ISRO Lauching 36 OneWeb Satellites, CNSA to Complete Tiangong Space Station with Launch of Mengtian Module

ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark 3, truncated to LVM3 for its first LEO and commercial launch, is to loft a batch of OneWeb communications satellites to a 1,200-km polar orbit with 86.4° inclination at 00:07 IST on 23 October from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (13.72°N) on Sriharikota Island. With payload mass of 150-kg per unit, the ~5,400 kg total will be the heaviest load GSLV has carried to date. The Ku band (12-18 GHz) OneWeb internet constellation is to number 422 after Sunday’s launch, and 648 when completed via a combination of SpaceX Falcon 9 and LVM3 contracted flights in 2022-2023 timeframe. On 31 October, CNSA is to launch Mengtian laboratory cabin module from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center (19.6°N) on Hainan Island on Long March 5 rocket. The 4.2-m diameter, 17.9-m long module with 20,000-kg mass will initially dock with Tianhe core module forward port before being moved via robotic arm to the port side, completing the T-shaped station along with Wentian starboard. TSS, a permanently occupied space station, is the 3rd phase of the China Manned Space Program. Tianzhou-5 cargo ship is to resupply the station with launch in November, followed by Shenzhou-15 3-member crewed mission, which will be greeted by Shenzhou-14 taikonauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe. The crews will overlap for a 10-day period. (Image Credits: ISRO, CNSA, OneWeb, Airbus)

MONDAY

☆ Oct 24 — ISS, ~415-km LEO: ­­­ Expedition 68 seven-member crew with Sergey Prokopyev as Commander to facilitate Progress 82P spacecraft / cargo arrival; working with cerebral auto-regulation, ISS Ham, Plant Habitat R&R, Veggie Light and XROOTS experiments.

☆ Oct 24 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 14 three-member crew prepare for Mengtian module rendezvous and automated docking with Tianhe core module – bring TSS total mass to ~100,000 kg.

o = International terrestrial events in local time.

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

AIAA 3rd ASCEND and AAS 15th Wernher von Braun Symposium Gather Aero, Astro, Artemis Experts

AIAA Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery (ASCEND) will convene in Las Vegas NV and online October 24-26, with support from Lockheed Martin, Boeing, JPL, Northrop Grumman and ULA. Major emphasis is on cislunar, asteroids, climate change, commerce, international & national security, and nuclear power. Pam Melroy Opening Keynote “Going Back to the Moon by Design” will be followed by “Partnering for Innovation in Cislunar Exploration” session moderated by Ellen Ochoa. Speaking during “Progress on Commercial Lunar Payload Services” are Regina Blue (JSC), Alan Campbell (Draper), Shea Ferring (Firefly Aerospace), Dan Hendrickson (Astrobotic), and Peter McGrath (Intuitive Machines). Fireside Chat “Astrophysics and the Space Industry” with Therese Jones (Satellite Industry Association), Caroline Juang (Columbia) and Emma Louden (Space to Sparkle) will highlight opportunities for astrophysics to catalyze NewSpace developments. Also joining are representatives from ISRO, JAXA, CSA-ASC, DLR, CNES, as well as the Diverse Dozen (D12) from France, Italy, Germany, Pakistan, Japan, India, Malaysia, Australia, UK and USA. American Astronautical Society 15th Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium “Space at the Table: Collaboration, Cooperation, and Inclusion” will be in Huntsville AL Oct 26-28 and opened by AAS President Alan DeLuna. About 60 speakers will cover topics: space policy, Artemis / sustained lunar human presence, nuclear propulsion, commercial LEO, STEM-STEAM and future workforce. The Student Poster Competition Oct 27 will result in winner participation at IAC 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan.  (Image Credits: AIAA, AAS, UAH, LM, et al)

★ Oct 24 — Mars Odyssey, Mars Orbit: NASA spacecraft reaches 21 full years / begins 22nd year in orbit around Mars today, holds record for longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth; launched 2001.

o Oct 24 — Space Renaissance International, Online / Fino Mornasco, Italy: Space Renaissance Academy Webinar Series: Creating a Global Policy Framework that will Enable the Creation of Communities Beyond Earth; featuring Steve Wolfe, 19:00-21:00 CEST.

● Oct 24-26 — AIAA, Lockheed Martin, Hybrid / Las Vegas NV and Online: 2022 Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery (ASCEND) Conference.

● Oct 24-26 — Innovate Hawaii, Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), Dept of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), Honolulu HI: Pacific Tech Conference; at Hawai’i Convention Center.

☆ Oct 24 — Moon: 0.39° NE of Mercury, 07:00; 3.8° NNE of Spica, 12:00.

☆ Oct 24 — Apollo Asteroid 2005 AZ28: Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU)

Continued From…

★ Jun 28 – Nov 13 — CAPSTONE, Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit Trajectory: Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment heading to operating position at NRHO / cislunar space.

☆ Aug 4 – Dec 16 — Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), Lunar Trajectory: South Korea ‘Danuri’ to search for lunar resources, test technologies using Ballistic Lunar Transfer, 3 highly elliptical Earth orbits to initiate a trans-lunar injection and arrive at 100-km lunar orbit.

o Aug 8 – Nov 11 — IAU, NAOJ, NARIT, Online / Global: NameExoWorlds 2022.

o Oct 17-26 — National Space Foundation, NOIRLab, International Dark-Sky Association, AURA, Online / Global: Globe at Night October Campaign; to raise awareness of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure & submit night sky brightness observations (goal 20,000 data points for 2022, 12,826 so far).

o Oct 21-24 — Earth System Governance, University of Toronto – Scarborough, University of Waterloo, Hybrid / Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Online: 2022 Toronto Conference on Earth System Governance.

TUESDAY

o Oct 25 — Andy Thomas Space Foundation, Australian Space Agency, South Australian Space Industry Centre, SmartSat CRC, Adelaide, Australia: 14th Australian Space Forum.