ISS Expedition 67 Crew Busy with Cargo, Experiments, Launch of Progress 81P on Friday & SpaceX CRS-25
Russia Soyuz 2.1a launch 12:32 Moscow time on June 3 of MS-20 / Progress 81P cargo ship is scheduled to dock at the International Space Station 3 hours 31 mins later for a 186-day mission. Leaving Launch Complex 31 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan with ~2,500 kg of cargo, this will be the 173rd Progress launch. Expedition 67 crew Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, Sergey Korsakov, Kjell Lindgren, Bobb Hines, Samantha Cristoforetti and Jessica Watkins are also set to receive CRS-25 Cargo Dragon on June 10, bringing ships docked to ISS to 7 joining Crew Soyuz MS-21, Crew-4 Dragon, Cygnus NG-17, Progress 79, 80, 81. Alongside Astronaut-led experiments and research, physical / mental exercise and tests, in-flight educational activities, and necessary station maintenance, some of the remote and autonomous payloads include Cold Atom Lab, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3, Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) and Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER). ISS will reach 22 full years of continuous occupation this November, while the new PRC Tiangong Space Station is planned to begin its continuous occupation sequence with the arrival of Shenzhou 14 crew on June 5. As advances for various commercial LEO stations continue, with proposals to make ISS fully commercial ~2028, a successful SLS Artemis 1 launch (hopefully early June) will bring human missions to and beyond the Moon closer to realization. (Image Credits: Roscosmos, NASA, ISS partners)
MONDAY
☆ May 30 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Expedition 67 seven-member crew to welcome Progress 81P, working with investigations including crystal growth, cardio-pulmonary diagnosis, plant growth; EMU water leak postpones further EVAs until resolution.
☆ May 30 — Tiangong Space Station, ~370-km LEO: Arrival of Shenzhou 14 three-member crew expected by this Sunday, will work with 5,000-kg cargo from Tianzhou-4 and configure Wentian and Menting modules.
Highlights…
o NewSpace: Benchmark Space Systems opens UK facility to build chemical propulsion systems for Space Forge in-space manufacturing craft; SpaceX valuation approaches US$127B as leading commercial launch provider raises additional $1.7B; Newspace India Limited secures 2 commercial satellite launch contracts, 1 riding on PSLV-C53.
☆ Solar System: Simulation suggests Jupiter gravity transported 1,000-km wide Ceres into Main Asteroid Belt current orbit; NASA and Sandia National Laboratories designing 3 lunar microgrids to power lunar habitat, mining, resource production.
☆ Galaxy: FAST observations advance understanding of Black Widow Pulsars and Fast Radio Bursts; Analyses of Sagittarius A* in combination with recent EHT image indicate its matter consumption is relatively slow & accretion disk is dim.
o Global: 3D printing process developed by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation may allow construction of resin-based structures in space; Intelsat to hosts 3 additional Africa STEM Space Challenges, having completed 10; UAE 1st Moon mission, 10-kg Rashid rover on track for NET October landing near equator, praised by ESA Head Aschbacher.
●USA: Boeing Starliner, Sierra Space Dream Chaser may eventually launch on ULA Vulcan Centaur as Atlas 5 retires; Blue Origin may partner with CU Boulder to deliver / potentially finance lunar FARSIDE radio astronomy mission; USA commits to inclusion of Japan Astronaut on lunar gateway / surface missions.
● Hawai’i: Waipahu High School receives US$200K for installation of 17-inch telescope and 12.5-foot dome; second UH high-performance computing cluster ‘Koa’ funded with NSF $400K for advanced sciences research including astronomy.
● = 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’).
Southeast Asia Poised to Increase Space Activity with Regional and Global Initiatives
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are home to nearly 9% of world population. With abundant natural and human resources, the combined ASEAN economy is projected to rank 4th in the world by 2050, per International Monetary Fund analysis. Singapore, a growing nexus of space enterprise in SEA, hosts Asia Satellite Business Week Summit June 1-3. Panels will be held on satellite manufacturing, in-space logistics, antennas and ground stations ‘as a service’. Thus far, 6 Southeast Asia countries have established national space efforts: Indonesia (LAPAN), Malaysia (ANGKASA), The Philippines (PSA), Singapore (CRISP), Thailand (GISTDA), and Vietnam (STI). Vietnam and Indonesia have flown Astronauts with Roscosmos – Phạm Tuân in 1980 and Sheikh Shukor in 2007. 12-member Thai Space Consortium including GISTDA and Synchrotron Light Research Institute (SLRI) working on 3-phase with flagship Moon orbiter TSC-2 (NET 2027). Indonesia President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo continues to advocate for Biak Island, Papua launch site investment while in talks with SpaceX. Widodo recently toured Starbase May 14 with CEO Elon Musk, who is planning an Indonesia visit this year. Southeast Asia may benefit from regional partnerships modeled on Europe (similar in population) astronautical and astronomical federations such as ESA / ESO – a Southeast Asia Space Agency (SEASA) and Asia Astronomy Organization (AAO) would advance and magnify individual efforts many-fold. (Image Credits: LAPAN, ANGKASA, CRISP, GISTDA, STI, Wikipedia Commons, Twitter)
☆ May 30 — Moon: New Moon, 01:31; 7.0° N of Aldebaran, 03:00.
☆ May 30 — Aten Asteroid 2021 KO2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.007 AU)
☆ May 30 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 HT2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.030 AU)
☆ May 30 — Amor Asteroid 2022 HG4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.096 AU)
Continued From… o Nov 4 – Jun 29 — Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Problems, NASA Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), Moscow, Russia: Mixed gender, international crew of 6 participating in 8-month space / lunar simulation mission SIRIUS-21 (Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station).
TUESDAY
●May 31 — Federal Aviation Administration, SpaceX, Online / Washington DC:Programmatic Environmental Assessment; FAA decision on Starship Super Heavy Project at Boca Chica Launch Site (SN20 orbital launch to Kauai) to be released on this date.
☆ May 31 — Aten Asteroid 2001 CQ36: Near-Earth Flyby (0.067 AU)
WEDNESDAY
★ Jun 1 — Parker Solar Probe, Heliocentric Orbit: Spacecraft reaches 12th perihelion today.
● Jun 1 — NASA,Online / Washington DC: NASA will announce the company or companies selected to move forward in developing the next generation of spacesuits for Artemis Moon missions and ISS; 14:00 EDT, live coverage available.
☆ Jun 2 — Moon: 5.6° S of Castor, 15:00; 2.09° S of Pollux, 20:00.
☆ Jun 2 — Amor Asteroid 2022 JH2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.091 AU)
FRIDAY
☆ Jun 3 — Roscosmos, Launch Soyuz 2.1a / MS-20 (Progress 81P), Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Scheduled launch of Soyuz for 81st Progress cargo delivery ship to ISS; launch scheduled at 05:32 EDT with ISS docking at 09:03, live coverage available.
●Jun 3 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: Comments on 50 high level Moon to Mars Objectives by U.S. industry, academia, international communities, and other stakeholders sought by NASA; due 17:00 EDT.
☆ Jun 4 — Moon: 3.8° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 01:00.
SUNDAY
☆ Jun 5 — CNSA, Launch Long March 2F / Shenzhou 14, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China: Next crew to launch to Tiangong Space Station, work aboard for 6 months.
☆ Jun 5 — Moon: 4.7° NNE of Regulus, 22:00.
☆ Jun 5 — Jupiter: with Neptune at heliocentric conjunction, 18:00.
☆ Jun 5 — Amor Asteroid 2022 KN: Near-Earth Flyby (0.053 AU)
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