India Preparing for Gaganyaan High Altitude Abort Test Ahead of Late 2024 Crewed Spaceflight
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is setting up for the first high altitude launch of Gaganyaan (‘celestial vehicle’ in Sanskrit) spacecraft prototype, Test Vehicle Demonstration 1 (TV-D1), from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in October or November. The Gaganyaan crew capsule will ride on a custom rocket based on GSLV second stage variant L40 to an altitude of 11 km, when the solid-fuel engines of the crew escape system are to fire, pushing the capsule away from the rocket and continuing to climb another 4-5 km. TV-D1 will be followed by TV-D2 within 2023, Gaganyaan-1 uncrewed orbital test flight in Q1 2024, TV-D3 and TV-D3 abort tests and Gaganyaan-2 uncrewed orbital test with ‘Vyommitra’ female-appearing humanoid robot to collect data on radiation and microgravity. H1-Gaganyaan, the first indigenously developed and launched India human spaceflight mission, is targeting late 2024. 3 Vyomnauts trained at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Moscow are to be sent to a 400-km orbit for a 3-day mission, assisted by Vyommitra and controlled via ground station on Cocos (Keeling) Islands in partnership with Australian Space Agency. The ₹ 9023 crore (US$1.1B) Gaganyaan program is led by director Shri. R Hutton. ISRO and NASA are in the process of formalizing human spaceflight collaboration, which may see a Vyomnaut take part in a mission to the ISS, technology transfer, and training with Astronauts. (Image Credits: ISRO)
MONDAY
☆ Sep 25 — International Space Station,~415-km LEO: Expedition 69 ten-person crew to become Expedition 70 seven-member crew mid-week with Andreas Mogensen taking over as Commander.
☆ Sep 25 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao of Shenzhou 16 share video of vegetable cultivation; 3-member Shenzhou 17 may launch in ~1 month.
Highlights…
o NewSpace: The Exploration Company to launch Bikini prototype on PSLV NET Jan 2024, provide cargo delivery to Axiom space station NET Q4 2027; Namira Salim preparing to become first Pakistani Astronaut on VG Galactic 04 mission Oct 5; Stoke Space focusing on first stage development to meet goal of reusable launch vehicle with 24 hr turnaround.
☆ SolarSystem: JPL working to steer Mars Curiosity rover to a channel above Gediz Vallis Ridge to investigate ancient water flow; Prospects of Europa habitability elevated following carbon dioxide source identified via JWST; Comet Nishimura (C/2023 P1) appears intact as it heads back to outer solar system per preliminary observation with STEREO-A .
☆ Galaxy: CAS / PMO Wide Field Survey Telescope observing Andromeda with 9,000 x 9,000 pixel CCD sensors from 4,000-m perch on Saishiteng mountain; GSFC astronomy team simulates gravitational wave signals from ultracompact binaries to be observed by Laser Interferometer Space Antenna launching NET 2037; First direct image of hierarchical quadruple system obtained via ESO VLT aiding understanding of complex system formation.
●USA: Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle grounded pending second stage failure investigation; Fate of Varda Space in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing capsule unclear following FAA and USAF reentry / landing denials; Emotion caused by loss of access to night sky due to light pollution termed ‘noctalgia‘ by USF cosmologist & Dark Skies advocate.
● Hawai’i: US Fish and Wildlife Service review of Starship orbital test launch mishap may delay 2nd attempt to reach site 100-km NW of Kaua’i by up to 3 months; UH Mānoa astronomer David Rubin co-leading $11M effort to build software tools for Roman Space Telescope launching NET 2027; Coherent Inc calibrating ultrasonic machine tool at CA facility which will fabricate 230 / 492 hexagonal segments for TMT.
● = 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’).
34th ASE Planetary Congress in Türkiye to Promote STEM, International Cooperation, Planetary Stewardship
The Association of Space Explorers (ASE) 34th Planetary Congress is being held in Bursa, Türkiye on September 25-29 convening Astronauts from around the globe. The most recent space fliers to join ASE are Cosmonauts Sergei Korsakov, Denis Matveev, Yulia Peresild and Klim Shipenko – adding to the ASE 400+ members from 38 countries. The event will see 8 technical sessions, opening with Turkish Space Capabilities and future of Türkiye in space with Serdar Huseyin Yildirim (Head of Turkish Space Agency), Alime Ozyildirim (Deputy Director TUBITAK Space), Arif Karabeyoğlu (CEO Delta-V) and Alper Gezeravci (selected to be the first Turkish citizen in space). Other technical sessions will cover New Space Economy with participation from Axiom, Sierra Space and Orbital Reef (Tom Marshburn); Future Space will have discussions about China on the Moon, and Axiom & Apollo spacesuits; Space Agency Program will update on NASA, ESA, JAXA, Tiangong Space Station, and ISS Expedition 66-68; the final session on Back to the Moon has Artemis 1 and 2 briefings. Typically ASE Planetary Congress will also hold a Community Day for Astronauts to engage with scientists and citizens in the host country. There have been nearly 650 people who have been to space to date – of which 275 from 21 countries have visited International Space Station, 32 participated in Blue Origin suborbital New Shepard flight, and 12 USA men landed on the Moon. (Image Credits: ASE)
o Sep 25 — International Space University USA Alumni Association, Washington DC Chapter, Arlington VA: ISU Space Café – Space and Spirituality; Intergalactic Education founder Justin Park to speak on faith and space exploration.
☆ Sep 25 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 DT4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.089 AU).
Ongoing…
☾ Sep 6 – NET Jan/Feb — Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), Lunar Landing Trajectory: SLIM Moon mission 3-4 month trajectory to soft land east of Shioli crater (13.2°S, 25.2°E) on Moon near side equatorial region.
☆ Sep 6 – 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.
o Sep 26 — Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) 1st Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: 1st planetary defense / asteroid deflection test success observed today; DART crashed into minor-planet moon Dimorphos of asteroid Didymos on this day in 2022 shortening Dimorphos’ orbital period.
☾ Sep 26 — Moon: 2.42° SE of Saturn, 18:00.
☆ Sep 26 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 SY3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.008 AU).
☆ Sep 27 — ISS, Soyuz MS-23 Undocking, ~405-km LEO: Soyuz MS-23 Crew Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Frank Rubio set to return to Earth after 371 continuous days in space, landing in Kazakh Steppe; undocking 03:30 EDT denotes start to Expedition 70, live coverage available.
☆ Sep 28 — Astrosat, 650-km Near Equatorial LEO: ISRO first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory reaches 8th full year / begins its 9th year in space today, launched 2015.
☆ Sep 30 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 SC4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.031 AU).
SUNDAY
★ NET Q4 — ULA, Launch Vulcan Centaur / Astrobotic Peregrine Lander,SLC-41, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Astrobotic Peregrine lander to attempt to touchdown near Gruithuisen Domes, with 14 NASA payloads for Artemis Program, CMU Iris Lunar Rover, total 90 kilograms of customer payloads from commercial companies and international space agencies, institutions.
☆ NET Oct 1 — ISRO, Launch GSLV L40 / Gaganyaan Test Vehicle Demonstration 1, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: Gaganyaan uncrewed capsule to be launched to 11 km for high altitude abort test; capsule should reach 15-16 km testing separation from the rocket, trajectory and parachute deployment.
★ NET Oct 1 — United Launch Alliance, Launch Atlas 5 / Project Kuiper, SLC-41, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Atlas 501 rocket set to launch first two demonstration satellites for Amazon Project Kuiper constellation.
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