May 10-16, 2021 / Vol 40, No 19 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Ocean Launch Could Enable Pacific Space Access Hub in Hawai’i

The remote island home of Space Age Publishing Company may become galactic stepping stone of humanity as crucial technology breakthroughs drive new space age dynamics worldwide. Hawaii is both geographically suited to space access (near equatorial, massive eastern downrange) and culturally disposed to the requisite social norms of the space dimension – exploration, internationalism, Aloha. Proposals to conduct launches from on-shore have historically been a non-starter for Hawaii residents, both because of land scarcity and stewardship of the ʻĀina (land) being a preeminent community value. Off-shore launch, however, is a proven, realistic approach being developed and considered by many nations. Seizing on a concept first expressed in the 1960s, Sea Launch, a 4-nation consortium including Russia, USA, Norway and Ukraine, pioneered the novel approach with 32 Zenit rocket launches from Odyssey spacecraft launch platform, and (now under Russian ownership) is currently undergoing US$470M refurbishment from Slavyanka Shipyard, located across Amur Bay from Vladivostok, terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway. SpaceX has shown mastery of landing Falcon 9 rocket stages on autonomous spaceport drone ships, and is now rebuilding deepwater oil rigs into Starship offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. China anticipates 3-4 ocean launches this year from a platform in the Yellow Sea, and efforts in Germany to launch to polar orbits from the North Sea are underway. Hawaiian waters and logistical infrastructure would be ideally suited to this endeavor, and related technology transfer could also spur advances in agriculture (aeroponics), water recycling and ISRU architecture. (Image Credits: NASA, Sea Launch)

MONDAY

May 10 — OSIRIS-REx, Asteroid 101955 Bennu (1999 RQ36): Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft scheduled to leave Bennu today and return to Earth 24 Sep 2023 with sample of at least 60 grams.

May 10 — Caltech Department of Astronomy, Online / Pasadena CA: Astronomy on Tap: “Lunar Radio Telescope” and “SOFIA Telescope Aboard a 747 Jet”; by Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay, Robotics Technologist at JPL, and Sabrina Pakzad, Mission Operations Specialist of NASA SOFIA Telescope; 19:30-21:30 PDT.

May 10 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032 – Panel on Giant Planet Systems – Meeting #9.

May 10-13 — IAA, NewSpace Systems, Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau, Stellenbosch, South Africa: 1st IAA African Symposium on Small Satellites; reset to Nov 29 – Dec 1.

May 10 — Moon: 2.20° SE of Uranus, 14:00.

May 10 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 JT: Near-Earth Flyby (0.015 AU)

May 10 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 GM10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.032 AU)

Continued From…

NET Early 2021 — ISRO, Launch SSLV / Demonstration Launch, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: New Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) to launch on first orbital test flight.

NET May 8 — Long March 5B Core Stage Return to Earth:  Uncontrolled re-entry of rocket core stage expecting to occur around this date, likely falling into international waters.

OSIRIS-REx Begins Long Journey Back to Earth Carrying Pieces of Asteroid

NASA first asteroid sample return mission conducted is scheduled to disembark 101955 Bennu May 10. The 287,630,000 km distance is expected to take OSIRIS-Rex (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) nearly 2.5 years to cover with hydrazine thrusters before depositing an anticipated 400-1000 g of material ejected from Bennu within 6,930 km² Utah Test and Training Range. If successful, the ~US$1B mission will make USA the second country to achieve asteroid sample return after JAXA Hayabusa. Estimated at 4.5 Gya, it is hoped that analysis of the B-type carbonaceous asteroid will shed light on solar system formation, evaluate potential resource extraction, and more precisely gauge trajectory, accounting for thermal dynamics such as the Yarkovsky effect. Bennu is near the top of cumulative Palermo Scale value, a measure of Earth impact likelihood – the ~484 m diameter asteroid is thought to have a 1:2700 chance (0.037%) probability of colliding between the years 2175–2199. The next NASA asteroid mission, Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) – in which kinetic deflection will be attempted on binary asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos, is launching November 24, 2021. Asteroid investigations LUCY and NEA Scout are also aiming for 2021 launch, PSYCHE is to explore the main asteroid belt in 2022, and ESA is to evaluate DART efficacy in 2024. (Pictured: OSIRIS-REx Mission Operations Manager Nayi Castro, Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta; Image Credits: NASA, Twitter)

TUESDAY

May 11 — Open University, Institute of Physics, Online / United Kingdom: Lecture: Listening to the heartbeat of Mars; by Naomi Murdoch, ISAE-SUPAERO, University of Toulouse.

May 11 — NASA, Northrup Grumman, Space Telescope Science Institute, Online / Redondo Beach CA: JWST Virtual Press Briefing; last chance to view golden primary mirror on Earth, participants include Greg Robinson, Bill Ochs, Begoña Vila, Eric Smith, Scott Willoughby, Klaus Pontoppidan, 13:00 EDT.

May 11-12 — NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate LSII, Johns Hopkins APL, Online / Laurel MD: Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Spring Meeting; featuring keynote from Acting NASA Chief of Staff Bhavya Lal.

May 11 — Moon: New Moon, 09:00; at farthest apogee of year (distance 406,479 km), 12:00.

WEDNESDAY

May 12 — CNSA, Long March 7 / Tianzhou 2, Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, Hainan Island, China: Long March 7 to launch Tianzhou 2 resupply ship to dock with Chinese space station core module Tianhe.

May 12 — NASA, JPL, Caltech, Online / Pasadena CA: Teaching Space With NASA Live Stream – The Search for Exoplanets; 15:00 PDT.

May 12 — Moon: 5.0° SE of Pleiades, 05:00; 0.71° SSE of Venus, 13:00; 5.4° NNW of Aldebaran, 23:00.

May 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 JC: Near-Earth Flyby (0.035 AU)

May 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2021 JC1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.037 AU)

May 12 — Amor Asteroid 2021 JD: Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU)

THURSDAY

 May 13 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Online / Washington DC: Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032 – State of the Profession Writing Group Meeting #8.

May 13 — Moon: 2.09° SSE of Mercury, 10:00.