November 6-12, 2017 / Vol 36, No 45 / Hawai`i Island, USA

UN / UAE High Level Forum in Dubai Looks Ahead to UNISPACE+50 in Vienna

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and United Arab Emirates Space Agency host High Level Forum: Space as a Driver for Socio-Economic Sustainable Development on 6-9 November at the Grand Hyatt Dubai Hotel in Dubai. The mission is to drive exchange between governments, international organizations, industry, the private sector, academia and civil society in the spheres of space economy, space society, space accessibility and space diplomacy. Italian Astrophysicist and UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo will deliver the keynote address. Next year is the 50th observation of the first UN Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. UNISPACE+50 slated for June 20-21 2018 will bring together the international community as a special segment of the 61st session of COPUOS (Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space). As more and more participants, governmental and non-governmental, rapidly increase the scope of space exploration and development it is crucial to build a future of global space cooperation for the benefit of all humankind. In September 2017 the International Astronautical Federation General Assembly selected IAC 2020 host city as Dubai with hosting organization Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center where Salem Humaid Al Marri is Assistant DG for Science & Technology Sector. (Image Credit: UNOOSA, MBRSC, IAF)

MONDAY

Ongoing…
Nov 6 — ISS, 330-435-km LEO: Expedition 53 preparing for arrival and capture of OA-8 cargo ship; Kelly twins one-year in space study reveals space increases methylation, the process of switching genes on and off – full test results to be published 2018.

Nov 6 — NewSpace: Kuang-Chi Group in China working toward helium balloon near-space tourism launches / returns a turtle to 21-km altitude; to date Planet has had 271 Dove Earth Observation satellites launched to LEO; Vector Space Systems plans to open new office in San Jose CA, CEO is Jim Cantrell; SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch scheduled Dec.

Nov 6 — Solar System: Neptune and Uranus could “rain diamonds” due to high atmosphere pressures on hydrogen & carbon; Juno reveals Jupiter simultaneous auroras on both poles; Access Mars computer system allows public to view Mars from Curiosity rover’s path.

Nov 6 — Galaxy: Interstellar community expanding with TVIW, AAK, Icarus, 100YSS, Centauri Dreams, Starship Century, Breakthrough Initiatives, others; Hubble telescope shows wobbling in brightest cluster galaxies; NGTS-1b largest planet compared to size of companion star discovered, 600 LY away.

Nov 6 — Global: Astronaut Yang Liwei receives UNESCO Space Science Medal; Jan Woerner and ESA furthering Space 4.0 and Moon Village concepts; India Chandrayaan-2 in final stages before Q1 2018 launch.

Nov 6 — USA: NASA Administrator nominee Jim Bridenstine testifies before Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; NASA may privatize Spitzer Space Telescope after 2019.

Nov 6 — Hawai`i: First identified Interstellar object A/2017 U1 observed by Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on Maui being studied as it zooms away from Solar System at 25.75 km/second; Hawaii Mayor Harry Kim to update on vision for Mauna Kea as Living Monument for World Peace at Galaxy Forum Kamuela 8 Nov (free).

= 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: Saturn (SW), Uranus (SE), Neptune (SE); Morning Planets: Mars (NE), Venus (ENE), Jupiter (ENE).

Space Economy, Settlement Highlighted at New Space Age and New Worlds Symposium

A dynamic focus on NewSpace commerce and enterprise will begin November 9 at “A New Space Age Summit” in Seattle, Washington at the Museum of Flight hosted by Hewlett Packard, Sierra Nevada Corp, Space Frontier Foundation, Space Angels, Satellite Finance and others. It will address the new wave of terrestrial tech, where the industry is headed over the next few years, and potential opportunities for business in Space. Prominent speakers include Yuri Milner, Susmita Mohanty, Lori Garver, George Whitesides, Naveen Jain, Chris Lewicki, Peter Platzer, Brian Weedon, Nobu Okada, Carolyn Porco and Jim Bell. The New Worlds 2017 Conference in Austin, Texas will be Oct 10-11 in conjunction with the NewSpace Business Plan Competition. Hosted by New Worlds Institute, participants include Rick Tumlinson, Richard Garriott, William Gerstenmaier, Pete Worden, Bernard Foing, Bob Richards, Shawna Pandya, Mary Lynne Dittmar and Dennis Wingo. Papers sessions are Transporters: Solar System Highways, Architects: Space Habitats And Colonies, Bioneering: How We Will Survive And Thrive In Space, Space Miners: Harvesting Resources, Space Makers: Manufacturing In Space, and Sky Farmers: Food and Agriculture. The NewSpace Business Plan Competition will grant prize winners US$2,500 to help launch Entrepreneurial Space, Space-related and Space-scalable technologies / systems. The Student Art Competition will see 750 high school kids designing cities on the Moon, Mars and in Free Space. (Image Credit: The Economist, New Worlds, Space Ventures Investors, et al)

 Nov 6 — Keck Institute for Space Studies, Pasadena CA: Lecture: Automaton Rover for Extreme Environments: Steampunk Meets Spacecraft; by Jonathan Sauder and Evan Hilgemann of JPL.

Nov 6-9 — UNOOSA, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: United Nations/United Arab Emirates – High Level Forum: Space as a Driver for Socio-Economic Sustainable Development.

Nov 6-10 — Lorentz Center, Leiden, The Netherlands: Workshop: The Physics of Quenching Massive Galaxies at High Redshift.

Nov 6 — Moon: 4.6° S of M35 cluster, 05:00.

Nov 6 — Apollo Asteroid 2013 BD74: Near-Earth Flyby (0.027 AU).

Nov 6 — Apollo Asteroid 2004 GD: Near-Earth Flyby (0.057 AU).

Continued from…

Oct 21 – Dec 4 — Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston TX: Campaign 4: Mission 3 – Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA 2017); 45 day analog spaceflight / Moon / Mars mission.

NET Nov — SpaceX, Launch Falcon Heavy Demo, Cape Canaveral AFS FL: SpaceX maiden falcon heavy to launch this month; rocket consists of standard Falcon 9 rocket core with two additional strap-on boosters (total of 27 Merlin engines).

NET Nov – Apr 2018 — CNSA, Tiangong-1 Earth Atmosphere Reentry, LEO: China 1st Space Lab to be disintegrated during Earth atmosphere reentry after slow orbit decay beginning March 16, 2016; predicted to reenter between 43°N and 43°S latitudes during this time frame.

TUESDAY

Nov 7 — Arianespace, Launch Vega / MN35-13, Kourou, French Guiana: Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV11, to launch MN35-13 Earth observation satellite for the government of Morocco.

Nov 7 — British Interplanetary Society, International Space Elevator Consortium, London, United Kingdom: BIS Symposium on Space Elevators.

Nov 7 — Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ: Colloquium: Earth’s Earliest Evolution – Fire From Above, Fire From Below; Simone Marchi of SwRI, 15:45 in Kuiper Space Sciences Room 312.

Nov 7-9 — SMi Group, SES, Airbus, London, United Kingdom: 19th Global MilSatCom Conference & Agenda.

Nov 7-9 — Caltech, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA: SPICE Domestic Training Class for 2017; SPICE is an ancillary information system providing scientists & engineers access to spacecraft orbit, attitude & information needed to determine observation geometry used in planning and analyzing space science observations.

Nov 7-10 — Thirty Meter Telescope, Mysore, India: Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Science Forum: Beyond First Light; to plan for future TMT science programs.

Nov 7-10 — Square Kilometre Array South Africa, Cape Town, Africa: Astroinformatics 2017 Meeting.

WEDNESDAY

Nov 8 — British Interplanetary Society, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom: Lectures: Mars – Man or Machine? featuring Professor Yang Gao, Tanya Lim, Abbie Hutty, Nick Spall.

Nov 8 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Space Age Publishing Company, Kamuela HI: Galaxy Forum Hawaii 2017 – Kamuela: Future of Astronomy in Hawaii: The Next 100 Years; featuring Hawaii Mayor Harry Kim, Cultural Practitioner Kimo Pihana, ILOA Director Steve Durst, International Panel of experts talking on Astronomy from the Moon.

Nov 8 — Foothill College, SETI Institute, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Ames Research Center, Los Altos CA: A Planet for Goldilocks: Searching for Earth 2.0 Among the Stars; Natalie Batalha of NASA Kepler project.

Nov 8-10 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Kamuela HI: ILOA 10th Annual Board of Directors Meeting.

Nov 8 — Moon: 1.8° N of asteroid 8 Flora, 07:00; 12.5° S of Castor, 12:00; 8.9° S of Pollux, 17:00.

THURSDAY

Nov 9 — Space Frontier Foundation, Hewlett Packard, Space Angels, Satellite Finance, SatNews, Seattle WA: A New Space Age Summit; featuring Yuri Milner, Susmita Mohanty, Lori Garver, George Whitesides, Naveen Jain, Chris Lewicki, more.

Nov 9 — Canadian Space Commerce Association, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Space Policy Symposium.

Nov 9-10 — Secure World Foundation, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC: Space Crisis Dynamics and Uncertainty.

Nov 9-10 — EMEA Satellite Operators Association, Satellite Interference Reduction Group (IRG), Satellite Evolution Group, SatNews, Istanbul, Turkey: 3rd Global SatShow.

Nov 9 — Moon: 2.4° S. of Beehive Cluster, 16:00; at last quarter, 10:37.

Nov 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 TZ3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.026 AU).

Nov 9 — Amor Asteroid 2017 SL2: Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU).

FRIDAY

Nov 10 — United Launch Alliance, Launch Delta 2 / Joint Polar Satellite System-1 spacecraft, Vandenberg AFB CA: Launch of Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) spacecraft, developed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for NOAA, aboard Delta 2 rocket.

Nov 10 — British Interplanetary Society, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom: Lecture: Once Explorers; Always Explorers – Europe’s Role in Space Exploration; David Parker of ESA.

Nov 10 — New Worlds, STEAM Space Education Outreach, Austin TX: Cities in Space Student Competition; at New Worlds 2017 Conference to motivate students for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math.

Nov 10 — Space Center Houston, Houston TX: Lunch with an Astronaut, John-David Bartoe, adult US$69.95.

Nov 10 — Heritage Auctions, Dallas TX / Online: ‘Space Magna Carta’ and Astronauts’ private collections to be auctioned.

Nov 10-11 — New Worlds, Deep Space Industries, GHG Corp., PixelPromenade, Heinlein Prize Trust, Austin TX: New Worlds 2017 Conference; and NewSpace Business Plan Competition; at Renaissance by Marriott Austin Hotel.

Nov 10 — Apollo Asteroid 2017 UL7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU).

Nov 10 — Amor Asteroid 2017 UN7: Near-Earth Flyby (0.067 AU).

SATURDAY

Nov 11 — Orbital ATK, Launch Antares / OA-8, Wallops Island VA: Upgraded Antares rocket to launch 9th Cygnus cargo freighter on 8th operational flight to the ISS; will carry Asgardia 1st satellite to ISS for deployment.

Nov 11 — W. M. Keck Observatory, Kamuela HI: W. M. Keck Observatory Headquarters Open House; fun, family-friendly event filled with cosmic activities, stellar food, and a star-studded program featuring renowned astronomers and engineers, 10:00 – 15:00; free.

Nov 11 — Moon: 0.44° NNE of Regulus, 07:00.

Nov 11 — Apollo Asteroid 2005 XB1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.096 AU).

SUNDAY

Nov 12 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. David Livingston talks with Rob Kunz about NewSpace VC investment.

Nov 12-13 — Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) of University of Arizona, Tucson AZ: Arizona-JAXA Workshop 2017: Planetary Science Enabled by Epsilon Class Missions.

Nov 12-18 — French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Cargese, France: 13th School of Cosmology: The CMB from A to Z.

Nov 12 — Northern 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.

Nov 12 — Mercury: 2.2° N of Antares, 12:00.

Nov 12 — Venus: 0.26° NNE of Jupiter, 22:00.