November 18-24, 2019 / Vol 38, No 46 / Hawai’i Island, USA

Space Tech Conferences in Bangkok, Bremen, and Houston

Space conferences launch worldwide in late November. The Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Conference Nov 19-21 in Bangkok is a must-attend event for Asia space industry. Day 1 focuses on the rapidly changing market for geostationary satellites. Day 2 will be about the NewSpace market with special sessions highlighting China, India and Thailand. A lunchtime session will discuss how 5G may transform the communications satellite market. Afternoon sessions will discuss commercial launch and whether satellite constellations can be a revenue stream. On Day 3 International Space University co-hosts the Youth Development Workshop. Also on Nov 19-21, the 3rd annual Space Tech Expo Europe is being held in Bremen. Featured speakers (L-R) include Jan Wörner of ESA, incoming director of IAF Pascale Ehrenfreund, Jeanne Medvedeva of ExoLaunch, and Sandy Tirtey of Rocket Lab. Exhibitors include NewSpace companies like PTS and Japan Interstellar. Day 1 looks at the Smallsat market and the impact of new players on the space industry. On Day 2 a workshop examines how to build the most efficient launch vehicle. SpaceCom 2019, the USA commercial space conference and exhibition, opens Nov 20-21 at George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. SpaceCom operates under a Space Act agreement with NASA. Sessions will talk about lunar prospecting, robotics, commercial opportunities from the CLPS program, and commercial suppliers of lunar hardware. Exhibitors from NASA to commercial space companies will emphasize opportunities on the Moon. (Image Credits: Space Tech Expo, SSTA, Youth Aerospace Association)

MONDAY

Highlights…
Nov 18 — ISS, 405-km LEO: Expedition 61 six-member crew “weighing in” – determining mass by applying a known force to astronauts and measuring acceleration; harvesting and consuming mizuna mustard greens grown in space – half of crop to be returned to Earth for analysis.

Nov 18 — NewSpace: Luna Innovations selected as NASA partner in Moon-Mars exploration studies; Blue Origin new plant taking shape to build BE-3 and -4 engines in Huntsville AL; Paragon Space Development wins US$2M NASA Tipping Point contract.

Nov 18 — Solar System: Curiosity rover finds evidence of Mars oxygen changing seasonally; Hayabusa2 spacecraft begins one-year return to Earth from asteroid Ryugu; Kuiper belt object 2014 MU69 officially named Arrakoth.

Nov 18 — Galaxy: S5-HVS1 star discovered to be exiting galaxy at 6 million kph; Hubble-Lemaitre new measurement from Fermi & Cherenkov Telescope Array gamma-ray observations; shape of universe study casts doubt on ideas of cosmic “inflation”; University of Arizona study finds C 60 molecules to have origin in dying star dust.

Nov 18 — Global: ESA ANALOG-1 experiment will allow astronauts on ISS to remotely operate lunar robot; as reported by Andrew Jones, China reaches 26 launch attempts for 2019, Long March 5 preparing for flight; Philippines Diwata-2 Earth observation microsatellite entering second year in orbit.

Nov 18 — USA: Mars 2020 rover in test chamber at JPL, will search for signs of microscopic fossils; IceCube lunar mission designed by Morehead State University to locate resources on Moon; NASA continues to seek additional investment for Artemis program.

Nov 18 — Hawai’i: UH Board of Regents approves new Mauna Kea management rules including new education telescope, programs and removal of 5 telescopes; Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on Maui using laser trackers to aid its instrument construction; UH IfA searches for next Director.

Nov 18 — NASA, Broadcast / Washington DC: Additional Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) providers to be announced today; 16:30 EST, live coverage available.

Nov 18 — Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA: 3rd Symposium on Space Innovations.

= 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), Jupiter (SW), Saturn (SW), Uranus (E), Neptune (S); Morning Planets: Mercury (ESE), Mars (ESE).

Space Professionals, Enthusiasts and Students from Across the Americas Assemble in Canada for Space Summit

The annual gathering of Canadian Space Society, Canadian Space Summit, meets November 19–21 for the 19th time, with theme From LEO to Lunar. Kanata, a suburb of the capital city Ottawa, will host CSS at the Brookstreet Hotel. Representatives of Canada’s US$5.6B+ space industry and academics will convene for 3 days of presentations, workshops, roundtables and receptions. Main topics to be discussed include international partnerships, commercial human spaceflight, lunar activities, satellite internet broadband, and technology trade matters – specifically International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Controlled Goods Program (CGP) – under which Canada enjoys a unique exemption, allowing commerce with USA to be conducted without undue hindrance. Rob Postma (C), VP and Head of Governmental Export, Space Systems for Airbus will give a keynote address entitled ‘LEO to Lunar: Airbus’ Contribution to 50 Years of Progress, in keeping with the conference theme. ‘Building the Cloud-Optimised Satellite Ecosystem’ is to be presented by Sergy Mummert of SES Networks, and Chris Pogue (R), President of Government Programs at MDA, will round out the keynote speeches. Other notable speakers include Scot Bryson (L) of Toronto based Orbital Farm, purveyor of closed-loop hydroponic and aquaponic systems designed for Earth and Space, Eric Choi (C) of Magellan Aerospace, Tanya Harrison of Planet, and Bhairavi Shankar of Indus Space. (Image Credits: CSS, CSA)

Nov 18 — Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ: Colloquium: Three Tales from the Outer Solar System; by David Nesvorny of Southwest Research Institute.

Nov 18-19 — Conference Series LLC, Auckland, New Zealand: Astronomy Congress 2019: 2nd International Conference on Astronomy, Astrophysics and Astrobiology.

Nov 18-20 — Padjadjaran University (UNPAD), University Brunei Darussalam, Bali, Indonesia: 2nd International Congress on Earth Sciences in SE Asia.

Nov 18-22 — University of Rwanda, UNECA, UNGGIM Africa, GMES in Africa, GEO, Digital Earth Africa, Kigali, Rwanda: Africa GIS 2019 Conference.

Nov 18-22 — Belgian Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence (STCE), ESA, Space Weather Working Team, Liege, Belgium: 16th European Space Weather Week.

Nov 18 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 UR2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.046 AU)

Continued from…

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

Nov 17-22 — Subaru Telescope, Waikoloa HI: 7th Subaru International Conference.

TUESDAY

Nov 19 — Cornell University, Ithaca NY: Colloquia: Planet Nine From Outer Space; by Konstantin Batygin from Caltech.

Nov 19-21 — Smartershows, ArianeGroup, OHB, et al, Bremen, Germany: Space Tech Expo Europe; 3rd annual exposition and forum for space industry featuring Planetary Transport Systems, ISIS, Exo Launch, Fraunhofer, SCISYS, Tyvak International.

Nov 19-21 — Canadian Space Society, SatCan, Kanata, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Space Summit 2019.

Nov 19-21 — Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC), SES, Measat, SpaceX, JSat Group, ThaiCom, et al, Bangkok, Thailand: APSCC Satellite Conference and Exhibition.

Nov 19 — Moon: At last quarter, 11:12; 3.6° NNE of Regulus, 16:00.

WEDNESDAY

Nov 20 — Swift, LEO: Observing gamma-ray bursts & their afterglows in gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, optical wavelengths from LEO, craft reaches 15 full years / begins 16th year of operations in space today, launched in 2004.

Nov 20 — British Interplanetary Society, London, United Kingdom: Lecture: Apollo 12 – A Pinpoint Landing on the Moon; by Jerry Stone of BIS.

Nov 20 — SETI Institute, Menlo Park CA: Lecture: Technosignatures vs. Biosignatures – Which Will Succeed First? with SETI Institute Co-founder and Scientist Jill Tarter.

Nov 20 — Australia Telescope National Facility Colloquium, CSIRO, Sydney, Australia: Colloquium: VLBI Astrometry in the Gaia Era.

Nov 20-21 — Boeing, CASIS, Catapult, Houston Spaceport, Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman, et al, Houston TX: SpaceCom 2019; at George R. Brown Convention Center.

Nov 20 — Amor Asteroid 2019 UK6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.040 AU)

THURSDAY

Nov 21 — Cornell University, Ithaca NY: Lecture: A Schmorgas Board of Exodelights; by David Kipping from Columbia University.

Nov 21 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 VK: Near-Earth Flyby (0.015 AU)

Nov 21 — Aten Asteroid 481394 (2006 SF6): Near-Earth Flyby (0.029 AU)

Nov 21 — Apollo Asteroid 2011 UB: Near-Earth Flyby (0.088 AU)

FRIDAY

Nov 22 — Arianespace, Launch Ariane 5 / TIBA 1 & Inmarsat 5 F5, Kourou, French Guiana: Arianespace Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA250, to launch TIBA 1 and Inmarsat 5 F5 communications satellites.

Nov 22 — Texas Parks and Wildlife, Atlanta State Park, Atlanta TX: Event: Stories in the Stars.

Nov 22 — Canada-France-Hawai’i Telescope, Tutu’s House, Kamuela, HI: Astronomy lecture: Celebrating 40 Years at CFHT; by Director Doug Simons.

Nov 22 — Moon: at perigee (distance 366,744.2 km), 21:42.

Nov 22 — Aten Asteroid 1994 WR12: Near-Earth Flyby (0.074 AU)

SATURDAY

Nov 23 — CNSA, Launch Long March 3B / Beidou, Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, Sichuan, China: Long March 3B rocket to launch two satellites China Beidou navigation network into Medium Earth Orbit.

Nov 23-24 — Space Generation Advisory Council, JAXA, Nagoya, Japan: 6th Asia-Pacific Space Generation Workshop (AP-SGW 2019); will feature up to 100 top delegates.

Nov 23 — Moon: 7.1° NNE of Spica, 11:00.

Nov 23 — Apollo Asteroid 2008 EA9: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU)

SUNDAY

Nov 24 — Moon: 4.0° NNE of Mars, 03:00; 1.81° NNE of Mercury, 19:00.

Nov 24 — Venus: 7.1° NNE of Spica, 11:00.

Nov 24 — Mercury: 9.5° E of Mars, 15:00.