SKYNET!!!! 9PM CT – 10:30PM CT
Saturday’s Topic: “Antares, the Humongous Giant in Scorpius”
Net Control: Bill N5BB
Afterglow Movie 10:30PM: “Morons From Outer Space” (1985)
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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
TBD!
Space Exploration and Space History
Waz Up?
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Month/Topic of the Week
Arcturus, the Humongous Giant in Scorpius (not Scorpio) is the topic tonight.
Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the USSF 7 mission, formerly known as AFSPC 7, for the U.S. Space Force. The mission’s primary payload is the X-37B, a spaceplane also called the Orbital Test Vehicle, on the program’s sixth mission. The rocket will fly in the 501 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, no solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from December. Moved forward from May 20. [April 19]
May
Falcon 9 • Starlink 7
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to launch the eighth batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 7. Delayed from May 7. [May 1]
TBD
GSLV Mk.2 • GISAT 1
Launch time: TBD
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
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.” Delayed from March 29 due to coronavirus pandemic. [March 25]
TBD
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. Delayed from March 30 due to coronavirus pandemic. [March 25]
TBD
Vega • SSMS POC
Launch time: TBD
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. Delayed from March 23 due to coronavirus outbreak. [March 20]
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]
TBD
SSLV • Demonstration Launch
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch on its first orbital test flight. Consisting of three solid-fueled stages and a liquid-fueled upper stage, the SSLV is a new Indian launch vehicle designed to carry small satellites into low Earth orbit. Delayed from September, December and January. [Jan. 25]
TBD
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]
TBDMinotaur 4 • NROL-129
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: Pad 0B, Wallops Island, Virginia
A U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman Minotaur 4 rocket will launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. Delayed from 4th Quarter 2019, Feb. 15 and March 31. [Feb. 26]
May 20
H-2B • HTV 9
Launch time: 1730 GMT (1:30 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
A Japanese H-2B rocket will launch the ninth H-2 Transfer Vehicle. The HTV serves as an automated cargo vehicle to deliver equipment and supplies to the International Space Station. [April 3]
MayKuaizhou 1A • Xingyun 2-01 & 2-02
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Jiuquan, China
A Chinese Kuaizhou 1A rocket will launch the first two satellites for China’s planned Xingyun Internet of Things communications and data relay constellation. Delayed from April. [April 27]
May 27
Falcon 9 • Crew Dragon Demo 2
Launch time: 2032 GMT (4:32 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on its first test flight with astronauts on-board to the International Space Station under the auspices of NASA’s commercial crew program. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will fly on the Demo-2 mission. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. Delayed from June, July 25, Sept. 21, February, April and May 7. [April 19]
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