Falcon Heavy to Launch Psyche Craft to Metal-Rich Asteroid for August 2029 Encounter

SpaceX Falcon Heavy is planned to set Psyche on trajectory towards the Main Asteroid Belt, launching from LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center NET on October 12. Launch window will remain open until Oct 25. This will be the 8th Falcon Heavy launch, its 2 side Falcon 9 boosters are expected to return to Landing Zones 1 and 2 for reuse. Utilizing solar electric propulsion, Psyche is planned for a gravity assist maneuver at Mars in May 2026 and orbital insertion at 16 Psyche August 2029. It carries 4 instruments (30 kg total): multispectral imager, gamma ray & neutron spectrometer, magnetometer and X-band Gravity Science Investigation. Discovered in 1852, 16 Psyche is the heaviest known M-type asteroid with a mean diameter of ~220 km. Metal may compose 30% to 60% of its volume. Managed by JPL, Lindy Elkins-Tanton (Arizona State University) is the Principal Investigator who proposed the mission in 2015 to NASA Discovery Program. The mission will investigate the relative ages of the asteroid surface areas, topography and formation / evolution over a period of at least 26 months. Piggybacking aboard Psyche is Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) transceiver which will test optical / laser communications shortly after launch and continue with 1-2 contacts a week for ~2 years, possibly longer. (Image Credits: Maxar, ASU, P. Rubin, NASA, JPL-Caltech, SpaceX)

MONDAY 

☆ Oct 2 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 70 seven-member crew working with BioFabrication Facility to print organ-like tissues, Cold Atom Lab module preparation & cleaning, and undergoing VR training for EVA SAFER maneuvering unit.

☆ Oct 2 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 16 first science lecture from TSS continues to be shared with students, crew preparing for November return to Earth.

☾ = Moon activity

★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).

74th IAC Gathers World Space Community to Advance Human Spaceflight,
2020s Human Moon Missions

The influential annual gathering of space professionals, International Astronautical Congress, is set for October 2-6 in Baku, Azerbaijan at the Baku Convention Complex (Heydar Aliyev Center, convention center, exhibition pavilion). Organized by the International Astronautical Federation and hosted by Azerbaijan space agency Azercosmos with the support of International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) International Institute of Space Law (IISL), IAC 2023 was expected to engage participation from 6000+ individuals hailing from 100+ nations under theme Global Challenges and Opportunities: Give Space a Chance. Sponsors include Chinese Society of Astronautics, SpaceX, Airbus, ispace, Axiom and the Saudi, Turkey, Israel, Japan, India and UK space agencies. Symposium keynotes include Overview on Development of Liquid Rocket Engines for Heavy Launch Vehicles in China to be presented by Gao Yushan of Academy of Aerospace Liquid Propulsion Technology on 220 ton thrust LOX/LH2 and 500 ton thrust LOX/RP-1 engines likely to power upper stages of Long March 9 & 10 super-heavy launch vehicles planned to launch human Moon missions in 2020s. Lunar astronomy advocates to consider International Treaty for Moon Farside Protection in panel discussion including ITU Head of Space Publication and Registration Division Chuen Chern Loo and UC-Boulder Astrophysicist Jack Burns. ISRO Chairman S. Somanath, ESA Director Josef Aschbacher, JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa, CSA-ASC President Lisa Campbell, CNSA Chief Engineer Guoping Li, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, and Roscosmos Director Yury Borisov will update on their national space programs and future human spaceflight goals. (Image Credits: IAF)

o Oct 2-3 — Proximum365, Airbus, Callisto, ESA, Eutelsat, et al, Toulouse, France: Toulouse Space Week 2023.

● Oct 2-3 — Avon Machining, Warner, Lockheed Martin, Atlas Space Operations, Air Force Research Laboratory, Detroit MI: North American Space Summit (NASS); Postponed to Feb 5-6, 2024.

o Oct 2-6 — International Astronautical Federation, Azercosmos, IAA, IISL, SGAC, Chinese Society of Astronautics, Baku, Azerbaijan: 74th International Astronautical Congress: Global Challenges and Opportunities: Give Space a Chance; multidisciplinary congress that covers all space sectors and topics.

o Oct 2-6 — International Astronomical Union, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain: IAU Symposium 385: Astronomy and Satellite Constellations: Pathways Forward.

☾ Oct 2 — Moon: 2.78° NNW of Uranus, 06:00; 1.08° SE of Pleiades, 21:00.