November 1-7, 2021 / Vol 40, No 44 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Human Occupation at ISS Reaches 21 Years, Complemented by TSS and Future LEO / Lunar Stations

Starting its 22nd year of continuous human occupation on November 2, International Space Station is expected to host 11-member Expedition 66 with the arrival of SpaceX Crew 3. The veteran laboratory (satellite catalog #25544) makes human ongoing presence in space possible while allowing for science research to benefit life on Earth and future deep space missions. Currently 246 people from 19 nations have visited ISS, and 2 human-rated (Soyuz, Crew Dragon) and 4 cargo ships (Progress, HTV, Cargo Dragon, Cygnus) are qualified to dock. Boeing Starliner second uncrewed test should be Q1 2022. Performance of Bigelow BEAM is being monitored through 2028 as similar technologies could be used for XBASE 330 station. Axiom Space is planning Axiom Hub One ~2025. Blue Origin is partnering with Sierra Space and others to develop Orbital Reef station. Voyager, Nanoracks, Lockheed are proposing ‘Starlab’ station ~2027. Russia is considering exiting from ISS (~2030) to operate an autonomous ROSS station. The 3-person Shenzhou-13 crew is constructing the Tiangong Space Station which has an expected life of 15 years; next module (Wentian) is set to launch in May, followed by Mengtian in August. On the horizon are human Moon missions in the 21st Century with NASA Artemis, as China, Russia and India are advancing lunar landing technologies; and International Lunar Gateway ~2024 preparations are still underway. (Image Credits: NASA, CSA-ASC, CMSA, Axiom Space, Bigelow, Boeing, ESA / Pierre Carril, SNC)

MONDAY

Nov 1-5 — International Astronomical Union, Online / Paris, France: IAU Symposium 366: The Origin of Outflows in Evolved Stars.

International Crew of 6 Begins 8-Month SIRIUS Lunar Analog Mission SIRIUS-20/21 in Moscow

Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station (SIRIUS)-20/21 starts Nov 4, third in series after SIRIUS-17 (17-day duration) and SIRIUS-19 (4-month duration), is designed to simulate launch, orbit, surface operations and Earth return over 8 months from Nazemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks (NEK) facility within Institute of Biomedical Problems at Russian Academy of Sciences. A group of 12 candidates have been preparing since August for final 6-crewmember selection, including 4 from USA: Business Analyst William Brown, Biologist Tetyana Delaney, Entrepreneur Brian Evarts, Ashley Kowalski of Aerospace Corporation; 6 from Russian Federation: Oleg Blinov of Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Orthopedist Vera Bakhtereva, Technical Director Alexei Fedorov, Flight Attendant Yekaterina Karjakina, Surgeon Viktoria Kirichenko, Engineer Yevgeny Prokopyev; 2 UAE candidates: Engineers Abdallah Al Hammadi and Saleh Al Ameri – the first analog participants from that nation. Crewmembers will provide data on mental and physical effects of isolation and confinement while participating in ~ 70 studies including NASA Human Research Program experiments on team training dynamics, resiliency biomarkers, health metric standardization, cultural diversity, and food acceptability. Communications with the world will be limited to an audio link to control center and social emails, as would be the case in an actual lunar assignment. Final crew roster expected to be reported shortly before team enters NEK, not to exit until July 2, 2022. (Image Credits: RAS, MBRSC)

Continued From…

Oct 4 – Nov 10 — AIAA, Online / Reston VA: AIAA Short Course: Spacecraft Design, Development and Operations.

Oct 19 – Nov 11 — AIAA, Online / Reston VA: AIAA Short Course: Space Architecture: Designing a Lunar Habitation System.

Oct 31 – Nov 12 — UN, UK and Italy Governments, Unilever, SSE, Microsoft, et al, Glasgow, United Kingdom: United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

TUESDAY

Nov 2 — International Space Station, LEO: Today marks 21 full years / start to 22nd year of continuous Human occupation of ISS; first component Zarya ‘Unity’ launched Nov 20, 1998, occupation began Nov 2, 2000.

Nov 2-4 — Geological Society of London, Online / London, United Kingdom: Mars – A New Geological Frontier.

Nov 2 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 TS3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU)

Nov 2 — Aten Asteroid 2009 WY7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU)

Nov 2 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 TJ4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU)

WEDNESDAY

Nov 3 — ISS Expedition 66 Change of Command Ceremony, 405-km LEO: ISS Commander Pesquet of ESA hands over ISS command to Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, 07:40 EDT, live coverage available.

Nov 3 — Space Telescope Science Institute, Online / Baltimore MD: Lecture: Neutron-star Mergers and Rotating Supernovae: How the Universe Creates Heavy Elements.

Nov 3 — Moon: 5.3° NNE of Spica, 07:00; 1.12° NE of Mercury, 03:00; with Mercury, and Mars within circle of diameter 5.99°, 20:00; 2.13° NE of Mars, 21:00.

Nov 3 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 US1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.005 AU)