Humans in Space, ISS R&D Conference: Advancing Science and Technology
International Space Station Expedition 40 six-member crew is hard at work ~415 km above Earth maintaining the orbital outpost and performing science investigations, technology demonstrations and educational activities. The first of two 6.5-hour Russia extra-vehicular activities is scheduled June 19. Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Alexander Skvortsov will attempt to mount a new integrated command and telemetry system on the Zvezda module, and replace a payload rack with a payload boom on the Russian segment of the ISS. Three U.S. spacewalks are also planned during Expedition 40 which officially ends September 10. ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst continues his ‘Blue Dot Mission’ focusing on experiments in physical science, biology, human physiology, radiation and technology. The American Astronautical Society, with support from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and NASA, will hold the 3rd International ISS Research and Development Conference on Jun 17-19 in Chicago IL. Themed Discoveries, Applications and Opportunities, the conference aims to bolster the seemingly endless possibilities for science at the space laboratory. Featured guests and speakers include (pictured L-R) Julie Robinson ISS Chief Scientist, Lyn Wigbels AAS President, and Greg Johnson CASIS President and Executive Director. (Image Credit: NASA, AAS, CASIS)
Suborbital Human Spaceflight Systems — 10 Years On, 10 Years Ahead
This Saturday June 21 is the 10th anniversary of the first full flight of SpaceShipOne. Soaring to the edge of space at an altitude of 100.124 km over Mojave CA, the ship reached speeds of Mach 2.9, sonic booms heralding another dawn of the commercial space age — a NewSpace generation of enterprises and individuals with innovative approaches to opportunities in space. As Virgin Galactic prepares for the first commercial flight of SpaceShipTwo, potentially before the end of 2014, we look past these adventure rides to the future of Earth and Space transportation. Point-to-point suborbital flights (London – Sydney; Tokyo – Hawaii; Dubai – Vancouver) could transform global lives and logistics, racing ahead of current flight times by about 90%. Real estate agents anticipate major impacts in the luxury property market once the technology becomes established and somewhat routine. Scaled Composites’ plans for SpaceShipThree were originally proposed as orbital, but have now been scaled back to the intermediate goal of point-to-point operations. The XCOR Lynx Mark 1 is expected to fly 4+ parabolic space tours per day, while the Lynx Mark 2 is projected as a two-stage fully-reusable orbital vehicle. Many people hope these systems can also be upgraded and improved upon to rendezvous with orbital stations and cruise the Cislunar Superhighway, accelerating expansion of human civilization into space. (Image Credits: VG, XCOR, MarsScientific.com, Clay Center Observatory, GoogleEarth)
= 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).
Jun 16 — ISS, LEO: Crew reviewing procedures & preparing spacesuits for EVA Jun 19, will begin second round of data collection for Flame Extinguishment Experiment-2, participating in skin aging & ocular health investigations.
Jun 16 — NEOWISE, LEO: Scanning skies for potentially hazardous NEOs; survey of 170,000 supermassive black holes from WISE mission reveals previously unknown factors relating to whether a black hole is visible or hidden.
Jun 16 — Kepler,Heliocentric Orbit: Working in 2-wheel operation mode over 75-day campaigns to observe exoplanets, star clusters, stars, active galaxies, supernovae along ecliptic plane.
Jun 16 — Blue Origin LLC, Kent WA: NewSpace company planning to begin test flights of full-scale New Shepard suborbital vehicle within one year.
Jun 16 — Tethers Unlimited Inc., Bothell WA: Will begin evaluating WRANGLER concept for NASA ARM initiative using microgravity-tested GRASP deployable net capture device and SpinCASTER tether deployer / winch mechanism.
Jun 16 — NewSpace Center LLC, Titusville FL: Raising funds to open INTERSPACE in 2016 – interactive space themed destination located ~13 km from KSC; will include hands-on adventures, high-tech tools, indoor Mars simulation.
Jun 4 – Aug 10 — Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, NASA, Laurel MD:2014 Internship Program; summer projects for students interested in working on NASA missions or space-related research opportunities at APL.
Jun 18 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Moon Orbit: NASA spacecraft reaches 5-years in orbit today; ‘The Moon as Art’ collection of images created using LRO data to be released today.
Jun 18-20 — ZoomerMedia Ltd.,Toronto, Ontario, Canada:IdeaCity 2014; to feature Buzz Aldrin, Andy Aldrin, Bob Richards, Naveen Jain, Peter Diamandis, more.
Jun 18 – Jul 11 — Venus Express, Venus Orbit: ESA spacecraft to perform “experimental aerobraking” maneuvers to reach ~130 km altitude; if survives this phase, will raise orbit for few months before making final plunge into atmosphere.
THURSDAY
Jun 19 — ISS, Russian EVA-38, LEO: Skvortsov and Artemyev perform Extra-Vehicular Activity to mount new integrated command & telemetry system on Zvezda, replace payload rack; begins 13:50 UT, live coverage available.
Jun 19 — International Space Company Kosmotras, Launch Dnepr / Multi-Payload, Yasny Cosmodrome, Dombarovsky, Russia: Ukraine-Russia Dnepr rocket to launch Deimos 2 Earth observation satellite, KazEOSat 2 remote sensing satellite, SkySat 3 for Skybox Imaging, other payloads.
Jun 19 — Silicon Valley Space Center, Santa Clara CA: Chang’e-3 Lander Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope – Astronomy from the Moon; presented by Steve Durst of International Lunar Observatory Association, 19:00-20:30 PDT.
Jun 20-21 — Scientific Preparatory Academy for Cosmic Explorers (SPACE), Orlando FL: 2nd SPACE Habitation Conference; at Renaissance Orlando Airport Hotel, US$200.
SATURDAY
Jun 21 — SpaceShipOne Suborbital Flight 10-Year Anniversary: NewSpace and Space advocates alike celebrate the first time a private company & pilot reached space with events highlighting the present and future of private human spaceflight.
Jun 21-26 — Virginia Space Grant Consortium, Wallops Flight Facility, NASA, Colorado Space Grant Consortium,Wallops Island VA: ROCKON! 2014: The Next How-To Workshop.
Jun 21 — Summer Solstice: Days are longer and nights shortest (opposite in Southern Hemisphere) as Sun, traveling along ecliptic, reaches a point farthest north of celestial equator; 00:51.
Includes ~150 meetings covering the fields of COSPAR Scientific Commissions / Panels / Task Groups, such as SC B: The Earth-Moon System, Planets, and...
From 02 to 07 August 2026, a few thousand geoscientists across diverse disciplines will gather at the 23rd annual meeting of the Asia Oceania Geosciences...
Virtual Series 2026 will offer deeper conversations on why PQC matters and the practical steps businesses should be taking; starts 1:00 pm AEST. Featuring:...
This international lunar science meeting has two objectives: to provide a platform for leading experts to review recent advances across lunar research, from the...
At CSIR International Convention Centre. Key topics are Earth Observation, Developing Space Tourism, Space Supply Manufacturing. Cultural tours are offered.
Participants will receive theoretical and hands-on training in electron imaging and X-ray spectroscopy for application to planetary samples. This training opportunity is targeted at...
"Leading Australia’s Space Future for Our Strategic Advantage". Southern Space 2026 brings together decision-makers who set the direction for Australia’s space sector. It is...
A total solar eclipse with a magnitude of 1.0386 (greatest eclipse 17:47:06 UTC) will be visible in parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic...
Includes presentation of the Neil Armstrong Award of Excellence, activities for the new class of Astronaut Scholars, 2-day Technical Conference where Scholars present their...
During U.S. spacewalk 97, two astronauts will replace a Space-to-Ground antenna on the orbital complex. The antenna is a critical communication system NASA uses...
Key themes include: Characterizing exoplanet-host solar-like stars; Star-planet interactions; Planet populations around solar-like stars. At University of Liège.
India orbiter surpasses another full year in lunar polar orbit since reaching the Moon in 2019; Chandrayaan-2 lander and rover were unsuccessful in lunar...
International Space Station Expedition 40 six-member crew is hard at work ~415 km above Earth maintaining the orbital outpost and performing science investigations, technology demonstrations and educational activities. The first of two 6.5-hour Russia extra-vehicular activities is scheduled June 19. Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Alexander Skvortsov will attempt to mount a new integrated command and telemetry system on the Zvezda module, and replace a payload rack with a payload boom on the Russian segment of the ISS. Three U.S. spacewalks are also planned during Expedition 40 which officially ends September 10. ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst continues his ‘Blue Dot Mission’ focusing on experiments in physical science, biology, human physiology, radiation and technology. The American Astronautical Society, with support from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and NASA, will hold the 3rd International ISS Research and Development Conference on Jun 17-19 in Chicago IL. Themed Discoveries, Applications and Opportunities, the conference aims to bolster the seemingly endless possibilities for science at the space laboratory. Featured guests and speakers include (pictured L-R) Julie Robinson ISS Chief Scientist, Lyn Wigbels AAS President, and Greg Johnson CASIS President and Executive Director. (Image Credit: NASA, AAS, CASIS)
This Saturday June 21 is the 10th anniversary of the first full flight of SpaceShipOne. Soaring to the edge of space at an altitude of 100.124 km over Mojave CA, the ship reached speeds of Mach 2.9, sonic booms heralding another dawn of the commercial space age — a NewSpace generation of enterprises and individuals with innovative approaches to opportunities in space. As Virgin Galactic prepares for the first commercial flight of SpaceShipTwo, potentially before the end of 2014, we look past these adventure rides to the future of Earth and Space transportation. Point-to-point suborbital flights (London – Sydney; Tokyo – Hawaii; Dubai – Vancouver) could transform global lives and logistics, racing ahead of current flight times by about 90%. Real estate agents anticipate major impacts in the luxury property market once the technology becomes established and somewhat routine. Scaled Composites’ plans for SpaceShipThree were originally proposed as orbital, but have now been scaled back to the intermediate goal of point-to-point operations. The XCOR Lynx Mark 1 is expected to fly 4+ parabolic space tours per day, while the Lynx Mark 2 is projected as a two-stage fully-reusable orbital vehicle. Many people hope these systems can also be upgraded and improved upon to rendezvous with orbital stations and cruise the Cislunar Superhighway, accelerating expansion of human civilization into space. (Image Credits: VG, XCOR, MarsScientific.com, Clay Center Observatory, GoogleEarth)
= 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).
