Articles by: SPC

April 19-25, 2021 / Vol 40, No 16 / Hawai`i Island, USA

NASA and SpaceX Primed for Crew-2 Mission to ISS Set for April 22

4 crew members of ISS Expedition 65 are to arrive at humanity’s outpost in LEO via SpaceX Dragon Endeavour (C206), refurbished for 3rd crewed mission (2nd long duration) of the Commercial Crew Program which reestablished USA access to space after a nearly decade-long gap. Launching from Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Crew-2 will consist of NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet (who combined have some 521 days of space experience), joining NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Roscosmos Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy & Pyotr Dubrov already on station. Expedition 65 will briefly overlap the stay of expedition 64 / SpaceX Crew-1 members Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Soichi Noguchi and Commander Shannon Walker – the first Houston native to command ISS – temporarily bringing total station occupancy to 11 before Crew-1 Earth return on Apr 28 via Atlantic splashdown in Resilience. Total ISS occupancy is now 247 over its 20+ years of continuous operation. Expedition 65 is to continue scientific inquires into human health, data transmission, agronomy, microbiology and all manner of zero-gravity experimentation while also spreading STEM awareness, international ‘space diplomacy’, and transformational outreach on overview effect. (Image Credits: NASA, SpaceX)

MONDAY

Highlights…
Apr 19 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: 10 Expedition 65 seven-member crew welcoming 3 additions this week, working on gigabit upgrade to Joint Station LAN, troubleshooting nonoperational Oxygen Generation Assembly pump, assessing mood impacts of food, time perception effects, health metrics.

Apr 19 — NewSpace: Astrobotic Griffin Mission 1 / VIPER to fly on SpaceX Falcon Heavy; Sierra Nevada plans commercial space station, space-focused subsidiary; Orbital Sidekick of San Francisco plans Global Hyperspectral Earth Observation Constellation with US$16M private funding.

Apr 19 — Solar System: JPL mission controllers modifying new software for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter as Perseverance Rover prepped for MOXIE oxygen-extracting experiment; planetary scientist’s illustration of Saturn as microcosm of Solar System shows eventual absorption of rings.

Apr 19 — Galaxy: ‘Golden’ dark sirens visible as gravity waves may aid resolution of differing universe expansion measurements; US$20M NASA-funded UArizona mission Aspera UV telescope to investigate stellar & galactic formation, launch 2024; IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach to be administered jointly with NAOJ.

Apr 19 — Global: UAE working with iSpace of Japan on 2022 lunar rover, chooses its 1st woman astronaut Nora Al Matrooshi to train at JSC; China to construct commercial spaceports in Wenchang and Ningbo, space tech center in Guangzhou; President Putin indicates intention for crewed Russian Orbital Satellite NET 2025.

Apr 19 — USA: Biden / Harris administration requests 6.3% increase (US$24.7B) to NASA / Artemis budget for 2022, plans to send 1st person of color to Moon July 4, 2026?; General Atomics, Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin to develop thermal nuclear propulsion designs; farside radio telescope dish-in-crater concept to be further developed through NIAC phase 2 $100K funding.

Apr 19 — Hawai’i: Doug Simons of CFHT to assume directorship of University of Hawaii IfA this fall; M87* data from EHT released as further observations of multiple black holes occurring; possible Hawaii Big Telescope funding depends on Astronomy / Astrophysics Decadal Survey priorities.

= 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: Mars (W); Morning Planets: Jupiter (SE), Saturn (SE).

April 24 Conjunction: PR China ‘Middle Country’ (Zhongguo) and Kansas ‘Midway USA’ Ad Astra Commemorations

Celebrating the National Day of Space Flight in China on April 24 in honor of the nation’s first satellite Dongfanghong-1 launch in 1970, Chinese Society of Astronautics (CSA), Chinese Astronomical Society and Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) are hosting the multiple-day Chinese Space Conference 2021. In-person participation at Nanjing, China will take place for locals and international guests will join online. The Moon: Exploration & Astronomical Observation Symposium on Apr 23 will feature a UAE speaker on “Small Lunar Rover with Big Science Goals”, a senior expert of CSA on “Lunar Base / Village”, International Lunar Observatory Association on “Global Placement of Telescopes and Observatories on the Moon” and colleagues from PMO. Apr 24 conjunction also marks the Hubble Space Telescope reaching its 31st full year / starting 32nd year in space. Hubble is expected to continue its astounding astronomical near-infrared, visible and ultraviolet observations from ~540-km altitude, with 2.4-m Ritchey–Chrétien reflector into the 2030s and possibly 2040s. Apr 24 Ad Astra Kansas Day, initiated in 2003 by AAK Foundation, is chosen for Kansas Astronaut Steve Hawley for releasing Hubble from Space Shuttle STS-31 Discovery. The mid-way USA / Ad Astra Per Aspera State upward-looking spirit is highlighted by the Capitol and the Ad Astra statue atop the dome, world class Cosmosphere housing >13K spaceflight artifacts, Wichita, 7 Observatories, manufacturing / engineering capabilities and its history of aero- and astronautics with Mercury & Apollo. (Image Credits: CNSA, CSA, Xinhua, NASA, Schrunk, Sharpe, Cooper, Thangavelu)

 Apr 19 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Committee on Planetary Protection – Meeting #3 on Mars Mission Bioburden Requirements.

Apr 19-22 — European Space Resources Innovation Center, ESA, Luxembourg Space Agency, Online / Luxembourg: Space Resources Week 2021.

Apr 19-30 — UNOOSA, Vienna, Austria: 58th Session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

Apr 19 — Moon: 6.8° S of Castor, 04:00; 3.2° S of Pollux, 09:00; at first quarter, 20:59.

Apr 19 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GM3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.005 AU)

Apr 19 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GL3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.021 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 Mar — International Astronautical Federation, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), Online: IAC 2021 Press Conference; providing updates for 72nd IAC being held Oct 25-29.

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.

TUESDAY

Apr 20-23 — ESA, ESOC, Online / Darmstadt, Germany: 8th European Conference on Space Debris.

Apr 20 — Moon: 3.0° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 11:00.

Apr 20 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GX7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.017 AU)

Apr 20 — Aten Asteroid 2019 HQ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.038 AU)

WEDNESDAY

Apr 21 — U.S. Senate: Confirmation hearing for Bill Nelson nomination to become the next NASA Administrator; will outline views on NASA current agenda, hopefully supporting Artemis Generation and First Women on the Moon.

Apr 21 — AIAA, Online / Reston VA: ASCENDxWebinar: Maximizing Payload Success; with Alan Stern and Jenn Gustetic, 14:00-15:30 EDT.

Apr 21 — Amazon Web Services, Seraphim Capital, Online: AWS Space Accelerator; application due date for 10 spots in space startup incubator program and up to $100K in AWS credit, 19:00 HST.

Apr 21 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Online: Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032 – Panel on Small Solar System Bodies Meeting #10; and Panel on Venus Meeting #15.

Apr 21 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GJ3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.010 AU)

Apr 21 — Amor Asteroid 2021 GD3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.028 AU)

THURSDAY

Apr 22 — NASA, SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / SpaceX Crew-2 (Crew Dragon Endeavour), LC-39A, KSC FL: SpaceX Crew Dragon to launch its third crewed mission / second mission carrying ISS crew: Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA, Thomas Pesquet of ESA; launch 06:11 EDT.

Apr 22 — University of Birmingham, Online / Birmingham, United Kingdom: UK Exoplanet Community Meeting 2021.

Apr 22 — Hawaii Island Economic Development Board, Online / Kamuela HI: Lecture: Native Hawaiian Perspectives: Can Science and Culture Co-Exist on Maunakea? conversation moderated by Jacqui Hoover.

Apr 22 — SETI Institute, Online / Mountain View CA: Lecture: Digging Down Into Our Planetary Futures; by conceptual artist Xin Liu, astrobiologist Kimberley Warren-Rhodes, and SETI program director Bettina Forget; 12:00-13:15.

Apr 22 — Earth Day Network, Worldwide: 51st Earth Day 2021; to broaden, diversify & activate the environmental movement worldwide; originally proposed to occur March 21 (first day of Spring) by creator John McConnell.

Apr 22 — Lyrid Meteor Shower Peak: Lyrids derived from Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher with period 415 years, are medium-swift (49 km/sec), often bright with persistent trains and can offer 15-20 per hour.

Apr 22 — Moon: 4.6° NNE of Regulus, 04:00.

Apr 22 — Uranus: 0.24° NW of Venus, 16:00; 0.74° SE of Mercury, 21:00.

Apr 22 — Amor Asteroid 2021 GZ9: Near-Earth Flyby (0.041 AU)

Apr 22 — Aten Asteroid 2020 HO5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.042 AU)

FRIDAY

Apr 23 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032 – Panel on Mercury and the Moon Meeting #15.

Apr 23-25 — Chinese Society of Astronautics, Chinese Astronomical Society, Nanjing, China and Online: Chinese Space Conference 2021; including April 23 Symposium on “Moon: Exploration & Astronomical Observation” featuring international talks from IAF, ILOA, UAE, ISRO.

Apr 23 — Pi Puppids Shower Peak: Occurs within the boundaries constellation of Puppis, particles can travel 15 km/s and appear at about 10 per hour.

Apr 23 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 PS1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.037 AU)

Apr 23 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GP4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.046 AU)

SATURDAY

Apr 24 — Hubble Space Telescope, LEO: Spacecraft with 2.4-meter diameter main telescope begins 32nd year in space today, launched Apr 24, 1990; could continue operations into 2040s.

Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China, Nationwide: National Day of Space Flight 2021; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.

Apr 24 — Ad Astra Kansas Day: Initiated in 2003 to promote public awareness of the importance of science and technology to Kansas’ growth; marked on this day for Kansas Astronaut Steve Hawley releasing Hubble Space Telescope from Space Shuttle Discovery robotic arm.

Apr 24 — Apollo Asteroid 2016 QE45: Near-Earth Flyby (0.032 AU)

Apr 24 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 FK3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.040 AU)

SUNDAY

Apr 25 — Roscosmos, Launch Soyuz / OneWeb 6, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia: Soyuz rocket to launch 36 satellites to orbit for OneWeb.

Apr 25 — Secure World Foundation, Caelus Foundation, Chinese Society of Astronautics, Nanjing, China and Online: 2021 Sino-U.S. Space Commercialization Workshop; 09:00 China Standard Time.

Apr 25 — Moon: 5.9° NNE of Spica, 22:00.

Apr 25 — Mercury: 1.16° NNW of Venus, 08:00.

Apr 25 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GF8: Near-Earth Flyby (0.014 AU)