September 9-15, 2013 / Vol 32, No 36 / Hawai`i Island, USA

AIAA Space Conference 2013: Sparking Ingenuity and Collaboration

calendar feature - AIAA Space 2013American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space 2013 Conference & Exposition is on September 10-12 at the San Diego Convention Center in California, USA. The theme is ‘Sparking Ingenuity and Collaboration to Enable Mission Success.’ The event comes at a dynamic time in the Space industry, as budgets are tightening, new enterprises and technologies are emerging and business models are evolving. Six Plenary Sessions ranging from ‘The Evolving Landscape of the Space Business’ to ‘Aligning Technology Roadmaps to Support Goals’ include speakers from private space enterprises, established aerospace / defense contractors, launch providers, NASA and others. The ‘Space Exploration for Inspiration and Profit’ session is moderated by Bruce Pittman of NASA Ames and includes Bob Richards of Moon Express and Chris Lewicki of Planetary Resources. AIAA is the world largest society for professionals in the field of aerospace engineering and is currently led by Dr. Michael Griffin with 35,000+ individual members and 90 corporate members. It is also a leading aerospace publisher – in the last 80 years AIAA has produced over 300 books and almost 200,000 technical papers. (Image Credit: AIAA)

BIS Lecture Highlights Scientific Goals and Potential of JUICE Mission

BIS JUICEThe British Interplanetary Society hosts ‘JUpiter ICy moon Explorer (JUICE): The First Large ESA Cosmic Vision Mission’ presented by Athena Coustenis on September 12 in London, United Kingdom at BIS. Coustenis is the Director of Research at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and astrophysicist with the Laboratory for Space Studies and Astrophysics Instrumentation (LESIA) at Paris Observatory. JUICE is scheduled to be launched in mid-2022 and reach the Jupiter system in January 2030 (7.6 years later). NASA Juno spacecraft, launched in August 2011, is expected to reach Jupiter July 4, 2016 (4.9 years later). JUICE will spend about 3.5 years studying Jupiter, Ganymede, Europa, Callisto and Io. It will perform 2 flybys of 3,100-km diameter Europa to focus on its chemical composition, measure the thickness of its icy crust and identify candidate sites for future exploration. In 2032 JUICE will enter orbit around 5,270-km diameter Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System, to investigate its icy surface, internal structure, subsurface ocean, magnetic field and potential to support life. Russia is considering spending US$1M in 2014 to begin researching / developing an astrobiology-focused Ganymede Lander to launch with JUICE. Scientists hope JUICE will enhance our understanding of the Jupiter system’s evolution and how our Solar System works. (Image Credit: ESA/AOES, Roscosmos, Adrian Mann, NASA)


Sep - Nov = 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).


Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Venus (WSW), Saturn (WSW); Morning Planets: Mars (E), Jupiter (E).


MONDAY

Sep 9 — ISS, LEO: Pavel Vinogradov hands over ISS command to Fyodor Yurchikhin, 18:25 UT live coverage; Vinogradov, Misurkin, Cassidy making final preparations for return to Earth Sep 10.

Sep 9 — Juno, Jupiter Trajectory: Now less than 38M km from Earth traveling about 38 km/sec relative to Sun with one-way radio signal of about 2 minutes; 30 days until Earth flyby gravity assist.

Sep 9 — Cassini, Saturn Orbit: Continuing to observe Titan, data reveals moon may have rigid ice shell with large ice roots extending into underlying ocean.

Sep 9 — XCOR Aerospace Inc., Mojave CA: NewSpace company will post information about developing, testing, integrating Lynx Mark 1 suborbital spaceplane systems and subsystems on Sep 9-14.

Sep 9 — Astrobotic Technology Inc., Pittsburgh PA: Developing 525-kg Griffin Lander and 80-kg Red Rover able to drive 10 cm/sec to investigate Moon Lacus Mortis at 44.962° N, 25.61° E.

Sep 9 — Tethers Unlimited Inc., Bothell WA: Continuing to develop SpiderFab technologies with US$500,000 NASA Phase II contract for in space fabrication of spacecraft components such as antennas, solar arrays, sensor masts.

Sep 9 — NASA HQ, RSA, Star City, Russia: Astronaut Mike Hopkins to participate in interviews from Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center; live coverage 16:00 – 17:00 local time.

Sep 9 — Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, NASA, Titusville FL: NASA Time Capsule Ceremony in Space Shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex; 10:00 EDT.

Sep 9-12 — University of Cambridge Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, United Kingdom: LSST @ Europe: The Path to Science.

Sep 9-13 — Euroconsult, Arianespace, Lockheed Martin Corp., et al, Paris, France: World Satellite Business Week.

Sep 9-14 — Yunnan Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Science Foundation of China, Kunming, Yunnan, China: 7th International Workshop on Solar Polarization.

Sep 9 — Moon: 2.5° S of Saturn, 08:00.

Sep 9 — Asteroid 2010 CF19: Near-Earth flyby (0.038 AU).


Continued from…

Apr 4 – Oct 25 — NASA HQ, Online / Washington DC: 2014 Night Rover Challenge; for researchers to create energy storage system allowing simulated lunar rover to operate at average 85 W throughout 14-day-long lunar night, exceed a minimum of 300 W-hrs/kg.

Aug 19 – Sep 16 — The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), Online / Exploration Park FL: CASIS Contest for Ideas: Your Idea in Space – What Would You Send to the ISS?; US$10K grand prize.

Aug 26 – Oct 10 — GLXP Team Puli, Online / Budapest, Hungary: IndieGoGo Campaign; requesting funds to send rover to Mauna Kea in Hawai`i to simulate Moon mission and test / control systems from 12,552 km away.

Sep 6 – Dec 4 — Johnson Space Center, NASA, Seattle WA: Destination Station exhibit; for public to learn about living in space aboard the ISS; at Museum of Flight.

Sep 8-12 — European Solar Physics Division, European Physical Society, European Astronomical Society, Dublin, Ireland: 14th European Solar Physics Meeting; at Trinity College.

Sep 8-13 — European Planetary Science Congress, Europlanet, et al, London, United Kingdom: European Planetary Science Congress 2013; at University College London; US$64-507 (€50-395).


TUESDAY

Sep 10 — ISS, Soyuz TMA-08M Undocking, LEO: Expedition 35/36 members Vinogradov, Misurkin, Cassidy scheduled to undock from ISS at 23:37 UT, live coverage available.

Sep 10 — London Institute of Space Policy and Law, London, United Kingdom: Space Security: Civilian and Military Policy and Practice.

Sep 10 — SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: To The Asteroids – and Beyond!; presented by John Lewis from University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, 19:00 PDT.

Sep 10-12 — AIAA, San Diego CA: AIAA SPACE 2013 Conference & Exposition; at San Diego Convention Center.

Sep 10-12 — The National Academies, Irvine CA: Assessment of NASA Science Mission Directorate 2014 Science Plan; at Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center.

Sep 10-13 — ESA, Madrid, Spain: Conference: Science Operations (SciOps) 2013 – Working Together in Support of Science; to discuss science operations in spacecraft missions, ground-based facilities; at European Space Astronomy Centre.

Sep 10-13 — ESA, Darmstadt, Germany: 6th ESA International Workshop on Tracking, Telemetry and Command Systems for Space Applications (TTC 2013); at European Space Operations Centre.

Sep 10-13 — Maui Economic Development Board Inc., Wailea Beach HI: Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference.

WEDNESDAY

Sep 11 — Soyuz TMA-08M Landing, Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan: Expedition 35/36 members Vinogradov, Misurkin, Cassidy scheduled to land in Kazakhstan 08:58 local time (02:58 UT), live coverage available.

Sep 11 — Royal Astronomical Society, London, United Kingdom: Talk: Europe’s Comet Chaser, Rosetta; at Burlington House.

Sep 11 — AIAA, San Diego CA: AIAA Educator Academy Mars Rover Demonstration; at San Diego Convention Center.

Sep 11-12 — European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria: 7th Autumn Conference; at ESPI.

Sep 11-14 — ESA, Rome, Italy: European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA) Biennial Symposium; for scientists interested in life / physical sciences and technology in space or on ground.

Sep 11 — Asteroid 2013 PH3: Near-Earth flyby (0.098 AU).

THURSDAY

Sep 12 — Cassini, Saturn Orbit: Titan flyby scheduled at 1,400-km altitude

Sep 12 — RSA, Launch Rockot / Gonets M, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia: A Rockot vehicle to launch 3 Gonets M communication satellites.

Sep 12 — The British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: Lecture: JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) – The First Large ESA Cosmic Vision Mission; with Director of Research at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) Athena Coustenis; at BIS.

Sep 12 — Canadian Space Commerce Association, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: CSCA Meeting; at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.

Sep 12 — GLXP Team Indus, Online / New Delhi, India: Last Day to Register: Lunar Rover Challenge; 5-person teams submit designs for Lunar rover.

Sep 12 — Moon: At first quarter, 07:09.

Sep 12 — Asteroid 2013 PY38: Near-Earth flyby (0.044 AU).

FRIDAY

Sep 13 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: LPI Seminar Series: Time-Lapse Photography of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: What the Coldest and Driest Place on Earth tells us about the Potential for Liquid Water on the Surface of Present-Day Mars; presented by James Dickson; 15:30 CDT.

Sep 13 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Host Dr. David Livingston will air taped interviews from AIAA Space 2013.

Sep 13 — Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston TX: Lunch with an Astronaut, John-David Bartoe; US$49.95 adult.

SATURDAY

Sep 14 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / CASSIOPE, Vandenberg AFB CA: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch Canadian Space Agency CASSIOPE (CAscade, SmallSat and IOnospheric Polar Explorer) satellite containing communications payload and instrument to observe Earth ionosphere; 09:00 – 11:00 PDT.

Sep 14 — The British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: From Imagination to Reality 2; space event to discuss what has, will, should and could come from space commercialization and development; 09:00 – 18:00 UT, at BIS.

Sep 14 — Asteroid 2013 RA6: Near-Earth flyby (0.097 AU).

SUNDAY

Sep 15 — Cassini OTM-359, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #359 today.

Sep 15 — National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC: Family Day: A Century of Women in Aerospace; Smithsonian Institution Building, National Air and Space Museum.

Sep 15 — Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, Greenbelt MD: Sunday Experiment: Solar Dynamics Observatory; for families to learn about SDO, space weather and its effects on Earth, satellites, astronauts in space; 13:00 – 15:00 EDT.

Sep 15-20 — Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, Santorini, Greece: Swift/Fermi/NuSTAR Conference: Explosive Transients – Lighthouses of the Universe; at Petros M. Nomikos Conference Center; US$289-475 (€225-370).

Sep 15 — Moon: At perigee (distance 366,969), 06:00.

Sep 15 — Asteroid 2008 HB38: Near-Earth flyby (0.033 AU).

Sep 15 — Asteroid 2008 KZ5: Near-Earth flyby (0.090 AU).

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