ISS HTV-8 Launch to Carry New Batteries and Experiments in Anticipation of Lunar-Capable HTV-X

The 8th Japan ‘Kounotori’ (Stork) H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV-8) launch is scheduled for September 10 atop H-2B booster from Tanegashima Space Center to ISS. HTV-8 carries 3,400 kg payload in a pressurized compartment and 1,900 kg of unpressurized payload. It will deliver 6 new 200-kg lithium-ion batteries to replace older nickel-hydrogen batteries for ISS power during times of low sunlight. Among the JAXA experiments aboard Kounotori is Hourglass, which will investigate the behavior of small dust particles in reduced gravity. To prepare for docking, ISS crew have completed checkout of the Proximity Communication System (PROX) to be used for contact with HTV-8. On October 21 Northrop Grumman Cygnus NG-12 will be launched to ISS aboard an Antares launcher. The Cygnus module is selected by NASA in a sole-source contract as the basis for a lunar orbital habitat. In Oct Boeing plans an uncrewed launch of Starliner on an Atlas V to ISS, vying with SpaceX to be first to return astronauts to space in an American spacecraft. HTV-9, planned for Feb 2020, will carry 6 more lithium-ion batteries and the Australia CUAVA-1 satellite. The new HTV-X, planned to fly in Feb 2022, will be able to carry 5,800 kg of payload. With a larger electrical capacity, HTV-X is also designed to transport goods to lunar orbit in support of Moon exploration. (Image Credits: JAXA)

MONDAY

Sep 9 — Cornell University, Ithaca NY: The Timing of Planetary Events and the Origin of RNA-based Darwinism; by Steven Benner, Senior Fellow at the Ffame Foundation.

Revitalized American Space Movement on Display as Space Studies Institute and American Astronautical Society Convene

Space Studies Institute holds its two-day annual conference – ‘SSI 50: The Space Settlement Enterprise’, September 9-10 at Seattle Museum of Flight. The conference this year will focus on 6 topics: Habitat Design, Construction, Extraterrestrial Resources, Transportation, Life in Space and Economic Prosperity. SSI is ‘preparing for dramatic reboot’ of research started by visionary founder Gerard K O’Neill, given newfound prominence by public figures such as Jeff Bezos, CEO of Blue Origin, who used SSI illustrations at a press conference in May to communicate his plans for exploration and enterprise. Notable speakers include management astronaut Yvonne Cagle, former NASA Human Research Program chief scientist John Charles, and Morgan Irons (R) of Cornell’s College of Agriculture. Concurrently, the 12th annual AAS sponsored Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium will be held Sep 10-12 at University of Alabama in Huntsville, with theme ‘Exploration is the Work of Generations’. Von Braun’s idea of a permanent space ‘Gateway’ has likewise gained much currency in the contemporary space exploration sphere, with both NASA and the Gateway Foundation, a private enterprise, declaring plans to construct permanent outpost structures in orbit of the Moon and in cis-lunar space, respectively. Steve Altemus (L), CEO of CLPS-winning Intuitive Machines and Marshall Smith, Director of NASA Human Lunar Exploration Programs are among the distinguished participants. (Image Credits: NASA, SSI, Twitter)

Sep 9-10 — Space Studies Institute,

Sep 9-10 — AIAA Greater Huntsville Section, University of Alabama at Huntsville, Huntsville AL: 4th AIAA Next Gen Technical Symposium.

Sep 9-13 — ESA, University of Coruña, Center of Astrobiology (CSIC-INTA), A Coruña, Spain: Conference: The Pleiades and Friends – Stellar Associations in the Gaia Era.

Sep 9 — Epsilon Perseid Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from the constellation Perseid the September Epsilon Perseids can reach up to 5 per hour traveling at ~65 km per second; 06:00.

Sep 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 QZ3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.025 AU)

Continued from…

Jan 2019 – Sep 2020 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt: Full data from spacecraft 7 instruments during KBO Ultima Thule flyby to be transmitted to Earth over this time period.

NET Aug – Nov — Hayabusa2, Asteroid 162173 Ryugu: JAXA Hayabusa2 with 2 sample returns planned to remain at Asteroid for observations during this time period, then return to Earth.

Sep 8-11 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Big Sky MT: The First Billion Years: Habitability.

TUESDAY

Sep 10 — JAXA, Launch H-2B / HTV-8, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan: An uncrewed Japan H-2B rocket set to launch 8th H-2 transfer vehicle (Kounotori 8) to deliver supplies to ISS.

Sep 10 — University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson AZ: LPL Colloquium: The Origin of the Moon Within a Terrestrial Synestia; by Dr. Simon Lock of Caltech, 15:45.