SpaceX Becomes Major Spacefaring Power with Commercial Crew, Falcon 9, Starship, and Starlink
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MONDAY Highlights…
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Uncrewed test of SpaceX Crew Dragon is now scheduled for NET February. After an additional Inflight Abort Test, SpaceX aims to carry astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station in June. They would capture the USA flag left by the STS-135 Atlantis crew for the earliest American spacecraft to return to ISS, though Boeing’s Starliner is in close competition. More cargo resupply flights to ISS, possibly including the ESA Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space, are planned for 2019. Another Falcon 9 will launch the Israel SpaceIL lunar rover in Feb. Stages of the Falcon 9 Block 5 have been flown up to three times. Along with launch sites at Vandenberg and Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX is building big things at its facility in Boca Chica, Texas. In the next few weeks SpaceX projects short “Hopper” tests for the Starship, formerly called Big Falcon Rocket. The first of over 6,000 SpaceX-built satellites in the Starlink broadband constellation is planned for later in 2019. Bringing internet to the world is expected to generate revenue for even bigger projects. SpaceX has ambitious plans to send Japan billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the Moon in 2023 as a prelude to using Starship to settle Mars. With 21 successful launches in a calendar year, SpaceX could qualify as the world’s 7th major spacefaring power after USA, Russia, China, Europe, Japan and India. (Image Credits: SpaceX, NASA)
Jan 14 — 
Jan 14 — NewSpace: China 
Jan 14 — USA: Government employees unable to attend science / various conferences due to shutdown; 
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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 (SW), Uranus (S), Neptune (SW); Morning Planets: Venus (SE), Jupiter (SE).
Pacific Space Access, Pacific Aloha Spaceport Hawai’i Possibilities: Truly Pacific, Offshore
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Jan 14 — California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco CA: Lecture: Another Pale Blue Dot – The Search for Exoplanets; by SETI scientist Franck Marchis, 19:30.
Continued from…
TUESDAY
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The idea of Hawai’i Island access to space is being revived by the Alaska Aerospace Company, among others, which plans to perform studies around Kea’au to assess if there is potential to build a Spaceport. While many important cultural and environmental issues must be discussed thoroughly and sensitively, in general Hawaii is an appealing location for astronautics as it is near the center of the Pacific Hemisphere, midway between two mainlands, the southernmost point in the USA, and offers offshore omnidirectional equatorial / polar launch opportunities over population-free regions. As a leader in 21st Century astronomy, and host to world class observatories already standing on Mauna Kea, Hawaii could be an ideal platform to launch the next-gen voyages of exploration and set sail for the Stars. Development of truly Pacific, peaceful, commercial space access from the Aloha state would have major indications for the entire Pacific Rim, Asia, America North, America South, Antarctica, Australia and Oceania, as well as commercial enterprises. Fully-contained sea launch systems with non-toxic propellants towed to optimal offshore locations for private / scientific / educational missions might be worth proposing for the East side of the Island, as horizontal take-off / landing suborbital tourism advances are being pursued for the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport in Kailua-Kona. If the cosmopolitan people of Hawaii find enough value in potential economic, scientific and technology opportunities of a Spaceport to welcome its development under certain conditions, perhaps the spirit of Aloha will be launched into Space, to the Moon and Beyond. (Image Credits: Google Maps, ESO, Virgin Galactic)WEDNESDAY
Jan 16 — ESA, Paris, France / Online: ESA Director General Jan Wörner holds Annual Press Breakfast, 09:00 local time.
Jan 16 — Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ: Lecture: Ultima Thule – Beyond the Known World; by Veronica Bray of LPL, 19:00.
Jan 16 —SETI Institute, Menlo Park CA: Lecture: Antarctica as a Time Machine – Our Portal to Snowball Earth and Faraway Worlds; by scientists Peter Roopnarine, Tyler Mackey and Ariel Waldman, 19:00.
Jan 16 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington DC: Transportation Research Board (TRB) subcommittee on Commercial Space Transportation will hold two sessions and a subcommittee meeting during TRB 98th Annual Meeting.
Jan 16 — Moon: 8.5° SSE of the Pleiades, 17:00.
Jan 16 — Venus: 7.8° N of Antares, 13:00.
THURSDAY
NET Jan 17 — NASA, Online: Request for Proposals due: Step Two: Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads; due date changed to TBD / affected by government shutdown.
Jan 17 — JAXA, Launch Epsilon / RAPIS 1, Uchinoura Space Center, Japan: Epsilon rocket to deploy JAXA Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite 1 (RAPIS 1), with 6 Japan and Vietnam secondary payloads.
Jan 17-18 — ESA, Darmstadt, Germany: ESOC D/OPS Industry Workshop.
Jan 17 — Moon: 1.63° N of Aldebaran, 9:00.
Jan 17 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 AC3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)
FRIDAY
Jan 18 — `Imiloa Astronomy Center, University of Hawai`i, Hilo HI: Mauna Kea Skies Talk; astronomers from Mauna Kea observatories speak about recent discoveries; 19:00 HST, US$8-10.
Jan 18 — Mercury: 1.53° S of Pluto, 10:00.
SATURDAY
Jan 19 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt Object Trajectory: Spacecraft begins 14th year in space today, launched Jan 19, 2006 – flew by Pluto July 14, 2015 and KBO Ultima Thule (2014 MU69) on Jan 1; expected to operate until at least mid-2030s.
Jan 19 — American Physical Society, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu HI: First Hawaii Meeting: Far West Section of the American Physical Society.
Jan 19 — Oregon L5 Society Chapter of National Space Society, Vancouver WA: Monthly meeting of Oregon L5 Society; at DuckTales Kitchen, 14:00.
Jan 19 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 AB5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.019 AU)
Jan 19 — Apollo Asteroid 515767 (2015 JA2): Near-Earth Flyby (0.063 AU)
SUNDAY
Jan 20 — Observation of Buzz Aldrin 89th Birthday, Nationwide USA: Moonworker, Apollo 11 hero Buzz Aldrin celebrates 89th birthday today while preparing for Road to Apollo 11 50th Year.
Jan 20-23 — Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, UCLA, USRA, et al, Ringberg, Germany: Workshop: Spectroscopy with SOFIA – New Results & Future Opportunities.
Jan 20 — Moon: 7.0° S of Pollux, 09:00; Full (Super Blood Wolf Moon), 19:16.
Jan 20 — Total Lunar Eclipse: With totality at 19:12 HST, visible from North and South America, parts of western Europe and Africa; partial eclipse in parts of Africa, Europe and Asia; next total lunar eclipse occurs 2021.