USA, World Awaits Intuitive Machines Moon Launch Set for Feb 14, Historic Moon Landing Feb 22
Intuitive Machines IM-1 Nova-C lander is planned to launch aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 in a multi-day launch window that opens 00:57 EST on February 14. The lander and its 12 payloads are intended to land on Moon surface on February 22 – regardless of which day the craft launches within this February window. If soft landing is successful, this mission will mark many firsts – the most significant of which may be the first USA lunar landing in the 21st Century. The in-transit period (Feb 14-21) should see multiple trajectory correction maneuvers, instrument checkouts and data / image received before reaching the lunar surface. Landing is planned to come within 100 meters (as per NASA CLPS requirement) of Malapert A crater 80.3°S, 1.2°E in the Moon South Pole region. There are 6 NASA payloads: Radio Observations of the Lunar Surface Photoelectron Sheath (ROLSES), Navigation Doppler Lidar for Precise Velocity and Range Sensing (NDL), Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS), Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator (LN-1), Radio Frequency Mass Gauge (RFMG), and Laser Retro-Reflector Array (LRA). And 6 commercial payloads: EagleCam from Embry-Riddle University, Omni-Heat Infinity material from Columbia Sportswear, ILO-X precursor instruments from International Lunar Observatory Association (aboard which Space Calendar is being carried), a digital data center from Lonestar Data Holdings, Lunaprise by Galactic Legacy Lab, and ‘Moon Phases’ sculptures by Jeff Koons. The secondary Doge-1 orbiter is reported rescheduled from piggybacking on this mission and may be a part of IM-2 launch. If IM-1 mission is (mostly) successful, the IM-2 mission may launch as early August if a 6-month turn around is possible. (Image Credits: IM, NASA, GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio, ESO, et al)
MONDAY
☆ Feb 12 — International Space Station,~415-km LEO: Expedition 70 seven-member crew working with Flawless Space Fibers-1 (creating ZBLAN optical fibers), Rhodium Crystal Preservation 02, and 10-12 day Space Tissue Equivalent Dosimeter experiment.
☆ Feb 12 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 17 three-member crew continue experiments and station maintenance; crews for Shenzhou 18 preparing for May launch, Shenzhou 19 expected in November.
Highlights…
o NewSpace: mu Space of Thailand partnering with ispace of Japan to deploy lunar satellites & landers with up to 100 kg payload capacity NET 2028; Virgin Galactic may delay Galactic 07 Unity / Eve horizontal launch pending FAA review of mothership alignment pin loss; Indian Space Research Organisation states Vyommitra robot is ready for spaceflight, while designing Bharatiya Antariksh Station for LEO.
☆ Galaxy: Project manager Suzanne Dodd hoping for ‘miracle’ recovery of afflicted Voyager 1 Flight Data Subsystem; UK-based research suggests that young exoplanets may be ‘flattened’ oblate spheroid shape as materials may be drawn to poles; astronomers piece together data about spiral galaxy Markarian 817 evolution which may have been re-shaped by black hole outburst.
o Global: Russia Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko surpasses 878-day total duration space record, on track to surpass 1,000 days in space over 5 missions; Look Up Space and Aadi Space join 36 space companies from 11 nations opposing anti-satellite tests in SWF statement; Maritime Launch Services seeking investment for Spaceport Nova Scotia.
JAXA Readies Third Launch Attempt of Flagship H3 Launch Vehicle
H3 Test Flight No. 2 (H3TF2) is set for Feb 15 from pad 2 of Yoshinobu Launch Complex at Tanegashima Space Center. The US$1.5B, 63 m high, 5.27 m diameter medium-lift launch vehicle is designed to carry up to 7900 kg to LEO at a cost of around $50M per launch, comparable to a SpaceX Falcon 9. H3 is built by JAXA prime contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), IHI Corporation and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It features liquid hydrogen / liquid oxygen first and second stages powered by LE-9 engines, augmented by 2 or 4 solid rocket boosters depending on configuration – 3 variants are currently planned. The present attempt comes after an aborted effort on 17 February 2023, following main engine ignition and another launch attempted on 7 March 2023 in which a second stage anomaly caused orbital insertion failure 5 minutes and 27 seconds into flight. While JAXA has conducted an internal investigation which cleared the similar H-2A for launch of SLIM and XRISM, details regarding the anomaly and its mitigation have not been publicly disclosed. H3TF2 will carry VEP-4 (Vehicle Evaluation Payload-4) and Earth observation cubesats CE-SAT-1E (Cannon) and TIRSAT (Japan Space Systems) – relatively inexpensive cargo versus the $200M ALOS-3 satellite lost on March 7. At least 26 missions are currently scheduled to be launched by H3 between 2024 – 2033. JAXA will stream H3TF2 live on YouTube starting ~T-1 hour (launch window open 9:22:55 – 13:6:34 JST.(Image Credits: JAXA, Mitsubishi)
Ongoing…
☆ Sep 6, 2023 – NET Mar — X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), ~550-km LEO: XRISM undergoing 6 month check out testing phase before start of science operations to study galactic plasma.
●Sep – Feb 15 — Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators at University of California Observatories, University of Hawaiʻi,Online:Akamai Internship Program; accepting applications from STEM undergrads for 2024 session.
☆ NET Feb — ISRO, Launch LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) / Gaganyaan,Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: India planning for 1st orbital test flight of Gaganyaan uncrewed capsule this month.
★ NET Feb 13 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Intuitive Machines IM-1 Nova-C Lander,LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: Six-day launch window opens for Intuitive Machines 1st Moon lander under US$77M CLPS launching to Moon surface with 5 NASA payloads & multiple private customer surface payloads: ILO-X, Tiger Eye 1, Lunaprise, Moon Mark Mission 1, EagleCam, and orbiter Doge-1; may land ~6.5 days later near Malapert A, Moon South Pole Region; reported as 19:57 HST / 00:57 EST on Feb 14.
☆ Feb 13 — Apollo Asteroid 2024 AZ10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.032 AU)
☆ Feb 15 — JAXA, Launch H3 / Vehicle Evaluation Payload 4,Tanegashima Space Center, Japan: Second flight of H3 after inaugural failure, will carry a mass simulator VEP 4; launch 09:22 JST / Feb 14 at 14:22 HST.
☆Feb 15 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Soyuz-2 / Progress MS-26,Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Roscosmos Soyuz-2 rocket to launch Progress MS-26 mission to resupply International Space Station with cargo.
o Feb 15 — International Astronomical Union,Online:Deadline for Submission of Resolutions; every three years IAU members can propose IAU Resolutions to make recommendations on scientific matters.
☆Feb 17 — ISRO, Launch GSLV-II / INSAT-3DS, Satish Dhawan Space Center, India: ISRO GSLV-II rocket will launch the INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite.
☆ Feb 17 — Apollo Asteroid 2024 BJ5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.096 AU)
SUNDAY
☆ Feb 18 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / CRD2,Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Rocket Lab to launch JAXA Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration Project (CRD2) on “On Closer Inspection” mission.
☾ Feb 18 — Moon: 4.1° N of M35 cluster, 22:00.
☆ Feb 18 — Aten Asteroid 2016 CA138: Near-Earth Flyby (0.064 AU)
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