Tiangong and International Space Stations Welcome New Crew Including Private Axiom-2 Mission

Tianzhou-6 cargo mission is set to launch May 10, from Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China, carrying ≤ LEO 7,400 kg new supplies to Tiangong Space Station reaching Shenzhou 15 crew. It will also carry propellant to TSS allowing it to maintain orbit before arrival of 3-member Shenzhou 16 launch which is targeted for May 25. The 3-member Shenzhou 16 crew will overlap with Shenzhou 15 crew for 5-7 days, and remain in space for ~6 months. Aboard ISS, Expedition 69 crewmembers Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin are to continue relocation of hardware from Rassvet module to new Nauka multipurpose laboratory during ~6.5-hour spacewalk on May 12. From inside the station, Andrey Fedyaev will assist the EVA by transferring a radiator and airlock utilizing ESA robotic arm on Nauka. Axiom 2 all private mission is planned to launch NET May 17 via SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center FL with Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. It will take ~37 hours to reach ISS. Expanding commercial space economy to science / tech markets, Axiom-2 team will also conduct >20 experiments aboard ISS during their 16-day mission. In various stages of development and R&D are Axiom Space Station, Starlab, Orbital Reef Station and Northrop Grumman Space Stations. Axiom first module, Hab One, is planned for a 2025 launch. (Image Credits: CNSA, CGNTV, CCTV, NASA, ISS, Axiom)

MONDAY

☆ May 8 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 69 seven-member crew continue EVA preparation and stowage work, experimenting with 3D biological printers, plan to see arrival of Progress 84P by end of month.

☆ May 8 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou-15 three-member crew to receive Tianzhou-6 and cargo this week; recently installed exterior platform soon to house experiments.

☾ = Moon activity

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

Lunar Landings Pose Major Challenge for Robotic and Human Exploration of Moon 

As Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic strive to carry out first commercial Moon landings this summer, Roscosmos is focused on resumption of lunar exploration after a 47-year gap with Luna-25, launching NET July 13. In light of ispace Hakuto-R recent failure and a string of unsuccessful attempts (SpaceIL Beresheet, Chandrayaan-2), it is worth recalling that prior to the first successful soft landing, Luna 9 (1966), 11 missions were lost. CNSA is currently the only 21st Century lunar surface operator, serving as a model for aspirants. Aside from the inherent difficulty of conducting remotely controlled maneuvers in space, the Moon presents unique challenges – counterintuitively, being the Earth’s closest celestial neighbor. For instance, the near-total lack of atmosphere on the Moon prevents utilization of aerobraking, a technique used for landings on planetary bodies (Mars, Venus, Titan), necessitating significantly greater onboard fuel capacity for propulsive braking. The relatively strong gravity (1/6 that of Earth) imposes more technical challenge than landing on asteroids (Eros, Itokawa, Ryugu, Bennu), where gravity is negligible. Human Landing Systems have a much better record, with 6 successes out of 7 attempts. The next HLS set to continue humanity’s multi-world progression is SpaceX Starship, which is to launch for a second attempt at transatmospheric orbit in preparation for at least 3 lunar landings under NextSTEP-2 contract – an uncrewed demonstration and 2-member crewed landings during Artemis 3 (NLT Dec 2025) and 4 (NLT 2028) – in 6-8 weeks. (Image Credits: Intuitive Machines, Astrobotic, SpaceX, CNSA, Roscosmos, NASA)

☆ May 8 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / TROPICS 3 & 4, Launch Complex 1B, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Rocket Lab Electron rocket to launch second pair of Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) for NASA.

o May 8-12 — European Astrobiology Institute, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain: Biennial European Astrobiology Conference (BEACON).

☆ May 8 — Mars: 5.0° S of Pollux, 16:00.

Continued From…

● Oct 15 – Jun 15, 2023 — International Space Elevator Consortium, Online: Space Elevator Academic Challenge: Improving Humanity’s Future; for students 17-25.

● Jan 18 – May 11 — Wichita State University, Hybrid / Wichita KS and Online: 2023 Interstellar Seminar ‘LASI 150G’; 1-credit hour seminar begins today; every Wednesday 14:30-15:20, led by Prof. Mark Schneegurt.

o Feb 24 – May 24 — National Museum of China, Beijing, China: Exhibit Featuring China’s Human, Lunar and Space Program.

● May 7-11 — American Nuclear Society, Idaho Falls ID: Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space 2023.

o May 7-12 — International Academy of Astronautics, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Technical University of Berlin, Delft University of Technology, Berlin, Germany: 14th IAA Symposium on Small Satellites for Earth Observation.

TUESDAY

● May 9 — Virgin Galactic, Online / Mojave CA: VG Q1 2023 financial results telecom; 14:00 PDT.

● May 9 — Space Transportation Association, Washington DC: STA Luncheon with Matt Mountain; President of Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) to give update on James Webb Space Telescope, 11:30-13:00 EDT.

☆ May 9 — Venus: 1.76° N of M35 cluster, 07:00.

☆ May 9 — Uranus: At conjunction with the Sun, 10:00.

☆ May 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 HG1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU).

WEDNESDAY

☆ May 10 — CNSA, Launch Long March 7 / Tianzhou 6, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): Next cargo craft set to launch to Tiangong Space Station reaching Shenzhou 15 crew, before arrival of Shenzhou 16 crew launch in about 2 weeks.