ISU SpaceUp at Central Campus in Strasbourg

International Space University is now organizing one of the popular SpaceUp series of unconferences on April 11-12, at the ISU Central Campus in Strasbourg, France, after having supported numerous SpaceUp events around Europe in recent years. The SpaceUp ISU organizing team is a diverse group of faculty and students, including prominent leaders from the university, such as Professor Chris Welch (Masters Director), Nassim Bovet (Head of Admissions and Alumni Affairs) and Geraldine Moser (Head of Business Development). The event has gained support from the European Satellite Navigation Competition and Copernicus Masters, international innovation competitions in the fields of satellite navigation and earth observation respectively. A major highlight of the event is participation of Astronaut Dr. Helen Sharman (BL), who became the first female in space from an ESA member state after flying to Mir aboard Soyuz TM-12 in 1991 under Project Juno. As the event coincides with Yuri’s Night, the unconference will end with a true space party under the famous ISU statue of Yuri Gagarin. As an unconference, SpaceUp does not have a set program and the participants decide the topics and schedule of the sessions. The main theme of Space can be explored through various dimensions of technology, policy, science, exploration, art, culture, education or even cooking. (Image Credit: ISU, SpaceUp, ESA, J. Huart, Kingston University London)

MONDAY

Apr 6 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 43 Samantha Cristoforetti & Terry Virts practicing with Canadarm-2 for upcoming Dragon CRS 6 grapple, Kelly & Kornienko will return to Earth Mar 2016 with Expedition 46 after 342 days in space, 2 Soyuz craft & 2 Progress resupply vehicles currently attached to ISS.

Apr 6 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Moon Orbit: Funding for NASA Moon mission, with 7 functioning instruments & 21 data set releases, still undetermined for FY16.

Apr 6 — MESSENGER OCM-15, Mercury Orbit: Spacecraft to perform Orbital Correction Maneuver #15 today; expected to impact surface this month / end mission; launched Aug 2004.

Apr 6 — Cassini, Saturn Orbit: Of Saturn’s 62 moons, craft will have 2 close encounters with Titan, 2 with Dione, 3 with Enceladus, 1 with Epimetheus, 1 with Prometheus, 1 with Aegeon this year; will remain in nearly equatorial orbit for rest of 2015.

Apr 6 — Ad Astra Rocket Company, Webster TX: NewSpace company with Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) contract, US$10M over 3 years, will continue to develop VASIMR engine & perform 100-hour continuous test of VX-200-SS prototype.

Apr 6 — AstroScale, Singapore: Working on space debris removal satellite system “Mothership & Boy” to be launched 2017 with US$7.48M funds raised, and Lunar Dream Capsule Project to travel to Moon surface aboard Astrobotic Griffin Lander.

Apr 6 — Made in Space, Moffett Field CA: 3D printer at ISS manufacturing various objects in space, printable 3D model files made public for home use.

Apr 6 — RSA, Launch Proton / Express AM8, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Russian Proton rocket to launch Express AM8 satellite for Russian Satellite Communications Co.

Apr 6 – May 8 — Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China: Workshop: The Next Detectors for Gravitational Wave Astronomy.

Apr 6 — Uranus: At conjunction with Sun, 04:00.

Apr 6 — Asteroid 2015 FN33: Near-Earth flyby (0.025 AU).

Kansas Ad Astra State Hosts Science and Space Events

The Ad Astra per Aspera (To the Stars through Difficulties) State of Kansas is advancing science and Space education with initiatives including the Kansas Association of Teachers of Science (KATS) conference on April 9-11 and the Ad Astra Kansas Day 2015 Space Celebration Apr 25. Held at Rock Springs in Junction City, KATS aims to promote science and identify skills students should master in order to prepare for 21st century careers. This year the event will include National Science Teachers Association President–Elect Dr. Carolyn Hayes (BL), Author MK Mueller (BR), eight Break Out Sessions and two General Sessions. The Ad Astra Kansas Foundation (AAKF) hosts the 13th Annual Space Celebration themed To Pluto and Beyond in Topeka on Apr 25, one day after the 25th anniversary of the deployment of Hubble Space Telescope by Kansas Astronaut Steven Hawley and the STS-31 crew on Space Shuttle Discovery. It will feature a presentation by Barbara Anthony-Twarog from Kansas University on “Target Pluto: A Preview of the New Horizons Spacecraft Encounter,” planetarium shows, astronomy and space suit displays, Dream Rocket project and robotics demonstrations. AAKF will hold its Board of Directors meeting prior to the event, and the “Interstellar University” for Research and Development, proposed by Space Age Publishing Company, will be under consideration. (Image Credit: KATS, AAKF, NASA, ESA, NSTA, MK Muller)

Continued from…

Oct 16, 2014 – Jun 11 — NASA, University of Hawai`i, Mauna Loa HI: Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Mission 3.