SpaceX Becomes Major Spacefaring Power with Commercial Crew, Falcon 9, Starship, and Starlink
Uncrewed test of SpaceX Crew Dragon is now scheduled for NET February. After an additional Inflight Abort Test, SpaceX aims to carry astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station in June. They would capture the USA flag left by the STS-135 Atlantis crew for the earliest American spacecraft to return to ISS, though Boeing’s Starliner is in close competition. More cargo resupply flights to ISS, possibly including the ESA Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space, are planned for 2019. Another Falcon 9 will launch the Israel SpaceIL lunar rover in Feb. Stages of the Falcon 9 Block 5 have been flown up to three times. Along with launch sites at Vandenberg and Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX is building big things at its facility in Boca Chica, Texas. In the next few weeks SpaceX projects short “Hopper” tests for the Starship, formerly called Big Falcon Rocket. The first of over 6,000 SpaceX-built satellites in the Starlink broadband constellation is planned for later in 2019. Bringing internet to the world is expected to generate revenue for even bigger projects. SpaceX has ambitious plans to send Japan billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the Moon in 2023 as a prelude to using Starship to settle Mars. With 21 successful launches in a calendar year, SpaceX could qualify as the world’s 7th major spacefaring power after USA, Russia, China, Europe, Japan and India. (Image Credits: SpaceX, NASA)
MONDAY
Highlights… Jan 14 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 58 three-member crew continues NeuroMapping experiment, and in-flight broadcasts; recently affixed to the ISS exterior, Materials International Space Station Experiment-10 containing 188 samples, will be monitored over next 6-12 months; ISS surpasses 7,360 days in space.
Jan 14 — NewSpace: China Landspace to test new engine for Zhuque-2 launch vehicle; Linkspace planning vertical landing test of RLV-T5 vehicle, working toward suborbital launch of RLV-T6; OneSpace and iSpace hope to attempt orbital launches in 2019; SpaceIL of Israel preparing for lunar lander launch NET 13 Feb.
Jan 14 — Solar System: New Horizons in communications blackout due to conjunction with Sun, heads for possible future KBO encounters; in Lunar Night 1, Yutu-2 rover lies dormant while Chang’e-4 lander performs limited science; NASA continues search for Opportunity signals from Mars.
Jan 14 — Galaxy: Milky Way could merge with Large Magellanic Cloud in ~2B years, before predicated Andromeda collision in ~4B; Kepler / K2 data reveals exoplanet K2-288Bb with twice mass of Earth orbiting within habitable zone; 6-year Dark Energy Survey comes to end while 50 TB of data refining / publishing will continue into 2020s.
Jan 14 — Global: ISRO advancing human-rated capsule Gaganyaan & GSLV payload capacity, plans to launch 14 rockets, 17 satellites, 1 tech demo mission this year; JAXA to attempt 1st touchdown on asteroid Ryugu in Feb, constructing antenna for ~2020s deep space communications; UAE first 4 Astronaut candidates to begin 1-year training missions.
Jan 14 — USA: Government employees unable to attend science / various conferences due to shutdown; visit to USA by Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin likely to be rescheduled; NASA engineers working on Hubble Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 to make it operational again after anomaly.
The idea of Hawai’i Island access to space is being revived by the Alaska Aerospace Company, among others, which plans to perform studies around Kea’au to assess if there is potential to build a Spaceport. While many important cultural and environmental issues must be discussed thoroughly and sensitively, in general Hawaii is an appealing location for astronautics as it is near the center of the Pacific Hemisphere, midway between two mainlands, the southernmost point in the USA, and offers offshore omnidirectional equatorial / polar launch opportunities over population-free regions. As a leader in 21st Century astronomy, and host to world class observatories already standing on Mauna Kea, Hawaii could be an ideal platform to launch the next-gen voyages of exploration and set sail for the Stars. Development of truly Pacific, peaceful, commercial space access from the Aloha state would have major indications for the entire Pacific Rim, Asia, America North, America South, Antarctica, Australia and Oceania, as well as commercial enterprises. Fully-contained sea launch systems with non-toxic propellants towed to optimal offshore locations for private / scientific / educational missions might be worth proposing for the East side of the Island, as horizontal take-off / landing suborbital tourism advances are being pursued for the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport in Kailua-Kona. If the cosmopolitan people of Hawaii find enough value in potential economic, scientific and technology opportunities of a Spaceport to welcome its development under certain conditions, perhaps the spirit of Aloha will be launched into Space, to the Moon and Beyond. (Image Credits: Google Maps, ESO, Virgin Galactic)
Jan 14 — Aten Asteroid 2019 AU6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.007 AU)
Jan 14 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 AS6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.031 AU)
Jan 14 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 AG3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.033 AU)
Continued from…
Jan 3-25 — International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research,Bengaluru, India: Workshop: Cosmology – The Next Decade.
Jan 9-27 — Sydney Arts and Cultural Festival,Sydney, Australia: Annual Sydney Arts and Culture Festival; featuring Fly Me to the Moon cycling competition and 5 Moon themed installations.
Jan 15 — Newcastle Space Frontier Society Chapter of National Space Society of Australia and National Space Society,Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia:Monthly meeting of Newcastle Space Frontier Society; Joy Cummings Community Centre, 19:30.
Jan 15 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 AT6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.021 AU)
Jan 15 — Aten Asteroid 2016 DL: Near-Earth Flyby (0.053 AU)
WEDNESDAY
Jan 16 — ESA, Paris, France / Online: ESA Director General Jan Wörner holds Annual Press Breakfast, 09:00 local time.
Jan 16 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington DC: Transportation Research Board (TRB) subcommittee on Commercial Space Transportation will hold two sessions and a subcommittee meeting during TRB 98th Annual Meeting.
Jan 17 — JAXA, Launch Epsilon / RAPIS 1,Uchinoura Space Center, Japan: Epsilon rocket to deploy JAXA Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite 1 (RAPIS 1), with 6 Japan and Vietnam secondary payloads.
Jan 17 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 AC3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)
FRIDAY
Jan 18 — `Imiloa Astronomy Center, University of Hawai`i,Hilo HI: Mauna Kea Skies Talk; astronomers from Mauna Kea observatories speak about recent discoveries; 19:00 HST, US$8-10.
Jan 18 — Mercury: 1.53° S of Pluto, 10:00.
SATURDAY
Jan 19 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt Object Trajectory: Spacecraft begins 14th year in space today, launched Jan 19, 2006 – flew by Pluto July 14, 2015 and KBO Ultima Thule (2014 MU69) on Jan 1; expected to operate until at least mid-2030s.
Jan 19 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 AB5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.019 AU)
Jan 19 — Apollo Asteroid 515767 (2015 JA2): Near-Earth Flyby (0.063 AU)
SUNDAY
Jan 20 — Observation of Buzz Aldrin 89th Birthday, Nationwide USA: Moonworker, Apollo 11 hero Buzz Aldrin celebrates 89th birthday today while preparing for Road to Apollo 11 50th Year.
Jan 20 — Moon: 7.0° S of Pollux, 09:00; Full (Super Blood Wolf Moon), 19:16.
Jan 20 — Total Lunar Eclipse: With totality at 19:12 HST, visible from North and South America, parts of western Europe and Africa; partial eclipse in parts of Africa, Europe and Asia; next total lunar eclipse occurs 2021.
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Uncrewed test of SpaceX Crew Dragon is now scheduled for NET February. After an additional Inflight Abort Test, SpaceX aims to carry astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station in June. They would capture the USA flag left by the STS-135 Atlantis crew for the earliest American spacecraft to return to ISS, though Boeing’s Starliner is in close competition. More cargo resupply flights to ISS, possibly including the ESA Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space, are planned for 2019. Another Falcon 9 will launch the Israel SpaceIL lunar rover in Feb. Stages of the Falcon 9 Block 5 have been flown up to three times. Along with launch sites at Vandenberg and Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX is building big things at its facility in Boca Chica, Texas. In the next few weeks SpaceX projects short “Hopper” tests for the Starship, formerly called Big Falcon Rocket. The first of over 6,000 SpaceX-built satellites in the Starlink broadband constellation is planned for later in 2019. Bringing internet to the world is expected to generate revenue for even bigger projects. SpaceX has ambitious plans to send Japan billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the Moon in 2023 as a prelude to using Starship to settle Mars. With 21 successful launches in a calendar year, SpaceX could qualify as the world’s 7th major spacefaring power after USA, Russia, China, Europe, Japan and India. (Image Credits: SpaceX, NASA)
Jan 14 — 
Jan 14 — NewSpace: China 
Jan 14 — USA: Government employees unable to attend science / various conferences due to shutdown; 
= All times
= 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’).
The idea of Hawai’i Island access to space is being revived by the Alaska Aerospace Company, among others, which plans to perform studies around Kea’au to assess if there is potential to build a Spaceport. While many important cultural and environmental issues must be discussed thoroughly and sensitively, in general Hawaii is an appealing location for astronautics as it is near the center of the Pacific Hemisphere, midway between two mainlands, the southernmost point in the USA, and offers offshore omnidirectional equatorial / polar launch opportunities over population-free regions. As a leader in 21st Century astronomy, and host to world class observatories already standing on Mauna Kea, Hawaii could be an ideal platform to launch the next-gen voyages of exploration and set sail for the Stars. Development of truly Pacific, peaceful, commercial space access from the Aloha state would have major indications for the entire Pacific Rim, Asia, America North, America South, Antarctica, Australia and Oceania, as well as commercial enterprises. Fully-contained sea launch systems with non-toxic propellants towed to optimal offshore locations for private / scientific / educational missions might be worth proposing for the East side of the Island, as horizontal take-off / landing suborbital tourism advances are being pursued for the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport in Kailua-Kona. If the cosmopolitan people of Hawaii find enough value in potential economic, scientific and technology opportunities of a Spaceport to welcome its development under certain conditions, perhaps the spirit of Aloha will be launched into Space, to the Moon and Beyond. (Image Credits: Google Maps, ESO, Virgin Galactic)
