Rocket Lab Preparing 3rd Launch Possibly in March, Tracking Humanity Star

The third and fully commercial flight for Rocket Lab Electron could occur as early as the second week of March through March 28 deploying NASA Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) XIX mission with 10 CubeSats from various institutes and universities. Under full production, CEO and Founder Peter Beck states Rocket Lab is planning to launch once per week / 50 rockets a year from Launch Complex 1 on the southern tip of New Zealand Mahia Peninsula. There are up to 9 missions on the manifest for 2018. At US$4.9M per flight, the primarily 3D-printed, black carbon composite rocket is 17-meters tall, 1.2-meter diameter and powered by 9 kerosene / liquid oxygen fueled Rutherford engines, each providing 4,600 pounds of thrust. To commemorate the country’s recent success New Zealand Post issued ‘2018 New Zealand in Space‘ stamps. Rocket Lab has a control center in Auckland 380 kilometers northwest of the launch site, a factory in New Zealand and a headquarters in Huntington Beach CA. The 1-meter diameter, geodesic ‘Humanity Star’ sphere covered in 65 highly reflective panels is expected to remain in orbit until ~October, and become the brightest object in the night sky to “encourage everyone to look up and ponder humanity’s place in the universe”. Best viewing for Humanity Star in USA will begin in March. The Hawaiian Islands are expected to see its first pass on March 7 ~19:30 and March 8 ~19:50. (Image Credit: Rocket Lab, NASA, Google Maps, New Zealand Post)

MONDAY

NET Mar 5 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / VCLS ELaNa, Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: First full commercial launch of Electron rocket with various CubeSats for NASA Venture Class Launch Service (VCLS) Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) XIX mission.

Mar 5-7 — DLR, Airbus, OHB, European Commission, NavCert, Space Opal, Munich, Germany: Munich Satellite Navigation Summit 2018.

WorldDenver to Host Gala Focusing on Women in Space

SWF president and honoree Cynda Collins Arsenault will be moderating the International Women’s Day Gala and Luncheon on March 8 at the Hyatt Regency Colorado Convention Center. The keynote speaker will be Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, and an entrepreneur and advocate for STEM education. Other speakers include 100 Year Starship Orchestrator of Engagement Alires Almon, Ball Aerospace Program Manager Allison Barto, Harris Corporation Space and Intelligence Systems Segment Account Manager Laura Delgado Lopez, Oakman Aerospace CEO Maureen O’Brien, and SWF Office Director Victoria Samson. The gala will focus on women in space, STEM, leadership, international affairs, and equality, and highlight the contributions and achievements made by women in their fields. 650 people are expected to attend and have the opportunity to network and enjoy upwards of 20 exhibitions. Currently 556 people have been to space and only 60 have been women. Serena Aunon-Chancellor could become the 61st woman in space and is scheduled to fly on June 6 to the ISS with the Expedition 56/57 crew. The 62nd woman in space could be Anne McClain as she joins the Expedition 58/59 crew launching on November 17. (Image Credit: NASA, 100YSS, Planetary Society, Oakman Aerospace, SWF)

Mar 5-9 — Scientific Committee on Solar Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP), International Council for Science, Sumedang, Indonesia: International School on Equatorial and Low Latitude Ionosphere (ISELION 2018).

Continued from…

Dec 19, 2017 – Mar 6 — CNSA, Online / Beijing, China: CNSA collecting 20,000 digital messages from public to be stored in Chang’e-4 relay satellite launching May-June to Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange Point to support Moon South Pole missions.

Feb 3 – Mar 19 — Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston TX: Campaign 4: Mission 4 – Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA 2017); 45 day analog spaceflight / Moon / Mars mission.

Feb 15 – Oct 15 / TBD — Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS), 2,500-meter Elevation, Mauna Loa HI: HI-SEAS 6 four-member ‘Lavanaut’ crew from Australia, Korea, Scotland and Slovakia 8-month space mission simulation postponed after crew medical issue.

Mar 2-12 — Sexten Center for Astrophysics, Sexten, Italy: Conference: Galaxy Interactions and Mergers Across Cosmic Time.

Mar 3-10 — IEEE, AIAA, PHM Society, Big Sky MT: 2018 IEEE Aerospace Conference; at Yellowstone Conference Center.

TUESDAY

Mar 6 — Dawn, Main Asteroid Belt: Spacecraft begins 4th year at Ceres today; launched Sep 2007 and arrived March 2015 after orbiting Vesta in 2011.

Mar 6 — Arianespace, Launch Soyuz / O3b F4, Sinnamary, French Guiana: Arianespace Soyuz rocket, designated VS18, to launch fourth set of four satellites for O3b Networks.