Relativity Space Poised to Lead New Generation of Launch Providers with Terran 1 Rocket |
MONDAY☆ Mar 6 — ISS, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 68 now 11-member crew with arrival of Crew-6; Soyuz MS-23 to remain attached until Sep 27, MS-22 to return to Earth before April for analysis. ☆ Mar 6 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 15 three-member crew continue work in LEO as China plans to open TSS selection & training process for international Astronauts. Highlights… o NewSpace: ispace on track for April lunar landing, beginning construction of Mission 2 model at Narita International Airport; Virgin Galactic VSS Unity commercial flights to begin in Q2 from Spaceport America with 3-member Italy Air Force crew; Globestar to bolster satellite constellation via MDA / Rocket Lab with US$252M prepayment from Apple. ☆ Solar System: Johns Hopkins APL-led DART investigation team finds ~0.8-km asteroids may be redirected in future planetary defense missions given several years notice; LN2 spray system may mitigate lunar dust issues following Washington State University study showing 98% removal of simulant in vacuum. ☆ Galaxy: Hubble images reveal 3 galaxies within ~50,000 LY from one another set to merge into 1 massive galaxy; International researchers continue to find / study stars forming near MWGC Sgr A*, latest is high-mass star X3a – younger than human race; White dwarf merger being observed via 2.4-meter Hiltner telescope / Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope may be first example of type Iax supernova in MWG. o Global: NASA to launch Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite (ULTRASAT), first Israel space telescope, NET 2026; ESA, developing LunaNet communication / navigation protocol, calls for creation of lunar time standard accounting for 56-μs differential relative to Earth; Yuqi Qian of CNSA declares China will land 2 humans on Moon NLT 2029. ● USA: ULA reportedly up for sale under transaction led by Morgan Stanley / Bain & Company; Heliophysicist Nicola Fox to lead NASA Science Mission Directorate following appointment by Bill Nelson; Texas Gov Greg Abbot proposes Texas Space Commission be funded $350M over next 2 years. ● Hawai’i: Keck NIRC2 instrument monitoring X7 dust / gas cloud in 170-year orbit around Sgr A* likely to dissipate ~2036; Keck High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer used in conjunction with McDonald Observatory Hobby-Eberly Telescope to characterize remarkably stable 11-billion year old Kepler-444 planetary system. |
 |
● = Terrestrial and… o = International terrestrial events
☾ = Moon activity ★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’). |
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Venus (WSW), Mars (S), Jupiter (WSW), Uranus (W).
17th SpaceOps 2023 Being Held in Dubai as UAE Astronauts Fly to ISS, Rover Preps for Moon Landing
The 2023 International Conference on Space Operations themed Invest in Space to Serve Earth and Beyond is being held March 6-10 in Dubai, UAE with support from Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre and under patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VP and PM of UAE and Ruler of Dubai. H.E. Salem Humaid Al Marri (Director General of MBRSC) will open the conference which includes 5 plenary events, 3 special sessions, 2 keynote speakers (Amna Al Owais, Dubai Future Foundation Courts; and Sami W. Asmar, Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems), 13 oral / 4 electronic presentation sessions, an exhibition, tour of MBRSC, student workshop, speed mentoring, and Women in SpaceOps event. The “Public-private collaboration opportunities in lunar missions” panel will have representatives from ESTEC, Italian Space Agency, Thales Alenia, Orbital Reef, Surrey Space and Space Copy. Since the creation of SpaceOps in 1990 the organization has held 15 in-person International meetings; the 2025 edition being planned in Montreal, Canada by CSA-ASC. UAE newest Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, is now aboard ISS via SpaceX Crew-6 for a 6-month mission. Yet to fly are 2 other UAE Astronauts: Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla. In late April UAE is also set to see its Rashid lunar rover land on the Moon, after a ~4.5-month journey to lunafirma on ispace lander. (Image Credits: SpaceOps, MBRSC, UAE Gov, NASA) |
☆ Mar 6 — ISS, Expedition 68 In-Flight Event, ~415-km LEO: In-flight United Arab Emirates event with UAE flight engineer Sultan Alneyadi with Johnson Space Center; starts 07:00 EST, live coverage available. ☆ Mar 6 — JAXA, Launch H-3 / ALOS 3, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan: H3 rocket on its 1st test flight will carry Advanced Land Observing Satellite 3 (ALOS 3) Earth observation satellite for JAXA (launch set Mar 5 at 15:37:55 HST / Mar 6 JST at 10:37:55); window open through Mar 10. o Mar 6 — China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), Online / Beijing, China: Submissions Due: Logo Designs for upcoming crewed spaceships Shenzhou 16 and 17, cargo craft Tianzhou 6. ● Mar 6 — Secure World Foundation, Online / Washington DC: SWF Space Sustainability Research Fellowship Webinar: Polycentricity in Space Governance, and Is Outer Space a Commons? ● Mar 6-8 — National Space Society, Washington DC: 2023 March Storm; annual space advocacy meetings with USA Senate and House offices. o Mar 6-10 — Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, GMV, Yahsat, ESA, South African National Space Agency, et al, Dubai, UAE: 17th International Conference on Space Operations (SpaceOps 2023). ☆ Mar 6 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 EO: Near-Earth Flyby (0.097 AU) Continued From… ● Oct 15, 2022 – Jun 15 — International Space Elevator Consortium, Online: Space Elevator Academic Challenge: Improving Humanity’s Future; for students 17-25. ☾ Dec 11, 2022 – Apr 25 — Hakuto-R / ispace Mission 1, Lunar Landing Trajectory: Carrying UAE Rashid 10-kg rover, 0.25-kg JAXA SORA-Q rover, Hakuto-R performing orbital control maneuvers to reach Lunar Orbital Insertion, followed by Moon touchdown nominally ~4.5 months after launch. ● Jan 18 – May 11 — Wichita State University, Wichita KS and Online: 2023 Interstellar Seminar ‘LASI 150G’; 1-credit hour seminar begins today; every Wednesday 14:30-15:20, led by Prof. Mark Schneegurt. |
● Feb 1-28 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: Celebrate Black History Month with NASA.
● Feb 27 – Mar 24 — UC Santa Barbara Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara CA: Course: Building a Physical Understanding of Galaxy Evolution with Data-driven Astronomy.
● Mar 4-11 — IEEE, AIAA, PHM Society, Big Sky MT: 2023 IEEE Aerospace Conference; at Yellowstone Conference Center.
TUESDAY
☆ Mar 7 — ISS, Expedition 68 In-Flight Event, ~415-km LEO: In-flight event with TelevisaUnivision and NASA flight engineer Frank Rubio via Johnson Space Center; starts 12:35 EST, live coverage available.
● Mar 7 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: NASA to Discuss Findings from Successful Artemis 1 Moon Mission; 12:00 EST.
o Mar 7 — Japan Cabinet Office Space Policy Secretariat, Online / Tokyo, Japan: 7th International Symposium on Enduring Stable Use of Outer Space.
● Mar 7 — JPL, NASA, Online / Pasadena CA: Watch Engineers Build the Europa Clipper Spacecraft Live; ongoing live-stream of clean room at JPL with moderated chats occurring every Tuesday 10:00-10:30 PST.
☆ Mar 7 — Moon: Full Worm Moon, 02:42.
☆ Mar 7 — Apollo Asteroid 535844 (2015 BY310): Near-Earth Flyby (0.026 AU)
WEDNESDAY
★ Mar 8 — Relativity Space, Launch Terran 1 / Demo, LC 16, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Relativity Space to attempt first orbital launch of Terran-1 (3D printed rocket using methane/LOX propellant) on demo mission dubbed ‘Good Luck, Have Fun’; live coverage available, launch window 13:00-16:00.
● Mar 8 — Space Foundation, Online: Space Matters Webinar Series; panel of experts discuss National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group, 13:00 EST.
● Mar 8-10 — American Astronautical Society, Laurel MD: Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium 2023; at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
☆ Mar 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 DQ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.015 AU)
☆ Mar 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 CB: Near-Earth Flyby (0.056 AU)
☆ Mar 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 CH3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.075 AU)
THURSDAY
★ Mar 9 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / OneWeb 17, LC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Falcon 9 to launch to launch next batch of OneWeb satellites; 14:05.
● Mar 9 — National Space Society, Online / Washington DC: Space Forum: Space for a Better World; with Christina Korp, 21:00 EST.
● Mar 9 — JPL, NASA, Online / Pasadena CA: Opening Day: 10th NASA Pi Day Challenge 2023.
o Mar 9-10 — ASTECH Paris Region, PROXIMUM Group, et al, Paris, France: 10th Annual Paris Space Week 2023.
☆ Mar 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 FQ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.035 AU)
☆ Mar 9 — Aten Asteroid 2021 EY1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU)
☆ Mar 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 BA10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.064 AU)
FRIDAY
★ Mar 10 — Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Orbit: NASA spacecraft enters 17 full years / begins 18th year in Mars orbit today, continues to study seasonal changes on planet circling at 300-km near-polar orbit; launched Aug 12, 2005, entered orbit Mar 10, 2006.
● Mar 10 — National Space Club, Washington DC: 66th Annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner; at Hilton Washington.
o Mar 10 — International Astronomical Union, NAOJ, Online / Koriyama, Japan: Abstracts Due: Asia-Pacific Regional IAU Meeting (APRIM) 2023; being held Aug 7-11.
● Mar 10-19 — SXSW LLC, Austin TX: South by Southwest (SXSW); conference, festival and exhibition.
☆ Mar 10 — Moon: 3.00° NNE of Spica, 04:00.
SATURDAY
★ Mar 11 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Dragon CRS-27, LC39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: Dragon 2 Cargo resupply mission to be launch by SpaceX Falcon to ISS; first stage booster to land on drone ship in Atlantic Ocean; 20:36 EST.
● Mar 11 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: Breakfast with an Astronaut, Michael Baker, adult US$99.95 / child $79.95.
SUNDAY
o Mar 12 — International Planetarium Society Inc., Multiple Locations: International Day of Planetaria; promote knowledge of planetaria to the public.
● Mar 12 — Daylight Saving Time (USA): Set clock ahead 1 hour; does not include Hawai’i, American Samoa or Arizona (except the Navajo Nation).
☆ Mar 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2014 TJ33: Near-Earth Flyby (0.061 AU)