Skynet 7-18-20 “Comet Neowise” & “Constellation Hercules” 9PM CT

Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/306498286059167/

Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.

Discussion Topic of the Evening.

What is a comet? Where does it come from? Where is it going?

Comet Orbit Schematic

Comet Callout

Comet Neowise

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/m8jTbOLsPKrAOEYxKKdDMwjQIns=/0x0:3543×2362/1220×813/filters:focal(1697×732:2263×1298):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67040902/1225877305.jpg.0.jpg

Neowise Orbit

Stereographic Projection

Neowise Discovery

Space Exploration and Space History 

Space Exploration News

China’s Tianwen-1 Mars Missions Rolls Out to Launch Pad

UAE’s Hope Mars Orbiter Prepares for Launch

Space-Related Birthdays

July 12th, 1957

Birth of Rick Douglas Husband 

July 13th, 1934

Birth of Aleksei Stanislavovich Yeliseyev

July 14th, 1951

Birth of Esther Dyson 

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/s0_cZ3oVpuB5T5aygKJqQ3J8EsJ5lkCOboh4UvQ70gfaajS9j29URqm9A-ZlpFYgcU9QxRtkGkHUQRRsyxGNVdCNNeSo4wuOsmGGzNpAs0MRn0m25y9LdlSNH48jog

July 18, 1921

Birth of John Herschel Jr Glenn

https://www.history.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_686/MTU3ODc4NjAzNTMwOTcwODQ3/image-placeholder-title.webp

This Week in Space History

July 12th, 1972

CSM Carried in Shuttle Bay

July 12, 2000

Zvezda Launched into Orbit

July 12, 2001

Launch of STS-104

July 13, 1969

Launch of Luna 15

https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/151/590x/Lunikhod-1156107.webp?r=1563730067068

July 13, 1995

Launch of STS-70

July 15th, 1975

Soyuz 19 (ASTP) Launch 

Apollo (ASTP)

July 16th, 1958

Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. – . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: Mercury.

July 16th, 1969

Apollo 11

Launch of Apollo 11

July 17, 1984

Launch of  Soyuz T-12

July 18, 1965

Launch of Zond 3

July 18th, 1966

Launch of Gemini 10

Waz Up/Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Constellation Hercules
Space Launches For This Week

Space Coast Launches

Space Flight Now Launch Schedule

 July 19

H-2A • Emirates Mars Mission

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

A Japanese H-2A rocket will launch the Emirates Mars Mission for the United Arab Emirates. The Emirates Mars Mission, also called “Hope,” is a Mars orbiter that was developed by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai in partnership with the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado. Delayed from July 14. [July 14]

NET 

July 19

Falcon 9 • Anasis 2

Launch time: 2100-0055 GMT (5:00-8:55 p.m. EDT)

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Anasis 2, or KMilSatCom 1, communications satellite for the South Korean military. The spacecraft was built by Airbus Defense and Space. Delayed from July 14. [July 14]

TBD

Falcon 9 • Starlink 9/BlackSky Global

Launch time: TBD

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. Delayed from June 23, June 25 and June 26. Scrubbed on July 8 due to poor weather. Scrubbed on July 11 due to technical issue. [July 11]

July 23

Long March 5 • Tianwen 1

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Wenchang, China

A Chinese Long March 5 rocket will launch the Tianwen 1 mission to attempt China’s first landing on Mars. The robotic mission includes an orbiter and a mobile rover to explore the surface of Mars. [June 18]

July 23

Soyuz • Progress 76P

Launch time: 1426 GMT (10:26 a.m. EDT)

Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 76th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. Delayed from July 15. [June 18]

NET July 25

Falcon 9 • SAOCOM 1B

Launch time: 2319 GMT (7:19 p.m. EDT)

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, 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. [June 18]

July 28

Ariane 5 • Galaxy 30, MEV 2 & BSat 4b

Launch window: 2129-2215 GMT (5:29-6:15 p.m. EDT)

Launch site: ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana

Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA253, to launch the Galaxy 30 communications satellite, the second Mission Extension Vehicle satellite servicing spacecraft, and the BSat 4b broadcasting payload. Galaxy 30 is owned by Intelsat, and will provide video and television broadcast services over the United States. Galaxy 30 also hosts a navigation augmentation payload for the Federal Aviation Administration to support civilian air travel. MEV 2 is the second robotic servicing vehicle for Space Logistics LLC, and will dock with the Intelsat 1002 communications satellite in geostationary orbit to extend its commercial life. BSat 4b will provide direct-to-home 4K and 8K ultra HD broadcast services over Japan and neighboring regions for the Japanese operator B-SAT. Galaxy 30 and MEV 2 were built by Northrop Grumman, and BSat 4b was manufactured by Maxar. [July 10]

July 29

Proton • Express 80 & Express 103

Launch time: 2127 GMT (5:27 p.m. EDT)

Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

A Russian government Proton rocket and Block DM upper stage will launch the Express 80 and Express 103 communications satellites for the Russian Satellite Communication Company. Express 80 and Express 103 will provode fixed and mobile communications, digital television and radio broadcasting, high-speed Internet access and data transmission services across Russia. The satellites are built by ISS Reshetnev in Russia, with communication payloads supplied by Thales Alenia Space from Europe. Delayed from March 30 and May. [June 18]

July 30

Atlas 5 • Mars 2020

Launch window: 1150-1350 GMT (7:50-9:50 a.m. EDT)

Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch NASA’s Mars 2020 rover to the Red Planet. After landing in February 2021, the Mars 2020 rover, named Perseverance, will study Martian geology, search for organic compounds, demonstrate the ability to generate oxygen from atmospheric carbon dioxide, and collect rock samples for return to Earth by a future mission. The rocket will fly in the 541 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, four solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from July 17, July 20 and July 22. [June 18]  

Recent Astronomical Discoveries 
In a first, astronomers watch a black hole’s corona disappear, then reappear
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200716101557.htm?fbclid=IwAR09WQ7Uo_ulLTs-ORdO5Fiu1FUWj0WYk8GG8mDZuPa_vBJbjrr3_AmywBg
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.

All times are “local” (Dallas) time.

X-37B

July 19

July 21