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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
The Artemus Program Components
From The Planetary Society
Apollo 12 Photo (1969)
SLS
Orion
Lunar Gateway
Capstone
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RtoKrNr8Q9G4ZuHpMU7Zr3-1024-80.jpg.webp
Lunar Landers
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/C6hNa8ZCvwowU4rVmhUAcj-1024-80.jpg.webp
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Lupus, the Wolf
Space Launches For This Week
Tom KE5ICX
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
Check-ins or comments
June 18
Falcon 9 • SARah 1
Launch time: 1419 GMT (10:19 a.m. EDT; 7:19 a.m. PDT)
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. [June 17]
June 19
Falcon 9 • Globalstar FM15
Launch time: 0427 GMT (12:27 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a spare satellite for Globalstar’s messaging and data relay network. Other unidentified payloads may be on this launch. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [June 17]
NET June 21
Nuri • PVSAT
Launch time: 0600 GMT (2:00 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: Naro Space Center, South Korea
A South Korean KSLV 2 rocket will launch on its second orbital test flight. The Korea Space Launch Vehicle 2, or Nuri, rocket was developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. The second Nuri launch will carry PVSAT, or Performance Verification Satellite, and four CubeSats. Delayed from June 16. [June 17]
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 25
Electron • CAPSTONE
Launch time: TBD
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 and June 13. [June 14]
Late JuneFalcon 9 • Starlink 4-21
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. Moved forward from July. [June 17]
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 28
Falcon 9 • SES 22
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 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 14]
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]
June 30
LauncherOne • STP-28A
Launch window: 0500-0900 GMT (1:00-5:00 a.m. EDT; 10:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. PDT on 29th/30th)
Launch site: Cosmic Girl (Boeing 747), Mojave Air and Space Port, California
A Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket will launch on its fifth flight after dropping from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet. The mission will be Virgin Orbit’s third operational launch, carrying seven small satellites for government agencies sponsored by the U.S. military’s Space Test Program. Virgin Orbit calls this mission “Straight Up.” [June 14]
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
Martian meteorite upsets planet formation theory
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
ISS
Jun 23
Jun 26
Tiangong
Jun 20
Jun 21
Jun 23
Jun 25
Jun 27
X-37B
Jun 25
Jun 26
Jun 26
Jun 27