JAXA HTV-4 to Berth with ISS, Deliver Cargo and Talking Robot
The 4th JAXA H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV-4) is set to be captured by the Canadarm2, manipulated by Karen Nyberg (L), on August 9 and berthed with the Harmony module. Chris Cassidy (C) is the back-up for Nyberg, and Luca Parmitano (R) will monitor HTV systems during grapple and berthing operations. It is scheduled to be launched Aug 4 on an H-2B rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in Southern Japan. Also called Kounotori (White Stork), the HTV is a 10-m long, 4.4-m diameter spacecraft with 4 main thrusters and 28 attitude control thrusters. It will deliver about 5,400 kg of cargo including a talking robot named Kirobo that will participate in the first human-robot conversation in space, Adzuki beans for the APRSAF educational space experiment project (SSAF2013), and a Vietnam / Japan low-resolution Earth imaging cubesat ‘PicoDragon’ to be deployed from the Kibo module. After being filled with ISS waste, including NASA engineering experiment module STP-H3, HTV-4 is scheduled to undock September 8 and burn up upon reentering Earth’s atmosphere. JAXA is planning to add a return capsule option capable of returning 1,600 kg of cargo to Earth in 2018, and hopes to develop capsules which could accommodate a 3-person crew and up to 400 kg of cargo by 2022. (Image Credit: JAXA, NASA)
27th Small Satellite Conference at Utah State University
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, in collaboration with Utah State University, is hosting Small Satellite Constellations: Strength in Numbers the 27th joint conference on small satellites on August 10-15 at the Taggart Student Center, UT, USA. The main Technical program runs Aug 12-15 with Pre-Conference Workshops taking place Saturday and Sunday Aug 10-11. The aim is to provide awareness of the capabilities, resilience, flexibility and affordability enabled by multi-spacecraft fractionated systems. The program includes 11 technical sessions and explores leading edge enabling technologies as well as yet to be resolved technical challenges. Recent advances in cooperative autonomous micro robot swarms and new flexible rideshare launch opportunities have thrown open the scope of possibilities. The Keynote Address is being given by Dr. Michael Gazarik, Associate Administrator of the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. He has extensive experience in the design, development and deployment of spaceflight systems and has contributed to technology with application to NASA’s Exploration systems, Space Operations and Science missions. Over 90 exhibitors will be participating at the event – from huge veterans of the industry like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to renowned academic institutions like JHU Applied Physics Lab and Southwest Research Institute to upstarts like NovaWurks, Space Micro, Pumpkin and Tethers Unlimited. (Image Credit: SST-US, JAXA, NASA)
= 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).
Aug 5 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 36 crew preparing for HTV-4 arrival set for Aug 9, continuing eye scans for Ocular Health study, transferring cargo from Progress 52P; Misurkin, Yurchikhin reviewing procedures / timeline for EVA scheduled Aug 16.
Aug 5 — XMM Newton, GTO: With 3 X-ray telescopes, each containing 58 concentric mirrors, helping to determine atmosphere size of blue ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet HD 189733b, 63 light years away.
Aug 5 — Spitzer, Heliocentric Orbit: Studying YLW 16A, young stellar system that ‘blinks’ every 93 days; likely to be 3 developing stars surrounded by ‘hula hoop’ disk of material which may spawn planets, celestial bodies.
Aug 5 — Sierra Nevada Corp., Louisville CO: NewSpace company signs US$1.7M contract for MDA to develop engineering concept to provide on-board communication signal processing capabilities for Dream Chaser spaceplane.
Aug 5 — XCOR Aerospace Inc.,Mojave CA: Working on car-like piston engine for upper-stage rocket motor; plans to use piston pumps in Lynx suborbital passenger spaceships.
Aug 5 — Space Angels Network LLC, San Francisco CA: Collaborating with Satellite Applications Catapult to develop start-up and investment system for commercial space entrepreneurs and investors in the United Kingdom.
Aug 5-9 — Federation of Galaxy Explorers, Chantilly VA: Summer Camp; featuring Mars Base for middle school students, Rockets & Payloads for high school students; US$200.
Aug 5 — Moon: 6.3° SSW of Beehive Cluster, 21:00.
Aug 5 — Asteroid 2013 LF7: Near-Earth flyby (0.027 AU).
Continued from…
Apr 22 – Aug 31 — Mars One, Online / The Hague, The Netherlands: Accepting applications from those interested in one-way tickets to Mars to set up permanent Human settlement; US$38 to apply.
Jul 3 – Sep 1 — Aerospace Research and Engineering Systems Institute, Inc., Online / Melbourne FL:LunarSail Kickstarter campaign; requesting US$11K in pledges to fund CubeSat amateur satellite containing solar sail to orbit Moon.
Jul 4 – Sep 2 — Johnson Space Center, NASA, Online / Houston TX:‘Name the Shuttle’ contest for Texas residents; contest to name Shuttle replica as part of new attraction under development.
Aug 6 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin talks with host Dr. David Livingston.
Aug 6-10 — Space Foundation Discovery Center, Colorado Springs CO:Summer of Discovery: A Taste of Space Technology; featuring astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao, ‘Launch to the Moon’ exhibit and artifacts, space technology demonstrations, Lego NXT robotics demonstrations.
Aug 11-17 — Rencontres du Vietnam,Quy Nhon, Vietnam:Conference: Windows on the Universe; at International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science Education (ICISE).
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...
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.
(No earlier than 10 Aug) Japan to launch the MICHIBIKI No. 7 | Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZS-7) navigation satellite. Launch window remains open through...
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...
The second test launch of LandSpace's ZQ-3 rocket with undisclosed test payloads. Zhuque-3 first stage booster will attempt to land on its downrange landing...
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.
The 4th JAXA H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV-4) is set to be captured by the Canadarm2, manipulated by Karen Nyberg (L), on August 9 and berthed with the Harmony module. Chris Cassidy (C) is the back-up for Nyberg, and Luca Parmitano (R) will monitor HTV systems during grapple and berthing operations. It is scheduled to be launched Aug 4 on an H-2B rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in Southern Japan. Also called Kounotori (White Stork), the HTV is a 10-m long, 4.4-m diameter spacecraft with 4 main thrusters and 28 attitude control thrusters. It will deliver about 5,400 kg of cargo including a talking robot named Kirobo that will participate in the first human-robot conversation in space, Adzuki beans for the APRSAF educational space experiment project (SSAF2013), and a Vietnam / Japan low-resolution Earth imaging cubesat ‘PicoDragon’ to be deployed from the Kibo module. After being filled with ISS waste, including NASA engineering experiment module STP-H3, HTV-4 is scheduled to undock September 8 and burn up upon reentering Earth’s atmosphere. JAXA is planning to add a return capsule option capable of returning 1,600 kg of cargo to Earth in 2018, and hopes to develop capsules which could accommodate a 3-person crew and up to 400 kg of cargo by 2022. (Image Credit: JAXA, NASA)
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, in collaboration with Utah State University, is hosting Small Satellite Constellations: Strength in Numbers the 27th joint conference on small satellites on August 10-15 at the Taggart Student Center, UT, USA. The main Technical program runs Aug 12-15 with Pre-Conference Workshops taking place Saturday and Sunday Aug 10-11. The aim is to provide awareness of the capabilities, resilience, flexibility and affordability enabled by multi-spacecraft fractionated systems. The program includes 11 technical sessions and explores leading edge enabling technologies as well as yet to be resolved technical challenges. Recent advances in cooperative autonomous micro robot swarms and new flexible rideshare launch opportunities have thrown open the scope of possibilities. The Keynote Address is being given by Dr. Michael Gazarik, Associate Administrator of the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. He has extensive experience in the design, development and deployment of spaceflight systems and has contributed to technology with application to NASA’s Exploration systems, Space Operations and Science missions. Over 90 exhibitors will be participating at the event – from huge veterans of the industry like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to renowned academic institutions like JHU Applied Physics Lab and Southwest Research Institute to upstarts like NovaWurks, Space Micro, Pumpkin and Tethers Unlimited. (Image Credit: SST-US, JAXA, NASA)
= 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).
