Africa NewSpace and Student STEM Conferences in April Precede SpaceX Nilesat Launch

NewSpace Africa Conference is being held in Nairobi, Kenya on April 25-27 by Space in Africa under theme Making Africa the New Hotspot for Space Business. It will feature ~60 speakers and 9 Keynotes including (TL-BR) Temidayo Oniosun (Space in Africa), Peter Martinez (SWF), Emma Inamutila Theofelus (Deputy Minister, Republic of Namibia), and Ayman Ahmed (Egyptian Space Agency). There will be an exhibition, panel discussions, startup pitch showcase, and international participation from Europe, USA and PRC. Representatives will join from Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Namibia, Angola, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Gabon and Nigeria. In Johannesburg, South Africa the Future African Space Explorer’s STEM Academy (FASESA) is holding Increasing Student Interest and Engagement in Space Exploration Conference April 27-29. The event will have 35 speakers such as Astronaut Gregory Chamitoff, Ruvimbo Samanga (AgriSpace, Zimbabwe), Alan Stern (World View Enterprises, USA), Hiroko Tsuzuki (JAXA), Abdul Sattar (National Curriculum Development, India), Yang Gao (UN Space4Women, UK), and Maruška Strah (World Space Week, Slovenia). Originally set for April 30 and now shifted to May, the Nilesat 301 geostationary communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for Egypt operator Nilesat will be launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral SFS FL. This will be the 4th Nilesat in the series, joining still operational Nilesat 201, and will communicate with ground stations in 6th of October City and Alexandria. (Image Credits: Space in Africa, FASESA, Nilesat, SpaceX, et al)

MONDAY

☆ Apr 25 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Expedition 67 to be team of 11 after welcoming expected SpaceX Crew-4 mission this week; planning to send off Crew-3 four members and shift Command to Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos on Saturday; Russia EVA #53 on Thursday will continue integration of European Robotic Arm on Nauka module; working with cargo transfers from Cygnus NG-17, Progress 79P and 80P.

☆ Apr 25 — Tiangong Space Station, ~370-km LEO: With Tianzhou 3 cargo ship attached, the currently uninhabited Tianhe core module will surpass 1 full year in space this week and should see Tianzhou 4 launch / docking ~May 5, followed by Shenzhou 14 three-member crew in early June; planned 2 modules Wentian and Mengtian launching in July and October should allow for TSS completion before 2023.

o Apr 25-27 — Space in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya: NewSpace Africa Conference.

● Apr 25-28 — Colorado School of Mines, American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE), Denver CO: 18th Biennial International Earth and Space conference.

● Apr 25-29 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA, Online / The Woodlands TX: Advancing IDEA in Planetary Science.

☆ Apr 25 — Moon: 3.6° SE of Mars, 16:00.

☆ Apr 25 — Aten Asteroid 2020 VN1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU)

☆ Apr 25 — Amor Asteroid 2022 FM3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.068 AU)

☆ Apr 25 — Amor Asteroid 2019 HO: Near-Earth Flyby (0.086 AU)

☆ Apr 25 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 GA6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.090 AU)

Continued From…
o Nov 4 – Jun 29 — Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Problems, NASA Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), Moscow, Russia: Mixed gender, international crew of 6 participating in 8-month space / lunar simulation mission SIRIUS-21 (Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station).

● Mar 24 – May 26 — International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA Hawai’i), Online / Hawai’i Islands: ILO-X Moon Camera Naming Contest for HI Schools.

● Mar 26 – May 31 — AIAA LA-LV Section, Online: Women in Space Art Virtual Gallery.

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’).

Space Enterprise Accelerating via AIAA, STS, MIT Meetings in USA East, West, Center Locations

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is hosting >200 people for Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration and New Discovery 2022 (ASCEND) in Houston, Texas April 27-28 to ‘grow the Texas Space Ecosystem and our off-world future’. Topics include investment communities, LEO, ISS, workforce development, policy and technology strategies while main focus is on NASA / Artemis with Keynote by (TL-BR) Kathryn Lueders, and Panel featuring CLPS providers Masten (Colin Ake), Intuitive Machines (Tim Crain), Firefly Aerospace (Shea Ferring), and Astrobotic (Dan Hendrickson). Aarti Matthews from SpaceX will speak on Starship Human Landing System. Space Tourism Society, founded by John Spencer in 1996, is holding its Space Tourism Conference themed Profiting from the Space Experience Economy with ~35 speakers in Los Angeles April 28. SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, NASA and Roscosmos are flying commercial Astronauts, and the first all-civilian mission to Lunar orbit is planned aboard Starship 2024. Currently 607 people have gone beyond the Kármán Line with newcomers Jessica Watkins and Robert Hines adding to the tally via SpaceX Crew-4. In Cambridge, Massachusetts the 7th MIT Sloan New Space Age Conference is set for April 29. Highlighting new tech and services will be invited speakers Forrest Meyen from Lunar Outpost, Erika Wagner from Blue Origin, Dean Bergman from Honeybee and Blair DeWitt from Lunar Station. (Image Credits: AIAA, STS, MIT, NASA, SpaceX, et al)

TUESDAY

★ Apr 26 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Crew 4 (US Crew Vehicle-4), LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: SpaceX Crew Dragon to launch its fifth crewed mission / fourth mission carrying ISS crew to join Expedition 67: Samantha Cristoforetti, Robert Hines, Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins.

☆ Apr 26 — CNSA, Launch Long March 11H / Jilin 1 Gaofen 03D & Jilin 1 Gaofen 04A, Mobile Platform / Yellow Sea: Long March 11H rocket to launch from an ocean platform with 7 Earth observation satellites.

● Apr 26 — Women in Aerospace, Online / Washington DC: WIA Virtual Program with NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy; 14:00-15:00 EDT.

o Apr 26 — Royal Astronomical Society, Online / London, United Kingdom: Public Lecture: How to build a habitable planet; by Prof Elizabeth Tasker of JAXA.

● Apr 26-28 — Space Weather Prediction Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Online / Boulder CO: Space Weather Workshop 2022.

● Apr 26-29 — Aerospace Corporation, Online / El Segundo CA: 39th Space Power Workshop.

☆ Apr 26 — Moon: 3.4° SE of Venus, 20:00; 3.4° SE of Neptune, 21:00.

☆ Apr 26 — Amor Asteroid 2009 CC3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.093 AU)

WEDNESDAY

☆ Apr 27 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / There and Back Again, Launch Complex 1A, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Launch of 34 payloads from commercial operators via launch broker Spaceflight Inc; Rocket Lab to attempt mid-air capture of Electron 1st stage.

☆ Apr 27 — Roscosmos, Launch Angara 1.2 / MKA-R, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia: First orbital launch of Angara 1.2 rocket to carry MKA-R military radar satellite.

● Apr 27 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Washington DC: 2022 AIAA Awards Gala; recognizing individuals for their achievements and influence on the aerospace industry.

o Apr 27 — UK Research and Innovation Science and Technology Facilities Council, Harwell, United Kingdom: SPACEtalks 3.0; in-person speakers from IQ Capital, E2MC Ventures, BryceTech, SpaceWatch.Global, ESA at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.