September 14-20, 2020 / Vol 39, No 37 / Hawai`i Island, USA

China Plans 2nd Launch from Yellow Sea Platform and Chang’e-5 from Wenchang; Hosts 2020 Space Conference in Fuzhou China / Zhongguo is set to launch its second Long March 11 from a mobile platform departing from Yantai Port, eastern province of Shandong NET September 15. Heading out to the Yellow Sea on Sep 14 and returning 2 days later, it will be the 10th launch of an LM11 rocket. This new launch capability offers more flexible launch opportunities to various orbits without traditional launch constraints. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. is developing the spaceport in Haiyang City (~37°N), to serve as sea launch base, which would be the 5th for the country. Wenchang Space Launch Center “Moonport” at 19°N next flight is planned November 24 for the long-awaited lunar sample return mission Chang’e-5 to Mons Rümker Region 40.8°N, 58.1°W via Long March 5 rocket. Yuanwang 21 and 22 rocket transport vessels departed homeport Tianjin Sep 3 to load LM5 and are transporting it to Wenchang, Hainan Island. If CE-5 is successful, its back-up CE-6 mission may land at the lunar south pole around 2023-24. Chinese Society of Astronautics and China Space Foundation are holding the in-person 2020 China Space Conference on Sep 18-21 in Fuzhou, Fujian. It will feature 10 strategic space engineering and science challenges to exchange ideas on post-epidemic plans in space development, key technologies and spatial information industries while inviting international cooperation. (Image Credits: Xinhua News Agency, CNSA, CASC, CAS, NAOC, CSF)

MONDAY Highlights… Sep 14 — ISS, ~405-km LEO: Expedition 63 crew of 3 transferring cargo from / waste to Progress 75P & 76P, working with ultrasound eye scans, optical microscopy, biomolecule sequencing; Exp 64 crew Rubins, Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City preparing for launch in 2 weeks. Sep 14 — NewSpace: Commercial companies solicited to provide proposals for selling Moon regolith to NASA; Rocket Lab Photon single-motor satellite deployment brings company closer to launching Moon, Venus, Mars missions; SpaceX Starship SN7.1 to undergo pressure tests, SN6 performs 150-m test flight successfully. Sep 14 — Solar System: Canada study indicates Jupiter could have 600 moons measuring >800 meters; computer model indicates water may constitute the majority of Uranus and Neptune composition; Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko porosity and composition research continues from Rosetta / Philae data. Sep 14 — Galaxy: Australia astronomers using Murchison Widefield Array scan 10M stars in search for ET technosignatures; Trappist-1 observations lead to studies on magma ocean evolution and surface & oceanic habitability / UV; Universe exploring Roman Space Telescope primary mirror to undergo testing. Sep 14 — Global: Russia manufacturing 24-satellite lunar navigation system and spacesuits for India Gaganyaan Astronauts; Canadian Space Agency new President Lisa Campbell to begin today; China testing reusable experimental spaceplane; Alcântara Space Center advances through Integrated Development Commission.   Sep 14 — USA: NASA patents faster & cheaper lunar trajectory planned to be used for Dark Ages Polarimeter Pathfinder mission; CLPS 19D solicitation opens to fly 10 payloads / 100 kg to lunar non-polar region 2022; Catherine Koerner to become Orion Program Manager. Sep 14 — Hawai’i: PISCES 30 sintered basalt tiles being tested by Masten under NASA for launch / landing pad use; Hawaii Space Flight Lab 3U CubeSat Neutron-1 to be launched to ISS end of month; UH Mānoa develops website for students interested in spaceflight careers.

= 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’).

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Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Mercury (W), Mars (E), Jupiter (S), Saturn (S), Uranus (E), Neptune (SE); Morning Planets: Venus (E).

Space Technology, Policy, Commercialization and Science Discussed in Depth Around Washington DC Area A full slate of off-world focused events are set for the coming week: both the Maryland Space Business Roundtable (MSBR) and Washington Space Business Roundtable (WSBR) are holding online presentations, the former featuring NOAA Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services (L-R) Steve Volz on Sep 15, and the latter featuring NASA Associate Administrator of Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Kathy Lueders Sep 16. The MSBR virtual talk is to be hosted on Goddard Space Flight Center Ustream channel gratis, whereas WSBR charges a $20 registration for access. September 17 is Plenary Day 2 of the 2020 International Space Station Research and Development Conference Online Series, moderated by Dr. Michael Roberts, Interim Chief Scientist of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space. Lectures are on the commercial application of ISS research, the GeneLab Database, Investment, and Quantum science, and registration is free. ASCENDxSummit National Security Space on Sep 19 is the second in a series of 3 summit events. Steve Isakowitz, President and CEO of the Aerospace Corporation, is keynote speaker, with tracks on National Security Space, Digitalization & Cybersecurity and Enabling Infrastructure & Policy. Registration for this summit is free and open to the public, but special content is reserved for registrants of the main ASCEND conference in November. (Image Credits: NASA, ASCEND, MSBR, WSBR, CASIS)

Sep 14 — FAA Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC), Online / Washington DC: COMSTAC Meeting; 08:45-15:30 EDT. Sep 14-16 — Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, NASA, Online / Washington DC: 2020 Annual Meeting of LEAG – Virtual Meeting. Sep 14-16 — Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS), NASA, Online: Virtual: TRAPPIST Habitable Atmosphere Intercomparison (THAI) Workshop. Sep 14-17 — Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany: European Space Elevator Challenge (EUSPEC) 2020; reset to 2021. Sep 14-17 — Space Telescope Science Institute, Stockholm, Sweden: Science with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes VI: Entering a Golden Age for US-Optical-IR Space Astronomy; reset to 2021. Sep 14-18 — Chinese Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai, China: 32nd Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences; reset to September 6-10, 2021. Sep 14 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 QL2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.047 AU) Continued From… Nov 2019 – Nov 2020 — Hayabusa2, Earth Trajectory: JAXA Hayabusa2 with two samples collected from C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu on trajectory for Earth return. Jul 29 – Oct 31 — CNSA, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Online / Beijing, China: Students to submit ideas for payloads for Chang’e-7 lunar south pole craft, and ZhengHe mission that will return samples from Asteroid 2016HO3 and visit Comet 133P. Sep 11-21 — ESA, Online / Paris, France: First virtual Space App Camp 2020; bringing programmers together to develop creative and innovative apps that make Earth observation data accessible to a wide range of citizens. Sep 12-15 — Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Conference (AMOS), Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), Boeing, SWF, SAIC, Online: 2020 EMER-GEN.

TUESDAY

Sep 15 — CNSA, Launch Long March 11 / Multiple Payloads, Floating Platform / Yellow Sea: Second sea launch attempt for China using converted barge departing from Yantai Port, eastern province of Shandong; first launch in 2019 was successful.

Sep 15 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable (MSBR), Goddard Space Flight Center, Online / Greenbelt MD: MSBR Webinar; with NOAA Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services Steve Volz, 11:30 EDT.

Sep 15 — AIAA, Online: To the Moon With Dynetics: The Importance of Lunar Exploration and Utilization; with AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher, Dynetics Deputy Group President Steve Cook, Dynetics HLS Kathy Laurini, 13:00-14:30 EDT.

Sep 15 — Institute of Physics South West Branch, Online / Salisbury, United Kingdom: Lecture: We Are Made of Star Stuff; by Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell from U of Oxford, 19:30-21:00.

Sep 15-16 — Luxembourg Space Tech Angels, Farvest, Nexad Media, Online / Luxembourg: Space Forum 2020: Understanding the data revolution.

Sep 15-16 — Maui Economic Development Board, Boeing, ExoAnalytic Solutions, Northrop Grumman, et al, Online / Kihei HI: 21st Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference 2020.

Sep 15 — Moon: 4.1° NNE of Regulus, 09:00.

WEDNESDAY

Sep 16 — Juno, Perijove 29 / 28th Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft in 53-day orbit to come within ~3,500 km of Jupiter cloud tops during Perijove 29, its 29th close flyby of Jupiter and 28th science flyby with instruments turned on, 02:10:49.

Sep 16 — Washington Space Business Roundtable (WSBR), Online / Washington DC: WSBR Program with Kathy Lueders; 12:00 EDT.

Sep 16 — SETI Institute, Online: Searching and Characterizing Exoplanets with CHEOPS, ARIEL, and PLATO; with CHEOPS PI Willy Benz, PLATO PI Heike Rauer,  ARIEL PL Giovanna Tinetti, 11:00 PDT.

Sep 16 — LPI, Online: Oceans Beyond Earth; presented by astrobiologist and geomicrobiologist Kennda Lynch, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution marine microbiologist Julie Huber, WHOI marine geoscientist Chris German, and comedian Eugene Mirman; 19:30-20:30 EDT.

Sep 16 — Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Online: Colloquium: Speeding up around the Galactic Center; by Michal Zajaček from Center for Theoretical Physics, Warsaw.

Sep 16 — JPL, NASA, Caltech, Online / Pasadena CA: Educator’s Workshop Webinar: Teaching Space With NASA – Engineering the Deep Space Network; 15:00-16:00 PDT.

Sep 16-17 — The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Irvine CA: Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science Meeting.

Sep 16-17 — ESA, Online / Noordwijk, The Netherlands: Industry Days 2020: Space for Business Opportunities.

THURSDAY

 Sep 17 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink 13, LC-39A KSC FL: SpaceX to launch 14th batch of ~60 satellites for Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 13.

Sep 17 — ISS National Lab, Center for the Advancement for Science in Space, NASA, Online: 2020 International Space Station (ISS) R&D Conference – Plenary Day 2; talks by Alessandro Grattoni, Matt Lynch and Aleksandar Ostrogorsky; moderated by Michael Roberts; 09:45–16:00 EDT.

Sep 17 — JPL, Caltech, NASA, Online / Pasadena CA: von Kármán Lecture Series 2020: Visualizing Space Exploration: AR, VR & Emerging Tech; by Sasha Samochina, Deputy Manager JPL Ops Lab, and Jason Craig, NASA JPL Visualization Producer, 19:00 PDT.

Sep 17 — AIAA, ASCEND, Online / Reston VA: ASCENDxSummit: National Security Space; Keynote speaker Steve Isakowitz, CEO of Aerospace Corporation,10:00-14:00 EDT.

Sep 17 — China Aerospace Studies Institute, Online / Washington DC: CASI Conference 2020 – PRC Space; talks by Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Erika Solem, Dean Cheng, 07:30-17:00 EDT.

Sep 17 — NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, W. M. Keck Observatory, Online / USA Locations: Proposals Due for use of NASA portion of time on W. M. Keck Telescopes for the 2021A observing semester February 1 – July 31, 2021.

  Sep 17-19 — International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety, JAXA, Osaka, Japan: The 11th International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety Conference (IAASS) “Managing Risk in Space”; conference TBC.

Sep 17 — Moon: New Moon, 00:00.

Sep 17 — Apollo Asteroid 2014 QJ33: Near-Earth Flyby (0.017 AU)

FRIDAY

Sep 18 — International Lunar Observatory Association, University of Vienna – Institute for Astrophysics, Vienna, Austria: Galaxy Forum Europe 2020 Vienna; 10:00-17:00 at University of Vienna Observatory; featuring Bodo Ziegler, Mikhail Sachkov, Pascale Ehrenfreund, Tibor Pacher, Davide Petrillo, Bernard Foing, Jacek Szubiakowski, Nectaria Gizani, Steve Durst, Sabrina Kerber, Ian Crawford, Ana Gomez de Castro, others.

Sep 18 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Committee on Planetary Protection – Meeting 2.

Sep 18 — Speakeasy, Online: Where Jeff Bezos’s Great Grandaughter Will Go for Her Honeymoon: The Top Tourist Sights of the Solar System; by Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi, 18:00-19:30 PDT, US$15.

Sep 18-21 — Chinese Society of Astronautics, China Space Foundation, Fuzhou, Fujian, China: 2020 China Space Conference; 16 events with 10 specific space engineering and science challenges to be addressed, international participation and cooperation invited.

Sep 18 — Moon: At perigee (distance 359,090 km), 03:55; 5.9° NNE of Mercury, 17:00.

Sep 18 — Mercury: At aphelion, 0.4667 AU from Sun, 17:00.

SATURDAY

Sep 19 — ILEWG EuroMoonMars, Space Generation Advisory Council, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria: MoonMars Habitat Workshop 2020.

Sep 19 — JPL, NASA, Caltech, Online / Pasadena CA: Educator’s Workshop Webinar: Lessons in Engineering Light and Sound; 10:00-11:30 PDT.

Sep 19 — Moon: 6.4° NNE of Spica, 00:00.

SUNDAY

Sep 20 — CNSA, Launch Long March 4B / Haiyang 2, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center: Launch of Haiyang “Ocean” Earth observation satellite focused on marine dynamic environment.

Sep 20 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 SL16: Near-Earth Flyby (0.023 AU)