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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Bill to discuss his trip to Washington D.C.
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Astronaut Birthdays
- May 30, 1958: Michael Lopez-Alegria (STS-73, STS-92, STS-113, Exp 14, April 2022 – SpaceX Axiom Mission AX-1)
- June 2, 1930: Pete Conrad (Gemini 5, Gemini 11, Apollo 12, Skylab 2)
- June 2, 1956: Mark Polansky (STS-98, STS-116, STS-127)
- June 4, 1965: Shannon Walker (Expedition 24/25, SpaceX Crew-1 (Expedition 64/65))
- June 4, 1967: Shane Kimbrough (STS-126, Expedition 49/50, SpaceX Crew-2 (Expedition 65/66))
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Libra, the Scales
8. Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
June 4 / 5
Long March 2F • Shenzhou 14
Launch time: Approx. 0245 GMT on 5th (10:45 p.m. EDT on 4th)
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. Delayed from May. [June 3]
June 8
Falcon 9 • Nilesat 301
Launch time: 2104 GMT (5:04 p.m. EDT)
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. Delayed from April 30. [June 3]
June 10
Falcon 9 • SpaceX CRS 25
Launch time: 1422 GMT (10:22 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon 2 spacecraft on its fifth cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The flight is the 25th mission by SpaceX conducted under a Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Delayed to June 9 then June 10. [June 3]
June
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. Delayed from April. [April 28]
NET
June 13
Electron • CAPSTONE
Launch time: Approx. 0900 GMT (5:00 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: Launch Complex 1B, 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. Delayed from June 6. [June 3]
June
Falcon 9 • Starlink 4-19
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. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [May 24]
June
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 and May 2022. [May 24]
June 22
Ariane 5 • MEASAT 3d & GSAT 24
Launch window: 2103-2243 GMT (5:03-6:43 p.m. EDT)
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 and June 17. [April 28]
June
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. Delayed from April. [April 28]
June
Falcon 9 • SARah 1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the SARah 1 radar remote sensing satellite for the German military. SARah 1 is the first of three synthetic aperture radar satellites for the German military. It was built by Airbus. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg. [May 24]
June 28
Falcon 9 • SES 22
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the SES 22 communications satellite for SES of Luxembourg. Built by Thales Alenia Space, SES 22 will provide C-band television and data services in the United States. [June 3]
June 29
Atlas 5 • USSF 12
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the USSF 12 mission with Wide Field Of View, or WFOV, experimental missile warning satellite for the U.S. Space Force. WFOV hosts a new type of infrared staring sensor in geosynchronous orbit to detect the heat from missile launch plumes. The USSF 12 mission will include additional rideshare payloads. The rocket will fly in the 541 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, four solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from April at the request of the U.S. Space Force. [May 24]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Why Uranus and Neptune are different colors
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220531140128.htm