Wenchang SLC Spaceport in Hainan, China / Zhongguo Prepares for 2020s Decade
Operations at the newest, largest, and most equatorial China Spaceport are preparing for a new 2020s Long March 5 era advancing Chang’e-5 Moon, Space Station and first Mars Missions. Long March 5 has arrived in Wenchang, having been transported via Yuanwang 21 and 22 cargo ships from Tianjin to Qinglan Port – a significant logistical advantage over landlocked spaceports, allowing for rocket booster segments of large diameter to be transported. Sometimes described as “China’s Hawaii”, sharing 19° N latitude with both Hawaii and Chang Mai, Thailand, Hainan / Wenchang takes advantage of the rotational speed of Earth. Over 2 years of arduous technical review has followed the last unsuccessful launch attempt, eventually identifying turbo pump malfunction as the cause of failure. The long-awaited return of China flagship rocket will be a makeup of sorts, with the Shijian 20 experimental communications satellite taking the place of the lost Shijian 18. With liftoff weight of 869,000 kg, LEO payload capacity of 25,000 kg, GTO payload capacity of 14,000 kg and TLI payload capacity of 8,200 kg, Long Mach 5 is designed to be “capable of launching different kinds of satellites, space station and lunar probe” according to CNSA. Lunar sample return mission Chang’e 5, Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover (HX-1), Tianhe Core Cabin Module (CCM), and a crewed spacecraft test flight are all missions slated to be launched from Wenchang in 2020. (Pictured: Wu Weiren and Ye Peijian, Leaders of Chinese Lunar Exploration Program; Image Credits: CNSA, Hilton Wenchang, Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
MONDAY
Highlights… Nov 4 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 61 six-member crew planning to transfer ~3,750 kg of cargo from NG-12 including Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02; performing EMU resizing and cleanings for 5 EVAs scheduled before start of 2020; working with Astrobee cube-robots, BioFabrication Facility, Veg-04 plant growth, student-education events.
Nov 4 — Solar System: Mars Insight team works to formulate plan to bury heat probe; unusually spherical asteroid speculated to be small dwarf planet; Europa Clipper project scientist Robert Pappalardo talks about potential life on Jupiter moons.
Nov 4 — Global: Roscosmos and ISRO to advance human crew Gaganyaan mission; JAXA developing lunar dust sealing tech and planning to demonstrate precision lunar landing via SLIM in 2021; Ukraine enhances space development laws.
Nov 4 — Hawai’i: NAOJ Subaru Telescope planning new dark energy detector instrument Prime Focus Spectrograph to be operational 2022; PISCES continues development of Hawaii basalt sintering for applications on Earth and Moon, Mars; proposed Hawaii Big Telescope leaders meet in Pasadena CA.
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for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
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International Space Education Events Connect Students and Professionals in UAE, USA; and Globally Through IAU100 Initiative
Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and IEEE are holding 4th Young Professionals in Space Conference on November 4-6 in Dubai. With the goal of providing young generations ‘a holistic view of science, engineering and space technology fields’, conference main topics include UAE & Space, Observation Technology, AI for Earth Observation, Mission Operation & Concepts, and Visualizing and Mapping Mars Workshop. UAE first Astronaut Hazzaa Ali Almansoori (TL) will join delegates from MBRSC, Japan, UK, USA, Canada, and Europe. Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) SpaceVision 2019 is being hosted Nov 7-9 in Tempe at Arizona State University with theme ‘Explore: A Human Imperative’. Hundreds of young professionals will hear from space leaders (CL-R) Astronaut Ed Gibson, Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, William Pomerantz and many others. SEDS chapters and various student groups will give presentations and discuss proposals for SAT-2 competition. The International Astronomical Union ‘IAU100 Astronomy Day in Schools’ initiative runs Nov 10-17 as part of a global project for students to engage with astronomers and learn how astronomy affects our lives. It is coordinated by 10 Steering Committee Members among whom are (BL-R) Paulo Bretones (Brazil), Bethany Downer (Canada), and Boonrucksar Soonthornthum (Thailand). Outreach opportunities for visiting astronomers include IAU reaching 100 years, local-global-interglobal astronomy developments, Nov 10 World Science Day for Peace and Development, and Nov 11 Mercury transit. (Image Credits: YPinSpace, MBRSC, SEDS, TEDx Talks, NASA, Virgin Galactic, IAU)
Nov 4-8 — Committee on Space Research,Herzliya, Israel: The 4th COSPAR Symposium: “Small Satellites for Sustainable Science and Development”; to discuss space sciences, education and satellite observations of Earth, atmosphere, Milky Way, intergalactic space, exoplanets, magnetosphere; hosted by Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
Nov 4 — Moon: At first quarter, 00:22.
Continued from…
Jan 2019 – Sep 2020 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt: Full data collected from 7 instruments during KBO Ultima Thule flyby to be transmitted to Earth over this time period.
NET Nov-Dec — Hayabusa2, Earth Trajectory: JAXA Hayabusa2 with 2 sample returns collected to depart C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu and return to Earth in 2020.
NET Nov-Dec — CNSA, Launch Long March 5 / Shijian 20 (SJ 20), Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): China Long March 5 return to flight carrying SJ-20, an 8-metric ton technological demonstration satellite, into geosynchronous orbit.
Nov 5-8 — NASA Mars Exploration Program, Mars Program Office, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, NASA Astrobiology Institute, LPI, USRA, Carlsbad NM: Conference: Mars Extant Life – What’s Next? at National Cave and Karst Research Institute.
Nov 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 UH5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.034 AU)
Nov 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2012 PW: Near-Earth Flyby (0.078 AU)
Nov 6 — Institute of Physics London and Southeast Branch, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom: Lecture: Mysteries of the Solar System.
Nov 6-8 — Venus Exploration Analysis Group, NASA, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder CO: VEXAG Meeting #17, NASA community-based forum to provide Venus scientific input and technology development plans.
Nov 10-17 — International Astronomical Union,Multiple Locations: IAU100 Astronomy Day in Schools, which also marks World Science Day for Peace and Development on Nov 10, and Mercury transit on Nov 11.
Nov 10 — Moon: 4.1° SSE of Uranus, 22:00.
Nov 10 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 UB7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.035 AU)
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Nov 4 — 
Nov 4 — NewSpace: ILOA to sign 
Nov 4 — USA: 
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= 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’).
