SpaceX Poised to Launch Starship, the Largest and Most Powerful Rocket Ever Built

Starship next-generation 2-stage launch vehicle, comprised of Super Heavy rocket (Booster 7) + Starship (Ship 24) second stage with integrated crew / cargo capsule is slated to make its inaugural orbital test flight towards near the end of third week of April per SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. If successful, Starship will break the records for most thrust (39,000 kN / 8,800,000 lbf) set by SLS, the NASA ‘Mega Moon Rocket’ built by ULA, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Northrop Grumman, in November 2022 and height (110.6 m) set by Saturn V in 1967 with 73,000 kN / 16,500,000 lbf takeoff thrust expected to be generated by 33 Raptor engines of Booster 7 at takeoff, propelling the 12-m craft from Starbase in South Texas to a site 100-km NW of Kaua’i, roughly halfway to Northwestern Hawaiian Island of Nihoa. Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands to provide telemetry, optics and radar for soft ocean landing, and the prototype spaceship is expect to be recovered intact. Starship is designed to carry up to 100 people or 100 tons of cargo to the Moon, Mars and other destinations – with refueling assistance from Starship propellant tanker(s). To LEO, Starship is specified to carry 150 tons to LEO in reusable / 250 tons in expendable configuration. This dramatic increase in upmass capability is likely to significantly disrupt the launch market, with per-kg prices expected to be offered in the $50-500 range vs Falcon Heavy, currently the lowest cost provider at $1,400 / kg. (Image Credits: SpaceX)

MONDAY

☆ Apr 17 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 69 crew members prepare for 2 Russia and 2 USA EVAs occurring over next 2 weeks, planning SS Sally Ride release this week, working with horticulture, cardiovascular, 3D printing experiments.

☆ Apr 17 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou-15 three-member crew continue to work with cargo from Tianzhou 5 which is expected to depart station in May close to Tianzhou 6 launch from Wenchang; planning for TSS EVA #10 underway.

☾ = Moon activity

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

Europe and Africa Space Resources & NewSpace Conferences Advance International Synergies

The 5th edition of Space Resources Week is being held in Luxembourg and online April 19-21. The first day will have updates from representatives of ESA, NASA, JAXA, CSA-ASC, and Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources. Welcoming comments are from (TL-R) Luxembourg Ministry of Economy Franz Fayot, Director of ESRIC Kathryn Hadler and ESA Astronaut Matthias Maurer. Some of the >100 speakers include Bill Nelson, Josef Aschbacher, Clive Neal, Ben Bussey, Kyle Acierno, Giuseppe Reibaldi and Kyla Edison. Talks will cover missions / planning, technologies, enabling infrastructure, commercialization, extracting and using space resources – from the Moon in particular. To the South ~5,000 km, NewSpace Africa Conference 2023 themed Space for Africa’s Socioeconomic Transformation is planned for April 25-28 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The conference has 92 commercial companies, 7 Foundations / NGOs, 60 public & 19 academic institutions and ~140 speakers participating. Of the 14 Keynotes Hambani Masheleni (African Union Commission) will update on the African space policy and strategy implementation; and Peter Martinez (Secure World Foundation) on policy and regulations for space industry. Led by Temidayo Oniosun (Space in Africa) and Maram Kaire (Senegalese Agency for Space Studies), there will be 4 sessions on African space agencies’ activities including representatives from Libya, Ghana, Egypt, Rwanda, Angola, Tunisia, Mauritius, Gabon, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Senegal, South Africa, Djibouti, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Namibia and Ethiopia. (Image Credits: ESRIC, Luxembourg Space Agency, ESA, Space in Africa, et al)

★ NET Apr 17 — SpaceX, Launch Super Heavy / Starship Orbital Test Flight, Starbase, Boca Chica TX: Super Heavy and Starship launch vehicle to attempt nearly 1 full orbit of Earth (07:00 CDT) culminating with re-entry and splashdown in Pacific ~100 km NW offshore of Kauai.

● Apr 17 — NASA Science Mission Directorate, Online / Washington DC: Responses Due / RFI: New Horizons Interstellar Mission; to determine interested teams science objectives to extend NASA New Horizons mission science beyond FY24.

● Apr 17-20 — Space Foundation, Colorado Springs CO: 38th Space Symposium 2023; space leaders to discuss critical issues affecting all space sectors; at Broadmoor Hotel.

☆ Apr 17 — Amor Asteroid 2023 GM: Near-Earth Flyby (0.021 AU)

☆ Apr 17 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 GU: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)

☆ Apr 17 — Amor Asteroid 2023 GO: Near-Earth Flyby (0.046 AU)

Continued From…

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

☾ Dec 11 – Apr 25, 2023 — Hakuto-R / ispace Mission 1, Lunar Landing Trajectory: Carrying UAE Rashid 10-kg rover, 0.25-kg JAXA SORA-Q rover, Hakuto-R performing orbital control maneuvers to reach Lunar Orbital Insertion, followed by Moon touchdown nominally ~4.5 months after launch.

● Jan 18 – May 11 — Wichita State University, 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.

☆ NET Apr — Gilmour Space, Launch Eris, Bowen Orbital Spaceport, Queensland, Australia: Inaugural flight of 23-m / 30,000-kg solid fueled rocket, first Australia domestic orbital launch.

● Apr 14-17 — Space Generation Advisory Council, Colorado Springs CO: Space Generation Fusion Forum.

o Apr 16-21 — Committee on Space Research, Singapore: 5th Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Symposium: Space Science with Small Satellites; supported by Nanyang Technical University and the Office for Space Technology and Industry – Singapore.

TUESDAY

☆ Apr 18 — International Space Station, Expedition 69 Russia EVA #56, ~415-km LEO:  Two Cosmonauts to perform ~6.5-hour spacewalk in Orlan spacesuits; starts 21:00 EDT, live coverage available.

★ Apr 18 — Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), Highly Elliptical HEO: Space telescope for NASA Explorers program, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times larger than that covered by Kepler / K2 mission, reaches 5th full year / enters 6th year in space today; launched April 18, 2018.