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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.

Discussion Topic of the Evening.

Will Increasing Traffic to the Moon Contaminate Its Precious Ice?

Ice Deposits on the Moon

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/elphic_south_north_lunar_pole_ice.png?itok=1ySClPmk

Chang’e-6 Lander

https://space.skyrocket.de/img_sat/change-5__1.jpg

Viper Rover

https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/191025-viper2-1260×833.jpg

Primordial Moon’s Water

https://wi-images.condecdn.net/image/eqjbK0M08M8/crop/1440/f/source-of-lunar-water-2-lpi-david-a-kring-1.jpg

Parvathy Prem

https://itsnotacareer.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/cl0jd2quyae9dwa.jpg

Moon’s Ice Mapped

https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/DD-COMPOSITE-MOON-graphic-basic.jpg?strip=all&w=960

Waz Up

Space Exploration and Space History 

Space Exploration News

Perseverance Cameras

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/PIA22103-Mars2020Rover-23Cameras-20171031.jpg/290px-PIA22103-Mars2020Rover-23Cameras-20171031.jpg

Heliospheric Current

https://spaceweather.com/images2021/05feb21/hmi200.gif

Space-Related Birthdays

Jonny Kim  Feb 05, 1984  Astronaut trainee

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/jsc2017e118354_alt_0.jpg?itok=9v4IMQu8

Andrew Morgan  Feb 05, 1976 1 soyuz

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/12774063585_44c2d5e086_o.jpg?itok=lw-TMkS7

Peggy Whitson Feb 09, 1960 1 shuttle, 2 soyuz

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_feature/public/thumbnails/image/9415019527_ca622d4d12_h.jpg

Alfred Worden Feb 07, 1932 Apollo 15

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Al_Worden_Apollo_15_CMP.jpg/1920px-Al_Worden_Apollo_15_CMP.jpg

Daniel M. Tani Feb 01, 1961 2 shuttle

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Daniel_Tani.jpg/1920px-Daniel_Tani.jpg

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper Feb 07, 1963 2 shuttle

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Heidemarie_Stefanyshyn-Piper_in_white_space_suit.jpg/1920px-Heidemarie_Stefanyshyn-Piper_in_white_space_suit.jpg

Mary L. Cleave Feb 05, 1947 2 shuttle

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Mary_Cleave.jpg/1920px-Mary_Cleave.jpg

Joe F. Edwards Jr. Feb 03, 1958 STS 89

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Joe_Edwards.jpg/1920px-Joe_Edwards.jpg

This Week in Space History

Feb 5, 1971 – Apollo 14 lands on the moon

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/apollo_14_crew_photo_s70-55387_compressed.jpg?itok=4dXg-xnC

Columbia Disaster.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Crew_of_STS-107%2C_official_photo.jpg/220px-Crew_of_STS-107%2C_official_photo.jpg

Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week

Constellation Orion the Hunter

Space Launches For This Week

Space Coast Launches

Upcoming Rocket Launch List

Space Flight Now Launch Schedule

Launch Schedule

TBD

Falcon 9 • Starlink V1.0-L17

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 19th batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink V1.0-L17. Delayed from Jan. 29, Jan. 30, Jan. 31, Feb. 1, Feb. 2, Feb. 4, Feb. 5, and Feb. 7. [Feb. 5]

Feb. 12

Falcon 9 • Starlink V1.0-L19

Launch time: 0525 GMT (12:25 a.m. EST)

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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 20th batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink V1.0-L19. [Feb. 5]

Feb. 14/15

Soyuz • Progress 77P

Launch time: 0445 GMT on 15th (11:45 p.m. EST on 14th)

Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 77th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. Delayed from Dec. 11. [Jan. 10]

1st Quarter

Electron • STP-27RM

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Launch Complex 2, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Island, Virginia

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch on its first mission from a new launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia. The launch customer is the U.S. Air Force, and the mission will launch an experimental mission for the Space Test Program called Monolith with a space weather instrument. The Monolith mission will demonstrate the ability of a small satellite to support large aperture payloads. Delayed from 2nd Quarter of 2019. Delayed from August 2020 and September 2020. Delayed from 4th Quarter of 2020. [Nov. 27]

Feb. 20

Antares • NG-15

Launch time: 1736 GMT (12:36 p.m. EST)

Launch site: Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket will launch the 16th Cygnus cargo freighter on the 15th operational cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. The mission is known as NG-15. The rocket will fly in the Antares 230 configuration, with two RD-181 first stage engines and a Castor 30XL second stage. Delayed from Feb. 1. [Dec. 28]

Feb. 25

Soyuz • OneWeb 5

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia

A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch 36 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. [Dec. 28]

Check-ins or comments

At this point we should be reaching our 90 minute cut-off point, so NCS can decide whether to cut any of these topics due to lack of time.

Recent Astronomical Discoveries 

True identity of mysterious gamma-ray source revealed

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210203123346.htm

Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.

All times are “local” (Dallas) time.

Envisat

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

Feb. 9

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59254.5052771432&type=V

Feb. 11

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59256.5228750755&type=V

Feb. 12

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59257.4973442473&type=V

Feb. 14

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59259.5149654843&type=V

Feb. 15

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59260.4893994679&type=V