NASA Moon Rocket Artemis 1 and ispace Lunar Lander Prepare for Launch as Capstone and Danuri Near Orbit
Artemis 1 (SLS rocket + Orion crew capsule) is on Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida undergoing final checks including flight termination system readiness ahead of November 14 launch window opening 00:07 EST (Nov 13 @ 19:07 HST), with backups Nov 16 at 1:04 and Nov 19 at 1:45. The first of a series of missions to reestablish human activity on the Moon, culminating in sustained surface and cislunar outposts from which to explore deep into the Solar System, Artemis 1 is to travel over 2,000,000 km over the nominal 25.5-day mission. Orion is to perform a 100-km lunar flyby before settling into a distant (70,000 km) retrograde orbit and returning to Earth with a scorching 2,760°C atmospheric reentry at 11 km/s. Also at KSC awaiting launch opportunity NET Nov 22, ispace Mission 1 lunar lander is to depart LC-39A for a 3-4 month ballistic lunar transfer, landing within Lacus Somniorum carrying payloads from UAE (Rashid rover), Canada (Mission Control AI flight computer, Canadensys 360° cameras) and Japan (NGK solid state battery, JAXA spheroid rover). NASA Lunar Flashlight water-seeking orbiter is also ridesharing on the same SpaceX Falcon 9 launch. Meanwhile, NASA STMD / Advanced Space Capstone orbiter to perform 2 additional trajectory correction maneuvers despite 1 of 8 thrusters remaining stuck open, before lunar DRHO insertion on Nov 13. KARI Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter ‘Danuri’, also following low energy path to Moon, set to arrive Dec 17. (Image Credits: KARI, ispace, NASA)
MONDAY
☆ Nov 7 — ISS,~415-km LEO: Expedition 68 seven-member crew expecting to work with Cygnus NG-18 SS Sally Ride and its 3,700 kg of cargo; Commander Prokopyev and Cosmonaut Petelin training in Orlan spacesuits for upcoming EVA.
☆ Nov 7 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Newly-arrived Mengtian module to unfurl its 55-meter long solar panels while docked to Tianhe forward port; Shenzhou 14 three-member crew prepare for Tianzhou-5 cargo ship.
Highlights…
o NewSpace: Terran Orbital receiving US$100M investment from Lockheed Martin, plans satellite production facility in Irvine CA; Hyperspectral imaging startup Wyvern of Edmonton, Canada raises $7M in funding to build deployable telescope for CubeSats; Spire Global to build sensors for high-frequency radio measurement from within ionosphere under DARPA contract.
☆ Solar System: Survey utilizing Dark Energy Camera on Blanco 4-m telescope in Chile identifies ~1.5-km wide asteroid 2022 AP7 which crosses orbit of Earth; Jeffrey Gordon (Ben-Gurion Univ) proposes ring of PV panels at 87° S to provide continuous solar power on Moon; JPL clear to proceed with Psyche mission following independent review, its target is speculated to contain metals worth more than global GDP.
☆ Galaxy: Chandra X-ray Observatory study of binary systems with a Hot Jupiter-class exoplanet documents tidal effect accelerating spin, making star appear ‘younger’; Researchers at Blue Marble Space / GSFC propose Fermi Paradox solution: galactic civilizations would prefer to inhabit K and M-dwarf systems over G-dwarf systems like Solar System due to longevity.
o Global: ALMA staff in Chile working to restore operations after observations suspended due to computer hack; Saudi Astronauts undergoing training for Ax-2 private mission to ISS NET May 2023; New Zealand working to become 2nd country to achieve certification by International Dark-Sky Association as dark sky nation.
●USA: Artemis 4 to include 2-astronaut lunar surface landing via ‘Option B’ version of Starship lander NET 2027; NASA seeking industry feedback on proposed Lunar Terrain Vehicle contract (LTV to operate on Moon surface NET 2028); Government Accountability Office urges FCC to revisit environmental review rules for satellite constellations.
Moon Village Association and National Space Society Partner for November Annual Meetings in Los Angeles
Moon Village Association and National Space Society are holding 6th Global Moon Village Workshop & Symposium (November 8-10) and 7th Space Settlement Summit (Nov 10-11), sharing Los Angeles Sheraton Gateway Hotel. The 2022 MVA conference will be electrified by Artemis 1 on the launch pad, and its role in inaugurating International Moon Day every July 20. Some of the 9 featured speakers are Giuseppe Reibaldi, John Mankins, Michelle Hanlon, Madhu Thangavelu, and Yoshifumi Inatani. There will be 4 plenaries, 2 break-out sessions, 2 evening receptions, and a banquet luncheon including announcements. MVA Lunar Commerce and Economics Working Group is launching a model of its 2-year project ‘Lunar Commerce Portfolio’ Nov 9 being “the definitive authority source for lunar commerce opportunities”. The following day, NSS will open the 7th Space Settlement Summit, an invitation-only event “to identify critical issues that need to be resolved along the path to space settlement”. There will be 5 Sessions: Biosphere II with moderator Anita Gale, Lunar Settlement with John Mankins, Military Space with Peter Garretson, Space Finance moderated with Scott Livingston, and Ames Summer Study Retrospective with Mark Hopkins. The NSS Dare to Dream Gala – Celebrating the New Space Age will be Nov 11. Apollo 11 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin will be among those speaking at the dinner, which will fund programs for STEM / space opportunities. (Image Credits: MVA, NSS, NASA, Don Davis, SPC, ILOA Hawai’i)
o Nov 7-11 — Australian Space Agency, Deloitte, Explor, Government of New South Wales, University of Technology Sydney, et al, Hybrid / Sydney, Australia and Online: 4th Annual International Humans in Space Summit 2022; discussing women in space, lunar biology, human spaceflight, space tech, governance, more.
o Nov 7-13 — Royal Astronomical Society, University of Edinburgh School of Geosciences,Edinburgh & Stirlingshire, United Kingdom: Forming and Exploring Habitable Worlds.
☆ Nov 7 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 US6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.024 AU)
Continued From…
★ Jun 28 – Nov 13 — CAPSTONE, Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit Trajectory: Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment heading to operating position at NRHO / cislunar space.
☆ Aug 4 – Dec 16 — Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), Lunar Trajectory: South Korea ‘Danuri’ to search for lunar resources & test technologies; performing 3 highly elliptical Earth orbits to initiate a trans-lunar injection and arrive at 100-km lunar orbit.
o Aug 8 – Nov 11 — IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, NAOJ, NARIT, Online / Global: NameExoWorlds 2022; naming the first exoplanet targets of James Webb Space Telescope.
☆ Nov 8 — ISS, Cygnus NG-18 Rendezvous and Capture,~405-km LEO: Arrival of NG-18 dubbed “SS Sally Ride” to ISS, capture scheduled 05:50 EST, live coverage available.
★ Nov 8 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Galaxy 31 & 32, SLC-40,Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Falcon 9 rocket to launch Galaxy 31 and Galaxy 32 commercial communications satellites for Intelsat (built by Maxar Technologies).
o Nov 8-10 — Saudi Space Commission, Communications & Information Technology Commission, International Telecommunication Union of Saudi Arabia, Hybrid / Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Online: Connecting the World from the Stars.
☆ Nov 8 — Total Lunar Eclipse: Second total lunar eclipse of 2022, will be visible from Asia, Australia, North America, parts of northern and eastern Europe, and most of South America; full eclipse begins 00:16:39 HST, maximum 00:59:11, ends 01:41:36.
☆ Nov 8 — Moon: Full Beaver Moon, 01:02; 0.72° N of Uranus, 03:00.
☆ Nov 8 — Mercury: At superior conjunction with Sun, 06:00.
☆ Nov 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 WD: Near-Earth Flyby (0.007 AU)
☆ Nov 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 UC5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.015 AU)
☆ Nov 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 UK5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU)
● Nov 9 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: Media teleconference on science and technology headed to ISS on SpaceX 26th commercial resupply mission; 13:00 EST.
o Nov 9 — British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom and Online:The Art of NASA; with Piers Bizony.
● Nov 9 — Rocket Lab, Online / Long Beach CA:Q3 financial results to be announced via conference call and live webcast; 16:30 EST.
● Nov 9 — Terran Orbital, Online / Boca Raton FL:Q3 financial results to be announced via conference call and live webcast; 11:00 EST.
☆ Nov 11 — Moon: 2.48° N of Mars, 04:00; 3.1° N of M35 cluster, 19:00.
☆ Nov 11 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 UV14: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)
☆ Nov 11 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 VX22: Near-Earth Flyby (0.095 AU)
☆ Nov 11 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 JH: Near-Earth Flyby (0.099 AU)
SATURDAY
☆ Nov 12 — CNSA, Launch Long March 7 / Tianzhou 5, Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): Next cargo ship to launch to Tiangong Space Station in LEO, supplying Shenzhou 14 Taikonauts; will also carry multiple secondary satellite payloads to orbit.
o Nov 12 — National Space Foundation, NOIRLab, Girl Scouts of the USA, Waimea HI: Girl Scouts of Hawaiʻi STEM Fest; at Fairmont Orchid.
☆ Nov 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 FC4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU)
☆ Nov 12 — Amor Asteroid 2018 VS4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.054 AU)
☆ Nov 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 VU12: Near-Earth Flyby (0.070 AU)
● Nov 13 — NASA,Online / Kennedy Space Center FL: Cryogenic fueling of Space Launch System rocket for launch on Artemis 1 mission, live coverage, 14:30 EST – nominal launch set for 9 hours in 37 hours.
o Nov 13-14 — Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organisation (APSCO), Islamabad, Pakistan: APSCO Leadership Development Forum; to feature Peter Martinez of Secure World Foundation.
☆ Nov 13 — Moon: 5.2° S of Castor, 09:00; 1.76° S of Pollux, 15:00; at apogee (distance 404,949 km), 21:00.
☆ Nov 13 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 BS: Near-Earth Flyby (0.070 AU)
☆ Nov 13 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 UJ10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.078 AU)
☆ Nov 13 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 UF13: Near-Earth Flyby (0.084 AU)
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