November 28 – December 4, 2011 / Vol 30, No 48 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Blue Origin, NewSpace Companies Advancing Future USA / Commercial Space Access Capabilities

Several NewSpace companies have important events and milestones this December that promise to provide them with significant momentum heading into 2012. Blue Origin will receive an additional US$2M from NASA in December if it is able to meet its Milestone 2.2 of the Commercial Crew Development Program. In order to receive the funds, the company must provide NASA with a letter certifying that the 1st Pusher Escape Flight Test Vehicle has departed Kent, WA for the flight test range. The work will be a significant step in the development of their 7-passenger, biconic orbital vehicle and reusable 1st stage booster. Sierra Nevada Corporation is seeking to pass Milestone 7 in their US$80M CCDev2 contract. The company currently plans to conduct the 1st test launches of its Dream Chaser spacecraft next summer. Richard Godwin, a private consultant to SpaceX will give an overview of the DragonLab spacecraft during a lecture in London, UK on Dec 1. The 2nd NASA Future Forum of 2011 will be held on Dec 9 at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. During the event, panelists from Aerojet, Blue Origin, Boeing, Sierra Nevada, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic will discuss the benefits of commercial space investments. (Image Credit: Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada Corp, SpaceX, NASA)

ESA to Host 2 International Events on Earth Observation

Space Weather and Earth Observation will be the focus of 2 events taking place in Europe. On November 28 – December 1, ESA and the Solar-Terrestrial Center of Excellence will hold ‘European Space Weather Week’ in Namur, Belgium. Now in its 8th year, the event will include 5 sessions and nearly 140 poster presentations from leading space weather scientists. Discussions will center on key innovations in space weather research and applications as well as current challenges and actions necessary in moving towards a sustainable Europe Space Weather Infrastructure. The event will also include a keynote lecture by solar astrophysicist Pal Brekke (TL) on ‘The Northern Lights – a Message from the Sun,’ and a panel debate on space weather risk to navigation. ESA will also hold a conference on ‘Earth Observation for Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions Science’ in Rome, Italy, on Nov 29-Dec 2. Co-organized by the European Geosciences Union and The International Surface Ocean – Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) Project, the event aims to bring together the Earth Observation and SOLAS communities, as well as scientific institutions and space agencies involved in observation of ocean-atmosphere interactions and its impacts. The conference will feature the latest data from the current ESA missions including SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) and the Envisat earth observation satellites. (Image Credit: ESA, wikipedia.com)

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= 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).

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Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Mars (SSE), Saturn (ESE) / Evening Planets: Mercury (SW), Venus (SW), Jupiter (E).

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MONDAY

Nov 28 — International Space Station, LEO: E-30 trio, Cmdr Dan Burbank and Flight Engineers Anatoly Ivanishin and Anton Shkaplerov continue with onboard maintenance and science activities.

Nov 28 — NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: LRO continues to function nominally in its 50±15 km near-circular orbit as it makes digital elevation and terrain maps that will be a fundamental reference for future human exploration.

Nov 28 — Mars Rover Curiosity, Earth Orbit: Upon successful launch, NASA Rover to begin 8.5-month voyage aboard Atlas 5 rocket to the Red Planet and should arrive at mineral-rich Gale Crater next August.

NET Nov 28 — RSA, Launch Soyuz / Glonass, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia: A Russian Soyuz rocket set to launch Glonass M satellite for the Russian Government.

Nov 28 – Dec 1 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nara, Japan: ‘29th AIAA International Communications Satellite Systems Conference.’

Nov 28 – Dec 2 — ESA, Solar-Terrestrial Center of Excellence, et al, Namur, Belgium: ‘8th European Space Weather Week,’ event to feature key innovations in space weather research, applications and services.

Nov 28 – Dec 2 — University of Sergio Arboleda, Arboleda, Colombia: ‘Conference: Celestial Mechanics and Computing Orbits,’ participants to focus on the importance of mathematics in the study of low energy space routes.

Nov 28 — Asteroid 5261 Eureka: Closest Approach To Earth (0.514 AU).

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Continued from…

Sep 22 — Space Adventures, NASA, ESA, JAXA, Online: Closing date submissions for ‘YouTube Space Lab Competition;’ through Dec 7.

Nov 26 — Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral FL: ‘Astronaut Encounter: Apollo Astronaut Al Worden,’ half-hour, interactive Q&A-oriented program aims to inspire children and adults alike to strive for excellence; through Nov 28.

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TUESDAY

Nov 29 – 30 — New Mexico Spaceport Authority, Las Cruces NM: ‘Meeting: Spaceport Authority Board of Directors.’

Nov 29 – Dec 1 — Opticon FP7, Utrecht University, et al, Utrecht, The Netherlands: ‘Workshop: Polarimetry with Extremely Large Telescopes.’

Nov 29 – Dec 1 — SMi Group, London, United Kingdom: ‘13th Annual Global MilSatCom Conference.’

Nov 29 – Dec 2 — NASA Offices of Education, Chantilly VA: ‘2nd NASA Education Stakeholder’s Summit: NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative – For Internship, Fellowship and Scholarship Opportunities.’

Nov 29 – Dec 2 — ESA, European Geosciences Union, The International SOLAS (Surface Ocean – Lower Atmosphere Study) Project, Rome, Italy: ‘Earth Observation for Ocean – Atmosphere Interactions Science.’

Nov 29 – Dec 4 — Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral FL: ‘Astronaut Encounter: Space Shuttle Astronaut Charlie Walker,’ half-hour, interactive Q&A-oriented program aims to inspire children and adults alike to strive for excellence.

Nov 29 — Asteroid 289315: Near-Earth Flyby (0.092 AU).

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WEDNESDAY

Nov 30 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Inefficient Collisions, Hit-and-Runs, and Splats,’ Erik Asphaug.

Nov 30 — The Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: LPI Seminar Series: ‘Melt Inclusion – From Crystal Growth Kinetics to Planetary Bodies Formation,’ Yann Sonzogni.

Nov 30 — Heritage Auctions, Online: ‘Space Signature Auction,’ featuring Apollo 13 Flown LM Systems Activation Checklist Book Directly from the Personal Collection of Mission Commander James Lovell.

Nov 30 – Dec 2 — Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon, South Korea: ‘Workshop on East – Asian Collaboration for Square Kilometer Array.’

Nov 30 — Asteroid 2011 UV158: Near-Earth Flyby (0.086 AU).

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THURSDAY

Dec 1 — Deep Space: NASA Juno Spacecraft in excellent health and operating nominally; Approximately 65 million km from Earth and traveling at 97,600 km / per hour relative to the sun with 4 instruments currently turned on: MWR, JADE, Waves and the Magnetometer experiment.

Dec 1 — Blue Origin, Kent WA: ‘Blue Origin Spacecraft Development Schedule: ‘CCDev2 Baseline Milestone 2.2 – Pusher Escape Risk Reduction Project: Pusher Escape Test Vehicle #1 Shipment.

Dec 1 — University of Mississippi – National Center for Remote Sensing, Air, and Space Law, International Institute of Space Law, The Journal of Space Law, Washington DC: ‘The 6th Eilene M. Galloway Symposium on Critical Issues in Space Law: A Comparative Look at National Space Laws and Their International Implications.’

Dec 1 — The British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: ‘SpaceX DragonLab,’ Richard Godwin.

Dec 1 — Cassini OTM-300A, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #300A today.

Dec 1 — Moon: At First Quarter; 23:52.

Dec 1 — Asteroid 2011 WD: Near-Earth Flyby (0.074 AU).

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FRIDAY

Dec 2 — Glenn Research Center, Cleveland OH: ‘NASA GRC Technology Showcase 2011,’ featuring technical categories in materials and structure, biomedical, sensors and electronics, advanced / alternative energy, and advanced propulsion.

Dec 2 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: ‘Lunch With an Astronaut,’ John-David Bartoe.

Dec 2 — Comet P / 2011 UA 134: Closest Approach to Earth (1.072 AU).

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SATURDAY

Dec 3 — Asteroid 2011 KG4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.092 AU).

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SUNDAY

Dec 4 — Moon: 6.1° NNE of Antares; 09:00.

Dec 4 — Asteroid 2003 XV: Near-Earth Flyby (0.026 AU).