Skynet 2-1-20 “Finding Life in the Universe” & “Constellation Taurus the Bull” 9PM CT |

Feb. 6
Soyuz • OneWeb 2
Launch time: 2142 GMT (4:42 p.m. EST)
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch 34 satellites into orbit for OneWeb, which is developing a constellation of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit for low-latency broadband communications. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. Delayed from Nov. 20, Dec. 19, Jan. 23 and Jan. 30. [Jan. 26]

NET Feb. 9
Soyuz • Meridian M
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
A Russian government Soyuz rocket with a Fregat upper stage will launch a Meridian M communications satellite for the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Soyuz rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. Delayed from Jan. 24. [Jan. 26]

Feb. 9
Antares • NG-13
Launch time: 2239 GMT (5:39 p.m. EST)
Launch site: Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket will launch the 14th Cygnus cargo freighter on the 13th operational cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. The mission is known as NG-13. The rocket will fly in the Antares 230 configuration, with two RD-181 first stage engines and a Castor 30XL second stage. Moved forward from April 20. Delayed from Feb. 7. [Jan. 10]

Feb. 9/10
Atlas 5 • Solar Orbiter
Launch time: 0403-0603 GMT on 10th (11:03 p.m.-1:03 a.m. EST on 9th/10th)
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-087, will launch the Solar Orbiter spacecraft for NASA and the European Space Agency. Built by Airbus Defense and Space, Solar Orbiter, or SolO, will travel inside the orbit of Mercury to study how the sun creates and controls the heliosphere, the vast bubble of charged particles blown by the solar wind into the interstellar medium. The rocket will fly in the 411 vehicle configuration with a four-meter fairing, one solid rocket booster and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from Feb. 5 and Feb. 7. [Jan. 31]

Mid-February
Falcon 9 • Starlink 4
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to launch the fifth batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 4. Delayed from January. [Jan. 21]

Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Space Super-Storm Likelihood Estimated from Longest Period of Magnetic Field Observations
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200129104745.htm?fbclid=IwAR3vEGqKvi-VIdOMVT3uDxlw9j0SclAerEvKRvaIePAJcx_Pk3s-obafI8E

Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.

All times are “local” (Dallas) time.

ISS
https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST

Feb. 7
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=25544&mjd=58887.0619002617&type=V

Feb. 8
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=25544&mjd=58888.0288163876&type=V

North Korean Satellite
https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=39026&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST

Feb. 4
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=39026&mjd=58883.5234009503&type=V

Feb. 5
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=39026&mjd=58884.5057217785&type=V

Feb. 8
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=39026&mjd=58887.5173851351&type=V

Envisat
https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=27386&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST

Feb. 4
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=58884.0283224619&type=V