73rd International Astronautical Congress Convenes >6,500 in Paris, France for Global / Inter-Global Influence
The 73rd IAC is being held September 18-22 with theme Space for @ll, receiving 4,800 abstracts from 97 countries. Supported by IAF, CNES, IISL, IIA and SGAC, the IAC will see >6,500 delegates, 250 exhibitors, 6 associated events, multiple workshops, and 1 public day, while committing to the ‘first environmentally sustainable IAC’. Technical, Special and GNF Sessions occur on Monday (Industry Day), Tuesday (Diversity Day), Wednesday (Science & Academic Day), and Thursday – which will also feature IAF General Assembly, late breaking news, and closing ceremony. Interactive Presentations are given 3 sessions and an award ceremony. Public Day on Sep 21 includes Astronauts Claudie Haigneré, Jean-Pierre Haigneré, Jean-François Clervoy, Thomas Pesquet, and Mattias Maurer. IAF World Space Award, recognizing achievements of Tianwen-1, is highlighted in a lecture by China Academy of Space Technology VP Jilian Wang, moderated by Pascale Ehrenfreund. IAC allows for significant impact on the global astronautic community – much of which is focusing on the Moon / cislunar space. NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy will talk on ‘Moon to Mars Objectives’. Steve Durst of ILOA Hawai’i will update its 5 Moon Missions and Malapert Mountain. Moon Village Association and Giuseppe Reibaldi will lead a number of discussions. There will also be a Plenary Sep 22 on ‘Protecting the Moon Farside for Scientific Research is Urgent’ organized by Claudio Maccone (IAA), Jack Burns (Univ. of CO) and Bernard Foing (ILEWG). (Image Credits: IAF, CNES, IISL, IIA, SGAC, ESA, NASA, ILOA, MVA, et al)
MONDAY
☆ Sep 19 — ISS,~415-km LEO: Expedition 67 seven-member crew plan to welcome 3 additional members mid-week, working with grip experiments, liquid dynamics, smallsat deployments, 3rd roots harvest study.
☆ Sep 19 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 14 three-member crew now >50% through 6-month mission preparing for 2nd EVA for 2-module integration and upgrades.
Highlights…
o NewSpace: Astrobotic to acquire assets of Masten Space Systems with US$4.5M deal, hire David Masten as Chief Engineer – launch of Peregrine may slip to 2023; Intutive Machines announces IM-1 launch NET Jan / Q1 2023, to become publicly listed company; Vast of El Segundo plans 100-meter commercial space station with artificial (centrifugal) gravity.
☆ Solar System: Caltech-led study of ‘Ayló’chaxnim (Venus girl) calls for investigation of possible new class of asteroids between Venus & Sun; ULA CEO Tory Bruno calling for establishment of Strategic Propellant Reserve on Moon, projected to support 100 humans by 2030; Evidence of organic molecules among 12 samples collected by Perseverance rover on Mars being analyzed by JPL.
☆ Galaxy: Successful wide FOV (18.6°×18.6°) imaging of MWGC, Large Magellanic Cloud by Einstein Probe (EP) precursor advances CAS / ESA X-ray telescope mission, expected to launch NET 2023; Cambridge Astrophysicist Martin Rees suggests SETI efforts focus on electronic / artificial life, reevaluate Drake Equation.
o Global: Apple to offer SOS services utilizing Globalstar communication satellites, Huawei to interface with BeiDou constellation, T-Mobile partnering with Starlink; International Dark Sky Reserve designation driving 300% tourism increase as Aoraki / Mount Cook and Mackenzie Basin on South Island, NZ draw stargazers.
●USA: Axiom to develop and build Moonwalking Spacesuits for use during Artemis 3 and subsequent missions under $228.5M NASA contract; Sierra Space and Rocket Lab join Blue Origin and SpaceX in considering USAF Rocket Cargo program participation; Firefly to provide 500-1000 kg launch services under $300M NASA Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare contract.
Mixed Crew of Roscosmos Cosmonauts and NASA Astronaut Launch to International Space Station
Soyuz MS-22 is set to launch September 21 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, ferrying 3 Expedition 67 / 68 members to the ISS: NASA Astronaut Francisco ‘Frank’ Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin. MS-22 will be the first spaceflight for Rubio and Petelin; Prokopyev has logged 1 stay on ISS during Expedition 56/57. The upcoming mission will be the first conducted under a seat exchange program for “integrated crews” formalized between NASA and Roscosmos on July 15, the same day Yuriy Borisov assumed leadership of the Russian space agency – team training has been conducted at the Star City training facility near Moscow. The MS-22 crew will join 7 current ISS occupants from USA, Russia and Italy, while 3 Taikonauts continue to work and live on Tiangong Space Station (with ~25-km altitude, ~10° orbital inclination differential relative to ISS), bringing total humans in space to 13. Expedition 67 ends / 68 commences with the undocking and departure of Soyuz MS-21 with Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov scheduled for Sep 29. The first Cosmonaut to fly under the seat exchange agreement will be Anna Kikina, riding on a SpaceX Crew Dragon with JAXA Astronaut Koichi Wakata and NASA Astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada as a member of Crew-5, launching October 3. (Image Credits: Donald Pettit, NASA, Roscosmos)
★ Sep 19 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink 4-35, LC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Falcon 9 rocket to launch next batch of Starlink internet satellites.
★ Sep 19 — Firefly Aerospace, Launch Alpha / Multi-payload, SLC-2W, Vandenberg SFB CA: Firefly Alpha rocket to attempt second test flight with a rideshare payload / multiple small satellites, 12:00-02:00 PDT.
★ 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 Sep 20-22 — International Astronautical Federation, China Global Television Network (CGTN),Paris, France and Broadcast:IAF-CGTN TV Broadcast Session: Space Exploration for a Shared Future; featuring Xu Yansong (CNSA), Wang Xiaojun (CALT), Fan Zhang (Beijing Normal University), and representatives from ESA, ISU, Azerbaijan, Space Foundation, Voyager Space.
WEDNESDAY
★ Sep 21 — MAVEN, Mars Orbit: NASA Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft reaches 8 full years / enters 9th year of operations in Mars orbit after insertion on this day 2014; continuing to study upper atmosphere.
☆ Sep 21 — Roscosmos, Soyuz MS-22 Launch / ISS 68S, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Scheduled launch of Soyuz MS-22 with Expedition 67-68 crew Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitriy Petelin, and Frank Rubio.
o Sep 21 — International Space University, International Astronautical Federation, Paris, France: IAF Science and Academic Day; celebrating the role of Science and Academia in the global space effort.
☆ Sep 21 — Moon: 3.8° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 03:00.
☆ Sep 22—September Equinox: The Sun rises exactly in east traveling through sky for 12 hours, sets exactly in west; every place on Earth experiences a ~12-hour day; 15:06.
☆ Sep 22 — Moon: 4.5° NNE of Regulus and 2.47° NE of Venus, 23:00.
☆ Sep 22 — Mercury: At inferior conjunction with Sun, 0.651 AU from Earth, 21:00.
☆ Sep 22 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 QH8: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)
FRIDAY
o Sep 23 — Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, European Centre for Space Law, Belgian Science Policy Office, Brussels, Belgium:High-Level EU Space Governance Workshop; featuring Peter Martinez in a panel discussion on Space Sustainability.
☆ Sep 23 — Apollo Asteroid 2010 RF12: Near-Earth Flyby (0.068 AU)
SATURDAY
☆ Sep 24 — Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), Mars Orbit: India ISRO orbiter reaches 8 full years / enters 9th year of operations in Mars orbit; launched Nov 5, 2013.
★ Sep 24 — ULA, Launch Delta 4-Heavy / NROL-91, SLC-6, Vandenberg SFB CA: United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket to launch classified payload for National Reconnaissance Office.
SUNDAY
● Sep 25 — Hawaii Hui, Blue Planet Foundation, Aero Hawaii, Nalu Scientific, et al, Honolulu HI: Hawai’i Geek Meet; outdoor, family-friendly summer STEM festival at ʻĀina Moana (Magic Island).
● Sep 25 — The Space Show,Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. David Livingston talks with Leonard David.
☆ Sep 25 — Moon: 5.9° NNE of Mercury, 04:00; New Moon, 11:53.
☆ Sep 25 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 RM: Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU)
☆ Sep 25 — Apollo Asteroid 1999 SH10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.089 AU)
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