Russia to Launch 6-Port Prichal Module to Nauka / ISS via Soyuz November 24

Nauka, the first major expansion of Russia ISS segment in over 20 years, is set to receive 4,650-kg Prichal (berth) module planned to launch via Progress M-UM vehicle aboard Soyuz-2.1b from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan Nov 24. About the same time as the launch, ISS Expedition 66 crew will help oversee Progress MS-17 / 78P undocking from Nauka nadir port for Earth atmosphere reentry disintegration, which will take with it the adapter from nadir, allowing for Prichal to rendezvous and dock with the wider passageway Nov 26. The sphere-shaped Prichal has an internal volume of 14 m³ and six hybrid docking ports (1 attached to ISS) – bringing the total number of available docking ports on Russian Orbital Segment to 8. Nauka and Prichal show significant investment at ISS: not only monetarily from Russia, but decades of planning, European Robotic Arm contribution, ISS partners’ cooperation, and time / energy required for 10 additional EVAs to fully outfit and commission the modules. The ~20,000-kg Nauka planned lifetime is >10 years, pushing Russia LEO presence through 2031 – when human Moon missions should be a reality for nations / independents — and thus far, Roscosmos is committed to ISS through 2027-28, while exploring options for possible new-generation LEO outposts. The 2022-23 movie ‘The Challenge’ will feature views inside Nauka after the ~12-day filming visit in October. (Image Credits: NASA, Roscosmos, ESA)

MONDAY

Nov 22 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Seven-member Expedition 66 reviewing procedures for EVA next week, working with body heat measurements, Plant Habitat-04 cultivation preparation; teams continue space debris and Zvezda air leak monitoring.

Nov 22 — Tiangong Space Station, ~370-km LEO: Three-member crew working to transfer cargo from Shenzhou-13, Tianzhou-2, Tianzhou-3; station being planned to host 20 experimental racks within enclosed, pressurized environment.

First Asteroid Redirect Planetary Protection Mission, DART, Set to Launch from Earth

NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office and researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory hope to validate kinetic impactor model of asteroid trajectory deflection with Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). Lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base California SLC-4E on 23 November at 22:20 PST via SpaceX Falcon 9, the 500-kg DART with 6U secondary craft LICIACube (Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids) is planned to rendezvous with binary asteroid pair 65803 Didymos on 2 October 2022, ~11 million km distant from Earth (0.073 AU). DART is powered by advanced ion propulsion (NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster – Commercial) paired with solar arrays measuring 22 m², deployed with ROSA system, similar to ISS. Main craft houses tracking sensors and Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) and is designed to be destroyed upon 23,760 KPH collision with 160-m Dimorphos (tidally locked moonlet in ~1 km retrograde orbit around 780-m Didymos A). Prior to impact, DART will characterize the asteroid system and transmit imagery until destruction – the fallout of which will be recorded by LICIACube, provided by Italian Space Agency. The collision is anticipated to produce minimal change in velocity (<1%), but over millions of kilometers, trajectory should be significantly altered. ESA plans complimentary mission HERA launching NET 2024 via Ariane 6, in which 2 additional 6U CubeSats (Juventas / Milani) are to analyze orbital changes. (Image Credits: NASA, ESA)

Nov 22 —

Nov 22 — Apollo Asteroid 3361: Near-Earth Flyby (0.039 AU)

Continued From…

Nov 4 – Jun 29 — Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Problems, NASA Human Exploration Research Analog, Moscow, Russia: Mixed gender crew of 6 participate in space / lunar simulation mission SIRIUS-21 (Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station).

NET Nov 19 — Astra, Launch Rocket 3 LV0007 / STP-27AD2, Pacific Spaceport Complex, Kodiak AK: Commercial launch vehicle carrying second of three USSF test payloads.

TUESDAY

Nov 23 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB CA: NASA, JHU/APL mission to launch to Didymos binary asteroids & arrive 2022; will consist of lander, orbiters, CubeSats, and impactor; 22:20 PST / 19:20 HST.

Nov 23-24 — Space Science Centre (ANGKASA), Institute of Climate Change of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), IEEE, Selangor, Malaysia: 7th International Conference on Space Science and Communication (IconSpace2021).

Nov 23 — Moon: 6.1° S of Castor, 13:00; 2.54° S of Pollux, 18:00.

Nov 23 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 VL16: Near-Earth Flyby (0.037 AU)

WEDNESDAY

Nov 24 — Roscosmos, Launch Soyuz / Progress M-UM / Prichal, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Russia Soyuz to launch Prichal module to ISS; also known as Uzlovoy Module (Nodal Module Berth), Prichal is to dock with Nauka and used as a docking port for Russia vehicles.