October 2-8, 2017 / Vol 36, No 40 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Hawai`i High Tech: International MoonBase Summit and UH Future Focus Innovation Initiative Forum The inaugural International MoonBase Summit hosted by International MoonBase Alliance at Mauna Lani Hotel, Kamuela, Hawaii October 1-5 will concentrate on establishing a sustainable Human outpost on Moon and building a prototype Moon Base on Hawaii Island. The conference will consist of plenary sessions and working group discussions building on recommendations from Lunar Exploration and Analysis Group, European Lunar Symposium, International Space Development Conference, NewSpace Symposium and International Astronautical Congress. It will feature Henk Rogers, Jim Crisafulli, Bruce Pittman, Rob Kelso, John Hamilton and Dan Rasky. The group will also tour Mauna Kea, Keck Observatory, HI-SEAS habitat on Mauna Loa and potential analog sites for building a 3D-printed prototype Moon Base. The island of Oahu will be host to University of Hawaii Future Focus 2017 Innovation Initiative’s Forum on Astronomy, Space Exploration, Cybersecurity & More on Oct 4-5. Among representatives from academics, NSA, Government, NewSpace and Economic Development sectors, speakers include NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke, Hawaii Governor David Ige, UH President David Lassner, Alaska Aerospace President Craig Campbell, Rocket Lab Executive VP Brad Schneider and ASEAN Executive Director Adelina Kamal. There will also be a panel on Astronomy in Hawai‘i: Looking to the Future moderated by Doug Simons, Director of CFHT with Ken Chambers of Pan-STARRS, Gary Sanders of TMT, Ka’iu Kimura of Imiloa, Karen Meech of IfA, Marianne Takamiya of UH Hilo and Thoma Rimmele of Daile K. Inouye Solar Telescope. (Image Credit: ESA, IMA, IMS, NASA, UH, State of Hawaii, IfA, Google Earth, CFHT)

MONDAY Ongoing… Oct 2 — ISS, 330-435-km LEO: Expedition 53 six-member crew preparing emergency jet packs, spacesuits and equipment for 3 upcoming EVAs led by Commander Bresnik (U.S. EVA #44-46; Russia EVA 44 planned Jan 2018), setting up Veggie-3 experiment for next crop of lettuce and cabbage, transferring cargo from Progress 67P and filling with waste. Oct 2 — NewSpace: Blue Origin to launch Thailand-based mu Space 1st satellite on New Glenn “in next decade”; Sierra Nevada Corp & UNOOSA announce call of interest for future LEO payloads; Bob Richards of Moon Express gives testimony to House space subcommittee (video minute 19:30); Elon Musk talks about BFR booster & spaceship providing accelerated flights on Earth. Oct 2 — Solar System: ESA Venus Express data shows night side “stationary waves”; Finnish Meteorological Institute proposes 50 nanosat mission to visit 300 asteroids in Main Belt; Jupiter explorer Juno in 7th science orbit of planet heading toward 8th science flyby Oct 24. Oct 2 — Galaxy: More than 400 scientists from 18 countries are working to find out where rare and ultra-energetic atomic nuclei / Cosmic rays come from outside Milky Way; Gaia mission to map 1B stars finds new galaxy cluster dubbed Gaia 1. Oct 2 — Global: Australia to establish national Space Agency; Canada names Mona Nemer as new Chief Science Advisor; JAXA, Japan Aerospace Corp. and others to visit Florida / learn about commercial space opportunities; ISRO reports Chandrayaan-2 and GSLV Mk. 2 on track for March 2018 launch. Oct 2 — USA: LunaH-Map CubeSat intended for EM-1 mission 2019 advancing; VP Mike Pence and National Space Council to meet this week and lay out its vision for space exploration; NASA talks continue with Russia on cislunar Deep Space Gateway possibilities. Oct 2 — Hawai`i: TMT construction permit approved 5-2 vote; continuing space and astronomy missions include HI-SEAS, PISCES, UH Hilo Physics & Astronomy, Imiloa, International Lunar Observatory Association and Galaxy Forum, Galaxy Garden, maiden International MoonBase Summit, Spaceport initiative; world class observatories on Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala. Oct 2-3 — SatNews, Boeing, SSL, Society of Satellite Professionals International, Silicon Valley CA: Satellite Innovation Symposium.

= 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;’ Greenwich, England).

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

Interstellar Starship Considerations Accelerating with TVIW in Huntsville The Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop takes place Oct 4-6 at the Downtown Embassy Suites in Huntsville AL, USA to help chart a future as an interstellar species. The symposium is a collaboration between TVIW, Starship Century and the Tau Zero Foundation with the theme ‘Step by Step: Building a Ladder to the Stars’. The program includes informative lectures on everything from Breakthrough Starshot, Exoplanets, and SETI, to Advanced Space Propulsion, Worldships and the Ethics of Deep Space Flight. Pete Worden, Bob Fugate, David Messerschmitt, Marc Millis, Jeff Greason, Paul Gilster and Andrew Siemion are some of the featured presenters. General Conference Chair Les Johnson (pictured) is a physicist, science and science fiction author and NASA technologist based in Huntsville. Prior to the conference on Oct 3 there is a tour of the United Launch Alliance rocket assembly facility — home of Atlas V, Delta IV and the future Vulcan system. Parallel interstellar initiatives such as Icarus Interstellar led by Andreas Tziolas, and 100 Year Starship helmed by Astronaut Mae Jemison, are making dedicated and significant efforts in helping prepare us to navigate the cosmic ocean — seeking out humanity’s future among the stars. (Image Credit: TVIW, NASA, Centauri Dreams)

Oct 2-6 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Vienna, Austria: 5th Intersessional Meeting of the Working Group on the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities. Oct 2-6 — USRA, LPI, NASA, Flagstaff AZ: 4th International Conference on Early Mars: Geologic, Hydrologic, and Climatic Evolution and the Implications for Life. Oct 2-6 — NASA, Daytona Beach International Airport, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Campus, Daytona Beach CA: Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) viewing, 2 public lectures planned Oct 4-5. Oct 2-6 — University of Malta, University of Central Lancashire, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Valletta, Malta: Conference: The Role of Gas in Galaxy Dynamics. Oct 2-6 — International Astronomical Union, Ruder Boskovic Institute – Croatia, University of Zagreb – Croatia, University of Groningen – Netherlands, Dubrovnik, Croatia: IAU Symposium 333: Peering Towards Cosmic Dawn. Oct 2 — Moon: 0.71° SSE of Neptune, 03:00. Oct 2 — Venus: Perihelion (0.7184 AU) from the Sun, 19;00. Continued from… NET Oct — Boeing Company, TBD: Boeing CST-100 Starliner to undergo pad abort test this month. Oct 1-5 — International MoonBase Alliance LLC, Kamuela HI: International MoonBase Summit; featuring Henk Rogers, Jim Crisafulli, Bruce Pittman, Rob Kelso, John Hamilton, Dan Rasky. TUESDAY Oct 3 — United Launch Alliance, Decatur AL: ULA rocket plant tour; in conjunction with TVIW 2017 symposium.

Oct 3-5 — Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Kyoto, Japan: ALMA Long Baseline Workshop.

Oct 3-31 — National Geographic, Multiple Locations USA: NASA Astronaut Terry Virts tour from NY to CA for book signing “View from Above” featuring foreword by Buzz Aldrin and 300 photographs.

WEDNESDAY

Oct 4 — Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Alabama, Tucson AZ: Lecture: An Underground Look at Mars Climate and Evolution.

Oct 4-5 — Hawai`i Business Roundtable, University of Hawaii, American Savings Bank, CyberUSA, CyberHawaii, Honolulu HI: Hawaii Innovation Initiative’s Forum: Future Focus 2017 – Astronomy, Space Exploration, Cybersecurity & More; featuring Astronaut Mike Fincke, Hawaii Governor David Ige, U. of H. President David Lassner.

Oct 4-6 — Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop, Huntsville AL: 2017 Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop (TVIW).

Oct 4-6 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, NYC NY: United Nations Expert Meeting on Space for Women.

Oct 4-7 — ESA, NASA, CSA, Space Telescope Science Institute, Madrid, Spain: Workshop: Planning your JWST observations – [Get Set]; at European Space Astronomy Center (ESAC).

Oct 4-10 — World Space Week Association, Global: World Space Week 2017; to celebrate international contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition; Oct 4 is 60th observation of 1st Space mission Sputnik One launched by Soviet Union 1957; Oct 10 is 50th observation of Outer Space Treaty going into effect 1967.

Oct 4 — Apollo Asteroid 2004 RE84: Near-Earth Flyby (0.039 AU).

Oct 4 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 SO10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.042 AU).

Oct 4 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 SK12: Near-Earth Flyby (0.052 AU).

Oct 4 — Amor Asteroid 2017 SP14: Near-Earth Flyby (0.067 AU).

THURSDAY

Oct 5 — ISS, Expedition 53 U.S. EVA #44, 330-435-km LEO: Commander Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei to perform first of three 6.5-hour spacewalks to replace one of two latching end effectors on the tip of Canadarm2, lubricate new component and replace cameras at two locations on station truss; live coverage available.

Oct 5 — United Launch Alliance, Launch Atlas 5 / NROL-52, Cape Canaveral AFS CA: ULA Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-075, to launch a classified spacecraft payload for U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

Oct 5 — European Southern Observatory (ESO), Garching, Germany: ESO celebrates its 55th anniversary since creation in 1962; ESO provides astronomers with state-of-the-art research facilities and access to the southern sky.

Oct 5 — William Herschel Society, British Interplanetary Society South West Branch, Bath, United Kingdom: Skylark – Britain’s First Space Rocket; by Robin Brand at Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution.

Oct 5 — Cornell University, Ithaca NY: Lecture: Gluing Together the Skeleton of the Milky Way; Alyssa Goodman from Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 16:00.

Oct 5 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA, Houston TX: Cosmic Explorations Series: Ocean Worlds – A Voyager Retrospective; by Paul Schenk of LPI.

Oct 5 — ISRO, JAXA, of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, Online / Bengaluru, India: Registration Due for Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-24).

Oct 5-6 — Montreal Student Space Associations, McGill Institute of Air and Space Law, Space Concordia, Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Montreal Space Symposium; to discuss & plan for future of space in Montreal & Canada; featuring CSA President president Sylvain Laporte.

Oct 5-7 — Space Research Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAS), Moscow, Russia: Venera-D Venus Modelling Workshop.

Oct 5 — Moon: Full (Harvest Moon), 08:41.

Oct 5 — Venus: 0.21° NNE of Mars, 07:00.

Oct 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 QO17: Near-Earth Flyby (0.077 AU).

FRIDAY

Oct 6 — Singapore Space & Technology Association, e2i, Singapore: Space Experts Workshop; with Lynette Tan, Zhou Bin, Sune Græsbøll Ottesen, Rohit Jha, Tan Khai Pang.

Oct 6 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: Lunch with an Astronaut, Brian Duffy, adult US$69.95.

Oct 6 — Moon: 4.0° SSE of Uranus, 09:00.

Oct 6 — Apollo Asteroid 2011 TB4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.065 AU).

Oct 6 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 GS6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.078 AU).

Oct 6 — Aten Asteroid 2004 TD10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.084 AU).

SATURDAY

Oct 7 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / SES 11/EchoStar 105, Cape Canaveral AFS / KSC FL: SpaceX to launch SES-11/EchoStar 105 hybrid communications satellite to replace the AMC-15 and AMC-18 satellites via Falcon 9 rocket.

Oct 7 — British Interplanetary Society, Worcester, United Kingdom: Space Day 2017; featuring exhibits, planetarium shows, presentations, book readings, model spaceship competition, static rocket motor firing.

Oct 7 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech/NASA, Pasadena CA: Educator Workshop: Robotics and Our Solar System; for Teachers of grades 4-12.

Oct 7-8 — American League of Astronomy (LIADA), Institute of Science and Technology Ateneo, Don Torcuato Astronomical Group, Buenos Aires, Argentina: 18th International Congress Pro-Am LIADA 2017: Education in Astronomy.

Oct 7 — Mars: At aphelion (1.6661 AU from Sun), 12:00.

SUNDAY

Oct 8 — Draconids Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Draco, Draconids offer slow moving (20 km/s) meteors which are faint and fragment easily, about 10-20 per hour; peak 08:00.

Oct 8 — Mercury: At superior conjunction with Sun (1.408 AU from Earth), 11:00.