Articles by: SPC

April 16-22, 2018 / Vol 37, No 16 / Hawai`i Island, USA

TESS to Launch April 16 in Search of New Worlds

The next-gen exoplanet-hunting satellite by NASA, Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), is planned to launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral FL Space Launch Complex 40 on April 16 at 18:32. TESS is the first NASA Astrophysics satellite mission to launch with SpaceX. The craft will perform 2 months of maneuvering and at least 5 burns to place it in a lunar flyby orbit to achieve a final highly-elliptical HEO with a period of 13.65 days in 2:1 resonance with the Moon. TESS will monitor 500,000 stars in a 2-year survey of the solar neighborhood, searching for temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits. Four wide-field charge couple device cameras each with 7 stacked lenses will help observe thousands of exoplanets and determine the mass, size, density and orbit. The spacecraft will have a launch mass of 350 kg. Its solar arrays will produce 390 watts of electricity, and it will communicate with Earth at 8 ground stations in USA once every 2 weeks at 100 mbps. Likely to run out of fuel within the next few months, the significant Kepler and K2 mission is now in campaign 17 and has discovered more than 2,724 exoplanet candidates and 2,649 confirmed exoplanets. TESS will study stars 30-100 times brighter than those surveyed by Kepler, and is predicted to catalog >1,500 exoplanet candidates, including about 500 Earth-sized and ‘Super Earth’ planets with radii less than twice that of Earth. (Pictured: TESS PI George Ricker; Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Caltech, GSFC, MIT, STSci, CfA, SpaceX, Orbital ATK)

MONDAY

Ongoing…
Apr 16 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 55 six-member crew performing 4 in-flight education activities with students this week, transferring cargo from Dragon CRS-14 and filling with return experiments / gear, working with genetic and tissue samples, rodents, fruit flies, and Advanced Combustion Microgravity Experiment involving 5 separate studies.

Apr 16 — NewSpace: SpaceX advancing BFR interplanetary ship; Asteroid Mining Corporation of UK aiming to advance space resource technologies and policies; Astra Space working toward suborbital launch of its Rocket 1 booster from Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska.

Apr 16 — Solar System: ESA Mars Express undergoing software updates to potentially extend life of mission past 2019; 3D infrared view of Jupiter north pole created from Juno flyby observations; scientists planning mission to asteroid Psyche which may be 200-km wide and 95% metal; Tiangong-1 safely reentered Earth Atmosphere over Pacific Ocean.

Apr 16 — Galaxy: Researchers studying Galaxy NGC1052-DF2 for its nearly complete lack of dark matter; results from 15-years worth of Milky Way Gamma ray observations from HESS array published.

Apr 16 — Global: JAXA collecting submissions to name Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter & send messages to Mars; China preparing for Chang’e-4 orbiter launch as early as May, lander / rover launch in Dec; India planning at least 4 additional launches this year, including Chandrayaan-2 Moon mission, after 3 successes in 2018; Ghana hopes to host the Africa Space Agency.

Apr 16 — USA: Former NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan to become first woman director of National Air and Space Museum; Jim Green to take over as NASA Chief Scientist May 1; letter of support from lunar research community for FY 2019 Budget Request for NASA Lunar Exploration and Discovery Program.

Apr 16 — Hawai’i: Continued legislative processes / critiques for proposed ‘Mauna Kea management’ House Bill 1585; UH Hilo registration open for 2-week Software Systems for Astronomy 2018 Summer School; local observatories supporting Mauna Kea Scholar’s Program 2018 & Hawaii STEM conference; TMT construction decision may be delayed.

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

Three Mid-April Launches and Commercial Spaceflight Updates

Rocket Lab is scheduled to launch the third flight of its Electron rocket on April 20 at Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. “It’s Business Time” will be its first fully commercial mission and plans to carry two Lemur-2 CubeSats for Spire Global and one CICERO satellite for GeoOptics. Founder and CEO Peter Beck states “It’s Business Time represents the shift to responsive space” by having the capability to finish an Electron vehicle every week with use of 3D printers. Rocket Lab plans to produce 100 Rutherford engines this year; 30 have been completed and are currently being integrated to fill growing demands of commercial launches. The maximum payload is 225 kg on the 2-stage, 17 m tall rocket. In Russia, Roscosmos plans to launch Blagovest No. 12L satellite with Proton rocket and Breeze M upper stage on April 19 in Kazakhstan. China Long March 3B is scheduled to launch the Apstar 6C satellite on April 21. In USA, the 2-stage, LOX/RP-1 LauncherOne continues through final stages of testing before being air launched on Cosmic Girl, a 747-400 carrier aircraft. The carrier will reach over 10 km before LauncherOne is released and fires its single stage engine, followed by a single upper stage engine to boost it into orbit. The cofounder of Vector rocket company, James Cantrell, states his confidence in launching the 2-stage, 3 LP-1 engine Vector-R in 2018 from Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska carrying 2 PocketQube satellites and an Alba Orbital deployer, after completing three initial test flights. (Image Credit: NASA, Rocket Lab, Roscosmos, CNSA, Vector, Virgin Orbit)

Apr 16 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), Cape Canaveral AFS FL: Launch of TESS to perform all-sky survey to discover transiting exoplanets in habitable zones around nearest and brightest stars in sky via SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, 18:32 local time.

Apr 16 — Canadian Space Agency, Neptec Design Group, Kanata, Ontario, Canada: Karen McCrimmon, Member of Parliament for Kanata–Carleton, on behalf of Honourable Navdeep Bains, to announce new investments in cutting-edge technologies destined for space and Earth.

Apr 16-17— University of Luxembourg, Ministry of the Economy, Luxembourg National Research Fund, Luxembourg Institute for Science and Technology, Europlanet, Luxembourg: Asteroid Science Intersections with In-Space Mine Engineering (ASIME).

Apr 16-19 — Space Foundation, Colorado Springs CO: 34th Space Symposium: 2018 Premier Global Space Conference; space leaders to discuss critical issues affecting all space sectors; at Broadmoor Hotel.

Apr 16 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 FJ29: Near-Earth Flyby (0.078 AU)

Continued from…

Apr 9-20 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Vienna, Austria: 57th Legal Subcommittee Meeting of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPOUS).

Apr 15-16 — Space Generation Advisory Council, Colorado Springs CO: Space Generation Fusion Forum 2018.

TUESDAY

Apr 17-18 — ESA, Noordwijk, The Netherlands: Earth Observation in Space 4.0 Workshop.

Apr 17-19 — United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITR) Operational Satellite Application Programme, Esri, Geneva, Switzerland: GIS for a Sustainable World Conference.

Apr 17 — Moon: 5.2° SSE of Venus, 12:00.

Apr 17 — Amor Asteroid 2018 GC2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.023 AU)

WEDNESDAY

Apr 18 — ISPCS, Colorado Springs CO: International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight Meet Up at 34th Space Symposium; Broadmoor Hotel South Tower Room 3316, 17:30-18:30.

Apr 18 — Foothill College, Los Altos Hills CA: Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series: Rubble Piles in the Sky: The Science, Exploration, and Danger of Near-Earth Asteroids; Michael Busch of SETI Institute, 19:00.

Apr 18-20 — University of Aizu, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association (USRA), Fukushima, Japan: New Views of the Moon 2 — Asia.

Apr 18 — Moon: 8.8° SSE of Pleiades, 03:00; 1.0° NNW of Aldebaran, 19:00.

Apr 18 — Uranus: At conjunction with Sun, 04:00.

Apr 18 — Apollo Asteroid 2015 XE352: Near-Earth Flyby (0.070 AU)

THURSDAY

Apr 19 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Proton / Blagovest No. 12L, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Proton rocket and Breeze M upper stage to launch Blagovest No. 12L communications satellite; 04:12 local time.

Apr 19 — Secure World Foundation, Space Foundation, Colorado Springs CO: The Commercial Sector and Norms for Responsible Use of Space; invitation-only lunch salon, 12:15-13:45.

Apr 19 — SETI Institute, Menlo Park CA: SETI Talks: What Are We Protecting Mars From — And Why Do We Bother? featuring Robert Zubrin, John Rummel, Seth Shostak, 19:00-20:00.

Apr 19 — Cornell University, Ithaca NY: Lecture: The Magnetic and Cosmic Ray and Gravitational Energy in some Interesting Astrophysical Systems; Philipp Kronberg from University of Toronto.

Apr 19-20 — The National Academies, Irvine CA: Exoplanet Science Strategy.

Apr 19 — Apollo Asteroid 2014 JG15: Near-Earth Flyby (0.050 AU)

Apr 19 — Apollo Asteroid 2015 HD10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.098 AU)

FRIDAY

Apr 20 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / “It’s Business Time” Multi-Payload, Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Two-week launch window opens for first full commercial launch dubbed ‘It’s Business Time’ with two Spire Lemur 2 CubeSats and one GeoOptics CICERO satellite.

Apr 20 — Caltech, Pasadena CA: Lecture: The Celestial Movers and Shakers: How Gas Giants Shape Planetary Systems; by Marta Bryan, 20:00.

Apr 20 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: Seminar: Contribution of Sublimating Water Ice to Ceres’ Exosphere; Margaret Landis from University of Arizona.

Apr 20-21 — Mojave Air and Space Port, Mojave Transportation Museum, Mojave CA: 4th Annual Indoor Freeflight Event and Mojave Experimental Fly-in; at Mojave Air and Space Port.

Apr 20 — Moon: At perigee (distance 368,713 km), 04:36; 4.1° S of M35 cluster, 09:00.

Apr 20 — Aten Asteroid 2016 JP: Near-Earth Flyby (0.031 AU)

Apr 20 — Apollo Asteroid 2010 JO33: Near-Earth Flyby (0.060 AU)

SATURDAY

Apr 21 — CNSA, Launch Long March 3B / Apstar 6C, Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, Sichuan, China: Long March 3B rocket to launch Apstar 6C communications satellite.

Apr 21 — The Astronomical League, Global: Spring Astronomy Day 2018; astronomical societies, planetariums, museums, observatories sponsoring public viewing sessions, presentations, workshops.

Apr 21 — Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, NASA, Titusville FL: 2018 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Ceremony and Gala; Thomas Jones and Scott Altman to be inducted into Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Apr 21 — Moon: 11.8° S of Castor, 17:00; 8.2° S of Pollux, 21:00.

Apr 21 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 GR1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.047 AU)

SUNDAY

Apr 22 — Earth Day Network, Worldwide: Earth Day 2018; 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: Favorable due to Moon at first quarter, 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: At first quarter, 11:46; 1.6° S of Beehive Cluster, 20:00.

Apr 22 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 CY: Near-Earth Flyby (0.097 AU)

Apr 22 — Telsa Roadster: At opposition (0.166 AU).