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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
The Chinese Manned Space Program (A Short History) from Wikipedia
CMS Logo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CMS_Program_logo.png
Three Step Policy
http://en.cmse.gov.cn/aboutcms/201509/W020200225101113556885.jpg
Long March 2F
https://everydayastronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/dcab9b8c03fd06c4d6a9b73a45df7639.jpg
Shenzhou Spacecraft
https://alchetron.com/cdn/shenzhou-spacecraft-ec29a208-b5c0-42ce-8780-c05690e013d-resize-750.jpeg
Yang Liwei
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/DBA8/production/_92723265_gettyimages-2591479.jpg
Shenzhou 6 Group Photo
http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/photo2/shenzhou-6_2.jpg
Zhai Zhigang Space Walk
http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20080928/001109b42f980a4921a303.jpg
Tiangong 1 and Shenzhou 8 Artist Concept of Rendezvous
Shenzhou 10 Crew
https://chinaspacereport.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/shenzhou-10-mission-crew-2.jpg
Long March 7
Inside Tiangong-2
https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/archive/china_archive/cn2016/201610/W020161019317089069360.jpg
Tianhe Core Module
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Tianhe_Core_Module_Rendering_01.png
Shenzhou-12
Shenzhou-12 Astronauts
Space Station Assembly
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FTwWHb82fDgJhfcZMgADAQ-1024-80.jpg.webp
Completed Tiangong Station
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oYhMrBH7wfUhmHWWKMLSje-970-80.jpg
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Moon water
Neptune
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAWbZ2B.img?h=450&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f
Space-Related Birthdays
Frederick Hauck Apr 11, 1941 STS-7, STS-51-A, STS-26
Piers Sellers Apr 11, 1955 STS-112, STS-121, STS-132
William E. Thornton Apr 14, 1929 STS-8, STS-51B
Marsha Ivins Apr 15, 1951 STS-32, STS-46, STS-62, STS-81, STS-98
Gregory J. Harbaugh Apr 15, 1956 STS-39, STS-54, STS-71, STS-82
John L. Phillips Apr 15, 1951 STS-100, Soyuz TMA-6 (Expedition 11), STS-119
David M. Brown Apr 16, 1956 STS-107 – died in the Columbia crash
Michael Barratt Apr 16, 1959 Soyuz TMA-14 (Expedition 19/20), STS-133
This Week in Space History
Apollo 13, April 13
April 12, 1961
Yuri Gargarin (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space.
STS-1
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Sextans, the Sextant, and Hydra, the Water Snake.
Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
April 21
Falcon 9 • Starlink 4-14
Launch time: Approx. 1515 GMT (11:15 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch with another batch of Starlink internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [April 14]
April 23
Falcon 9 • Crew 4
Launch time: 0926 GMT (5:26 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on its seventh flight with astronauts. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti 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. [April 14]
April
Astra Rocket 3.3 • TROPICS 1 & 2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-46, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A commercial small satellite launch vehicle developed by Astra will launch the first pair of small CubeSats for NASA’s TROPICS mission. The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats, or TROPICS, mission will measure environmental and inner-core conditions for tropical cyclones. [March 25]
April 30
Falcon 9 • Nilesat 301
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Nilesat 301 geostationary communications satellite. Nilesat 301, built by Thales Alenia Space, will provide digital broadband and internet connectivity services for the Egyptian operator Nilesat. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [March 25]
April
Astra Rocket 3.3 • TROPICS 3 & 4
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-46, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A commercial small satellite launch vehicle developed by Astra will launch the second pair of small CubeSats for NASA’s TROPICS mission. The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats, or TROPICS, mission will measure environmental and inner-core conditions for tropical cyclones. [March 25]
NET
May 3Electron • CAPSTONE
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, mission to the moon. CAPSTONE will fly to the moon on Rocket Lab’s Photon space tug, entering a unique halo-like lunar orbit to test deep space navigation and communications in the same orbit to be used by NASA’s Gateway mini-space station. Moved from Launch Complex 2 in Virginia to Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Delayed from 2021 due to COVID-related issues. Delayed from March 2022. [Feb. 23]
May
Falcon 9 • Starlink 4-13
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch with another batch of Starlink internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. [March 25]
May
Long March 7 • Tianzhou 4
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Wenchang, China
A Chinese Long March 7 rocket will launch the Tianzhou 4 resupply ship to dock with the Chinese space station. The automated cargo craft will be the third resupply freighter for the Chinese space station. [March 25]
May
Alpha • Multi-payload
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A Firefly Alpha rocket will launch on its second test flight with a rideshare payload consisting of multiple unspecified small satellites. [March 25]
May
Astra Rocket 3.3 • TROPICS 5 & 6
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-46, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A commercial small satellite launch vehicle developed by Astra will launch the third pair of small CubeSats for NASA’s TROPICS mission. The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats, or TROPICS, mission will measure environmental and inner-core conditions for tropical cyclones. [March 25]
May
Long March 2F • Shenzhou 14
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Jiuquan, China
A Chinese Long March 2F rocket will launch the Shenzhou 14 spacecraft with three Chinese astronauts to rendezvous and dock with the Chinese space station in low Earth orbit. This will be China’s ninth crewed space mission, and the third to the Chinese space station. [March 25]
May
Falcon 9 • Starlink 4-15
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch with another batch of Starlink internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [March 25]
TBD
Ariane 5 • MEASAT 3d & GSAT 24
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana
Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA257, to launch the MEASAT 3d and GSAT 24 communications satellites. Built by Airbus Defense and Space for MEASAT, a Malaysian operator, MEASAT 3d is a multi-mission communications satellite outfitted with C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band payloads for direct-to-home TV broadcasting and internet services over Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. GSAT 24 is a direct-to-home TV broadcasting satellite for the Indian Space Research Organization. Delayed from April. [April 9]
May 20
Atlas 5 • CST-100 Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-082, will launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on second unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station. This mission was added after Boeing’s decision to refly the Starliner’s Orbital Flight Test before proceeding with the Crew Flight Test. The rocket will fly in a vehicle configuration with two solid rocket boosters and a dual-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from 3rd Quarter. Delayed from Jan. 4. Moved forward from March 29, April 2, and May. Delayed from July 30 and Aug. 3. Delayed from late 2021. [Jan. 28]
May
SSLV • Demonstration Launch
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch on its first orbital test flight. Consisting of three solid-fueled stages and a liquid-fueled upper stage, the SSLV is a new Indian launch vehicle designed to carry small satellites into low Earth orbit. Delayed from September and December 2019. Delayed from January and December 2020. Delayed from April 2021. [March 25]
NET
May
Falcon 9 • O3b mPOWER 1, 2, 3
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the first three O3b mPOWER broadband internet satellites into Medium Earth Orbit for SES of Luxembourg. The satellites, built by Boeing, will provide internet services over most of the populated world, building on SES’s O3b network. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [March 25]
TBD
Starship • Orbital Test Flight
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Starbase, Boca Chica Beach, Texas
A SpaceX Super Heavy and Starship launch vehicle will launch on its first orbital test flight. The mission will attempt to travel around the world for nearly one full orbit, resulting in a re-entry and splashdown of the Starship near Hawaii. Delayed from early 2022. [March 9]
Check-ins or comments
At this point we should be reaching our 90 minute cut-off point, so NCS can decide whether to cut any of these topics due to lack of time.
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Four Billion-year-old Relic Headed Our Way
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220412141038.htm
Comet C/2014 UN271
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