SKYNET!!!! 9PM CT – 10:30PM CT
Saturday’s Topic: “Roscosmos Head Weighs in on NASA’s Return to Flight” & “Constellation Virgo”
Net Control: Tom KE5ICX
Afterglow Movie 10:30PM: Cosmos (2018)
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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Roscosmos Head Weighs in on NASA’s Return to Flight
Dmitry Rogozin
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Dmitry_Rogozin%2C_2018.jpg
Prepping Soyuz MS Spacecraft
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/images/spacecraft/manned/space_stations/iss/soyuz_ms1/batteries_1.jpg
COTS Logo
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Cots_logo.jpg
Vostochny Cosmodrome with Soyuz 2.1A Launch
https://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/BAFFF2E4-22A8-4E9B-9E35-075C6A3D7E0D-879×485.jpeg
Vostochny Cosmodrome Under Construction
https://alchetron.com/cdn/vostochny-cosmodrome-6a410245-dec2-4e57-b81d-e00d2cca15f-resize-750.jpeg
Starliner, Crew Dragon, Soyuz, and Space Shuttle Size Comparison
https://everydayastronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Boeing-Starliner-vs-SpaceX-Crew-Dragon-vs-soyuz-vs-Space-Shuttle-comparison-height-width-mass-crew-volume–1024×576.jpg
Rogozin and Vladimir Putin
https://s31242.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dmitry-rogozin-vladimr-putin.jpg
Russian Space Chief Weighs in on SpaceX’s Historic Astronaut Launch
https://www.space.com/spacex-astronaut-launch-russia-space-chief-comments.html
Space Exploration and Space History
Waz Up/Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Wee
Chaz’s Youtube Video of Don Pettit
Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
June 13
Electron • “Don’t Stop Me Now”
Launch window: 0443-0632 GMT (12:43-2:32 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
A two-stage Electron booster rose off the pad at Rocket Lab’s New Zealand launch site at 1:12 a.m. EST (0512 GMT; 5:12 p.m. local New Zealand time), carrying five satellites aloft, including three payloads for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
All five satellites were deployed successfully into their designated orbits, Rocket Lab representatives announced an hour after liftoff.
The mission, named “Don’t Stop Me Now” after the 1978 Queen song in honor of Rocket Lab board member Scott Smith (who loved the song and died earlier this year), was originally scheduled to launch in late March. But because of shelter-in-place orders implemented to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the company had to hit pause and push the liftoff back considerably.
The Electron Rocket is the workhorse vehicle of the private spaceflight company Rocket Lab, which provides launches for small satellites to Earth orbit. The rocket’s two stages stand 57 feet tall (15 meters) on the launchpad, and it can take payloads of up to 500 lbs. (227 kilograms) during each mission.
June 13
Falcon 9 • Starlink 8/SkySats 16-18
Launch time: 0921 GMT (5:21 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
SpaceX successfully launched its first rideshare mission into orbit today (June 13), lofting a new batch of 58 Starlink internet satellites along with three small Earth-observation satellites before nailing a Falcon 9 rocket landing at sea.
The launch is the second Starlink mission so far this month, with one more on the schedule for no earlier than June 22. SpaceX is taking advantage of its fleet of flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters, with plans of launching a record four times in June.
Because the sky was so clear, the landing burn — which enables the rocket to safely land on the drone ship — was clearly visible from the launch site, roughly 350 miles (600 km) away.
Today’s mission starred a veteran member of SpaceX’s rocket fleet. The Falcon 9 — whose first stage already had two flights under its belt before today’s mission — had a sooty appearance resulting from its previous trips through the atmosphere.
June 15/16
Long March 3B • Beidou
Launch time: Approx. 0215 GMT on 16th (10:15 p.m. EDT on 15th)
Launch site: Xichang, China
A Chinese Long March 3B rocket will launch a satellite for the country’s Beidou navigation network toward geostationary orbit. Delayed from May. [June 11]
June 17Long March 2D • Gaofen 9-03
Launch time: Approx. 0725 GMT (3:25 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: Jiuquan, China
A Chinese Long March 2D will launch China’s third Gaofen 9-series Earth observation satellite. [May 27]
June 18/19
Vega • SSMS POC
Launch time: 0151:10 GMT on 19th (9:51:10 p.m. EDT on 18th)
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 around 50 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. [June 2]
June 22
Falcon 9 • Starlink 9/BlackSky Global 5 & 6
Launch time: 2220 GMT (6:20 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to launch the tenth batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 9. Two Earth observation microsatellites for BlackSky Global, a Seattle-based company, will launch as rideshare payloads on this mission. Moved forward from June 24. [June 9]
June 30
Falcon 9 • GPS 3 SV03
Launch window: 1955-2010 GMT (3:55-4:10 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the U.S. Air Force’s third third-generation navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The satellite is built by Lockheed Martin. The Air Force previously planned to launch the second GPS 3-series satellite on this mission. Delayed from October, December, January and March. [June 2]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Mysterious Stealthy Jets Spotted Working with High Flying “Proteus”
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34003/scaled-composites-stealthy-demonstrator-jets-spotted-working-with-high-flying-proteus?fbclid=IwAR3SsnmgnogO5RrTLsZkNUNxCW0VSh-w5_q45UfvsAyYxTRlZls2Z255XaA
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.