA Symposium on Small Satellites for Earth Observation.
Apr 27 — Moon: At perigee, distance 357,368 km, 05:20.
Apr 27 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GG11: Near-Earth Flyby (0.012 AU)
WEDNESDAY
Apr 28 — ISS, Crew Dragon Resilience Undocking and Splashdown, ~405-km Altitude: SpaceX Crew Dragon 1 with Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Soichi Noguchi, Shannon Walker to undock 07:05 EDT, splashdown planned 12:40, live coverage available.
Apr 28 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink V1.0-L24, SLC-40 Cape Canaveral SFS FL: SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch 25th batch of ~60 satellites.
Apr 28-29 — Space Tourism Society, Online / Los Angeles CA: Space Tourism Conference 2021.
Apr 28 — Moon: 4.7° NNE of Antares, 23:00.
Apr 28 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GT9: Near-Earth Flyby (0.028 AU)
THURSDAY
Apr 29 — Parker Solar Probe, Heliocentric Orbit: Spacecraft reaches 8th perihelion today.
Apr 29 — CNSA, Launch Long March 5 / Tianhe-1 Core Module for China Space Station, Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): Tianhe-1 (Harmony of the Heavens) core module for China Space Station to launch to LEO on Long March 5; station to orbit between 350-450 km, accommodate 3 crew members for 6 month stays, expected to operate until at least 2032.
Apr 29 — LPI, USRA, NASA, Online / Houston TX: Lunar Surface Science Workshop 9: Progress and Challenges: Updates from NASA HQ and Artemis.
Apr 29-30 — NewSpace Chicago, Online / Chicago IL: 2021 Virtual Student Space Congress; students present space-related projects, research, and work to a broad public and industry-specific audience.
Apr 29 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 HU: Near-Earth Flyby (0.025 AU)
Apr 29 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 EZ4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.037 AU)
Apr 29 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 HH: Near-Earth Flyby (0.037 AU)
FRIDAY
Apr 30 — LunarCubes Organizing Committee, NASA, JPL, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Online / San Luis Obispo CA: LunarCubes Workshop 2021.
Apr 30 — Arianespace, Viva Technology, Global: Destination: A Better Life on Earth; free CubeSat (10x10x10cm, 1.33kg) launch competition proposals due.
Apr 30 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Lecture: Success and Failure on Mars: Mechanics in the Exploration of Space; by Mars Perseverance Rover NASA JPL Chief Engineer Adam Steltzner
Apr 30 – May 1 — AstroDay, CHFT, Gemini, EAO-JCMT, Subaru Telescope, W. M. Keck Observatory, et al, Hilo HI / Online: AstroDay Hilo 2021; at Prince Kuhio Mall.
Apr 30 — Uranus: At conjunction with Sun, 10:00.
SATURDAY
May 1 — Deep Space: As Ingenuity Helicopter proves capabilities on Mars, engineers planning Saturn Dragonfly rotorcraft flight for moon Titan exploration in 2027.
May 1 — May Day, Northern Hemisphere, Earth: Spring festival commonly held on this day (or about halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice) to celebrate fertility, fire, and abundance.
May 1 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 VT3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.031 AU)
May 1 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 HH1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.042 AU)
SUNDAY
May 2 — American Astronautical Society, NASA, ISS National Laboratory, Online / Washington DC: Abstracts Due: 2021 International Space Station Research and Development Conference; being held Aug 9-18.