Articles by: SPC

November 19-25, 2018 / Vol 37, No 47 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Spaceflight SSO-A Launching 71 Satellites via Falcon 9 Booster on its 3rd Reuse

Multinational launch of the Spaceflight SSO-A SmallSat Express mission on SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg AFB CA is scheduled at 10:32 PST on November 19. This will be the 19th launch this year for SpaceX, and the largest single rideshare mission from a USA-based launch vehicle to date deploying 71 payloads. India holds the world record for 104 payloads launched. SSO-A is intended to reach Sun-Synchronous circular orbit with an altitude of 575 km. The Integrated Payload Stack consists of two major elements – the Upper Free Flyer and Lower Free Flyer – which will autonomously deploy a satellite at an interval of ~5 minutes, with some separations set as short as 15 seconds. The mission payloads are 75% commercial / 25% government from customers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and USA. The primary payloads on the craft are two 100-kg SkySats owned by Planet. With this launch, SpaceX is aiming for another first by successfully reusing Falcon 9 core B1046 for a third time. It completed a launch in May, and another in August. Mr. Steven vessel will attempt fairing recovery, and booster landing attempt will most likely occur on Just Read The Instructions drone ship, though it could be planned to land at pad LZ-4. (Image Credits: Spaceflight Industries, SpaceX)

MONDAY

Highlights…
 Nov 19 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 57 three-member crew set to transfer cargo from Progress 71P and facilitate installation of Cygnus NG-10, video documenting life aboard ISS, performing eye ultrasounds, participating in study on crew support by an artificial intelligence, maintaining Veggie plant growth facility.

Nov 19 — NewSpace: Rocket Lab preparing for its next launch within 3 weeks; Virgin Galactic LauncherOne to continue taxi tests attached to 747 carrier aircraft; Vector Space Systems working toward 1st orbital launch in early 2019; SpaceX planning 22 launches in 2018.

Nov 19 — Solar System: Mars volcanoes formation may be similar to Hawaii volcanic processes; Enceladus mission study initiated by Breakthrough Foundation and NASA partnership; Spitzer Space Telescope data places size limits on interstellar object 1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua.

Nov 19 — Galaxy: European Southern Observatory finds “Super-Earth” exoplanet orbiting Barnard’s Star; discovery of dim dwarf galaxy located 130,000 LY from Milky Way may mean other ‘ghost’ galaxies exist; data from ESA Gaia mission being compared with Kepler for more precise predictions of exoplanet / star masses.

Nov 19 — Global: ISRO requests proposals for payloads to fly with crewed mission, and Venus mission; JAXA planning next steps after 1st spacecraft reentry test from ISS is successful; China Aviation and Aerospace Expo unveils models of future space station, crew spacecraft return module, heavy lift booster.

Nov 19 — USA: Jim Bridenstine advocates for Canada ‘boots on the Moon’; scientists Alan Stern and Maria Zuber among appointees to serve on National Science Board; Cape Canaveral Spaceport Shuttle Landing Facility receives Launch Site Operator License to serve future customers.

Nov 19 — Hawai’i: Data from Subaru Telescope and Submillimeter Observatory on Mauna Kea contribute to study of merging galaxy cluster MACS0417; ongoing discussions on TMT in Hawaii; HI-SEAS and PI Kim Binsted keep up with Mars exploration analog news.

= 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 (S), Saturn (SW), Uranus (SE), Neptune (S); Morning Planets: Venus (ESE).

British Interplanetary Society Turns Imagination to Reality

The British Interplanetary Society features NASA authority David Baker on “Apollo 8: Getting to the Moon” at BIS Headquarters in London November 21. Presentation observes Apollo 8 orbiting the Moon in 1968, first venture by humans outside low Earth orbit. Return to lunar orbit is the goal of NASA’s Space Launch System Exploration Mission 1 and crewed EM-2 missions. Founded by Arthur C. Clarke and Eric Burgess in 1933, BIS publishes the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society and the popular magazine Spaceflight. BIS, which has completed the first serious study of a human lunar landing in 1938, sponsors ongoing space studies. Project TOKNEP studies a fusion reactor for space. The Icarus Project, continuing since 2009 as a successor to the 1970s Project Daedalus, studies a probe to another solar system. Barnard’s Star, goal of the Daedalus study, is found today by European Southern Observatory to host an exoplanet at least 3.2 times as massive as Earth. Project Tsiolkovski studies a landing on the lunar farside, the goal taken by the upcoming China Chang’e 4 mission. BIS Midland Branch in Droitwich Nov 17 hosts updated presentations on Starship Engineering and concepts for a UK Moon landing. With a philosophy of Imagination to Reality, British Interplanetary Society continues to inspire new space missions. (Image Credits: British Interplanetary Society)

 Nov 19 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Spaceflight SSO-A, SLC 4E, Vandenberg AFB CA: SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch at 10:32 PST Spaceflight SSO-A mission carrying 71 payloads from 34 international customers and 18 countries including Elysium-Star 2, Eu:CROPIS, KazSTSAT, BlackSky Global 2, Flock satellites, KNACKSAT.

Nov 19 — CNSA, Launch Long March 3B / Beidou, Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, Sichuan, China: Long March 3B rocket to launch two satellites China Beidou navigation network into Medium Earth Orbit.

Nov 19 — NASA, Online: Request for Proposals due: Step One: Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads.

Nov 19 — Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ: Lecture: Mars 20/20: Science, Engineering and Landing Sites for the Next Mars Rover.

Nov 19-21 — JAXA, ISAS, Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kanagawa, Japan: Workshop: New Eyes on X-ray Astrophysical Objects with Japanese and Chinese Observatories.

Nov 19 — Apollo Asteroid 518735 (2009 JL1): Near-Earth Flyby (0.083 AU)

Continued from…

Nov 18-20 — CNSA, Belt & Road Aerospace Innovation Alliance, Northwestern Polytechnical University, IFA, et al., Xi’an, China: 1st China Microsatellite Symposium; focusing on design, theory, technology, communication, payloads, space debris.

Nov 18-23 — University of Concepcion, Antofagasta Minerals, Codelco, et al., Concepcion, Chile: 15th Chilean Geological Congress.

TUESDAY

Nov 20 — International Space Station, 405-km LEO: Celebrations and events occur today to mark the 20th Observation of the beginning of construction of ISS with 15 partner countries.

Nov 20 — Swift, LEO: Observing gamma-ray bursts & their afterglows in gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, optical wavelengths from LEO, craft begins 15th year of operations today, launched in 2004.

Nov 20 — Arianespace, Launch Vega / Mohammed VI-B, Kourou, French Guiana: Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV13, to launch Mohammed VI-B Earth observation satellite for government of Morocco.

Nov 20 — Moon: 4.5° SSE of Uranus, 13:00.

Nov 20 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 VP7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.020 AU)

Nov 20 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 VQ6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU)

WEDNESDAY

Nov 21 — British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: Apollo 8 – Getting to the Moon; by David Baker, formerly of NASA.

Nov 21-23 — ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil: 2nd South American Dark Matter Workshop.

Nov 21 — Mercury: 4.0° NNE of Antares, 18:00.

Nov 21 — Amor Asteroid 2013 PA7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.091 AU)

THURSDAY

Nov 22 — Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy: Seminar: Dyon Degeneracies from Mathieu Moonshine Symmetry.

Nov 22 — Moon: 8.4° SSE of Pleiades, 19:00; Full (Beaver Moon), 19:40.

Nov 22 — Apollo Asteroid 410088 (2007 EJ): Near-Earth Flyby (0.062 AU)

FRIDAY

Nov 23 — ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, Hilo HI: Planetarium Showing of Astronaut, and Hayabusa: Back to Earth.

Nov 23 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: Lunch with an Astronaut, Bill McArthur, adult US$69.95.

Nov 23 — Moon: 1.7° N of Aldebaran, 11:00.

Nov 23 — Asteroid 3 Juno: At perihelion, 1.9833 AU from Sun, magnitude 7.5; 01:00.

Nov 23 — Jupiter: Farthest from Earth (6.347 AU), 18:00.

Nov 23 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 VR: Near-Earth Flyby (0.074 AU)

Nov 23 — Amor Asteroid 2011 AA37: Near-Earth Flyby (0.099 AU)

SATURDAY

Nov 24 — ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, Hilo HI: Planetarium Showing of Skies Above Hawaiʻi, and Maunakea: Between Earth and Sky.

Nov 24 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: Lunch with an Astronaut, Mark Polansky, adult US$69.95.

Nov 24 — Amor Asteroid 2018 VZ7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.073 AU)

SUNDAY

Nov 25 — Moon: 3.1° S of M35 cluster, 01:00.

Nov 25 — Jupiter: At conjunction with Sun, 21:00.

Nov 25 — Aten Asteroid 2018 VT7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.021 AU)

Nov 25 — Aten Asteroid 2009 WB105: Near-Earth Flyby (0.039 AU)