April 2-8, 2018 / Vol 37, No 14 / Hawai`i Island, USA

International Spacecraft Exploring the Solar System and Beyond

Voyager 1 is in interstellar space, ~141 AU from Earth, headed for Gliese 445. The probe’s 8-track Digital Tape Recorder is scheduled to turn off in 2018. Voyager 2 is in the heliosheath, ~117 AU from Earth, headed for Sirius with anticipated arrival in ~250,000 years. The probes are expected to communicate until at least 2025. New Horizons is scheduled to awaken from hibernation on June 4 and encounter KBO Ultima Thule, meaning ‘beyond the borders of the known world’, on January 1, 2019, 05:33 UTC. This will be the most distant flyby in history at ~40 AU from Earth. The mission has been extended through 2021 to explore additional KBO. Juno is in a highly elliptical orbit near Jupiter. The 11th flyby will gather data on weather, rings, and composition. Juno intends to operate through July 2018 with anticipated mission extension approval. Within the asteroid belt, Dawn continues to circle the ice world of Ceres every 5.4 hours. It plans to fire an ion engine on April 17, beginning a downward spiral to its smallest to date elliptical orbit by the first week of June. Mars Curiosity Rover, currently on Vera Rubin Ridge, surpasses 2,008 Sols. It plans to utilize a new drilling method to retrieve samples and surface data. Akatsuki five cameras continue to observe Venus atmosphere with data releases June 1 and December 1. (Image Credit: NASA, ESA, JPL, JAXA, Akihiro Ikeshita)

MONDAY

Ongoing…
Apr 2 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 55 six-member crew orienting newly arrived members, preparing for Dragon CRS-14 with nearly 3,200 kg of cargo and 20 payloads including barley germination research, novel wound dressing study, 2 RemoveDEBRIS CubeSats, and crystal growing competition for Wisconsin students.

Apr 2 — NewSpace: Relativity Space receives US$35M, planning for 3D printed rocket engines, Terran rocket 1st test flight 2020; NanoRacks working with Kuang-Chi of China to develop ‘Traveler’ helium space tourism craft; Exos Aerospace at Spaceport America preparing for Apr launch of 1st reusable suborbital rocket SARGE.

 Apr 2 — Solar System: Theory proposed by researchers at 49th LSPC that water could have helped strip Mars of magnetic field; Japan Hayabusa-2 only 2 months away from asteroid Ryugu encounter; Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data being used to study debris impacts and galactic cosmic rays.

Apr 2 — Galaxy: Integral spacecraft captures X-ray burst from newly formed neutron star in ‘symbiotic binary’ with red giant; scientists studying Galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 for its lack of dark matter; Hubble Telescope observing Leading Arm and Magellanic Stream on far edge of Milky Way.

 Apr 2 — Global: Japan to construct second launch pad at Tanegashima spaceport to support H3 rocket; Russia hoping to launch Mars mission in 2019; New Zealand based Rocket Lab assessing impact of Humanity Star.

 Apr 2 — USA: White House releases brief summary on ‘America First National Space Strategy’; James Webb Space Telescope officially delayed to 2020, total budget could exceed US$8B.

 Apr 2 — Hawai’i: This month is TMT original self-designated deadline to proceed with Maunakea site or move on to Canary Islands; SpinLaunch looking at Hawaii Island as potential site for satellite launching using centrifuge / space catapult method.

= 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’).

Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Mercury (W), Venus (W); Morning Planets: Mars (SE), Jupiter (S), Saturn (SE).

Vienna Hosts 2018 EGU, and Home to Significant Space Organizations

European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2018 is being held at Austria Center Vienna on April 8-13 covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary and space sciences. Organized by (L-R) EGU President Jonathan Bamber, Program Committee Chair Susanne Buiter and 25 program group chairs from various sciences divisions, EGU2018 expects nearly 14,500 scientists from 100+ countries presenting about 4,800 oral and 11,000 posters in 650 unique scientific sessions. Also of great Space consequence in Vienna is United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, led by Director Simonetta Di Pippo, which is readying for 57th Legal Subcommittee Meeting of COPOUS on April 9-20 and UNISPACE+50 on June 20-21. Based out of the offices of European Space Policy Institute in Vienna, the Space Generation Advisory Council with more than 13,000 members from 110 countries, has nearly 30 events annually to advance young adults representation in space policy development. The Moon Village Association in Vienna, led by Giuseppe Reibaldi, is creating international, national and regional networks to develop a Moon Village with interested parties from industry, academia, government and the public. It comprises approximately 150 members from more than 34 countries. AUSTROSPACE with 8 industrial, 6 research and 5 institutional members, is an Austria association that compiles information about local space activities, and represents interests of Austria-based space suppliers, users and organizations. The comprehensive, triennial 30th IAU General Assembly will be held in Vienna this August. (Image Credit: EGU, ACV, NGU, MVA, UNOOSA, IAF, SGAC, Austrospace, NASA, LPI, ESA)

  Apr 2 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / CRS 14, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch 16th Dragon spacecraft on 14th operational cargo delivery mission to ISS.

Apr 2-6 — UCLA, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Los Angeles CA: Conference: Shedding Light on the Dark Universe with Extremely Large Telescopes.

Apr 2 — Aten Asteroid 2004 FG29: Near-Earth Flyby (0.010 AU)

Apr 2 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 ER1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.040 AU)

Continued from…

 NET Mar 30 – Apr 3 — CNSA, Tiangong-1 Earth Atmosphere Reentry, LEO: China 1st Space Lab to disintegrate during Earth atmosphere reentry; predicted to reenter between 43°N and 43°S latitudes during this time frame.

TUESDAY

Apr 3-5 — Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), NASA, Washington DC: MEPAG Meeting.

 Apr 3 — Moon: 3.8° NNE of Jupiter, 06:00.

WEDNESDAY

Apr 4 — ISS, Dragon CRS-14 Rendezvous and Capture, 405-km LEO: Arrival, capture, and installation of SpaceX CRS-14 Dragon cargo craft scheduled to begin 07:00 EDT; live coverage available.

 Apr 4 — Moon: 9.1° N of Antares, 17:00.

Apr 4 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 EB: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)

THURSDAY

Apr 5 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Bangabandhu 1, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite for Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.

Apr 5 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: 2017-2018 Cosmic Explorations Lecture: The Ultracool TRAPPIST-1 System – 7 Terrestrial Worlds, 7 Chances for Ice and Life; Sue Lederer of the Orbital Debris Program Office at the Johnson Space Center, 19:30.

Apr 5-7 — Secure World Foundation, University of Pennsylvania Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, Philadelphia PA: The Weaponization of Outer Space: Ethical and Legal Boundaries.

Apr 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 FW4: Near-Earth Flyby (0.025 AU)

FRIDAY

Apr 6-8 — AIAA, Merced CA: Region VI Student Conference; venue for students, faculty and industry professionals to interact and discuss current aerospace topics.

SATURDAY

Apr 7 — National Air and Space Museum, BrightestYoungThings.com, Yuri’s Nigh , Washington DC: National Air and Space Museum + BYT + Yuri’s Night present 2001: A Space Party.

Apr 7 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA/Caltech, Pasadena CA: Educator Workshop: Discussing Climate Science in the Classroom; for Teachers of grades 5-12.

Apr 7 — AIAA San Fernando Pacific Chapter, Online / CA and HI: “Voyager 3 Mission” Essay due for High Student Scholarship Contest.

Apr 7-8 — German Federal Ministry of Education and Research,Tech Gate Vienna, Vienna, Austria: 1st PalMod International Open Science Conference.

 Apr 7 — Moon: 1.9° N of Saturn, 03:00; 3.1° N of Mars, 08:00; at apogee (distance 404,120 km), 20:00.

 Apr 7 — Moon: Last Quarter, 21:20.

SUNDAY

Apr 8-13 — European Geosciences Union (EGU), Vienna, Austria: EGU General Assembly 2018.

 Apr 8 — Moon: 1.5° N of Pluto, 03:00.

Apr 8 — Amor Asteroid 2018 CZ13: Near-Earth Flyby (0.072 AU)

Apr 8 — Amor Asteroid 2018 FV3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.086 AU)