Space Settlement Technologies Focus of SSI Conference
On October 29-31, space scientists and advocates will meet in Silicon Valley for Space Studies Institute’s (SSI) ‘Space Manufacturing 14: Critical Technologies for Space Settlement’ conference at NASA Ames and the Sheraton Sunnyvale Hotel. This year’s event is a revival of a classic series of Space Manufacturing conferences held in Princeton NJ from 1974 – 2001, and will attempt to reinvigorate research and collaboration in the international space community. Limited to 200 participants, the event will focus on pioneering humanity’s expansion into the solar system and feature a range of topics on space solar power, advancing cislunar propulsion technologies, mining methods for asteroid utilization and robotics for space exploration and development. Taber MacCallum, William “Red” Whittaker and Brad Blair are among some of the chairs for the 7 sessions. On Oct 29, NASA Ames Director Pete Worden (inset) will moderate a panel discussion on ‘Moon, Mars, Asteroids: Where to Go First for Resources?’ Panel experts include XCOR Aerospace CEO Jeff Greason, University of Maryland Astronomy Professor Mike A’Hearn, Asteroid Enterprises Ltd President Mark Sonter, SSI Professor John Lewis (CR), Penguin Automated Systems Professor Greg Baiden and Lunar and Planetary Institute Scientist Paul Spudis. Other presentations include ‘The ILO as Property Rights Agent’ by International Lunar Observatory Association Director Steve Durst and ‘Synthetic Genomics’ by biologist Craig Venter. Founded in 1977 by Gerard O’Neill (TR), the SSI maintains its commitment to advance space settlement and industrialization. Pictured: SSI Vice President Lee Valentine (BR). (Credit: SSI, NASA, XCOR, AAS, aecom.com, futurhi.net)
SpaceLand Expo-Congress Linking Cultural & Scientific Tourism to Strengthen European Space Awareness
SpaceLand, the 1st non-government aerospace agency providing engineering and operational ground and flight services for any experimental hardware or flight candidate, is holding its 2nd Expo-Congress on October 21-23 at the Olbia-Costa Smeralda airport in Sardinia, Italy. With a long history in parabolic flight research and edutainment programs, including ground and underwater training activities both in Italy and the USA, SpaceLand allows citizens from 11 to 93 years of age to get involved as test operators or test subjects on microgravity flights and space tourism training. This 3-day event will include bilateral meetings, workshops, networking opportunities, open flight demos, a student competition and an interactive forum to learn about the research and education capabilities offered by the SpaceLand program. Representatives of at least 9 space tourism / training programs, including Hiroshi Yamashita of the Japan Space Tourism Society, will make presentations during the ‘Science, Training and Student Outreach Session.’ A session on Industry will feature presentations by Luigi Fusco of ESA and Andrea Lorenzoni of ASI. Participants will have the opportunity to test-fly a high-tech “autogyro” during the last day of the Expo. (Credit:)
= 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 – Morning Planets: Saturn (E) / Evening Planets: Venus (WSW), Mars (SW), Jupiter (ESE).
MONDAY
Oct 25 — International Space Station, LEO:
Oct 25 — NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit:
Oct 25 — Mars, Red Planet:
Oct 25-27 — American Astronautical Society, Huntsville AL: ‘3rd Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium.’
Oct 25-28 — NASA, Air Force Research Laboratory, Moffett Field CA: ‘Commercial and Government Responsive Access to Space Technology Exchange (CRASTE): Unleashing the Genius of the American Entrepreneur.’
Oct 25-28 — NASA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Gatlinburg TN: ‘2010 NASA Laboratory Astrophysics Workshop.’
Oct 25-29 — United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, International Academy of Astronautics, et al, Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia: ‘8th International Conference of the African Association of Remote Sensing and the Environment.’
Oct 25-29 — Sophia Center for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, University of Wales Lampeter, Bath, United Kingdom: ‘7th International Conference on the Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomenon.’
Oct 25 — Asteroid 2005 UN: Near-Earth Flyby (0.020 AU).
Oct 25 — Venus: 6.5° SSW of Mercury; 02:00.
Oct 25 — Moon: 1.2° S of Pleiades, 02:00; 7.6° N of Aldebaran, 20:00.
TUESDAY
Oct 26 — Women in Aerospace, Arlington VA: ‘25th Annual WIA Awards Dinner,‘ WIA to award 8 outstanding women for their contributions to the aerospace industry and the advancement of women in the field.
WEDNESDAY
Oct 27 — RSA, Launch Soyuz / Progress 40 (M74), Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Russia Progress 40 cargo spacecraft delivers supplies to ISS crew.
Oct 27 — Huntsville National Space Club, Huntsville AL: ‘22nd Wernher von Braun Memorial Dinner.‘
Oct 27 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘New Search Strategies for SETI,’ Seth Shostak.
Oct 27 — Western Christian College and High School, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: ‘Integrity at the Heart of Leadership,‘ Roberta Bondar, 1st Canadian woman in space to speak at luncheon.
THURSDAY
Oct 28— Arianespace, Launch Ariane 5 / W3B & BSAT 3B, Kourou, French Guiana: Arianespace Flight 197 to use Ariane 5 rocket with cryogenic upper stage to launch Eutelsat’s W3B communications satellite to serve Europe, Africa and the Middle East and the BSAT 3B for Japan.
Oct 28 — WM Keck Observatory, Kamuela HI: ‘Photography of Extrasolar Planets,’ Bruce Macintosh.
Oct 28-29 — ESA, Toulouse, France: ‘2nd International Workshop on On-Board Payload Data Compression 2010.’
Oct 28-30 — SpaceLand, Sardinia, Italy: ‘2nd SpaceLand Expo-Congress’ / ‘1st European Summit on SMES and Space Tourism.’
Oct 28-30 — Women of Color (WOC), Dallas TX: ‘WOC STEM Conference,’ focused on development and achievements of STEM minority women.
FRIDAY
NET Oct 29 — United Launch Alliance, Launch Delta 2 / COSMO-SkyMed 4, Vandenberg Air Force Base CA: United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket will launch the fourth Italian COSMO-SkyMed radar Earth-imaging satellite used for civil and military applications.
Oct 29-31 — Space Studies Institute, Mountain View CA: ‘Space Manufacturing 14: Critical Technologies for Space Settlement,’ speakers to address topics including affordable space transportation, extraterrestrial prospecting, lunar and asteroidal manufacturing processes, robotics and tele-operations, closed environment life support systems, space solar power / energy and off-planet property rights.
Oct 29-Nov 12 — Windows to the Universe, Global: ‘Great World Wide Star Count,’ event to raise awareness about light pollution and the night sky as well as encourage learning in astronomy.
Oct 29 — Moon: 8.3° SSW of Pollux; 02:00.
Oct 29 — Asteroid (Near-Earth Flyby): 2010 TQ54 (0.073 AU); 2007 JB21 (0.099 AU).
SATURDAY
Oct 30— Sally Ride Science, Arlington TX: ‘Sally Ride Science Festival,’ featuring astronaut Barbara Morgan and Discovery Workshops for 5th-8th grade girls.
Oct 30— Zero Gravity Corporation, Las Vegas NV: Commercial weightless flight onboard G Force One.
Oct 30 — Moon: 4.1° SSW of Beehive Cluster; 04:00.
SUNDAY
Oct 31-Nov 3 — Geological Society of America, Denver CO: ‘2010 GSA Annual Meeting: Reaching New Peaks in GeoScience.’
Oct 31 — Asteroid 1640 Nemo: Closest Approach to Earth (0.776 AU).
NET Nov — International Launch Services, Launch Proton / Skyterra 1, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: International Launch Services Proton Rocket with a Breeze M upper stage to deploy SkyTerra 1 mobile communications satellite to cover North and Central America.
Nov 1— NASA, Launch Discovery STS-133, Cape Canaveral FL: USA mission to the International Space Station set to deliver the Express Logistics Carrier 4, a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and critical spare components.
Nov 1-3 — National Space Organization of Taiwan, International Astronautical Federation, Taipei, Taiwan: ‘6th International Workshop on Satellite Constellation and Formation Flying.’
Nov 2 — Reuben Fleet Science Center, San Diego CA: ‘The Sky Tonight Planetarium Show: Jupiter.’
Nov 2-4 — Airtec, ESA, et al, Frankfurt, Germany: ‘1st International Conference Space World – From Vision to Commercial Applications,’ theme park and international aerospace supply fair.
Nov 3 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Computer Simulations of Convection and Magnetic Field Generation in Planets,’ Gary Glatzmaier.
Nov 4 — Deep Impact / Epoxi, Deep Space: Deep Impact spacecraft to fly by additional target, Comet Hartley-2; spacecraft involved in Epoxi mission (Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization and the Deep Impact Extended Investigation) since successful primary mission impact of Comet Temple-1 in Jul 2005.
NET Nov 4 — United Launch Alliance, Launch Delta 4-Heavy / NROL-32, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station FL: The United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket set to launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the US.
Nov 4 — Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED), NASA, Newport News VA: ‘TEDxNASA 2010: Ideas Worth Spreading – What Matters Next.’
Nov 4-7 — American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology (ASGSB), Washington DC: ‘2010 Annual Meeting of ASGSB.’
Nov 5-7 — Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, Northrop Grumman, et al, Urbana IL: ‘SEDS SpaceVision 2010: Envision. Ignite. Achieve.’
Nov 6 — Team Phoenicia, TechShop, Menlo Park CA: ‘Nanosatellite Launcher Challenge Seminar,’ with presentations by NASA Centennial Challenge Program, FAA, California Space Authority, Team Phoenicia and other SF Bay Area teams.
Nov 7-10 — European Southern Observatory, Copiapo, Chile: ‘Spiral Structure in the Milky Way: Confronting Observations and Theory.’
NET Nov 8— SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Dragon C1, Cape Canaveral FL: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch 1st Dragon C1 spacecraft which will one day serve as resupply missions to the ISS.
Nov 8-9 — NASTAR Center, Philadelphia PA: ‘NASTAR 2-Day Space Training Program.’
Nov 8-10 — The National Academies Space Studies Board, Irvine CA: ‘SSB Fall Workshop 2010: Sharing the Adventure with the Public – The Value and Excitement of Grand Questions of Space Science and Exploration.’
Nov 8-13 — Singularity University, Faculty of Informatics and Management Paulista (FIAP), Sao Paulo, Brazil: ‘1st International 6-day Executive Program,’ open to the public, entrepreneurs, and MBA students, held for the first time on FIAP campus.
Nov 10 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘A Statistical Equation for the Distribution of Habitable Planets in Our Galaxy,’ Claudio Maccone.
Nov 10-11 — Diamond Light Source Ltd, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: ‘Synchrotron Radiation in Earth, Space & Planetary Science: Exploiting the UK’s Newest Facility.’
Nov 14-18 — Japan-US Science, Technology & Space Applications Program, Hawai`i Island HI: ‘2010 JUSTSAP Symposium: The Next Giant Leap – Building Sustainable Settlements Beyond Low-Earth Orbit.’
Nov 15-17 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Glenn Research Center, US Air Force Research Laboratory, Colorado Springs CO: ‘18th Advanced Space Propulsion Workshop 2010,’ event to emphasize low Technology Readiness Level (TRL = 1-3), far-term space propulsion and power concepts and technologies that enable ambitious robotic and human exploration missions of the 21st century.
Nov 15-19 — International Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, The American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, et al, Orlando FL: ‘Geospatial Data and Geovisualization: Environment, Security and Society.’
Nov 16-17 — American Astronautical Society, Cape Canaveral FL: ‘AAS National Conference: ISS – The Next Decade;’ AAS nominated recipients to also accept awards.
Nov 16-18 — Canada France Hawaii Telescope, Taipei, Taiwan: ‘9th CFHT Users’ Meeting: Decade 4,’ opportunity to share achievements of the past 4 decades with final release of the CFHT Legacy Survey happening during the meeting and a new generation of Large Programs starting / being underway.
Nov 17 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Status of the James Webb Telescope and its Capabilities for Exoplanet Science,’ Mark Clampin.
Nov 17 — Foothill College Astronomy Program, Ames Research Center, et al, Silicon Valley CA: Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series: ‘An Update from the Kepler Mission: The Search for Other Earths,’ Natalie Batalha.
Nov 17 — International Academy of Astronautics, Washington DC: ‘Space for Humanity: Space Agencies Summit.’
Nov 18 — Huntsville Space Professionals, Huntsville AL: ‘National Commercial Space Summit,’ forum for the leading national commercial space companies to present their vision and value for space exploration.
NET Nov 19 — USAF, Launch Minotaur / STP S26, Kodiak Island AK: The Air Force Minotaur 4 rocket set to launch group of satellites sponsored by Air Force Space Test Program.
Nov 19— Zero Gravity Corporation, Miami FL: Research Flight on board G Force One.
Nov 19 — Canadian Alumni of the International Space University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: ‘National Space Awareness Workshop,’ biennial event to promote space awareness among students, young professionals and the community.
Nov 19-21 — Canadian Space Society, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: ‘Canadian Space Summit.’
Nov 20-21 — Victorian Space Science Education, Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum, et al, Melbourne, Australia: ‘APRSAF Water Rocket Launch Competition.’
Nov 23 — WM Keck Observatory, Kamuela HI: ‘Star and Planet Formation,’ Josh Eisner.
Nov 23-26 — Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum, Melbourne, Australia: ‘17th Session of the APRSAF,’ includes a poster contest for children themed ‘Space Technology to Help Earth.’
NET Nov 30 — RSA, Launch Proton / Glonass, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: RSA Proton Rocket to deploy trio of satellites for the Glonass navigation system.
Nov 30 – Dec 2 — International Academy of Astronautics, Abuja, Nigeria: ‘IAA Nigeria International Symposium on the Equatorial Plane: Attributes and Characteristics.’
NET Dec — USAF, Launch Minotaur / TacSat 4, Kodiak Island AK: The Air Force Minotaur 4 rocket set to launch the experimental TacSat 4 demonstration satellite for the military’s Operationally Responsive Space office.
NET Dec — International Launch Services, Launch Proton / KA-SAT, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: International Launch Services Proton Rocket with Breeze M upper stage to deploy KA-SAT communications satellite for Eutelsat to provide broadband internet services to Europe.
Dec 1 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘IRIS: A New Window on the Physics of the Solar Interface Region,’ Bart De Pontieu.
Dec 1 — Reuben Fleet Science Center, San Diego CA: ‘The Sky Tonight Planetarium Show: Winter Constellations.’
Dec 4 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Space Age Publishing Company, Tokyo, Japan: ‘Galaxy Forum Japan: Galaxy Education in the 21st Century.’
Dec 4— Zero Gravity Corporation, Miami FL: Commercial weightless flight onboard G Force One.
Dec 6 — China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Shanghai, China: ‘2010 Shanghai World Expo: Space Home Exhibit.’
Dec 8 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Microbial Dark Matter in Glacial Ice and Implications for Martian Life,’ P. Buford Price.
Dec 9-10 — NASTAR Center, Philadelphia PA: ‘NASTAR 2-Day Space Training Program.’
Dec 10 — National Center for Remote Sensing, Air Space and Law, Washington DC: ‘4th Eilene M. Galloway Symposium on Critical Issues in Space Law.’
Dec 10 — Hampshire Astronomical Group, Hampshire, United Kingdom: ‘20 Things You Didn’t Know About Astronomy,’ Robin Scagell.
Dec 13 — RSA, Launch Soyuz / ISS 25S, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the manned Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station with members of the next Expedition crew.
Dec 13-17 — American Geophysical Union, San Francisco CA: ‘AGU Fall Meeting.’
Dec 20 — Total Lunar Eclipse: 20:32-00:01 (Dec 21); Visible in Asia, Australia, the Pacific, the Americas, and Europe.
Dec 31 — X Prize Foundation, Santa Monica CA: Deadline for registration to compete for Google Lunar X Prize.
2011
NET Jan — Orbital Sciences Corporation, Launch Minotaur 1 / ORS 1, Wallops Island VA: The Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket will launch the Operationally Responsive Space 1, or ORS 1, satellite.
NET 2011 — Arianespace, Launch Soyuz / Pleiades 1, Kourou, French Guiana: An Arianespace Soyuz rocket set to launch 2nd mission from the Guiana Space Center in South America.
Jan 3-7 — Indian Space Research Organization, Chennai, India: ‘98th Indian Science Congress.’
Jan 5 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Near Earth Asteroids as Targets for Human and Robotic Exploration,’ David Morrison.
Jan 5-9 — The International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture, Lima, Peru: ‘9th Oxford International Symposium on Archaeoastronomy,’ event for researchers in fields such as astronomy, anthropology, archaeology, history, museum studies, surveying, statistics and the history of religions as well as the history of science and astronomy.
Jan 5-Feb 4 — International Space University, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia: ‘Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program,’ an intensive, interdisciplinary, live-in program for professionals, graduates and senior graduates with 40 core lectures, workshops and a group research project.
Jan 8-14 — Geological Society of Africa, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa: ‘CAG23 South Africa 2011: Together in Africa for a Leading Role in Geoscience.’
Jan 9-13 — American Institute Of Aeronautics And Astronautics, Orlando FL: ‘49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting & New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition.’
Jan 9-13 — American Astronomical Society, Seattle WA: ‘217th Meeting of the AAS.’
Jan 10-14 — National Center for Spatial Studies, ESA, et al, Paris, France: ‘The Millimeter and Submillimeter Sky in the Planck Mission Era.’
Jan 15 — United Launch Alliance, Launch Delta 4-Heavy / NROL-49, Vandenberg Air Force Base CA: The United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket set to launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the US National Reconnaissance Office.
Jan 15 — International Academy of Astronautics, Washington DC: Deadline nomination for IAA membership.
Jan 17-21 — ESA, Noordwijk, The Netherlands: ‘Landing Site Characterization and Selection for Future Exploration Missions.’
Jan 19 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘The Evolution of Saturn’s F Ring,’ Rob French.
Jan 20-22 — University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy: ‘15th International Conference on Gravitational Microlensing & School on Modeling Planetary Microlensing Events.’
Jan 20 — JAXA, Launch H-2B / HTV 2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan: Japanese H-2B rocket set to launch 2nd H-2 Transfer Vehicle to deliver equipment and supplies to the ISS.
Jan 25-26 — NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group, Washington DC: ‘4th Meeting of the NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group.’
Jan 28 — RSA, Launch Soyuz / Progress 41 (M75), Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Russia Progress 41 cargo spacecraft delivers supplies to ISS crew.
Jan 28 — 25th Challenger 51-L Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle accident took place 28 January 1986 killing seven crew members including Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, its pilot, Michael J. Smith, and its crew, Christa McAuliffe (the 1st ‘Teacher in Space’), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
Jan 29-Feb 8 — The Astronomy School of the Institute for Research in Fundamental Science, Sharif University of Technology, Kish Island, Iran: ‘International Workshop on Extrasolar Planets.’
NET Feb — United Launch Alliance, Atlas 5 / GPS 2F-2, Cape Canaveral FL: The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 (AV-023) rocket set to launch the Air Force’s 2nd Block 2F navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System.
NET Feb — Arianespace, Launch Soyuz / Globalstar, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Arianespace Soyuz rocket with Fregat upper stage to launch 6 2nd generation Globalstar mobile communications satellites.
Feb 1 — 8th Columbia STS-107 Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle explosion took place 1 February 2003 on its return to Earth killing David M. Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael P. Anderson, William McCool, and Ilan Ramon.
Feb 4-9 — American Astronautical Society Rocky Mountain Section, Breckenridge CO: ‘34th Annual AAS Guidance and Control Conference.’
Feb 7-9 — ESA, Geomicrobiology for Space Settlement and Exploration, Marrakech, Morocco: ‘Geobiology in Space Exploration.’
Feb 9-10 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington DC: ‘14th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference.’
Feb 10 — ESA, Moscow, Russia: Mars500 mission ‘arrival’ on Mars to begin surface operations.
Feb 13-17 — American Astronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, New Orleans LA: ‘21st AAS / AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting.’
Feb 14 — Stardust NEXT, Deep Space: Spacecraft conducts flyby of comet Temple 1 to obtain high resolution images of the coma and nucleus, as well as measurements of the composition, size distribution, and flux of dust emitted into the coma.
Feb 15 — Arianespace, Launch Ariane 5 / ATV 2, Kourou, French Guiana: The Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket set to launch the European Space Agency’s second Automated Transfer Vehicle, named Johannes Kepler.
Feb 15-17 — International Space University, Strasbourg, France: ‘15th ISU Annual International Symposium: The International Space Station: Maximizing the Return from Extended Operations.’
Feb 23 — Orbital Sciences Corporation, Launch Taurus / Glory, Vandenberg Air Force Base CA: The Orbital Sciences Taurus rocket set to launch NASA’s Glory Earth observation satellite.
NET Feb 27 — NASA, Launch Endeavour STS-134, Cape Canaveral FL: U.S. mission to the International Space Station set to deliver the Express Logistics Carrier 3, a Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.
Feb 28- Mar 1 — University of Central Florida, Orlando FL: ‘Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference 2011.’
Mar — ESA, Moscow, Russia: Mars500 astronauts to begin ‘voyage’ back to Earth.
Mar 5-12 — The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Big Sky MT: ‘32nd IEEE Aerospace Conference 2010.’
Mar 7-11 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, The Woodlands TX: ‘The 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.’
Mar 9 — The SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium Series Lecture: ‘Planetary Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope,’ Heidi Hammel.
Mar 18 — MESSENGER, Mercury Orbit: Spacecraft enters Mercury orbit; spacecraft to map entire planet in color and conduct various measurements.
Mar 30-31 — American Astronautical Society, Greenbelt MD: ‘49th Robert Goddard Memorial Symposium.’
Apr — Space Tourism Month, Global: Space Tourism Society and other space groups designate April to be ‘Space Tourism Month,’ celebrating the 10th commemoration of Tito’s liftoff, 15th year of the founding of STS, 30th commemoration of 1st US Space Shuttle flight and Apr 12 50th commemoration of the 1st human to orbit Earth in 1961.
Apr 1-2 — Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville AL: ‘2011 Great Moonbuggy Race.’
Apr 3-8 — European Geosciences Union (EGU), Vienna, Austria: ‘EGU General Assembly 2011.’
Apr 3-9 — Swiss Academy of Sciences, Swiss Society for Astrophysics, Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland: ‘From Planets to Life,’ course covers the most important and critical events essential for the emergence and development of intelligent life on Earth and present the subject from different view points: (1) astrophysics, (2) Earth geology and climatology and (3) biology.
Apr 4-8 — International Academy of Astronautics, Berlin, Germany / Online: ‘8th IAA Symposium on Small Satellite for Earth Observation.’
Apr 10-15 — International Committee on Remote Sensing of Environment, Sydney, Australia: ‘34th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment.’
Apr 11-14 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, San Francisco CA: ‘17th AIAA International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference.’
Apr 11-15 — International Academy of Astronautics, Houston TX: ‘18th IAA Human in Space Symposium: Integration and Cooperation in the Next Golden Age of Human Space Flight,’ event will focus on the concept that integration across cultures, nations, agencies, disciplines, and objectives will be absolutely essential to the next chapters of the Humans-in-Space story.
Apr 17-21 — International Astronomical Union, Cape Town, South Africa: ‘2nd Middle East-Africa IAU Regional Meeting.’
Apr 20-22 — National Space Agency of Ukraine Yuzhnoye State Design Office, et al, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine: ‘3rd Advanced Space Technologies for Humankind Prosperity.’
Apr 28-30 — Space Tourism Society, Los Angeles CA: ‘Space Tourism Symposium 2011.’
May 2-7 — Virtual Roentgen and Gamma Observatory, National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine: ‘18th Young Scientists’ Conference on Astronomy and Space Physics.’
May 10-13 — International Academy of Astronautics, Bucharest, Romania: ‘2nd IAA Planetary Defense Conference.’
May 22-26 — American Astronomical Society, Boston MA: ‘218th Meeting of the AAS.’
May 22-26 — ESA, Hyeres, France: ‘20th ESA Symposium on European Rocket and Balloon Programs and Related Research.’
May 23-28 — NASA, Kennedy Space Center FL: ‘2nd Annual Lunabotics Mining Competition.’
May 30-Jun 1 — International Academy of Astronautics, Arcachon, France: ‘2nd Symposium On Private Human Access to Space.’
Jun 5-8 — NASA Astrobiology Institute, University of Colorado at Boulder, et al, Bozeman MT: ‘AbGradCon11.’
Jun 5-10— Andalucia Institute of Astrophysics, The Spanish National Research Council, Malaga, Spain: ‘2nd Workshop on Robotic Autonomous Observatories.’
Jun 5-12 — International Symposium on Space Technology and Science Committee, JAXA, et al, Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan: ‘28th International Symposium on Space Technology and Science.’
Jun 12-15 — Space Resources Roundtable, NORCAT, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: ‘2nd Annual Joint Planetary and Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium and Space Resources Roundtable.’
Jun 13-15 — Lunar and Planetary Insitute, Houston TX: ‘A Wet Vs. Dry Moon: Exploring Volatile Reservoirs for the Evolution of the Moon and Future Exploration.’
Jun 27-30 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Honolulu HI: ‘Atmospheric Space Environments Conference / 42nd AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference in conjunction with the 18th International Conference on MHD Energy Conversion (ICMHD).’
Jun 28 — NASA, Launch Atlantis STS-135 / MPLM, LMC, Cape Canaveral FL: Atlantis to fly one final mission to International Space Station to deliver a packed Multi-purpose Logistics Module, Lightweight Multi-purpose Carrier and 4 person crew.
NET Jun — Arianespace, Launch Soyuz / Galileo, Kourou, French Guiana: An Arianespace Soyuz rocket set to launch 3rd mission from the Guiana Space Center in South America.
July 3-8 — International Astrobiology Society, International Astronomical Union, Montpellier, France: ‘IAS / IAU c51 (Bioastronomy) Joint International Conference.’
July 5-8 — University of Alcala, RadioNet, The Spanish National Research Council, Alcala de Henares, Spain: ‘Young European Radio Astronomy Conference.’
Jul 17-21 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Portland OR: ‘41st International Conference on Environmental Systems.’
Jul 20 — 42nd Apollo 11 Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: 1st Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another planetary body taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin.
Jul 25-29 — NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, California Institute of Technology, et al, Pasadena CA: ‘2011 Sagan Exoplanet Summer Workshop: Exploring Exoplanet with Microlensing.’
Jul 26-29 — International Astronomical Union, Chiang Mai, Thailand: ‘11th Asia-Pacific IAU Regional Meeting.’
Jul 26-Aug 7 — The Moon Society, Milwaukee WI: ‘Apollo 15 Moon Party 40th Commemoration.’
Jul 31-Aug 4 — American Astronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Girdwood AK: ‘Astrodynamics Specialist Conference.’
Aug — NASA Dawn Mission, Asteroid Belt: Spacecraft scheduled to arrive at asteroid Vesta this month; launch in Sep 2007.
Aug 1-3 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, San Diego CA: ‘47th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit.’
Aug 8-11 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Portland OR: ‘Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference.’
Aug 11 — Launch Juno Jupiter Orbiter, USA: 2nd mission in NASA New Horizons Program; arrives at Jupiter in Oct 2016.
Sep 27-29 — Chinese Society of Astronautics, International Academy of Astronautics, Shanghai, China: ‘4th CS-IAA Conference on Advanced Space Systems and Applications.’
Sep 27-29 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Long Beach CA: ‘AIAA Space 2011 Conference & Exposition.’
NET Oct — Mars Rover Mars Science Laboratory, Cape Canaveral FL: Mars Science Laboratory otherwise known as Curios to assess whether Mars able to support microbial life and determine planet habitability.
Oct 2-7 — American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences, Nantes, France: ‘43rd Annual Meeting of the DPS.’
Oct 3-7 — International Astronautical Federation, Cape Town, South Africa: ‘62nd International Astronautical Congress.’
Oct 9-12 — Geological Society of America, Minneapolis MN: ‘2011 GSA Annual Meeting.’
Nov 12-13 — Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Honolulu HI: ‘19th APEC Leaders’ Meeting.’
Nov — ESA, Moscow, Russia: Mars500 astronauts end of mission.
2012
NET 2012 — Launch PSLV / Chandrayaan-2, India: 2nd India robotic Moon Mission expected to launch; lander / rover to be conducted in cooperation with Russia.
NET 2012 — Launch Long March 5 / Chang’e-2, China: 2nd China robotic Moon Mission expected to launch; 2nd orbiter follow-on to Chang’e-1 launched in late 2007.
Jan — American Astronomical Society, Austin TX: ‘219th Meeting of the AAS.’
Jan 28 — 26th Challenger 51-L Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle accident took place 28 January 1986 killing seven crew members including Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, its pilot, Michael J. Smith, and its crew, Christa McAuliffe (the 1st ‘Teacher in Space’), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
Apr — NASA Dawn Mission, Asteroid Belt: Spacecraft scheduled to depart asteroid Vesta this month; launch in Sep 2007.
Apr 23-26 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Honolulu HI: ‘53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference 20th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference 14th AIAA Non-Deterministic Approaches Conference 13th AIAA Gossamer Systems Forum 8th AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Specialist Conference.’
Jul 16-22 — Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics France, ESA, et al, Bordeaux, France: ‘3rd Space Propulsion 2012,’ conference to promote exchange and discussion on spacecrafts and spacecraft transportation.
Jun — American Astronomical Society, Anchorage AK: ‘220th Meeting of the AAS.’
Jul 16-22 — Farnborough International Air Show 2012, Farnborough, United Kingdom: ‘47th Farnborough International Air Show;’ International Space Pavilion offers 1,100 square meters of exhibit space dedicated to the products, projects, and professionals in the space industry.
Jul 14-22 — Committee on Space Research, Indian Space Research Organization, Mysore, India: ‘39th Scientific Assembly of Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).’
Jul 20 — 43rd Apollo 11 Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: 1st Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another planetary body taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin.
Aug 20-31 — International Astronomical Union, Beijing, China: ‘28th IAU General Assembly.’
Sep — Launch Ares 1 / Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, KSC FL: Test flight of Ares 1 CLV to take place, dubbed ‘Ares 2;’ suborbital flight to test Ares 1 prototype upper stage, Orion launch abort system; time TBD.
Dec — Orbital Sciences Corporation, Launch Pegasus XL / IRIS, Vandenberg AFB CA: Orbital Sciences Corporation selected by NASA to launch the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph spacecraft aboard a Pegasus XL rocket.
Dec — International Lunar Observatory Association, Launch ILO, TBD: ILO set to launch precursor and Polar Moon Missions for Lunar Broadcasting.
Dec 31 — X Prize Foundation, Santa Monica CA: Google Lunar X Prize deadline for full $20M first prize; if prize not yet claimed first prize now drops to $15M.
2013
Jan — American Astronomical Society, Long Beach CA: ‘221st Meeting of the AAS.’
Jan 28 — 27th Challenger 51-L Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle accident took place 28 January 1986 killing seven crew members including Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, its pilot, Michael J. Smith, and its crew, Christa McAuliffe (the 1st ‘Teacher in Space’), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
Mar — Launch Ares 1 CLV / Orion CEV, KSC FL: Unpiloted orbital test flight of Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle; time TBD.
Apr 8-11 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Boston MA: ‘54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference 21st AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference 15th AIAA Non-Deterministic Approaches Conference 14th AIAA Gossamer Systems Forum 9th AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Specialist Conference.’
Jun — American Astronomical Society, TBD: ‘222nd Meeting of the AAS.’
Jul 20 — 44th Apollo 11 Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: 1st Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another planetary body taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin.
2014
Jan — American Astronomical Society, Washington DC: ‘223rd Meeting of the AAS.’
Jan 28 — 28th Challenger 51-L Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle accident took place 28 January 1986 killing seven crew members including Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, its pilot, Michael J. Smith, and its crew, Christa McAuliffe (the 1st ‘Teacher in Space’), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
May — ESA Rosetta Mission, Comet 67P / Churyumov- Gerasimenko Orbit: Spacecraft arrives at Comet 67P / Churyumov- Gerasimenko after 10 year journey.
Jun — American Astronomical Society, TBD: ‘224th Meeting of the AAS.’
Jul 14-20 — Farnborough International Air Show 2014, Farnborough, United Kingdom: ‘48th Farnborough International Air Show;’ International Space Pavilion offers 1,100 square meters of exhibit space dedicated to the products, projects, and professionals in the space industry.
Jul 20 — 45th Apollo 11 Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: 1st Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another planetary body taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin.
Dec 31 — X Prize Foundation, Santa Monica CA: Final deadline for winning Google Lunar X Prize.
2015
Jan — American Astronomical Society, Seattle WA: ‘225th Meeting of the AAS.’
Jan 28 — 29th Challenger 51-L Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle accident took place 28 January 1986 killing seven crew members including Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, its pilot, Michael J. Smith, and its crew, Christa McAuliffe (the 1st ‘Teacher in Space’), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
Feb — NASA Dawn Mission, Asteroid Belt: Spacecraft scheduled to arrive at asteroid Ceres this month; launch in Sep 2007.
Mar — Launch Ares 1 CLV / Orion CEV, KSC FL: First piloted flight of Orion Moonship expected; time TBD.
Jun — American Astronomical Society, TBD: ‘226th Meeting of the AAS.’
Jul — NASA Dawn Mission, Asteroid Belt: End of scheduled primary mission; launch in Sep 2007.
Jul 14 — New Horizons Pluto Encounter, Pluto Trajectory: Spacecraft conducts long-awaited encounter with Pluto today; launched 19 Jan 2006.
Dec — ESA Rosetta Mission, Comet 67P / Churyumov- Gerasimenko Orbit: End of scheduled mission.
2016
Jan 28 — 30th Challenger 51-L Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle accident took place 28 January 1986 killing seven crew members including Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, its pilot, Michael J. Smith, and its crew, Christa McAuliffe (the 1st ‘Teacher in Space’), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
Jul 18-24 — Farnborough International Airshow, United Kingdom: ‘49th Farnborough International Air Show;’ International Space Pavilion offers 1,100 square meters of exhibit space dedicated to the products, projects, and professionals in the space industry.
Oct — Juno Jupiter Orbiter, Jupiter Orbit: 2nd mission in NASA New Horizons Program arrives at Jupiter if 2011 launch on schedule.
2017
NET 2017 — Launch Long March 5 / Chang’e, China: Earliest expected date for 3rd phase of China Lunar Exploration Program to collect samples of lunar soil, and return to Earth as precursor to human missions; time TBD.
Oct — Thirty Meter Telescope Observatory Corporation, Mauna Kea HI: First Light with full primary mirror.
2018
2019
Dec — Launch Orion 13, KSC FL: First human lunar landing mission as part of the Constellation mission manifest planned for this month; 21-day mission will see three members of a four man crew set foot on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972; time/date TBD.
2020
2029
Apr 13 — Asteroid 99942 Apophis, Earth Near-Miss: Astronomers say that on this day, which happens to be a Friday, asteroid previously known as 2004 MN4 will narrowly miss hitting Earth by about 30,000 km; asteroid 320 meters in diameter.
2036
Apr 13 — Asteroid 99942 Apophis, Earth Near-Miss: Asteroid previously known as 2004 MN4 will make 2nd pass by Earth, missing by about 50 million km.
2061
2061 — Halley’s Comet, Deep Space: Return of Halley’s Comet.
