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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
“What are Lagrange Points”
Lagrange Points L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/internal_resources/3323
Lagrange Contour Plots
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Update on Ingenuity, Space History and Space Birthdays!
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Constellation “Centaurus, the Centaur”
Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
April 25
Soyuz • OneWeb 6
Launch time: 2214 GMT (6:14 p.m. EDT)
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. [April 15]
April 26
Delta 4-Heavy • NROL-82
Launch period: 1939-2257 GMT (12:39-3:57 p.m. PDT; 3:39-6:57 p.m. EDT)
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. [April 15]
April 27/28
Vega • Pléiades Neo 3
Launch time: 0150 GMT on 28th (9:50 p.m. EDT on 27th)
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. [April 15]
April 28
Falcon 9 • Starlink V1.0-L24
Launch time: 0405 GMT (12:05 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 25th batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink V1.0-L24. [April 15]
April 29Long 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]
April
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 and April 18. [April 12]
TBD
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]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Using Exoplanets as Dark Matter Detectors
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210422123620.htm
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
ISS
Apr. 26
X-37B
Apr. 26
Apr. 29
May 1
Hubble Space Telescope
Apr. 25
Apr. 26