International & Tiangong Space Stations: Upcoming EVA Spacewalks, Cargo Transfers and Science
An energetic schedule is planned before 2023 New Year for the humans living in space. Seven-member Expedition 68 consisting of Commander Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin, Frank Rubio, Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, Koichi Wakata and Anna Kikina will be transferring cargo from Dragon CRS-26 (set to launch NET Nov 26) Progress 81 (set to depart December 16) and Progress 82 (departing July 2023). The 7-hour Russia EVA #56 in Orlan spacesuits is scheduled for November 25 to relocate a radiator from Rassvet to Nauka, followed by EVA #57 Dec 6 to relocate an airlock, and possibly EVA #58 Dec 21 for a 2nd airlock relocation. USA EVA #82 and #83 in Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) are slated for Dec 3 to install IROSA (ISS Rollout Solar Array) on the starboard 4 truss, with an additional IROSA installation on port 4 truss Dec 19. Ongoing experiments include Veg-05 / tomatoes growth, bio-nutrients, liquid resin, and ‘Moon Microscope’. Shenzhou 14 Taikonauts (Cai Xuzhe, Chen Dong and Liu Yang) are planning to welcome 3 members of Shenzhou 15 on Nov 29, for the first TSS in-orbit crew rotation. Together the 2 crews will remain aboard the ~100,000-kg, T-shaped station for 5-10 days, after which Shenzhou 14 will return to Earth, landing in Inner Mongolia, China. Shenzhou 15 crew will continue to integrate the modules, set up experiments, work with cargo storage and organization from Tianzhou 5, perform EVAs and connect with classrooms during live-streams. (Image Credits: NASA, ISS partners, CNSA, CCTV, CMSA, CMSEO, CCTV) |
MONDAY☾ Nov 28 — Orion, Cislunar Distant Retrograde Orbit: Artemis 1 mission to perform 3 maintenance maneuvers this week in order to depart DRO, followed by 3 return transit corrections. ★ NET Nov 28 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / HAKUTO-R, LC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: ispace 1st privately-led Japan lunar lander to launch on multi-month trajectory to touchdown near Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold), deploy UAE Rashid rover & a rover for JAXA; Falcon 9 carries NASA-JPL Lunar Flashlight; launch set for 22:42 HST Nov 28 / 03:42 EST Nov 29. Highlights… o NewSpace: Gilmour Space plans first domestic launch from Australia with Eris rocket NET April 2023; Japan and China companies Astroscale and Origin Space compete to develop space debris mitigation technologies & techniques; Venture firm Space Capital identifies 22 businesses ‘specifically focused on the Moon’ with private funding. ☆ Solar System: OMOTENASHI will not attempt lunar landing, may be utilized for radiation measurements in space; ESA Solaris space-based solar energy initiative aims to start beaming power to Earth within 6 years, operate commercially in 9; DAVINCI and VERITAS missions in late 2020s may elucidate volcanic impact on atmosphere of Venus, thought to be cause of runaway greenhouse effect. ☆ Galaxy: Event Horizon Telescope researchers continue research on M87* and Sgr A* imaging, as well as projects for blazars, other black holes; Sulfur dioxide produced by photochemical reaction on “hot Saturn” exoplanet WASP-39 b under observation by JWST. o Global: ESA members support $3.3B plan, 3-year plan to support Ariane 6 / Vega rockets as Ariane 7 under consideration; Ronnagrams and quettameters (Earth = 6 ronnagrams, Jupiter = 2 quettagrams) now official mass metrics of International System of Units; Wu Weiren discloses 10-15 year lunar plan for China, includes ILRS at Moon South Pole ~2028 followed by human landings soon thereafter. ● USA: Blue Origin New Glenn rocket cleared to enter National Security Space Launch program once 2 successful flights are completed; Air Products and Chemicals to provide NASA with 33,000,000 liters of liquid helium for KSC operations over 2-5 years under US$1.07B contract. ● Hawai’i: New UH teaching telescope hopes to be opened 2024, for both students and general public; CFHT and other astronomy data is available on Canada Astronomy Data Center (CADC); ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center to feature Venus, Earth, Mars in ‘A Tale of 3 Planets‘ through November. |
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● = 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: Mars (ENE), Jupiter (SE), Saturn (S), Uranus (E), Neptune (SE).
Celestis Launching 18th Memorial Spaceflight Nov 30 with UP Aerospace from Spaceport America
The Aurora Flight, an ‘Earth Rise Service’ organized by Celestis, Inc of Houston TX, is set to deliver a portion of the cremated remains of 102 people to an altitude of approximately 112 km, well past the Karman Line of 100 km which generally demarcates the Earth-space boundary, via SpaceLoft XL rocket. Marking the 9th such Earth Rise flight for Celestis (8th on SpaceLoft XL), The Aurora Flight will include 3-days of launch preparation and participation starting Nov 28, including a tour of launch site at New Mexico’s Spaceport America and talks by (L-R) Celestis co-founder / CEO Charles Chafer, UP Aerospace CEO Jerry Larson, NASA Astronaut Mike Mullane, a veteran of 3 Space Shuttle missions, and Celestis Ambassador Marc Lee. Launch on Nov 30 will see speeds exceeding Mach 5, and spectators can expect to experience reentry sonic booms during the ~15-minute mission. Celestis has partnered with a wide variety of launch providers to offer their unique memorial service, including Orbital Sciences Corp, SpaceX, NASA and Lockheed Martin. Future missions included Enterprise launching Q1 2023 on inaugural flight of ULA Vulcan Centaur as a rideshare and Tranquility aboard Astrobotic Peregrine Lander as a payload on the same launch. Earth Rise bookings start at $2,495, LEO $4,995, Luna / deep space packages $12,500. (Image Credits: Celestis, UP Aerospace, Spaceport America) |
o Nov 28-30 — British Interplanetary Society, Bristol, United Kingdom: 19th Reinventing Space Conference: Strategic Foundations for New Space 2022; including the Sir Arthur Clarke Awards. ☆ Nov 28 — Moon: 4.0° SE of Saturn, 22:00. ☆ Nov 28 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 QN47: Near-Earth Flyby (0.054 AU) ☆ Nov 28 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 KC2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.060 AU) ☆ Nov 28 — Amor Asteroid 2022 WV1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.099 AU) Continued From… ☾ Aug 4 – Dec 16 — Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), Lunar Trajectory: South Korea ‘Danuri’ to search for lunar resources & test technologies; performing 3 highly elliptical Earth orbits to initiate a trans-lunar injection and arrive at 100-km lunar orbit. ● Oct 29 – Dec 31 — Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, W.M. Keck Observatory, Maunakea Observatories, Kamuela HI: Waimea Solar System Walk for 2022; combining in-person and self guided walks, along Ala ‘Ōhi’a Road. ● Nov 14 – Jan 17, 2023 — Wichita State University, Wichita KS and Online: Registration Open for 2023 Interstellar Seminar ‘LASI 150G’; 1-credit hour seminar which begins Jan 17, every Wednesday 14:30-15:20, led by Prof. Mark Schneegurt. ☾ Nov 15 – Dec 11 — Orion, Circumlunar Trajectory: Orion Uncrewed Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and ESA Service Module on 25 day, 11 hour, 36 minute mission; total distance to be traveled ~2.1M km (1.3M miles); to re-enter Earth atmosphere at 24,500 mph (Mach 32). ☆ NET Nov 27 — CNSA, Launch Jielong-3 / CAS-5A & CAS 5B, Off-shore Platform, Yellow Sea, China: First launch of Jielong-3 (Smart Dragon 3) solid rocket booster from floating vessel Tai Rui in the Yellow Sea; to loft Chinese Amateur Radio Satellites: 6U CAS-5A nanosatellite which will deploy CAS-5B weighing 0.5 kg; other satellites including Huoju-1. TUESDAY☆ Nov 29 — CNSA, Launch Long March 2F / Shenzhou 15, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China: Next crew of 3 to launch to Tiangong Space Station, work aboard for 6 months; the 10th crewed space mission for China. ● Nov 29 – Dec 1 — Applied Technology Institute (ATI), Online / Riva MD: ATI Course: Structural Design and Analysis for Aerospace Engineers (SDA); taught by Tom Sarafin of Instar Engineering and Consulting; US$2,200 per person. |
☆ Nov 29 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 VB2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.023 AU)
☆ Nov 29 — Amor Asteroid 2013 PV2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.079 AU)
WEDNESDAY
★ Nov 30 — UP Aerospace, Launch SpaceLoft XL / Multi Payload, Spaceport America NM: Suborbital flight for Celestis Aurora Flight – 9th Earthrise flight, 18th Celestis memorial spaceflight overall.
● Nov 30 — NASA, Online / Houston TX: Live from Johnson Space Center, a public briefing will be held to preview the departure burn for Orion spacecraft to leave Distant Retrograde Orbit around the Moon and preparations for Orion return to Earth; 16:00 CST, live coverage available.
☆ Nov 30 — Moon: At first quarter, 04:37.
☆ Nov 30 — Mars: Nearest to Earth, 0.544 AU, 16:00.
☆ Nov 30 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 WJ3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU)
☆ Nov 30 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 WX: Near-Earth Flyby (0.069 AU)
☆ Nov 30 — Aten Asteroid 480808 (1994 XL1): Near-Earth Flyby (0.081 AU)
THURSDAY
☆ NET Dec — ExoMars 2016 Orbiter, Mars Orbit: End of scheduled ESA orbiter mission at Mars, future extension / plans to be determined; entered Mars orbit Oct 2016, began science operations Dec 2017.
☆ NET Dec — Gaia, Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point: ESA Gaia data release 4 / final release for nominal 5-year mission is expected at the end of this year, improving upon the mapping of billions of Stars, astrometry and photometry.
☆ Dec 1 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Expedition 68 in-flight interviews with Time Magazine & CNN’s “This Morning” featuring NASA Astronaut Nicole Mann from space; 09:00 EST, live coverage available.
☾ Dec 1 — Orion, Cislunar Distant Retrograde Orbit Departure: Orion Uncrewed Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and ESA Service Module on Artemis 1 mission planned to departure from DRO for return transit to Earth.
☾ Dec 1 — Chang’e-5, Mons Rümker, Oceanus Procellarum, Moon (43° N, 51.9° W): CE-5 lander as part of sample return mission reaches 2 full years / enters 3rd year on lunar surface, having landed on this day in 2020, with sample return launching from the Moon 2 days later.
☆ Dec 1 — Deep Space, Jupiter Orbit: Juno spacecraft now beyond 11 years in space, continues sending information to Earth with 48-minute one-way signal, while scientists and citizen scientists process images and data including images from James Webb Telescope.
o Dec 1 — Stanford University, Western Sydney University, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Online: Open Cultural Astronomy Forum; promoting research in cultural astronomy.
● Dec 1 — Space Transportation Association, Washington DC: STA Luncheon with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher; Aschbacher will share results of ESA Ministerial Council meeting; invitation only event.
● Dec 1 — International Space University, Washington DC: ISU US Alumni Association DC Metro Area Space Cafe.
o Dec 1-3 — IAF, ASI, ESA, EU, et al, Rome, Italy: New Space Economy European Expoforum (NSE 2022): Sustainability as the Game Changer.
● Dec 1 – Jan 31 — JPL, NASA, Online / Pasadena CA: Prepare for the Science Fair; video series for students in grades 3-12, teachers and parents.
☆ Dec 1 — Moon: 2.86° SE of Neptune, 07:00; 2.25° SE of Jupiter, 18:00.
☆ Dec 1 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 WK1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU)
☆ Dec 1 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 VS2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.070 AU)
FRIDAY
★ Dec 2 — Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), LEO: ESA / NASA craft studying sun, reaches 27 full years / begins 28th year of operations in space today, launched 1995; has discovered more than 3,000 comets.
o Dec 2 — Academics Conference Network, ICAASS, Singapore: International Conference on Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Science (ICAASS); at Village Hotel Changi.
● Dec 2 — RAND Corporation, Aerospace Corporation, Santa Monica CA: 7th Annual West Coast Aerospace Forum.
● Dec 2 — Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Online: Space Sips: Holidays; with Astronaut Scott Altman.
☆ Dec 2 — Aten Asteroid 2022 UT8: Near-Earth Flyby (0.028 AU)
☆ Dec 2 — Aten Asteroid 2010 VQ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.030 AU)
☆ Dec 2 — Apollo Asteroid 2009 HV58: Near-Earth Flyby (0.031 AU)
SATURDAY
☆ Dec 3 — ISS, U.S. EVA #82, ~405-km LEO: Expedition 68 crew to install an IROSA (ISS Rollout Solar Array) on starboard 4 truss at International Space Station; starts 07:25 EST, live coverage available.
● Dec 3 — Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, W. M. Keck Observatory, Maunakea Observatories, Kamuela HI: Annual Winter Star Party 2022; public community event on CFHT front lawn, 19:00-21:00 HST.
☆ Dec 3 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 WD2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.018 AU)
☆ Dec 3 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 QL33: Near-Earth Flyby (0.041 AU)
☆ Dec 3 — Aten Asteroid 2012 VK5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.065 AU)
SUNDAY
● Dec 4 — Goddard Visitor Center, NASA, Greenbelt MD: Model Rocket Launches; family-friend in-person event.
☆ Dec 4 — Apollo Asteroid 2014 SC324: Near-Earth Flyby (0.073 AU)