Silicon Valley: A Growing Nexus for Space Endeavor
|
MONDAYJan 12 — ISS, LEO: Expedition 42 six-member crew awaiting arrival of SpaceX CRS 5 Dragon capsule with ~490 kg of cargo & Cloud Aerosol Transport System, working with ESA experiment to remote control robots on Earth from orbit, preparing for 3 EVAs planned in Feb. Jan 12 — Chang’e 5-T1 Service Module, Moon Trajectory: Departing Lagrange point 2, China module will head into Lunar orbit mid-January for future long-range guidance tests & surveys of landing sites for Chang’e-5 sample return mission; launched Oct 23, 2014. Jan 12 — Chandra X-ray Observatory, HEO: Observing continuously for 55 out of 65-hour highly-elliptical orbit; recently recorded largest X-ray flare ever detected from black hole Sagittarius A*, 400 times brighter than usual output. Jan 12 — XCOR Aerospace Inc., Mojave CA: NewSpace company continues to make progress on Lynx suborbital vehicle, will integrate wing strakes; 300 tickets for future flights sold at ~US$95,000. Jan 12 — Firefly Space Systems, Austin TX: Developing Firefly Alpha rocket with carbon fiber composite body & methane-fueled aerospike engine; intending to evolve launcher into a reusable system. Jan 12 — Space Adventures Ltd., International Locations: Providing training programs for missions to ISS, around Moon, suborbital spaceflights; Satoshi Takamatsu to be first Japan private astronaut qualified to visit ISS. Jan 12 — Royal Astronomical Society, London, United Kingdom: 195th Birthday of RAS (1820). Jan 12 — Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ: Colloquium: The Planetary Radar Program at the Arecibo Observatory – History and Recent Results; presented by Dr. Michael Nolan, Deputy Director for Planetary Sciences at Arecibo Observatory. Jan 12 — Moon: At Last quarter, 23:46. Jan 12 — Asteroid 2014 YT34: Near-Earth flyby (0.037 AU). |
= 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: Mercury (SW), Venus (SW), Mars (SW), Jupiter (ENE); Morning Planets: Saturn (SE).
Major Focus on Mars Missions for Public / Private Enterprises
|
Continued from…Dec 20 – Mar 15 — Cantor Arts Center, Stanford CA: Exhibition: Loose in Some Real Tropics: Robert Rauschenberg’s “Stoned Moon” Projects, 1969–70; 34 large-format lithographs with scenes of Apollo 11 astronauts, machinery, facilities. Jan 11-15 — American Astronautical Society, AIAA, Williamsburg VA: 25th AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics. Jan 11-15 — Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt: International Conference on Quantum Gravity, Cosmology and String Theory. TUESDAYJan 13 — Dawn, Main Asteroid Belt: Spacecraft approach imaging of Ceres to begin. Jan 13 — SETI Institute, Mountain View CA: Lecture: Theia’s Date with Destiny – Possible Conditions Leading to a Giant Impact; Billy Quarles of NASA Ames. Jan 13 — Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ: Colloquium: The Diverse Population of Near-Earth Asteroids; presented by Dr. Michael Nolan, Deputy Director for Planetary Sciences at Arecibo Observatory. Jan 13-15 — NASA Human Research Program, National Space Biomedical Research Institute, Galveston TX: 2015 Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop: Integrated Pathways to Mars; in conjunction with Space Radiation Investigators’ Workshop & Behavioral Health and Performance Working Group. Jan 13-15 — Keck Institute for Space Studies, Pasadena CA: Science and Enabling Technologies to Explore the Interstellar Medium II. Jan 13 — Moon: 3.0° NNE of Spica, 02:00. WEDNESDAYJan 14 — Cassini OTM-401, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #401 today. Jan 14-15 — The National Academies, Irvine CA: Meeting: Development of a Strategic Vision and Implementation Plan for the U.S. Antarctic Program at the National Science Foundation. |
Jan 14-15 — ESA, Noordwijk, The Netherlands: Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) 1 Final Presentation Days; at European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC).
THURSDAY
Jan 15 — New Horizons, Pluto Trajectory: Will begin distant-encounter operations today.
Jan 15 — Silicon Valley Space Center, AIAA San Francisco Section, Mountain View CA: TechTalks: San Jose University: Project Spartan Spear; 18:30 – 20:30 PST.
Jan 15 — Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston TX: NASA press briefings on Expedition 43 year-long ISS mission; featuring NASA astronaut Scott Kelly & RSA cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko set to launch March 27, 2015 and return Mar 2016; live coverage available, starts 11:00 CST.
Jan 15, 16 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech/NASA, Pasadena CA: von Karman Lecture Series: Low Density Supersonic Decelerator; presented by LDSD Project Manager Mr. Mark Adler & Principal Investigator Dr. Ian Clark.
Jan 15 — Asteroid 2007 EC: Near-Earth flyby (0.027 AU).
Jan 15 — Asteroid 2014 YR15: Near-Earth flyby (0.056 AU).
FRIDAY
Jan 16 — The Space Foundation, Astronauts Memorial Foundation, NASA, Colorado Springs CO: Applications Due: 2015 Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award.
Jan 16 — Moon: 1.8° N of Saturn, 02:00; 8.8° N of Antares, 15:00.
Jan 16 — Asteroid 2014 YD: Near-Earth flyby (0.044 AU).
SATURDAY
Jan 17-22 — Aspen Center for Physics, Northwestern University, Aspen CO: 2015 Aspen Winter Conference: Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters.
SUNDAY
Jan 18 — The Space Show, Online / Tiburon CA: Dr. David Livingston presents New Years Resolution Show.
Jan 18-21 — Pacific Telecommunications Council, Honolulu HI: 37th Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC 2015); at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort.
Jan 18-27 — Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics, Korea Institute for Advanced Studies, Busan, South Korea: 9th Asian Winter School on Strings, Particles and Cosmology.