Global Space and Technology Convention (GTSC) Pushes Cutting Edge Enterprise
Space technology professionals, academics and enthusiasts will converge on Singapore for GSTC 2020. 800 participants representing 300 companies are expected to hear 61 speakers supported by 30+ sponsors. Singapore Space and Technology Association, led by president Jonathan Hung, has hosted GSTC for over a decade with the intention of leveraging Singapore into a ‘strategic space hub status… leading the way into an era of galactic discovery’. The formal convention opening is preceded on Wednesday, February 5 with a day of workshops on space technology topics: Responsible and Sustainable Space Investment, UK-Singapore Space Partnerships, Blockchain in Space and Satellite Quantum Key Distribution, a light-based encryption technology, are subjects of discussion. Workshops are led by Secure World Foundation, UK Space Agency, SpaceChain, and Centre For Quantum Technologies of National University of Singapore, respectively. Distinguished speakers include (L-R) Senior Minister for National Security of Singapore Teo Chee Hean, DLR Administrator Pascale Ehrenfreund, Director General of UAE Space Agency Mohammed Nasser Al-Ahbabi, and Director of Malaysian Space Agency Azlikamil Napiah. Multi-GNSS Asia Regional Symposium 2020, with theme Advancing Smart Nation with Satellite Positioning, will be held in tandem with GSTC – satellite communications being a major socioeconomic driver of SEA space enterprise. Looking forward, Lunar Commercial Communications will complement and, in some regards, supplant terrestrial and orbital communication insofar as Moon-Earth communication will expand the physical sphere of human activity 1000-fold when actualized. (Image Credits: SSTA, AIRBUS, Virgin Orbit, CNES, ST Engineering, General Atomics, NUS, Maxar, SWF, UKSA)
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MONDAY
Highlights…
 Feb 3 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 61 members Luca Parmitano, Aleksandr Skvortsov and Christina Koch returning to Earth on Soyuz MS-13 this week; Expedition 62 to commence with Andrew Morgan, Jessica Meir and Commander Oleg Skripochka, who will be joined by Nikolai Tikhonov, Andrei Babkin, and Christopher Cassidy.
 Feb 3 — NewSpace: Nanoracks partners with Seattle-based Xplore for 2021 Moon orbit mission, future plans for Mars, Venus, asteroids; Axiom chosen by NASA to build ISS commercial habitation module; Tethers Unlimited demonstrates “Terminator Tape” solution for orbital debris.
Feb 3 — Solar System: Curiosity examines geochemistry of targets on Mars surface; ESA makes new discoveries about Cassini Huygens probe ‘spin’ landing on Titan; Enceladus computer models may reveal source of carbon dioxide in atmosphere.
Feb 3 — Galaxy: Observations through gravitational microlensing techniques are projected to reveal millions of black holes in Milky Way; exoplanet KELT-9b atmosphere being analyzed for changes in temperature and hydrogen molecules; Chandra finds colliding galaxy clusters; London scientist studies whether hypothetical gravity particles have mass.
Feb 3 — Global: Roscosmos studies nuclear tug for deep space applications; China scheduled to launch three Long March 5 rockets from Wenchang this year; full preparations underway for ISRO Chandrayaan-3 Moon South Pole landing 2020 (or early 2021).
 Feb 3 — USA: Multi-partisan support needed to keep visionary Artemis lunar landings on schedule for 2024; Voyager 2 engineers working to restore operations after fault routine; Boeing preparing financial charge in case additional Starliner flight is needed.
Feb 3 — Hawai’i: Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on Maui releases highest resolution images of Sun to date; Keck Observatory finds large amounts of oxygen in ancient star J0815+4729; Caltech Submillimeter Observatory prepares for removal.
 Feb 3 — Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Space Research Organization of the Netherlands, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Groningen, Netherlands: Astronomy on Tap: Outreach astronomy talks by Scott Trager and Michael Wilkinson, 20:00-23:00.
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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’).
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Mercury (SW), Venus (SW), Mars (SE), Jupiter (SE), Uranus (SW), Neptune (SW); Morning Planets: Saturn (SE).
UNOOSA Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and Moon Village Association Operate In Vienna
The 57th session of the UNOOSA Scientific and Technical Subcommittee opens February 3-14 at the UN Vienna International Centre. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, presently headed by astrophysicist Simonetta Di Pippo with Program Officer Markus Woltran (L), has been in operation since 1958. Vienna is headquarters of the Moon Village Association, which has a goal of fostering international cooperation in lunar settlement. MVA, with over 150 members from more than 34 countries, partners with non-space organizations to promote international discussions. MVA cooperates with For All Moonkind on efforts to establish a human community on the Moon. For All Moonkind, co-founded by Michelle Hanlon (R), is the only organization in the world dedicated to protecting the historical heritage on the Moon. The organization’s space lawyers and policymakers seek to protect the six human lunar landing and other locations in space. For All Moonkind has been granted the status of Permanent Observer to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, a status that Moon Village Association also seeks. Secure World Foundation hosts a Workshop on Responsible Space Behavior and the Democratization of Space in Singapore Feb 5. With headquarters in Broomfield, Colorado and Washington DC, Secure World Foundation is a private organization that promotes cooperative solutions for space sustainability and the peaceful uses of space, hosting events throughout the New Year 2020. (Image Credits: UN Vienna International Centre, ESA, UNOOSA, Univ Mississippi) |
Feb 3-4 — Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG), NASA, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: OPAG Meeting.
Feb 3-5 — ESA, Space Telescope Science Institute, Madrid, Spain: James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Master Class Workshop.
Feb 3-6 — ArianeGroup, ExoLaunch, Maxar, Virgin Orbit, Mountain View CA: Smallsat Symposium; one of the world’s largest smallsat business conferences; at Computer History Museum.
Feb 3-7 — International Astronomical Union (IAU), South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), Cape Town, South Africa: Kavli-IAU Workshop: International Coordination of Multi-Messenger Transient Observations in the 2020s and Beyond.
Feb 3-14 — UNOOSA, Vienna, Austria: 57th Session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Office of Outer Space Affairs.
Feb 3 — Moon: 7.2° SE of Pleiades, 04:00; 3.0° N of Aldebaran, 21:00.
Feb 3 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 BX12: Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU)
Continued from…
Jan 2019 – Sep 2020 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt: Full data collected from 7 instruments during KBO Arrokoth flyby to be transmitted to Earth over this time period.
Nov 2019 – Nov 2020— Hayabusa2, Earth Trajectory: JAXA Hayabusa2 with two samples collected from C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu on trajectory for Earth return.
Jan 13 – Feb 14 — International Space University, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia: Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program 2020; live-in experience built around an International, Intercultural and Interdisciplinary (3 “I”s) educational philosophy.
Jan 30 – Feb 5 — American Astronautical Society Rocky Mountain Section, Breckenridge CO: 43rd Annual AAS Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference.
Feb 2-5 — Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, APEX / ESO, et al, Ringberg Castle, Germany: Workshop: Science with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX). |
TUESDAY
Feb 4 — Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ: Colloquium: Parker Solar Probe – Understanding Coronal Heating and Solar Wind Acceleration; by Marco Velli, Professor of Space Sciences, 15:45; Lecture: Life Beyond Earth; by Chris Impey and Betül Kaçar from University of Arizona, 19:00.
Feb 4 — The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy: Seminar: On the Complexity of Black Holes.
Feb 4 — Apollo Asteroid 2013 BA74: Near-Earth Flyby (0.009 AU)
WEDNESDAY
Feb 5 — Institute of Physics – London and Southeast Branch, London, United Kingdom: Lecture: Measuring the Speed of Light; by Alan Davies, University of Hertfordshire.
Feb 5-7 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Venus Exploration Analysis Group, Outer Planets Assessment Group, Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group, NASA, Houston TX: Workshop: Exoplanets in Our Own Backyard: Solar System and Exoplanet Synergies on Planetary Formation, Evolution, and Habitability Workshop.
Feb 5 — Moon: 1.45° SE of M35 cluster, 14:00.
Feb 5 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 BR11: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)
THURSDAY
Feb 6 — ISS, Expedition 61 Crew Return to Earth: International Space Station Expedition 61 crew Skvortsov, Koch, Parmitano in Soyuz MS-13 to undock and depart the station 12:50 EST, live coverage available; Koch now holds record for NASA longest continuous spaceflight by a woman at 328 days.
Feb 6 — SETI Institute, San Francisco CA: Lecture: Are We Alone? The Search for Life in the Universe; with Nathalie Cabrol (Director of Carl Sagan Center), Doug Caldwell (Astronomer and co-investigator for Kepler), and Seth Shostak (SETI Astronomer).
Feb 6 — Cornell University, Ithaca NY: Colloquia: Is Dark Matter Cold, Warm, or Fuzzy? by Philip Mocz from Princeton University, 16:00.
Feb 6, 7 — JPL, Caltech, NASA, Pasadena CA: von Kármán Lecture Series 2020: Beyond the Pale Blue Dot – Seeing Distant Planets.
Feb 6-7 — Singapore Space and Technology Association, Singapore: 12th Global Space and Technology Forum 2020 (GSTC 2020); expecting 800 delegates, 60 speakers and 300 companies from more than 38 countries; at Grand Hyatt Singapore.
Feb 6-7 — National Science Foundation, Alexandria VA: National Science Foundation’s 70th Anniversary Symposium.
Feb 6 — Moon: 8.9° S of Castor, 13:00.
Feb 6 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 BF10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.007 AU)
FRIDAY
Feb 7 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Soyuz / OneWeb 2, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: An RSA Soyuz rocket set to launch 32 satellites into orbit for OneWeb.
Feb 7 — United Launch Services, Launch Atlas V / Solar Orbiter spacecraft, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: European Space Agency & NASA spacecraft to perform close-up study of Sun and inner heliosphere; projected 3-year journey to Sun; closest Solar distance to be 0.28 AU, launch window opens 23:15 EST.
Feb 7 — Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, NASA, Pasadena CA: Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) Virtual Meeting; 10:30- 7:00 EST.
Feb 7 — Moon: 5.3° S of Pollux, 03:00.
Feb 7 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 BF11: Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU)
SATURDAY
Feb 8 — International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Titusville FL: 2020 Public Meeting; for organizational leadership to brief the public on progress of ISS National Lab, hear from research partners leveraging the orbiting laboratory, and field questions from meeting attendees and the public.
Feb 8-13 — Aspen Center for Physics, North American ALMA Science Center, Aspen CO: Conference: Galaxy Quenching and Transformation Throughout Cosmic Time.
Feb 8 — Alpha Centaurids Meteor Shower: Appearing to radiate from Alpha Centauri (α Cen), meteors are far south and below horizon for most in North, can produce ~6 meteors per hour, peak at 03:00.
Feb 8 — Moon: 1.28° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 02:00; Full (Snow / Super Moon), 21:33.
Feb 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 BL8: Near-Earth Flyby (0.017 AU)
Feb 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 BQ11: Near-Earth Flyby (0.036 AU)
SUNDAY
Feb 9 — Northrop Grumman, Launch Antares / NG-13, Pad 0A, Wallops Island VA: Antares rocket to launch 14th Cygnus cargo freighter on 13th operational cargo mission to ISS.
Feb 9 — Moon: 3.6° NNE of Regulus, 14:00.
Feb 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 BK10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.005 AU)
Feb 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 BW5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.013 AU)