India Continues Impressive Development of Space Infrastructure and Expertise

Riding high on the major success of Mangalyaan Mars Orbiter Mission and moving ahead toward the experimental flight of GSLV Mk 3 in December, India is hosting Bengaluru Space Expo 2014 and International Exhibition and Conference on Space, Satellite, Launch Vehicles Technology from November 19-21 in Karnataka, India. The event is organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry in association with Antrix Corporation Limited and the India Space Research Organization. The Global Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark 3 sub-orbital test flight is scheduled to lift-off this December from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota, a barrier island off the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh. The rocket stands 42.4 meters tall and is designed to launch approximately 4,000 kg to GTO. It has a passive upper stage, which on separation should release a 3,600-kg crew module mock-up on a ballistic trajectory to evaluate some of the primary safety considerations for the central ISRO goal of human spaceflight missions NET 2019. ISRO chief K. Radhakrishnan states that the agency’s long-term goals also include building a rocket with 12,000 kg-to-GTO capacity. In the near term, success of this GSLV test is critical to maintaining the 2016-2017 timeline of the Chandrayaan-2 lander / rover / orbiter mission, likely headed to the Moon’s South or North Pole, with combined projected launch mass of 3,200 kg and science payloads devoted to mineralogical and elemental studies of the lunar surface. (Image Credit: CII, Antrix, ISRO)

MONDAY

Nov 17 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 42 Wilmore (NASA), Samokutyaev (RSA), Serova (RSA) preparing for 42/43 crew arriving Nov 25, installing hardware for Aniso Tubule experiment, disassembling Zebrafish habitat, continuing studies with blood pressure, heart rate, space headaches, muscle & bone mass, nutrition.

Nov 17 — Venus Express, Venus Orbit: ESA spacecraft at 460-km altitude in final leg of science operations with fuel running low; mission team preparing for atmospheric destruction.

Nov 17 — Philae Lander, Site Agilkia, Comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko Surface: ESA spacecraft ~480M km from Earth, the 1st to soft land on comet, to collect data on surface features & composition of surface materials, analyze material from 23-cm deep drill sample; solar panels attempting to recharge secondary battery.

Nov 17 — Astroscale PTE Ltd., Singapore: NewSpace company developing space servicing system to deorbit defunct spacecraft; participating in various events to advocate for space exploration benefits.

Nov 17 — Swiss Space Systems (S3), Payerne, Switzerland: Planning 5,000-meter drop-test flights of fully-equipped reduced-scale SOAR suborbital shuttle mock-up in spring 2015.

Nov 17 — SpaceX, Hawthorne CA: In discussion with WorldVu Satellites Ltd to develop & launch ~640 broadband satellites under 114 kg.

Nov 17 — Chandra X-Ray Center, Cambridge MA: Joint Chandra Calibration/CIAO Workshop.

Nov 17-21 — Belgian Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence (STCE), ESA, Space Weather Working Team, Liège, Belgium: 11th European Space Weather Week.

Nov 17-21 — National Research Foundation, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa: Workshop: Dark Side of the Universe 2014.

Nov 17 — Saturn: At conjunction with Sun, 23:00.

12th Reinventing Space Conference Focuses on Low-Cost Access and Utilization of Space

The 12th Reinventing Space Conference with the theme Low Cost Space: From Imagination to Reality organized by the British Interplanetary Society is being held November 18-20 at the Royal Society in London, United Kingdom. BIS, now 81 years in existence, continues to promote / support astronautics and space exploration; and the Royal Society, founded 1660, funds research fellowships and scientific start-up companies. The Tuesday program is dedicated to Military and Security aspects, Wednesday is Civil Space, Thursday is Technology and the additional Friday session on Nov 22 is devoted to Finance. Among many keynote presenters are (L-R, T-B) Jim Wertz – Microcosm President and founder of the Reinventing Space Conference, Sir Martin Sweeting – Executive Chairman SSTL and Director of the Surrey Space Centre, Alice Bunn – Director of Policy at UK Space Agency, Franco Ongaro – European Space Agency Director and Head of ESTEC, George Whitesides – CEO and President of Virgin Galactic, Barry Matsumori – SVP of Sales and Business Development at SpaceX, and Roger Longstaff – head of Skylon at Reaction Engines. Low-cost space research, education and exploration missions are highlighted by the successful ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission (US$74M), as well as by developments in micro and picosatellites, reusable capsules and rockets, and balloon / sounding rocket technologies. (Image Credit: Bob Twiggs, Royal Society, BIS, Marie Claire, Mark Chivers, et al)

Continued from…

Oct 20 – Dec 12 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Space Frontier Foundation, Online: Commercial Space Executive Leadership Training Course; with instructors Dan Rasky and Bruce Pittman.

Nov 11-25 — Christie’s Inc., Online / Multiple Locations: Deep Impact: Martian, Lunar and Other Rare Meteorites sale.

Nov 16-19 — Morgan State University, Baltimore MD: Symposium: Unified Field Mechanics – Natural Science Beyond the Veil of Spacetime.

TUESDAY

NET Nov 18 — ESA, Launch Vega / Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, Kourou, French Guiana: Vega rocket, designated flight VV04, to launch IXV project to test critical technologies for future reentry vehicles; will reach 420-km altitude, splashdown in Pacific Ocean.

Nov 18 — SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: SETI Weekly Colloquium: Rise of the Machines: Mining the Kepler Data for Astrobiology; presented by Lucianne Walkowicz from Princeton University, 12:00 PST.

Nov 18-19 — Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Aerospace Summit; at Ottawa Convention Centre.

Nov 18-20 — British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: 12th Reinventing Space Conference: Low Cost Space – From Imagination to Reality; at the Royal Society.

Nov 18-20 — University of Maryland, College Park MD: 2014 Center for Orbital Debris Education and Research (CODER) Workshop.

Nov 18-21 — Saclay Institute of Research into the Fundamental Laws of the Universe, Saclay, France: Workshop: Star-Planet Interactions and the Habitable Zone.

Nov 18-21 — Chandra X-Ray Center (CXC), Boston MA: 6th Chandra Science Symposium: Fifteen Years of Science with Chandra.