Human Occupation at ISS Reaches 21 Years, Complemented by TSS and Future LEO / Lunar Stations
Starting its 22nd year of continuous human occupation on November 2, International Space Station is expected to host 11-member Expedition 66 with the arrival of SpaceX Crew 3. The veteran laboratory (satellite catalog #25544) makes human ongoing presence in space possible while allowing for science research to benefit life on Earth and future deep space missions. Currently 246 people from 19 nations have visited ISS, and 2 human-rated (Soyuz, Crew Dragon) and 4 cargo ships (Progress, HTV, Cargo Dragon, Cygnus) are qualified to dock. Boeing Starliner second uncrewed test should be Q1 2022. Performance of Bigelow BEAM is being monitored through 2028 as similar technologies could be used for XBASE 330 station. Axiom Space is planning Axiom Hub One ~2025. Blue Origin is partnering with Sierra Space and others to develop Orbital Reef station. Voyager, Nanoracks, Lockheed are proposing ‘Starlab’ station ~2027. Russia is considering exiting from ISS (~2030) to operate an autonomous ROSS station. The 3-person Shenzhou-13 crew is constructing the Tiangong Space Station which has an expected life of 15 years; next module (Wentian) is set to launch in May, followed by Mengtian in August. On the horizon are human Moon missions in the 21st Century with NASA Artemis, as China, Russia and India are advancing lunar landing technologies; and International Lunar Gateway ~2024 preparations are still underway. (Image Credits: NASA, CSA-ASC, CMSA, Axiom Space, Bigelow, Boeing, ESA / Pierre Carril, SNC)
MONDAY
Highlights… Nov 1 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Seven-member Expedition 66 to become crew of 11 with Crew 3 hatch opening scheduled 01:50 EDT; German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer set to become be 600th human in space; collecting samples of the cabin air for Cold Atom Lab experiment.
Nov 1 — Tiangong Space Station, ~370-km LEO: Three-member crew conducting experiments and testing equipment, preparing for upcoming EVAs; Shenzhou-13 docked to radial port of Tianhe Core Cabin Module.
Nov 1 —NewSpace: Genesis Engineering working with Paragon Space on Single Person Spacecraft; Verizon partnering with Amazon Project Kuiper on rural connectivity; US$200M funding round pushes valuation of small sat launcher ABL Space Systems to $2.4B.
Nov 1 — Solar System: Non-profit industry group EURO2MOON considers lunar resource extraction parameters; Shijian-21 experimental debris mitigation satellite operating in GTO; Yutu-2 continues traversing Moon surface on lunar day 35.
Nov 1 —Galaxy: First extra-galactic exoplanet candidate located via radio observation of transit in M51; Galaxy cluster 11B LY distant in process of formation observed via Large Binocular Telescope.
Nov 1 — Global: China surpasses national record for orbital launches / year (40) with Kuaizhou-1A; Poland is 13th signatory to Artemis Accords; JAXA to start recruiting Artemis Astronaut class.
Nov 1 — USA: Two Moonships (SLS and Starship) preparing to return USA to Moon; NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green proposes 7 level scale to evaluate extraterrestrial life; Commercial solutions to reduce cost and sustain SLS construction sought in RFI.
Nov 1 — Hawai’i:Subaru astronomers image extremely young (2-5 million years) Jupiter-like exoplanet, Pan-STARRS to receive $15M NASA grant to bolster NEO detection.
International Crew of 6 Begins 8-Month SIRIUS Lunar Analog Mission SIRIUS-20/21 in Moscow
Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station (SIRIUS)-20/21 starts Nov 4, third in series after SIRIUS-17 (17-day duration) and SIRIUS-19 (4-month duration), is designed to simulate launch, orbit, surface operations and Earth return over 8 months from Nazemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks (NEK) facility within Institute of Biomedical Problems at Russian Academy of Sciences. A group of 12 candidates have been preparing since August for final 6-crewmember selection, including 4 from USA: Business Analyst William Brown, Biologist Tetyana Delaney, Entrepreneur Brian Evarts, Ashley Kowalski of Aerospace Corporation; 6 from Russian Federation: Oleg Blinov of Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Orthopedist Vera Bakhtereva, Technical Director Alexei Fedorov, Flight Attendant Yekaterina Karjakina, Surgeon Viktoria Kirichenko, Engineer Yevgeny Prokopyev; 2 UAE candidates: Engineers Abdallah Al Hammadi and Saleh Al Ameri – the first analog participants from that nation. Crewmembers will provide data on mental and physical effects of isolation and confinement while participating in ~ 70 studies including NASA Human Research Program experiments on team training dynamics, resiliency biomarkers, health metric standardization, cultural diversity, and food acceptability. Communications with the world will be limited to an audio link to control center and social emails, as would be the case in an actual lunar assignment. Final crew roster expected to be reported shortly before team enters NEK, not to exit until July 2, 2022. (Image Credits: RAS, MBRSC)
Nov 1 — Mercury: 4.1° NNE of Spica, 16° from Sun in the morning sky, 21:00.
Nov 2 — International Space Station, LEO: Today marks 21 full years / start to 22nd year of continuous Human occupation of ISS; first component Zarya ‘Unity’ launched Nov 20, 1998, occupation began Nov 2, 2000.
Nov 2 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 TS3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU)
Nov 2 — Aten Asteroid 2009 WY7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU)
Nov 2 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 TJ4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU)
WEDNESDAY
Nov 3 — ISS Expedition 66 Change of Command Ceremony, 405-km LEO: ISS Commander Pesquet of ESA hands over ISS command to Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, 07:40 EDT, live coverage available.
Nov 3 — Moon: 5.3° NNE of Spica, 07:00; 1.12° NE of Mercury, 03:00; with Mercury, and Mars within circle of diameter 5.99°, 20:00; 2.13° NE of Mars, 21:00.
Nov 3 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 US1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.005 AU)
Nov 4 – Jun 29 — Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Problems, NASA Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA),Moscow, Russia: Mixed gender crew of 6 to participate in 8-month space / lunar simulation mission SIRIUS-21 (Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station).
Nov 4 — Moon: New Moon, 11:14.
Nov 4 — Amor Asteroid 2021 UD1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.041 AU)
Nov 4 — Aten Asteroid 2005 VL1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.044 AU)
FRIDAY
Nov 5 — American Astronomical Society, US Naval Research Laboratory, NASA, Virginia Tech, Siemens, Praxis, Kratos, Lockheed, MRV Rocketry, Online: Team Applications Due: 2022 Student CanSat Competition; being held June 9-12 at Virginia Tech.
Nov 5 — Moon: At perigee (distance 358,835 km), 12:28.
Nov 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 UU1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.005 AU)
Nov 6 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 KA: Near-Earth Flyby (0.038 AU)
SUNDAY
NET Nov 7 — JAXA, Launch Epsilon / RAISE-2,Uchinoura Space Center, Japan: Japan Epsilon rocket to launch Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite 2 (RAISE-2) technology demonstration satellite with 8 rideshare payloads.
Nov 7 — The Space Show,Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. David Livingston hosts open lines for callers.
Nov 7 — Standard Time (USA): Change clocks back 1 hour from Daylight Saving to Standard Time; does not include Hawai’i, Arizona (except the Navajo Reservation), American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands.
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Nov 1 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Seven-member Expedition 66 to become crew of 11 with Crew 3 hatch opening scheduled 01:50 EDT; German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer set to become be 600th human in space; collecting samples of the cabin air for Cold Atom Lab experiment.
Nov 1 — NewSpace: Genesis Engineering working with Paragon Space on 
Nov 1 — USA: 
= All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
= All times for space events, and…
= All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).
Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station (SIRIUS)-20/21 starts Nov 4, third in series after SIRIUS-17 (17-day duration) and SIRIUS-19 (4-month duration), is designed to simulate launch, orbit, surface operations and Earth return over 8 months from Nazemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks (NEK) facility within Institute of Biomedical Problems at Russian Academy of Sciences. A group of 12 candidates have been preparing since August for final 6-crewmember selection, including 4 from USA: Business Analyst William Brown, Biologist Tetyana Delaney, Entrepreneur Brian Evarts, Ashley Kowalski of Aerospace Corporation; 6 from Russian Federation: Oleg Blinov of Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Orthopedist Vera Bakhtereva, Technical Director Alexei Fedorov, Flight Attendant Yekaterina Karjakina, Surgeon Viktoria Kirichenko, Engineer Yevgeny Prokopyev; 2 UAE candidates: Engineers Abdallah Al Hammadi and Saleh Al Ameri – the first analog participants from that nation. Crewmembers will provide data on mental and physical effects of isolation and confinement while participating in ~ 70 studies including NASA Human Research Program experiments on team training dynamics, resiliency biomarkers, health metric standardization, cultural diversity, and food acceptability. Communications with the world will be limited to an audio link to control center and social emails, as would be the case in an actual lunar assignment. Final crew roster expected to be reported shortly before team enters NEK, not to exit until July 2, 2022. (Image Credits: RAS, MBRSC)
