Boeing Meets SpaceX as Starliner and Crew Dragon Test Flights Prepare for Launch
|
MONDAYHighlights…
|
Boeing Starliner counts down toward Orbital Flight Test OFT-1 to ISS on December 20 atop Atlas V booster from Space Launch Complex 41C at KSC. The crewed OFT-2 in 2020 will carry veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fincke (replacing Eric Boe) and astronaut candidate Nicole Mann, potentially the 65th woman in space. As per tradition, the third crew member will be a Boeing test pilot, former space shuttle commander Chris Ferguson. The Starliner test will be the first crewed flight on an Atlas booster since the Mercury flight of Gordon Cooper in 1963. Because of delays at Boeing and SpaceX, the mission has been extended to a full crew rotation, meaning that the three astronauts could stay at ISS for up to 210 days. Starliner will return to land using retrorockets and airbags. SpaceX Crew Dragon is set for critical launch-abort test NET Jan 4, 2020. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will fly on Demo-2 to ISS later in 2020 atop a Falcon 9 from historic Launch Complex 39A. Crew Dragon, originally designed to set down on land, will now splash down in the Pacific off the California coast. The first crew to reach ISS on a USA spacecraft since 2011 will win an American flag left behind by the crew of Space Shuttle flight STS-135, including Chris Ferguson. (Image Credits: SpaceX, Boeing, NASA)
Dec 16 — 
Dec 16 — NewSpace: 
Dec 16 — USA: NASA seeks long-term contract for 
= 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: Venus (SW), Saturn (WSW), Uranus (E), Neptune (S); Morning Planets: Mercury (ESE), Mars (ESE).
Hawai’i Astronomy on Mauna Kea to Innovate and Hawaiianize in 2020s
The dormant volcano Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island rises 4,207 meters above sea level and is widely considered to be the most ideal location to observe the sky in the Northern Hemisphere due to elevation, stable weather patterns, geographic isolation which protects against light pollution and clear, dry air. 13 separate observatories on Mauna Kea are overseen by University of Hawaii’s Institute of Astronomy, 3 of which contain 10-meter class telescopes: W. M. Keck, Subaru and Gemini observatories. While 3 obsolete facilities are currently slated for decommissioning and site remediation, 10 existing observatories will remain, including Keck, where the second interstellar object Borisov (2I) was recently imaged – the first ever interstellar object found in our solar system, ‘Oumuamua (1I), was discovered from the nearby Pan-STARRS on Maui. Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, with stakeholders National Research Council of Canada, le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and University of Hawaii will seek approval to renovate existing facility and replace current cassegrain 3.58-meter telescope with 11.25-meter aperture segmented mirror telescope dubbed Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer, capable of observing 4,000 objects simultaneously. James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and Submillimeter Array participate in the VLBA Event Horizon Telescope, credited with first imaging of a black hole, Powehi – named by UH professor of Hawaiian Language Larry Kimura who found inspiration in the Kumulipo, a Native Hawaiian origin chant. (Image Credits: CFHT, IfA)
|
Dec 16 — CNSA, Launch Long March 3B / Beidou, Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China: Long March 3B to launch Beidou navigation satellite.
Continued from…
TUESDAY
|
Dec 17 — SETI, Menlo Park CA: Talk: Are We About to Find Life on Mars? by biologist Kathryn Bywaters and scientist Pascal Lee, 19:00.
Dec 17-18 — W. M. Keck Observatory, Caltech, Pasadena CA: Keck Wide-Field Imager Science Workshop.
Dec 17 — Aten Asteroid 2011 YD29: Near-Earth Flyby (0.084 AU)
WEDNESDAY
Dec 18-20 — University of Catania, INAF, Catania, Sicily, Italy: 10th OPTICON Gaia Science Alerts Workshop; discussing updates on Gaia mission, Gaia Alerts, highlights and results, synergies with radio, X-ray and high energy, extension of Gaia.
Dec 18 — Moon: At perigee (distance 370,252 km), 10:16; at last quarter 18:58.
Dec 18 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 XF: Near-Earth Flyby (0.024 AU)
THURSDAY
Dec 19 — Gaia, Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point: ESA spacecraft reaches 6 full years / enters 7th year in space today; now in extended mission phase working to map more than 1 billion stars; launched in 2013.
Dec 19-20 — Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Aveiro, Guimaraes, Portugal: 12th Black Hole Workshop.
FRIDAY
Dec 20 — United Launch Alliance, Boeing, Launch Atlas V / CST-100 Starliner Orbital Flight Test, SLC-41, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: Uncrewed Orbital Flight Test OFT-1 of Boeing Starliner to ISS for NASA Commercial Crew Program.
Dec 20 — CNSA, Launch Long March 4B / CBERS 4A, Taiyuan, China: China Long March 4B rocket to launch CBERS 4A remote sensing satellite.
Dec 20 — Ames Research Center, NASA, Moffett Field CA: Ames Research Center reaches 80th year since founding 1939.
Dec 20 — December Leonid Minoris Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from constellation Leo, Leonids are associated with the comet Tempel–Tuttle; can produce 5 meteors per hour.
Dec 20 — Moon: 7.2° NNE of Spica, 18:00.
Dec 20 — Apollo Asteroid 216258 (2006 WH1): Near-Earth Flyby (0.039 AU)
SATURDAY
Dec 21 — December Solstice: The Sun reaches the point where it is farthest South of the celestial equator, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year (opposite in Southern Hemisphere), 18:21.
Dec 21 — Ursid Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from β star of Ursa Minor, Ursids are associated with comet 8P/Tuttle, they offer medium speed (33 km/sec), visible in northern Hemisphere – peak 11:00.
Dec 21 — Apollo Asteroid 2013 XY20: Near-Earth Flyby (0.047 AU)
SUNDAY
Dec 22 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. David Livingston talks with Dylan Taylor, space historian and author.
Dec 22 — Moon: 3.4° NNE of Mars, 19:00.
Dec 22 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 XQ60: Near-Earth Flyby (0.028 AU)