Twin Voyagers Reach 45 Years Since Launch, Continue Science in Interstellar Space

Celebrating twin Voyager spacecraft reaching 45 full years in space (August 20 for V2, September 5 for V1), Project Manager Suzzane Dodd presents a webinar August 18 from JPL / Caltech in Pasadena CA, 19:00 PDT. Dodd became PM in 2010, 2 years before V1 became the first confirmed craft to enter interstellar space on Aug 25, 2012. Voyager 2 left the heliosphere November 5, 2018 and is predicted to overtake Pioneer 10 as the 2nd most distant spacecraft in April 2023. Both have working instruments: Cosmic Ray Subsystems, Low-Energy Charged Particles, Magnetometers, and Plasma Wave Subsystems – and V2 operates Plasma Science experiment. Decades old science continues to be studied showing new findings such as V2 data collected on a Uranus plasmoid 34 years ago. V1 is ~157 AU from the Sun taking ~22 hours to communicate to Earth, and V2 is 131 AU taking 18 hours. While V1 recently (May 2022) sent inaccurate telemetry data on its location, the craft is operating nominally having enough hydrazine to cruise through 2040. V2 hydrazine will last until ~2034. Fueled by plutonium-238 radioactive decay, the RTGs which run instruments and communications equipment are decreasing in power by ~4 watts a year, though NASA is hoping to extend operations beyond 2025. Pioneer 11 may cross into interstellar space 2027, followed by New Horizons in 2040s, and Pioneer 10 in 2057. (Image Credits: NASA, JPL, Caltech, JHUAPL, SwRI)

MONDAY

☆ Aug 15 — ISS, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 67 seven-member crew maneuvering Space Station Remote Manipulator System for Dragon CRS-25 undocking procedures; Russia EVA #55 with Artemyev and Matveev to commence this week.

☆ Aug 15 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Newest TSS module Wentian undergoing integration and testing including new sleeping quarters for Shenzhou 14 three-member crew; Mengtian being readied at Hainan spaceport for October launch.

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’).

International Space Elevator Consortium Conference 2022 Considers Space Access Beyond Chemical Propulsion

Running online Aug 19-20 with themes of Dual Space Access Architecture, Materials Science and Engineering, Tether/Climber Interface, Transformational Permanent Space Infrastructure, and Significant Questions to be Answered, ISEC Conference 2022 is to gather leading proponents of sustainable, mechanized entry to space. RP-1 rockets currently emit ~ 1,000 metric tons of carbon, a figure estimated to grow 10x within 2 decades by University College London / Cambridge / MIT study. In contrast to other rocket alternatives such as centrifugal and electromagnetic coil launch, the space elevator concept is appropriate for human travel up to and beyond LEO, and could in theory replace much of the world’s current space infrastructure. ISEC Conference 2022 will feature presentations by ISEC president / Galactic Harbor, Inc Senior VP (L-R) Peter Swan on Space Elevator 101 / Engineering Baseline; Dynamics of a Space Elevator with a GEO station by Vanier College physics professor Stephen Cohen; Economics of Infrastructure for Sustainable Space Access by Phil Swan; and Planetary Defense by Paul Phister. Mini workshops on Tether-Climber Interface and Dual Space Access Architecture to be conducted by ISEC VP Dennis Wright and Director Jerry Eddy. ISEC will also hold an in-person Space Elevator Session at the 73rd International Astronautical Congress in Paris, France on September 19. The Space Elevator event at IAC 2022 will be co-chaired by Peter Swan and Yoji Ishikawa of Obayashi Corporation. (Image Credits: ISEC, ISDC, Obayashi Corporation, ResearchGate)

● Aug 15-17 — NASA, Online: Live Steam for Artemis I Rollout, Briefings on Science, Tech Payloads; live coverage available.

☆ Aug 15 — Moon: 1.67° SE of Jupiter, 02:00.

☆ Aug 15 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 EW2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.070 AU)

☆ Aug 15 — Aten Asteroid 2017 QC36: Near-Earth Flyby (0.077 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.

TUESDAY

● Aug 16 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable (MSBR), Greenbelt MD: MSBR luncheon with Dr. Christyl Johnson, Deputy Director for Technology and Research at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; 11:30-13:30.

● Aug 16 — Space Foundation, Online / Colorado Springs CO: Symposium 365 Seminar: Start Here for Space / Canadian Space Agency; 13:00-13:30.

● Aug 16 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA, NASA, Online / Houston TX: Abstracts Due: Apollo 17-Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Workshop: A Model for Future Exploration of the Moon; being held Oct 26-28.

☆ Aug 16 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 PW: Near-Earth Flyby (0.003 AU)

WEDNESDAY

☆ Aug 17 — ISS, Russia EVA #55, ~405-km Altitude: Roscosmos Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev to exit International Space Station through Poisk airlock to install cameras and switch to grapple mode on European Robotic Arm to prepare it for relocation to Poisk; live coverage available, starts 9:20 EDT.