Articles by: Space Age Publishing Company - Proof

October 7-13, 2019 / Vol 38, No 40 / Hawai’i Island, USA

15th International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight Focuses on an Industry on Cusp of Realization

ISPCS 2019 will be held October 9-10 in Las Cruces, New Mexico with theme ‘Go use it, we’ll get you there’. The symposium features a robust schedule of important figures within the commercial human spaceflight movement:  Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides (L), Coalition for Deep Space Exploration CEO Mary Lynne Dittmar (C), and Made In Space CEO Andrew Rush (R) are among those set to give keynote presentations. Benjamin Reed, SpaceX Director of Commercial Crew Mission, and Erika Wagner, Payload Director for Blue Origin, will represent their respective companies in panel discussions. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has recently made the bold claim of an <6-month timeline for achieving commercial crewed spaceflight using Starship Mk1; Virgin Galactic now plans a 2020 implementation of their space tourism business on SpaceShipTwo, some 15 years after SpaceShipOne won the Ansari XPRIZE. This year the symposium is preceded by the NASA iTech Cycle II forum at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces October 7-8. An initiative launched by Space Technology Mission Directorate, iTech Forum is the culmination of a yearlong competition to advance technology that is not currently receiving NASA support. Immediately following ISPCS, conference participants can register for an exclusive tour of the recently completed Spaceport America, the nearby facility built to accommodate commercial space launches in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. (Image Credits: ISPCS, Spaceport America, VG, CDSE, MIS)

 

 

MONDAY

Highlights…
 Oct 7 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 61 six-member crew to perform post-EVA operations from planned spacewalk to replace ISS batteries, and work with studies on object manipulation in different gravitational environments, 56-day Veg-04B plant growth, microgravity crystals, time perception.

Oct 7 — NewSpace: Intuitive Machines signs with SpaceX to launch Nova-C lander to Moon 2021; Relativity Space announces US$140M in funding to build 3D-printed rockets; US$43.2M Tipping Point awards to be given to 14 commercial companies including Blue Origin.

Oct 7 — Solar System: Akatsuki spacecraft shows dynamic Venus atmosphere; InSight lander detects vibrations within Mars; Cassini data reveal organic compounds on Enceladus.

Oct 7 — Galaxy: UK researchers suggest that hypothesized Planet 9 could be a black hole; Spitzer Space Telescope finds star-forming regions in constellation Aquila; CFHT and Keck telescopes make detailed observations of globular cluster Laevens 3.

Oct 7 — Global: CAST reveals new crewed spacecraft to be launched on Long March 5 for missions to Earth orbit and Moon; ISRO Chairman K Sivan says SPADEX space docking experiment to launch in 2020; University of Philippines ULYS3ES facility provides capability to build small satellites.

Oct 7 — USA: NASA issues call for Artemis Lunar Lander proposals with due date of Nov 1; Space Launch System core stage pathfinder at KSC practicing transport techniques; Boeing Starliner nears critical pad-abort test at White Sands, NM.

Oct 7 — Hawai’i: Mayor Harry Kim unveils proposed plan for Mauna Kea; observations from Keck, CFHT, and Gemini North telescopes reveal violent history of Andromeda Galaxy; Mauna Kea telescopes also combine observations to discover oldest known cluster of galaxies.

 Oct 7 — Morrison Planetarium, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco CA: Lecture: Near Earth Asteroids, Space Missions, and the Impact Hazard; featuring Michael Busch from SETI Institute, 19:30.

= 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: Jupiter (SW), Saturn (SW), Uranus (E), Neptune (SE).

10th Moscow Solar System Symposium Talks About Moon Including Malapert Mountain

Space Research Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences hosts the Tenth Moscow Solar System Symposium October 7-11, an annual event. Main topics will include formation of the solar system, exoplanets, exploration of the solar system, and astrobiology. Opening remarks will be delivered by Lev Zelenyi (C) of the Space Research Institute and James Head (L) of NASA. Alexander Basilevsky (R) will talk about a potential lunar base on Mons Malapert, the 5-km mountain near the South Pole. Roscosmos and ESA are cooperating on the ExoMars 2020 rover mission. Luna-25, also known as Luna-Glob, is planned to land at Boguslavsky Crater in the South Pole region in 2021. Luna-26, known as the Lunar-Resurs Orbiter, will orbit the poles and cooperate with the Chang’e-7 polar landing in 2023-2024. Luna-27, the Luna-Resurs Lander, is projected to land in the South Pole-Aitken basin in 2025. Russian and Zhongguo are opening a Joint Data Center for Lunar and Deep Space Research. Roscosmos in partnership with new Moscow-based company Reusable Space Transport Systems (MTKS) will develop the Argo reusable launch vehicle to compete with SpaceX. Russia plans Luna-28 as a South Pole sample return in 2028 in preparation for crewed lunar missions in the 2030s. Roscosmos Head Dmitry Rogozin has also expressed interest in partnering with NASA human missions to the Moon. Three Russians are among the 9 people presently inhabiting ISS. (Image Credits: NASA, Energia, ESA, Roscosmos)

 

  Oct 7-11 — Russia Space Research Institute (IKI), Moscow, Russia: 10th Moscow Solar System Symposium.

 Oct 7-11 — International Astronomical Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: IAU Symposium 356: Nuclear Activity in Galaxies Across Cosmic Time.

Oct 7 — Mars: Summer solstice on planet surface.

Oct 7 — Apollo Asteroid 2016 CW93: Near-Earth Flyby (0.081 AU)

Oct 7 — Aten Asteroid 2014 AE29: Near-Earth Flyby (0.099 AU)

Continued from…

Jan 2019 – Sep 2020 — New Horizons, Kuiper Belt: Full data from spacecraft 7 instruments during KBO Ultima Thule flyby to be transmitted to Earth over this time period.

NET Aug – Nov — Hayabusa2, Asteroid 162173 Ryugu: JAXA Hayabusa2 with 2 sample returns planned to remain at Asteroid for observations during this time period, then return to Earth.

Oct 4-10 — World Space Week Association, Global: World Space Week 2019 – The Moon: Gateway to the Stars; to celebrate international contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition; Oct 4 is 62nd observation of 1st Space mission Sputnik One launched by Soviet Union 1957; Oct 10 is 52nd observation of Outer Space Treaty going into effect 1967.

Oct 5-8 — Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago IL: Conference: Cosmic Controversies; crisis in cosmological models including conflicting measurements of Hubble-LeMaitre value Ho and implications for theories of the universe; at Chicago Gleacher Center.

TUESDAY

 Oct 8 — UCL Space Domain, London, United Kingdom: Lecture: Living on the Moon: Why, When, Where, Who and How; by Professor Alan Smith from Mullard Space Science Laboratory, 13:00-14:00.

 Oct 8 — Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ: Colloquium: Characterizing the Incision of Ancient Lake Outlet Canyons on Mars; featuring Timothy Goudge, Assistant Professor – University of Texas at Austin, and hosted by Mike Holt, 15:45.

Oct 8 — Draconids Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Draco, Draconids offer slow moving (20 km/s) meteors which appear faint and fragment easily, about 10-20 per hour; peak 14:00.

Oct 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 SB6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.020 AU)

Oct 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 TM: Near-Earth Flyby (0.024 AU)

Oct 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 RK: Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU)

Oct 8 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 TM: Near-Earth Flyby (0.088 AU)

WEDNESDAY

 Oct 9 — Northrop Grumman, Launch Pegasus XL / ICON, L-1011, Skid Strip, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: Northrop Grumman ATK Pegasus XL rocket to launch NASA Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite into orbit; 21:25-22:55.

Oct 9 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Proton / Eutelsat 5 West B & MEV 1, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: Proton Rocket set to deliver Eutelsat 5 West B communications satellite and first Mission Extension Vehicle for Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.

 Oct 9-10 — ISPCS, Space Foundation, Paragon, AIAA, SpaceCom, et al, Las Cruces NM: International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS 2019).

 Oct 9-10 — Spain Center for the Development of Industrial Technology, Spanish Association of Defense Technologies (TEDAE), Beon Worldwide, ESA, Madrid, Spain: Space Congress 2019: Beyond the Limits.

 Oct 9-11 — Italian Space Agency (ASI), Agency for the Promotion of the European Research (APRE), Rome, Italy: SPACE Week 2019: Beyond the Horizon.

Oct 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 SL7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.004 AU)

THURSDAY

 Oct 10 — Institute of Physics (IOP), Lennard Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom: Lecture: Spacecraft – A Brief Look at Technology in Satellites.

 Oct 10 — Nano Systems Engineering, Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), Tehran, Iran: 1st Iranian International Cubesat Event.

Oct 10 — Southern Taurids Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Taurus, Taurids are associated with Comet Encke and offer about 7 meteors per hour and travel at ~28 km/s.

Oct 10 — Moon: At apogee (distance 405,906 km), 09:00; 3.4° SE of Neptune, 16:00.

Oct 10 — Comet P/2008 Y12 (SOHO): At perihelion, (0.066 AU)

Oct 10 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 SX5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.045 AU)

FRIDAY

 Oct 11 — Royal Astronomical Society, London, United Kingdom: Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) Ordinary Meeting; A Century of Lunar science and Exploration in the UK – Historical Perspective on the Last 50 years and Vision for the Next 50 Years; and Common Envelope Evolution and Post-Common-Envelope Systems Meeting.

 Oct 11-13 — IVOA, DOTliveplanetarium Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands: International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) Meeting.

Oct 11 — Amor Asteroid 2010 SG15: Near-Earth Flyby (0.092 AU)

SATURDAY

Oct 12 — University of Kansas, Lawrence KS: NASA Eyes 2019, NASA 60th anniversary symposium with speakers on astronomy and space exploration, Integrated Science Building, University of Kansas.

 Oct 12-13 — AMSAT-UK Organizers (Radio Amateur Satellites), Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: 2019 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium.

Oct 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 SV9: Near-Earth Flyby (0.022 AU)

Oct 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 SK8: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)

Oct 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 SE2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU)

SUNDAY

Oct 13-18 — American Astronomical Society, Cloudcroft NM: RR Lyrae and Cepheid Conference 2019: Frontiers of Classical Pulsators – Theory and Observations.

Oct 13 — Moon: Full (Hunter’s / Travel / Dying Grass / Sanguine Moon), 11:10.