International Space Station Preparing for Hardware Upgrade, Future R&D
Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy of NASA and Luca Parmitano of ESA, with help from the rest of the 6-person ISS crew – the only humans in space – are preparing for US EVA-23 beginning at 12:10 UT on July 16. The Astronauts will exit via the Quest airlock and spend 6.5 hours making preparations for the new Russian Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module expected to arrive by December and performing additional installations on the 109-meter main truss, the station’s backbone. Cassidy is the 500th human in space and this is his 6th spacewalk. Parmitano is the first Italian to perform a spacewalk and this is his 2nd, after a very successful US EVA-22 last week completed primary tasks and multiple “get-ahead” tasks. The 2nd Annual ISS Research and Development Conference organized by the American Astronautical Society takes place in Denver, CO, USA on July 16-18. The theme is ‘Discoveries, Applications and Opportunities’ highlighting the multiple roles of the ISS as scientific laboratory, technology testbed, orbiting outpost, galactic observatory, innovation engine and student inspiration. A lunch session on Tuesday features Astronaut Don Pettit and the series of Parallel Sessions include Education, Human Research, Life Science, Fundamental Physics and Technologies Enabling Exploration. (Image Credit: NASA)
USA SpaceWeek 2013: Promising Moon Ventures on the Horizon
USA SpaceWeek 2013 is host to multiple space celebrations, meetings and workshops in recognition of the 44th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the first steps taken on another planetary body (the Moon) by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20. The Golden Spike Company is reinvigorating the USA Human-Moon legacy by aiming to get humans back to the lunar surface by 2020. In collaboration with GSC, the ILOA is planning a Human Service Mission for the ILO-1, a multifunctional dish observatory to be placed near the South Pole of the Moon NET 2015. GSC is accepting abstracts until July 25 for its Workshop on Golden Spike Human Lander Expeditions: Opportunities for Intensive Lunar Scientific Exploration being held on October 3-4 in Houston TX. Attendees will discuss science and exploration priorities, associated landing sites, potential surface experiment packages and sample return requirements. There are strong prospects for the Space Generation of the 60s to see humans on the Moon again, and younger generations to see it live for the first time. Bigelow Aerospace is developing inflatable modules for lunar bases, Shackleton Energy is planning lunar bases and propellant depots by 2019, and Space Adventures hopes to offer lunar spaceflights by 2017. China, India, Japan, Europe, Russia and Iran have announced plans for human Moon missions to take place 2020-2030. The Cassini spacecraft, orbiting Saturn, is scheduled to take a picture of Earth from 1.44B km away, so give a wave to Saturn on July 19, and a wink to the Moon on July 20. (Image Credit: NASA, ILOA, GSC, Space Adventures, Bigelow Aerospace)
= 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 – Evening Planets: Venus (WNW), Saturn (SW); Morning Planets: Mars (ENE), Jupiter (ENE).
MONDAY
Jul 15 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 36 Cassidy, Parmitano preparing for EVA set for July 16; crew will do in-flight interviews on July 17 & 18; Commander Vinogradov, Cosmonaut Yurchikhin inspecting hull of Russia segment of ISS.
Jul 15 — Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), GTO: Providing the first observations of our Solar System ‘heliotail’ – the tail of solar bubble – by measuring neutral particles created by collisions at heliosphere boundaries.
Jul 15 — Kepler, Heliocentric Orbit: Engineering team checking proposed tests for spacecraft recovery attempt on spacecraft test bed located in Boulder CO; hope to commence exploratory commanding of reaction wheels mid-to-late July.
Jul 15 — Astrobotic Technology Inc., Pittsburgh PA: NewSpace company offering 30% price reduction for payload delivery to Moon aboard lunar lander / rover launching Oct 2015 in attempt to win GLXP.
Jul 15 — Andrews Space Inc., Tukwila WA: Providing OSC with Cargo Module Power Units to supply power to payloads on Cygnus spacecraft; recently completed full space qualification of Cortex Avionics system for small spacecraft.
Jul 15 — Innovative Solutions In Space (ISIS), Delft, The Netherlands: Developing low data-rate telecommunications payloads, miniaturized sensors and subsystems for pico-, nano- and microsatellite spacecraft.
Jul 15 — The National Academies, Online / Washington DC: Teleconference: Human Spaceflight; to focus on engineering and technology, space and aeronautics, policy for science and technology.
Jul 15 — AIAA, San Jose CA: Engineers as Educators Workshop II; at San Jose Convention Center.
Jul 15-16 — NASA, Arlington VA: NASA Outer Planets Assessment Group Meeting; at Crystal City Gateway Marriott Hotel.
Jul 15-17 — AIAA, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society for Engineering Education, San Jose CA: 49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit; 11th International Energy Conversion Conference.
Jul 15-19 — NASA Lunar Science Institute (soon to become Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute), Online / Moffett Field CA: 6th Annual Lunar Science Forum; virtual meeting, 08:00 – 16:00 PDT daily.
Jul 15-19 — International Space School Educational Trust, London, United Kingdom: Mission Discovery; students work with an astronaut, NASA experts to develop teamwork, leadership, STEM skills, have their experiment flown in space; at King’s College London, US$530 (£355).
Jul 15-19 — Federation of Galaxy Explorers, Oakton VA: Summer Camps; featuring Mars Camp for students in grades 6-8; US$200.
Jul 15-19 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Pasadena CA: 8th International Conference on Mars; Canceled.
Jul 15 — Moon: 0.95° NW of Spica, 16:00; at first quarter, 17:19.
Jul 15 — Asteroid 2010 AF30: Near-Earth flyby (0.046 AU).
Continued from…
Jul 2 – Aug 2 — NASA, Online / Greenbelt MD: Requesting Information on Potential NASA Partnerships for Industry-Led Development of Robotic Lunar Landers; services of interest include lunar polar volatile prospecting, sample return, geophysical network deployment, landing 2 classes of payloads at various sites on Moon.
Jul 3 – Sep 1 — Aerospace Research and Engineering Systems Institute, Inc., Online / Melbourne FL: LunarSail Kickstarter campaign; requesting US$11K in pledges to fund CubeSat amateur satellite containing solar sail to orbit Moon.
Jul 12-20 — Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: Teaching from Space – Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program; selected USA K-12 teacher teams perform their custom reduced gravity experiments.
Jul 14-17 — AIAA, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society for Engineering Education, San Jose CA: 49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit; 11th International Energy Conversion Conference.
Jul 14-18 — AIAA, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, et al, Vail CO: 43rd International Conference on Environmental Systems; topics include humans living and working in hostile environments inside / outside of terrestrial or outer space habitats / vehicles.
Jul 14-19 — American Astronomical Society, Monterey CA: Probes of Dark Matter on Galaxy Scales Meeting; to discuss gravitational lensing, studies of Dwarf Galaxies in Local Group and beyond, direct / indirect searches for Dark Matter, more.
Jul 14-19 — Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Physical Society of Japan, Japan Society of Applied Physics, Chiba, Japan: 12th Asia Pacific Physics Conference (APPC12); at Makuhari Messe convention center; US$100-300.
TUESDAY
Jul 16 — ISS, USA EVA-23, LEO: Astronauts Cassidy and Parmitano scheduled to perform 6.5-hour spacewalk starting at 12:10 UT to complete installation of 2 bypass jumpers to bring power redundancy and stability to station components and route additional cables for future Russia module; live coverage available.
Jul 16 — SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Colloquium: Atmospheric Polar Warming at Mars; presented by Tamara McDunn from JPL; 12:00 PDT.
Jul 16 — AIAA, San Jose CA: Leading the STEM Charge – Illuminating the Potential of Aerospace; at San Jose Convention Center.
Jul 16 — JAXA, Online / Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan: Last Day: Send Names / Messages to Asteroid 1999 JU3 on Hayabusa2 Spacecraft; last day to submit names / messages to ride aboard spacecraft launching to asteroid in 2014.
Jul 16-17 — UK Space Agency, Scottish Enterprise, et al, Glasgow, United Kingdom: UK Space Conference 2013; at Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre; US$75-142 (£50-95).
Jul 16-18 — American Astronautical Society, Center for the Advancement of Space Science Inc., NASA, Denver CO: 2nd Annual ISS Research and Development Conference; at Denver Marriott City Center; US$175-500.
Jul 16-19 — NASA Lunar Science Institute (soon to become Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute), Berkeley CA: Planetary Science Workshop; for middle school science teachers and curriculum specialists; at Lawrence Hall of Science.
Jul 16-20 — Space Foundation Discovery Center, Colorado Springs CO: Summer of Discovery: One Giant Leap; featuring artifacts from 1969 Moon landing, presentations, scavenger hunts, exhibits.
Jul 16-25 — Austrian Research Promotion Agency, ESA, International Space Science Institute, Austrospace, Alpbach, Austria: Summer School Alpbach 2013: Space Weather – Science, Missions and Systems; student teams create and propose mission and spacecraft design projects.
Jul 16 — Moon: 3.2° SSW of Saturn, 14:00.
WEDNESDAY
Jul 17 — Future Space Leaders Foundation, Washington DC: Future Space 2013; featuring NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, representatives from Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Space News.
Jul 17 — NASA, Wilmington MA: Media Invited to View Orion Heat Shield; media tour of Textron Defense Systems facility to view progress of Orion spacecraft’s heat shield.
Jul 17-19 — University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany: Dusty Visions; to discuss modeling, observations, instrumentation for interstellar and Solar System dust, comets, asteroids, moons, meteorites, planetary rings, space debris.
Jul 17 — Asteroid 2010 AF3: Near-Earth flyby (0.055 AU).
Jul 17 — Asteroid 153349 (2001 PJ9): Near-Earth flyby (0.075 AU).
THURSDAY
Jul 18 — Cassini OTM-354, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #354 today.
Jul 18 — Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc., U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville AL: Space Exploration Celebration; 18:30 – 21:00 CDT; US$10-20.
Jul 18 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: Request for Information Due: Asteroid Initiative; requesting ideas for Asteroid Retrieval Mission (to put NEA in Moon orbit) and increased NEA defense system for Earth.
Jul 18, 19 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA: The von Kármán Lecture Series: Exploring the Extreme Universe with NuSTAR; presented by Dr. Daniel Stern of JPL.
Jul 18-19 — AIAA, San Jose CA: Liquid Propulsion Systems – Evolutions and Advancements; at San Jose Convention Center.
Jul 18 — Moon: 6.8° N of Antares, 22:00.
Jul 18 — Asteroid 2012 AM10: Near-Earth flyby (0.052 AU).
Jul 18 — Asteroid 2011 KP16: Near-Earth flyby (0.089 AU).
FRIDAY
Jul 19 — Cassini, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft scheduled to take photograph of Earth from 1.44B km away; Earth will appear as small, blue dot between rings of Saturn.
Jul 19 — NASA, Online / Washington DC: NASA Advisory Council Science Committee, Planetary Science Subcommittee Teleconference; 09:00 – 12:00 EDT.
Jul 19 — `Imiloa Astronomy Center, University of Hawai`i – Hilo, Hilo HI: Mauna Kea Skies Talk; Dr. Rachel Rampy from W. M. Keck Observatory speaks about recent discoveries; 19:00 HST, US$8-10.
Jul 19 — U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville AL: Space Exploration Celebration and Space Camp Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony; at U.S. Space and Rocket Center, 09:00 – 17:00 CDT.
Jul 19 — Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: Lunch with an Astronaut, Brian Duffy; US$49.95 adult.
SATURDAY
Jul 20 — 44th Apollo 11 Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First 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 20 — 37th Viking 1 Mars Lander Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First spacecraft to successfully land on another planet; originally scheduled for July 4, landing was delayed until this day in 1976 due to rough landing site.
Jul 20 — National Space Society of North Texas, Dallas TX: 5th Moon Day; at Frontiers of Flight Museum.
Jul 20-21 — Citizens in Space, United States Rocket Academy, SpaceGAMBIT, Dallas TX: Space Hacker Workshop; to provide information about building & flying experiments in space, participating as citizen astronauts through Citizens in Space program; at Frontiers of Flight Museum; US$79-129.
Jul 20-24 — Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Jose State University, San Jose CA: ASP 125th Annual Meeting; to include Cosmos in the Classroom and Galileo Teacher Training Program.
SUNDAY
Jul 21 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. Paul Spudis from Lunar and Planetary Institute talks with host Dr. David Livingston.
Jul 21 – Aug 11 — Aspen Center for Physics, Aspen CO: Aspen Summer Workshop: The Milky Way as a Laboratory for Galaxy Formation.
Jul 21 — Moon: At perigee (distance 358,050 km), 10:00.