Discussion Topic of the Evening.
The Star Sirius Rings in the New Year
South, Late New Year’s Eve
https://earthsky.org/upl/2021/11/Sirius-Orion-New-Years-Eve-e1636621081982.jpg
Photo Susan Jensen, Odessa, Washington
Orion and Sirius from ISS
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
Santa Visits ISS
X-59
https://www.thedrive.com/content-b/message-editor%2F1640285584399-x-59-art.jpg?quality=60
JWST
Space-Related Birthdays
Michael P. Anderson Dec 25, 1959 STS-89, STS-107 He died in the Columbia tragedy.
Karol J. Bobko Dec 23, 1937 STS-6, STS-51-D, STS-51-J
Millie Hughes-Fulford Dec 21, 1945 STS-40
Michael E. Fossum Dec 19, 1957 STS-121, STS-124, Soyuz TMA-02M, (Expedition 28/29)
Frederick W. Leslie Dec 19, 1951 STS-73
John L. Finley Dec 22, 1935 1965 USAF MOL Group 1
Laurence R. Young Dec 19, 1935 Backup payload specialist Space STS-58
Special mention – Isaac Newton, December 25, 1642
This Week in Space History
HL-10
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YSA39JSyqNFSKb5xhSi9Z8-970-80.jpg
Apollo 8 Earthrise
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Aries, the Ram and Triangulum, the Triange
Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
Dec. 27
Soyuz • OneWeb 12
Launch time: 1310:37 GMT (8:10:37 a.m. EST)
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
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. [Dec. 14]
January
Falcon 9 • Starlink
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch with another batch of Starlink internet satellites. [Dec. 14]
JanuaryLauncherOne • 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 small satellites for the U.S. military’s Space Test Program, Spire, and the Polish company SatRevolution. Delayed from Dec. 22. [Dec. 22]
January
Electron • BlackSky 16 & 17
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 December. [Nov. 29]
Jan. 10
Falcon 9 • Transporter 3
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Transporter 3 mission, a rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with numerous small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. Delayed from December. [Dec. 14]
Jan. 21
Atlas 5 • USSF 8 (GSSAP 5 & 6)
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the USSF 8 mission with the fifth and sixth satellites for the Space Force’s Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, or GSSAP, designed to help the military track and observe objects in geosynchronous orbit. The rocket will fly in the 511 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, one solid rocket booster and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from 4th Quarter of 2020, March, August, and early September. [Dec. 14]
January
Falcon 9 • CSG 2
Launch time: Approx. 2311:12 GMT (6:11:12 p.m. EST)
Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation, or CSG 2, radar surveillance satellite for ASI, the Italian space agency. The spacecraft was built by Thales Alenia Space. Delayed from Nov. 18 and Dec. 14. [Nov. 17]
Jan. 27
Soyuz • OneWeb 13
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
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. [Dec. 14]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Comets’ Heads Can be Green, But Never Their Tails
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211220190658.htm
Comet Heads: Green – Comet Tails: Not Green
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
Tiangong
Jan. 1
Jan. 3
X-37B
Dec. 31
Jan. 1
Envisat
Dec. 27
Dec. 30
Jan. 1
Jan. 2
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