Skynet 11-6-21 “Astro2020 Decadal Survey” & “Cepheus, the King” 9PM CT |

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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.

Discussion Topic of the Evening.

Astro2020 Decadal Survey calls for ‘great observatory’ to succeed Hubble

Astro2020 Decadal Survey calls for ‘great observatory’ to succeed Hubble

Waz Up

Space Exploration and Space History

Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week

Constellation Cepheus, the King

Space Launches For This Week

TBD

Epsilon • RAISE 2

Launch window: 0048-0059 GMT (7:48-7:59 p.m. EST)

Launch site: Uchinoura Space Center, Japan

A Japanese Epsilon rocket will launch the Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite 2, or RAISE 2, technology demonstration satellite for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Eight smaller rideshare payloads will also be on this launch. Scrubbed on Sept. 30 by ground station malfunction and on Oct. 6 by unfavorable upper level winds, then delayed to November to allow H-2A launch to proceed. Delayed from Nov. 7 due to poor weather forecast. [Nov. 5]

NET

Nov. 8/9

Falcon 9 • Crew 3

Launch time: 0251 GMT on 9th (9:51 p.m. EST on 8th)

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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on its fifth flight with astronauts. NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer, and NASA mission specialist Kayla Barron will launch on the Crew Dragon spacecraft to begin a six-month expedition on the International Space Station. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. Delayed from Oct. 30, Oct. 31, and Nov. 3. [Nov. 4]

NET Nov. 9Rocket 3 • STP-27AD2

Launch window: 0500-0830 GMT on 9th (12:00-3:30 a.m. EST; 8:00-11:30 p.m. AKST on 8th)

Launch site: Pacific Spaceport Complex, Kodiak Island, Alaska

A commercial small satellite launch vehicle developed by Astra will attempt to launch a non-deployable test payload into orbit for the U.S. Space Force and the Space Test Program. Delayed from Oct. 27. [Nov. 4]

NET

Nov. 10/11

Electron • BlackSky 10 & 11

Launch time: 0425 GMT on 11th (11:25 p.m. EST on 10th)

Launch site: Launch Complex 1A, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch two small satellites for BlackSky’s commercial fleet of Earth observation spacecraft. Rocket Lab has nicknamed this mission “Love At First Insight.” Delayed from late August, September, and October due to COVID-related restrictions. [Oct. 23]

TBDFalcon 9 • Starlink 2-2

Launch time: TBD

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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a group of Starlink internet satellites. Delayed from mid-August. [Aug. 5]

Nov. 15

Vega • CERES

Launch time: 0927 GMT (4:27 a.m. EST)

Launch site: ZLV, Kourou, French Guiana

An Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV20, will launch three CERES signals intelligence satellites for the French military. The three small satellites were built by Airbus Defense and Space and Thales Alenia Space. [Oct. 30]

Nov. 22

Atlas 5 • STP-3

Launch time: TBD

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

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the STP-3 mission for the U.S. Space Force. The STP-3 rideshare mission will launch the STPSat 6 satellite and several small satellites. STPSat 6 hosts several payloads and experiments, including the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System-3 (SABRS-3) payload, and NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) experiment. The rocket will fly in the 551 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, five solid rocket boosters, and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from Feb. 26, June 23, and early September. [Oct. 6]

Nov. 23/24

Falcon 9 • DART

Launch time: 0620 GMT on 24th (1:20 a.m. EST; 10:20 p.m. PST on 23rd)

Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, mission. DART is NASA’s first flight demonstration for planetary defense. The mission seeks to test and validate a method to protect Earth in case of an asteroid impact threat. The mission aims to shift an asteroid’s orbit through kinetic impact — specifically, by impacting a spacecraft into the smaller member of the binary asteroid system Didymos to change its orbital speed. Delayed from July. [Oct. 14]

Nov. 24

Soyuz • Prichal

Launch time: 1306 GMT (8:06 a.m. EST)

Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the Prichal module to the International Space Station. Prichal, also known as Uzlovoy Module, will dock with the Nauka Multi-purpose Laboratory Module and be used as a docking port for visiting Russian vehicles. A modified Progress resupply craft will ferry the Prichal module to the space station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1b configuration. [Sept. 30]

NET Nov. 27

Electron • BlackSky 12 & 13

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Launch Complex 1A, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch two small second-generation satellites for BlackSky’s commercial fleet of Earth observation spacecraft. Delayed from September and October due to COVID-relayed restrictions. [Oct. 14]

Nov. 30/Dec. 1

Soyuz • Galileo 27 & 28

Launch time: 0035 GMT on 1st (7:35 p.m. EST on 30th)

Launch site: ELS, Sinnamary, French Guiana

An Arianespace Soyuz rocket, designed VS26, will launch on a mission from the Guiana Space Center in South America. The Soyuz will carry two Galileo full operational capability satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation constellation. The Soyuz-2.1b (Soyuz ST-B) rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. Delayed from mid-2021, September, and Nov. 22. [Oct. 19]