Russia Launching Compact Advanced Satellite (CAS500-1) Along With Numerous International Commercial Payloads

Primary Korea Aerospace Research Institute payload CAS500-1 is sharing a ride to SSO (497.8km) with spacecraft from 17 nations aboard Soyuz-2.1a utilizing Fregat upper stage March 20 from Baikonur Cosmodrome. CAS500-1 contains a state-of-the-art Earth imaging sensor capable of resolving 0.5m (panchromatic) / 2m (color). This rideshare is slated to be the first commercial mission organized by GK Launch Services, a partnership between Glavkosmos (subsidiary of Roscosmos) and International Space Company Kosmotras. Notable secondary payloads include Astroscale of Japan End-Of-Life-Service (ELSA-d) debris mitigation technology In-Orbit Demonstration. ELSA-d will showcase decommissioning technique involving 180kg “Chaser” and 20kg “Target” (developed by SSTL) which are to perform maneuvers validating magnetic capture / docking, controlled from National In-orbit Servicing Control Center Facility in the UK. Also from Japan, Axelspace is sending 4 additions to its constellation: GRUS-1B, 1C, 1D, 1E are <100 kg smallsats with 57-km imaging swath with 1.4 day observation frequency in most inhabited latitudes. Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre is sending pollution monitor DMSAT-1. Gauss of Italy will test cubesat injection with Unisat-7. The first indigenously developed satellite from Tunisia, a constellation precursor, will coincide with the nation’s 65th Independence Day. IAF contest winner Kenya National Park wildlife monitoring 1U SIMBA cubesat is also riding along, as are craft from Saudi Arabia, Israel, Thailand, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, Argentina, Hungary, Spain and Slovakia. (Image Credits: Glavkosmos, Roscosmos, Astroscale, Axelspace, RSC Energia, KARI, GK Launch Services)

MONDAY

Mar 15-17 — NASA Astrophysics Advisory Committee, Online / Washington DC: Astrophysics Advisory Committee Meeting; 11:00-17:00 EDT.

American Space Advocacy Meetings Start Next Week with LPSC 52

Seven upcoming events online highlight various space development themes being advanced by venerable space organizations. 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference on March 15-19 by LPI, NASA, USRA and JSC will be chaired by (L) Lisa Gaddis and Eileen Stansbery and feature nearly 3,000 accepted abstracts for live & recorded oral and poster presentations. AIAA is hosting 2021 Congressional Visits Day to raise awareness of the long-term value that science, engineering and technology bring to America on Mar 15-19, and co-hosting with Lockheed Martin the AscendxSummit: Accelerating the Next-Generation Workforce on Mar 16 with two webinars and an interactive workshop. Secure World Foundation webinar on ‘Security and Stability of Space: What You Need to Know’ features representatives from UN, UK and Victoria Samson of SWF. The 3-day ‘NASA and the Rise of Commercial Space Symposium’ is being held Mar 17-19 by MSFC History Office and Univ. of AL Huntsville. Some of the 26 speakers are Scott Pace, Pete Worden, Eric Berger, Brian Odom and Amy Kaminski. Global Alliance for International Space Collaboration Inaugural Congress on Mar 18-19 is supported by Space Renaissance International, NSS, SSPI and NASA. The 6 sessions will have talks by Madhu Thangavelu, Michelle Hanlon, Juan De Dalmau, Peter Martinez, Bernard Foing and Jean-Jacques Tortora. The American Astronautical Society ‘Future in Space’ discussion is on ‘Viewing Exoplanets Through A Solar Gravity Lens’ Mar 19. (Image Credits: LPI, USRA, NASA, AIAA, SWF, AAS, GALIX, LMC, et al)

Mar 15-19 — AIAA, Online / Washington DC: Congressional Visits Day 2021.

Mar 15 – Apr 15 — W. M. Keck Observatory, CFHT, Kamuela HI: 2021 Waimea Solar System Walk.

Mar 15 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 EN3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.006 AU)

Mar 15 — Aten Asteroid 2021 EX: Near-Earth Flyby (0.025 AU)

Mar 15 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 EL1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.035 AU)

Mar 15 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 CX8: Near-Earth Flyby (0.047 AU)

Continued From…
NET Early 2021 — ISRO, Launch SSLV / Demonstration Launch, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: New Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) to launch on first orbital test flight.

NET Mar — International Astronautical Federation, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), Online: IAC 2021 Press Conference; providing updates for 72nd IAC being held Oct 25-29.

TUESDAY

Mar 16 — AIAA, Lockheed Martin, Online / Washington DC: AscendxSummit: Accelerating the Next-Generation Workforce.

Mar 16 — SETI Institute, Online / Mountain View CA: Space Science for Families: Citizen Science Astronomy for Classrooms; with Dan Peluso, Astrophysics PhD candidate at University of Southern Queensland, 19:00-20:00 PDT.

Mar 16 — Secure World Foundation, Online / Washington DC: Security and Stability of Space: What You Need to Know; 10:00-11:30 EDT.

Mar 16-17 — Airbus, OHB, SpaceOpal, Syntony GNSS, GMV, Online / Munich, Germany: Munich Satellite Navigation Summit 2021.