ISRO Lauching 36 OneWeb Satellites, CNSA to Complete Tiangong Space Station with Launch of Mengtian Module
ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark 3, truncated to LVM3 for its first LEO and commercial launch, is to loft a batch of OneWeb communications satellites to a 1,200-km polar orbit with 86.4° inclination at 00:07 IST on 23 October from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (13.72°N) on Sriharikota Island. With payload mass of 150-kg per unit, the ~5,400 kg total will be the heaviest load GSLV has carried to date. The Ku band (12-18 GHz) OneWeb internet constellation is to number 422 after Sunday’s launch, and 648 when completed via a combination of SpaceX Falcon 9 and LVM3 contracted flights in 2022-2023 timeframe. On 31 October, CNSA is to launch Mengtian laboratory cabin module from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center (19.6°N) on Hainan Island on Long March 5 rocket. The 4.2-m diameter, 17.9-m long module with 20,000-kg mass will initially dock with Tianhe core module forward port before being moved via robotic arm to the port side, completing the T-shaped station along with Wentian starboard. TSS, a permanently occupied space station, is the 3rd phase of the China Manned Space Program. Tianzhou-5 cargo ship is to resupply the station with launch in November, followed by Shenzhou-15 3-member crewed mission, which will be greeted by Shenzhou-14 taikonauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe. The crews will overlap for a 10-day period. (Image Credits: ISRO, CNSA, OneWeb, Airbus)
MONDAY
☆ Oct 24 — ISS,~415-km LEO: Expedition 68 seven-member crew with Sergey Prokopyev as Commander to facilitate Progress 82P spacecraft / cargo arrival; working with cerebral auto-regulation, ISS Ham, Plant Habitat R&R, Veggie Light and XROOTS experiments.
☆ Oct 24 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 14 three-member crew prepare for Mengtian module rendezvous and automated docking with Tianhe core module – bring TSS total mass to ~100,000 kg.
Highlights…
o NewSpace: Polaris Dawn SpaceX 3-mission series now set for NET March 2023, first mission to attempt spacewalk at 700-km altitude, gather data on Van Allen belt radiation; Relativity Space to expand site within Stennis Space Center by 150 acres to test Terran R rocket / Aeon R engine; Stoke Space preparing for reusable upper stage hop test at Moses Lake WA facility.
☆ Solar System: Curiosity Mars rover surveying sulfate-rich region on Mount Sharp thought to be former site of body of water; Juno team analyzing data taken by microwave radiometer during recent flyby of Europa which may reveal liquid water under icy shell.
o Global: NASA / partner country Astronauts clear to proceed with ISS EVA schedule following investigation and mitigation of abnormal condensation within Matthias Maurer’s helmet during EVA 248; JAXA Epsilon-6 rocket first failure analysis ongoing as attitude control system anomaly identified.
●USA: National Space Society to open a new office at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex; Space Center Houston to build Lunar Mars Immersive Experience and Learning Center, opening NET Q4 2024; NSF opting to replace Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico with educational center.
● Hawai’i: Gamma Ray Burst 2,000,000,000 LY distant from Earth is most powerful ever observed, being monitored by Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (China), Swift Observatory (LEO), Gemini (Hawaii, Chile); Austin Peay State University share experiences working remotely with NASA Infrared telescope on Mauna Kea over 5-night survey.
● = Terrestrial events, and…
o = International terrestrial events in local time.
★ = Space events, and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).
AIAA 3rd ASCEND and AAS 15th Wernher von Braun Symposium Gather Aero, Astro, Artemis Experts
AIAA Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery (ASCEND) will convene in Las Vegas NV and online October 24-26, with support from Lockheed Martin, Boeing, JPL, Northrop Grumman and ULA. Major emphasis is on cislunar, asteroids, climate change, commerce, international & national security, and nuclear power. Pam Melroy Opening Keynote “Going Back to the Moon by Design” will be followed by “Partnering for Innovation in Cislunar Exploration” session moderated by Ellen Ochoa. Speaking during “Progress on Commercial Lunar Payload Services” are Regina Blue (JSC), Alan Campbell (Draper), Shea Ferring (Firefly Aerospace), Dan Hendrickson (Astrobotic), and Peter McGrath (Intuitive Machines). Fireside Chat “Astrophysics and the Space Industry” with Therese Jones (Satellite Industry Association), Caroline Juang (Columbia) and Emma Louden (Space to Sparkle) will highlight opportunities for astrophysics to catalyze NewSpace developments. Also joining are representatives from ISRO, JAXA, CSA-ASC, DLR, CNES, as well as the Diverse Dozen (D12) from France, Italy, Germany, Pakistan, Japan, India, Malaysia, Australia, UK and USA. American Astronautical Society 15th Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium “Space at the Table: Collaboration, Cooperation, and Inclusion” will be in Huntsville AL Oct 26-28 and opened by AAS President Alan DeLuna. About 60 speakers will cover topics: space policy, Artemis / sustained lunar human presence, nuclear propulsion, commercial LEO, STEM-STEAM and future workforce. The Student Poster Competition Oct 27 will result in winner participation at IAC 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Image Credits: AIAA, AAS, UAH, LM, et al)
★ Oct 24 — Mars Odyssey, Mars Orbit: NASA spacecraft reaches 21 full years / begins 22nd year in orbit around Mars today, holds record for longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth; launched 2001.
● Oct 24-26 — Innovate Hawaii, Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), Dept of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT),Honolulu HI:Pacific Tech Conference; at Hawai’i Convention Center.
☆ Oct 24 — Moon: 0.39° NE of Mercury, 07:00; 3.8° NNE of Spica, 12:00.
☆ Oct 24 — Apollo Asteroid 2005 AZ28: Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 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 using Ballistic Lunar Transfer, 3 highly elliptical Earth orbits to initiate a trans-lunar injection and arrive at 100-km lunar orbit.
o Aug 8 – Nov 11 — IAU, NAOJ, NARIT, Online / Global: NameExoWorlds 2022.
o Oct 17-26 — National Space Foundation, NOIRLab, International Dark-Sky Association, AURA, Online / Global: Globe at Night October Campaign; to raise awareness of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure & submit night sky brightness observations (goal 20,000 data points for 2022, 12,826 so far).
o Oct 25 — Andy Thomas Space Foundation, Australian Space Agency, South Australian Space Industry Centre, SmartSat CRC, Adelaide, Australia: 14th Australian Space Forum.
☆Oct 26 — Roscosmos, Launch Soyuz / Progress MS-21 (82P),Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Soyuz-2.1a to launch 82nd Progress cargo delivery ship to International Space Station; will be 174th flight of a Progress spacecraft.
☆ Oct 26 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 SL49: Near-Earth Flyby (0.091 AU)
☆ Oct 26 — Amor Asteroid 2017 UJ5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.091 AU)
☆ Oct 26 — Amor Asteroid 2018 UX1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.098 AU)
THURSDAY
☆Oct 27 — ISS, Progress MS-21 (82P) Rendezvous and Docking,~425-km LEO: Progress 82P on a ~200-day mission set to dock with ISS, live coverage available, 22:51 EDT.
● Oct 27 — Space Satellite Professionals International / Women in Space Engagement,Online: SSPI-WISE 2022 Meeting.
☆ Oct 27 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 AN5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.051 AU)
☆ Oct 27 — Amor Asteroid 2015 UR51: Near-Earth Flyby (0.085 AU)
FRIDAY
★ NET Oct 28 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon Heavy / USSF-44,LC-39A,KSC FL: Falcon Heavy 4th launch to carry classified satellite and TETRA-1 microsat technology demonstration to GEO under USSF Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) Other Transaction Authority contract.
● Oct 28-29 — Earthlight Foundation, Space Frontier Foundation, Foundation for the Future,Austin TX: New Worlds 2022 Conference; including Space Cowboy Ball, and SpaceFund Sharks in Space Business Plan Competition.
☆ Oct 28 — Aten Asteroid 2016 RZ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.056 AU)
☆ Oct 28 — Apollo Asteroid 2011 TC4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.067 AU)
SATURDAY
☆ Oct 29 — Moon: At perigee (distance 368,274 km), 04:27.
☆ Oct 29 — Aten Asteroid 2004 UT1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.010 AU)
☆ Oct 29 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 SM1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.054 AU)
SUNDAY
☆ Oct 30 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Growing Plants Together with Astronauts; student observation period of arabidopsis / rice growing in life ecology experiment cabinet of TSS closes today.
o Oct 30 — Standard Time (Europe): Change clocks back 1 hour, from Summer Time to Standard Time.
☆ Oct 30 — Mars: 6.7° W of M35 cluster, 09:00.
☆ Oct 30 — Apollo Asteroid 186822 (2004 FE31): Near-Earth Flyby (0.075 AU)
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