Accelerating Deep Space and Interstellar Observation, Technologies, R&D

Interstellar groups including Icarus Interstellar, 100 Year Starship, Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop, Tau Zero & Centauri Dreams, Global Starship Alliance, Ad Astra Kansas and SETI are advancing this “Starship Century” by sharing propulsion research & concepts, engaging public support, and exploring societal issues of Human interstellar travel and extraterrestrial life. Breakthrough Initiatives created by Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking consists of the Listen program to survey 1,000,000 closest stars to Earth, scan the center of Milky Way Galaxy, and listen to the 100 closest galaxies. Breakthrough Watch aims to identify and characterize Earth-sized, rocky planets around Alpha Centauri and other stars within 20LY. Breakthrough Starshot will demonstrate proof of concept for ultra-fast light-driven nanocrafts and lay the foundations for a launch to Alpha Centauri. The first vital step into the Galaxy could be catalyzed by a Human return the Moon in 2020s, followed by advances toward Mars and Jupiter 2030s-2040s. Traveling through the farthest expanses of deep space a Human-made object has ever reached, the Voyagers in interstellar space and the heliosheath will record their 40th year in Space this fall. New Horizons is clarifying the 3rd Zone of the Solar System by entering Kuiper Belt, expanding our definition of deep space to beyond the Moon and Mars. With a field of view covering 0.25% of the sky, Kepler / K2 has found 4,554 exoplanet candidates and 2,491 confirmed exoplanets. (Image Credit: NASA Ames, W. Stenzel, Breakthrough Initiatives, JPL)

MONDAY

31st SmallSat Conference Meets in Utah

Utah State University and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics host the 31st Annual Small Satellite Conference on August 5-10, 2017 in Logan, UT. The theme is Small Satellites | Big Data: Developing a New, Expanded, & Timelier Understanding of Our World! and the Keynote Speaker is Robert Cardillo, Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The Committee, led by Director of Advanced Concepts at USU Space Dynamic Laboratory Pat Patterson, has planned 11 regular and 13 technical sessions covering all aspects of the industry from design, planning and innovation, to launch and operations, as well as responsible decommissioning. Over 150 diverse exhibitors are schedule and more than 24 Side Meetings have been officially sanctioned including the Next-Gen Night Out, Smallsat Jeopardy!, Hill Aerospace Museum Tours, Meeting of the Commercial SmallSat Spectrum Management Association, Mitigating Risk Using Desktop Satellite Simulators, and International Launch Services. There is also a special group of 24 University Exhibits with leading American institutions and international organizations such as the Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport in Egypt, the Masdar Institute at the Khalifa University of Science and Technology in UAE and University of Tokyo. Space Dynamics Laboratory is a USU-owned nonprofit research corporation leading the design, fabrication and operation of sensors on over 400 payloads since 1959. AIAA is a professional society for aerospace engineers with over 30,000 members worldwide currently helmed by Astronaut Sandra H. Magnus. (Image Credit: USU, AIAA, NASA, ESA, JPL)

Jul 31 – Aug 2 — Space Telescope Science Institute, NASA, ESA, CSA, Baltimore MD: Meeting: Spectral Diagnostics to Explore the Cosmic Dawn with JWST.

Jul 31 – Aug 2 — Applied Technology Institute, Columbia MD: Rockets & Missiles Fundamentals; taught by Edward Keith, Launch Vehicle System Engineer.

Jul 31 – Aug 4 — UNOOSA, Boston College, NASA, International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems, Chestnut Hill MA: UN/USA Workshop: Space Weather – The Decades after the International Heliophysical Year 2007.

Jul 31 – Aug 5 — National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, IAU, UNESCO, Institut d’Optique, Chiang Mai, Thailand: NARIT-Institut d’Optique Graduate School: Optical Design Summer School 2017.

Jul 31 – Aug 13 — Space Exploration Project Group of United Nations Program on Space Applications, Mars Society, ESA, European Space Foundation, Rzepiennik Biskupi, Poland: Mars Analogue Simulation 2017; six volunteers live in habitat for 2-week Moon / Mars Human exploration simulation.

Jul 31 — Mars: 0.18° SSW of Beehive Cluster, 20:00.

Continued from…

Jul 11 – Aug 11 — Mars Spacecraft, Mars Orbit: Superior Solar Conjunction to prevent normal operations for international Mars missions, craft undergo critical operations stand-down, most will rely on automated systems.

Jun 15 – Aug 15 — International Space Elevator Consortium, Online: ISEC 2017 Summer Internship Program.

Jun 26 – Aug 25 — International Space University, Cork Institute of Technology, Cork, Ireland: ISU 30th Space Studies Program (SSP 2017).

Jun 17 – Aug 19 — Singularity University, Moffett Field CA: SU 2017 Global Solutions Program.