Apollo 8: The Greater Leap
Earthrise
The Less Famous Black and White Photo of Earthrise
https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/assets/Image/2018/img121764833108_0df675fa35_k.jpg
Bill Anders in Orbit
https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/assets/Image/2018/img2257604main_S68-56532_full.jpg
Apollo 8 Crew Posing in Front of Flight Simulator
https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/assets/Image/2018/3imgap8-68-HC-731HR.jpg
Frank Gorman Hours Before Launch
https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/assets/Image/2018/img4ap8-68-HC-846HR.jpg
Apollo 8 Launch, Dec. 21, 1968
https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/assets/Image/2018/img5ap8-S69-15545HR.jpg
Obsession on Earth
https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/assets/Image/2018/img6AS8-15-2561HR.jpg
ATS-3 First Color Image of Whole Earth
https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/assets/Image/2018/img7ATSIII_10NOV67_153107.jpg
NASA Gateway Station
https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/assets/Image/2018/img8gateway_orion_approaching.jpg
Borman, Lovell and Anders on the USS Yorktown after Slashdown
https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/assets/Image/2018/img9ap8-68-HC-883HR.jpg
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
NASA Launches New Mission to Explore Universe’s Most Dramatic Objects
Snoopy is going to space
History
Dec 8, 1990
The Galileo spacecraft made its first flyby of Earth
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FGHS44XXIAQucoy?format=jpg&name=small
Mars Pathfinder and the Sojourner rover launched to the Red Planet 5 years ago this week.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FGLl-kXX0AM02-h?format=jpg&name=small
Nimbus-5
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FGRKmg0X0AYEXMc?format=jpg&name=small
Apollo 17
Apollo 17 (December 7 – 19, 1972)
Space-Related Birthdays
December 8, 1922 John B. McKay – Flew 30 X-15 flights. Received astronaut wings (posthumously) because he flew the X-15 above 50 miles.
Robb Kulin Dec 07, 1983 no flights
Francisco Rubio Dec 11, 1975 no flights, NASA Group 22
Matthew Dominick Dec 07, 1981 no flights, NASA Group 22
Bruce E. Melnick Dec 05, 1949 STS-41, STS-49
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Andromeda
Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
DecemberLauncherOne • Above the Clouds
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: Cosmic Girl (Boeing 747), Mojave Air and Space Port, California
A Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket will launch on its fourth flight after dropping from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet. The mission will be Virgin Orbit’s second operational launch, carrying eight small satellites for the U.S. military’s Space Test Program and two small satellites for the Polish company SatRevolution. [Nov. 29]
Dec. 12
Proton • Express AMU3 & Express AMU7
Launch time: 1209 GMT (7:09 a.m. EST)
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian government Proton rocket will launch the Express AMU3 and Express AMU7 communications satellites for the Russian Satellite Communications Company. Built by ISS Reshetnev, the satellites will provide advanced communications, television and radio broadcasting services for millions of users in Russia and other countries. Thales Alenia Space supplied the telecom payloads on the satellites. Delayed from Dec. 6. [Dec. 5]
DecemberFalcon 9 • Starlink 2-3
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch with a batch of Starlink internet satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base. This mission is expected to deploy 51 Starlink satellites into a high-inclination orbit. Delayed from Oct. 17. [Dec. 5]
Dec. 18/19
Falcon 9 • Turksat 5B
Launch window: 0358-0528 GMT on 19th (10:58 p.m.-12:28 a.m. EDT on 18th/19th)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Turksat 5B communications satellite for Turksat, a Turkish satellite operator. Built by Airbus Defense and Space with significant Turkish contributions, the Turksat 5B satellite will provide broadband services over a wide coverage area, including Turkey, the Middle East and large regions of Africa. Delayed from June. [Nov. 17]
Dec. 20
Angara-A5 • Test Flight
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
A Russian government Angara-A5 rocket will launch on its third orbital test flight with a Perseus, or Persei, upper stage derived from Russia’s venerable Block DM upper stage. Russian officials have not identified a payload for the mission. [Nov. 17]
Dec. 21
Falcon 9 • SpaceX CRS 24
Launch time: 1006 GMT (5:06 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon 2 spacecraft on its fourth cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The flight is the 24th mission by SpaceX conducted under a Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Delayed from Dec. 4. [Nov. 1]
Dec. 21
H-2A • Inmarsat 6 F1
Launch window: 1433:52-1633:26 GMT (9:33:52-11:33:26 a.m. EST)
Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
A Japanese H-2A rocket will launch the Inmarsat 6 F1 communications satellite for London-based Inmarsat. Built by Airbus Defense and Space, the satellite carries L-band and Ka-band payloads to provide mobile communications services to airplanes and ships. The H-2A rocket will fly in the “204” configuration with four strap-on solid rocket boosters. [Nov. 4]
Dec. 22
Ariane 5 • James Webb Space Telescope
Launch window: 1220-1250 GMT (7:20-7:50 a.m. EST)
Launch site: ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana
Arianespace used an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA256, to launch the James Webb Space Telescope, a flagship observatory developed by NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. JWST is the largest space telescope ever built, with a deployable mirror measuring 21.3 feet (6.5 meters) in diameter and four scientific instruments to observe the universe in infrared wavelengths. The mission will study the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets. The Ariane 5 ECA rocket will launch JWST on a trajectory toward its operating position at the L2 Lagrange point nearly a million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. Delayed from Oct. 31, November, and Dec. 18. [Nov. 29]
Dec. 27
Soyuz • OneWeb 12
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch 34 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. [Oct. 14]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Evidence emerges for dark-matter free galaxies
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211206113113.htm
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
ISS
https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=UCT
Dec. 17
Envisat
https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=27386&lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=UCT
Dec. 12
Dec. 14
Dec. 17
Dec. 19