SKYNET!!!! 9PM CT – 10:30PM CT
Saturday’s Topic: “Ring Systems” & “What’s Going On, On Mars?”
Net Control: Brenda WB5OZL
Afterglow Movie 10:30PM:
“The Brain from Planet Arous” (1957)
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Echolink: W5FC-R, node 37247.
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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Ring Systems
Video: Saturn F-Ring with Moons Prometheus (Left) and Pandora (Right)
Jupiter Rings
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/PIA01627_Ringe.jpg/1920px-PIA01627_Ringe.jpg
Uranus Rings
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Uranian_rings_scheme.png/800px-Uranian_rings_scheme.png
Neptune Rings
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Neptunian_rings_scheme_2.svg/1024px-Neptunian_rings_scheme_2.svg.png
Ring Systems of Minor Planets and Moons
Chariklo
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/10199_Chariklo_Hubble.jpg
Chiron
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/2060_Chiron_Hubble.jpg
Haumea
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Haumea_Hubble.png
Rings around exoplanets
1SWASP J14 07 47.92 -39 45
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/1SWASP_J1407_and_J1407B_to_scale.png
Space Exploration and Space History
Waz Up?
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Month/Topic of the Week
What’s Going On On Mars?
Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
March 18
Falcon 9 • Starlink 5
Launch time: 1216 GMT (8:16 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to launch the sixth batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 5. Delayed from January, Feb. 14, March 4, March 11 and March 14. [March 15]
TBD
GSLV Mk.2 • GISAT 1
Launch time: Approx. 1213 GMT (8:13 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk. 2 (GSLV Mk.2), designated GSLV-F10, will launch India’s first GEO Imaging Satellite, or GISAT 1. The GISAT 1 spacecraft will provide continuous remote sensing observations over the Indian subcontinent from geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above Earth. Delayed from Jan. 15, February and March 5. [March 13]
TBD
Astra Rocket 3.0 • “1 of 3”
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: Pacific Spaceport Complex, Kodiak Island, Alaska
Astra Space’s Rocket 3.0, or Rocket 3, will lift off on its first orbital launch attempt. Astra originally planned to launch the mission, designated “1 of 3,” in pursuit of a $2 million prize in DARPA’s Launch Challenge. But the mission was delayed beyond the 15-day window for the Launch Challenge, meaning Astra did not win the prize. Astra plans to proceed with another launch attempt from Alaska with a different set of payloads. Delayed from Feb. 25, Feb. 27 and Feb. 28. Scrubbed on Feb. 29 by poor weather. Scrubbed on March 2 by guidance, navigation and control issue. [March 2]
March
PSLV • RISAT 2BR2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), designated PSLV-C49, will launch the RISAT 2BR2 radar Earth observation satellite for the Indian Space Research Organization. The PSLV will also launch four Kleos Scouting Mission radio surveillance nanosatellites for Kleos Space, a Luxembourg-based company, and multiple Lemur 2 CubeSats for Spire Global. The mission will likely use the “Core Alone” version of the PSLV with no strap-on solid rocket boosters. Delayed from December. [Feb. 11]
March 21
Soyuz • OneWeb 3
Launch time: 1707 GMT (1:07 p.m. EDT)
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 Dec. 5 and March 18. [March 1]
March 23/24
Vega • SSMS POC
Launch time: 0151:10 GMT on 24th (9:51:10 p.m. EDT on 23rd)
Launch site: ZLV, Kourou, French Guiana
An Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV16, will launch on the Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) Proof of Concept mission with 42 microsatellites, nanosatellites and CubeSats for commercial and institutional customers. This rideshare launch is the first flight of a multi-payload dispenser funded by the European Space Agency to allow the Vega rocket to deliver numerous small satellites to orbit on a single mission. Delayed from August, Sept. 10 and February. [March 4]
March 26
Atlas 5 • AEHF 6
Launch window: 1857-2057 GMT (2:57-4:57 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will provide highly-secure communications. The rocket will fly in the 551 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, five solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from March 13, March 19 and March 26. [March 13]
March 26
Electron • “Don’t Stop Me Now”
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch on its 12th flight on a rideshare mission. The rocket will carry three payloads into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency, and the ANDESITE CubeSat for Boston University and NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, which will study Earth’s magnetosphere and Space Weather. The M2 Pathfinder satellite, a collaboration between the Australian government and the University of New South Wales Canberra Space, will also be launched on a communications and technology demonstration mission. Rocket Lab has nicknamed the launch “Don’t Stop Me Now.” [March 9]
TBD
LauncherOne • Inaugural Flight
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: Cosmic Girl (Boeing 747), Mojave Air and Space Port, California
A Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket will make its first orbital test flight after dropping from a modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Delayed from early 2019 and summer 2019. [Dec. 13]
March 30
Falcon 9 • SAOCOM 1B
Launch time: 2321 GMT (7:21 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the SAOCOM 1B satellite for CONAE, Argentina’s space agency. SAOCOM 1B is the second of two SAOCOM 1-series Earth observation satellites designed to provide radar imagery to help emergency responders and monitor the environment, including the collection of soil moisture measurements. Delayed from 4th Quarter of 2019, January and February. This mission was originally scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. [Feb. 12]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Mercury’s Scorching Daytime Heat May Help it Make Its Own Ice at Caps
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200313155329.htm?fbclid=IwAR1YvW1SPYAqWKFQviqtC33EDGQZ14kaPgVfrXzjV14QMvISGl1r7LFROTc
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
Hubble Space Telescope
https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=20580&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST
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