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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
DDiscussion Topic of the Evening.
“Radio Telescopes on the Moooon!”
1960’s Artist’s Lunar Radio Telescope Imagined
https://astronomy.com/-/media/Images/News%20and%20Observing/News/2021/01/s89_25054.jpg?mw=600
Apollo Science Operations Center Telescope Rendering
1986 Lunar Arecibo Style Telescope
https://astronomy.com/-/media/Images/News%20and%20Observing/News/2021/01/IMG_7691.jpg?mw=600
Lunar Crater Radio Telescope
Rover Operates Inside a Lunar Crater
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Astronaut Birthdays
- April 5, 1949: Judith Resnik (STS-41-D, STS-51-L)
- April 5, 1950: Franklin Chang Diaz (STS-61-C, STS-34, STS-46, STS-60, STS-75, STS-91, STS-111)
- April 9, 1950: Kenneth Cockrell (STS-56, STS-69, STS-80, STS-98, STS-111)
- April 9, 1963: Timothy Kopra (STS-127/128 (Expedition 20), Expedition 46/47)
- April 9, 1976: Serena Auñón-Chancellor (Expedition 56/57)
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
This Week: Pyxis, the compass, and Antlia, the air pump.
Space Launches For This Week
April 18
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. Delayed from March 28. [March 26]
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]
Late April
Vega • Pléiades Neo 3
Launch time: 0150 GMT (9:50 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: ZLV, Kourou, French Guiana
An Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV18, will launch the Pléiades Neo 3 Earth observation satellite for Airbus. Pléiades Neo 3 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 and April 20. [March 31]
April 25
Soyuz • OneWeb 6
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. [March 26]
April 26
Delta 4-Heavy • NROL-82
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-6, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The largest of the Delta 4 family, the Heavy version features three Common Booster Cores mounted together to form a triple-body rocket. Delayed from September. [March 26]
April 29
Long March 5B • Tianhe 1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Wenchang, China
A Chinese Long March 5B will launch Tianhe 1, the core module for a Chinese space station low Earth orbit. [March 26]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
More than 5,000 tons of extraterrestrial dust fall to Earth each year
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210408131503.htm
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
You can use the http://www.heavens-above.com website to find out what’s in orbit and
where to look during fly-overs
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
X-37B
Apr. 11
Apr. 13