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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
The Mighty SLS
NASA Mega Moon Rocket Passes Key Test, Readies for Launch
SLS Launch Comparison
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Super_heavy-lift_launch_vehicles.png
Hot Fire Test
SLS on Pad
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/block1_night_mf_bkdrop_wormeas_r4.jpg
SLS Core
SLS Launch
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/block1_night_mf_bkdrop_wormeas_r4.jpg
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
Mars Exploration Rover mission.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ac-comp-nasa-dust-devil.jpg?w=620
NASA’s Juno Reveals Dark Origins of One of Jupiter’s Grand Light Shows
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia24433-1-1041.jpg
Space-Related Birthdays
Kalpana Chawla Mar 17, 1962
Gene Cernan Mar 14, 1934
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/S64-31845.jpg
Frank Borman Mar 14, 1928
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Astronaut_Frank_Borman.jpg
Alan Bean Mar 15, 1932
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Alan_Bean_NASA_portrait_%28S69-38859%29.jpg
Ken Mattingly Mar 17, 1936
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Astronaut_Thomas_K._%28Ken%29_Mattingly.jpg
James Irwin Mar 17, 1930
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Jim_Irwin_Apollo_15_LMP.jpg
Walter Cunningham Mar 16, 1932
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Walter_Cunningham.jpg
Michael Fincke Mar 14, 1967
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Edward_Michael_Fincke.jpg
James F. Reilly Mar 18, 1954
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Jim_Reilly_official_photo.jpg
William B. Lenoir Mar 14, 1939
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/WilliamBLenoir.jpg
Michael J. Bloomfield Mar 16, 1959
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Michael_Bloomfield.jpg
This Week in Space History
What is an astronaut?
Vanguard 1
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Constellation: Puppis, the Poop Deck
Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
March 23
Falcon 9 • Starlink V1.0-L22
Launch time: 2158 GMT (5:58 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 23rd batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink V1.0-L22. Delayed from March 21 and March 22. [March 18]
March 24/25
Soyuz • OneWeb 5
Launch time: 0247 GMT on 25th (10:47 p.m. EDT on 24th)
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. Delayed from Feb. 25. [March 18]
March 28
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, 2020. [March 9]
April 9
Soyuz • ISS 64S
Launch time: 0742 GMT (3:42 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the crewed Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft to the International Space Station with members of the next Expedition crew. The capsule will remain at the station for about six months, providing an escape pod for the residents. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. [March 9]
April
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 and December 2019. Delayed from January and December 2020. [March 9]
April 19/20
Vega • Pléiades Neo 1
Launch time: 0150 GMT on 20th (9:50 p.m. EDT on 19th)
Launch site: ZLV, Kourou, French Guiana
An Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV18, will launch the Pléiades Neo 1 Earth observation satellite for Airbus. Pléiades-Neo 1 is the first of four Pléiades-Neo high-resolution Earth observation satellites built, owned, and operated by Airbus. The Vega rocket will also launch multiple rideshare payloads. Delayed from February after VV17 launch failure. Delayed from late March. [March 9]
April 22
Falcon 9 • Crew 2
Launch time: 1011 GMT (6:11 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on its second operational flight with astronauts on-board to the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet will launch on the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. Delayed from March 30 and April 20. [March 5]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
What Happened to Mars’s Water? (Hint: It’s Still Trapped There)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210316132106.htm
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
X-37B
Mar. 24
Mar. 26
Envisat
Mar. 27