Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Meteorite that crashed onto UK driveway contains the building blocks of life
Winchcombe Meteorite
Fireball Images
Family Finds Winchcombe Meteorite
Winchcomb Meteorite
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Fragment_of_the_Winchcombe_meteorite.JPG
Winchcombe Meteorite Chemical/Organic Make-up
https://astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-11-at-6.16.18-PM.png
Carbonaceous Chondrite Fragment
https://cdn.sci.news/images/2012/07/image_466.jpg
Water – Chemical Interaction
https://cdn.sci.news/images/2012/07/image_466.jpg
Waz Up
Special Feature – Space Communications Revolution
Virginia NV5F
NASA’s Space Communications Revolution
Artemis 1
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/tdrs_1st_generation.jpg
SCaN
Laser Communications Relay Demonstration
NASA Partners for Near-Earth Communications
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/csp_pic_1.png
Deep Space Communications
https://d3i71xaburhd42.cloudfront.net/7177c0e180e9129ba75e488a6d97532d1c7f43a6/3-Figure1-1.png
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Constellation “Taurus, the Bull”
Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
Jan. 23/24
Electron • “Virginia is for Launch Lovers”
Launch window: 2300-0100 GMT on 23rd/24th (6:00-8:00 p.m. EST on 23rd)
Launch site: LC-2, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Island, Virginia
A Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle will lift off with three satellites for HawkEye 360, radio frequency geospatial analytics provider. This will be the first Rocket Lab mission from a new launch pad in Virginia. Delayed from Dec. 7, Dec. 9, Dec. 13, Dec. 15, Dec. 16 and Dec. 18. [Jan. 13]
Jan. 24
Falcon 9 • Starlink 5-2
Launch time: 0952 GMT (4:52 a.m. EST)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink internet satellites. This will be the second launch into a new orbital shell for SpaceX’s second-generation Starlink constellation, called Starlink Gen2. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [Jan. 19]
Jan. 24/25
H-2A • IGS Radar 7
Launch window: 0100-0300 GMT on 25th (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST on 24th)
Launch site: Launch Pad 1, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
A Japanese H-2A rocket, designated H-2A F46, will launch the IGS Radar 7 radar reconnaissance satellite for Japan’s Information Gathering Satellites for the Japanese government’s Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center. The H-2A rocket will fly in the 202 configuration with two strap-on solid rocket boosters. [Jan. 13]
Late January
Falcon 9 • Starlink 2-6
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink internet satellites. This mission will deploy the Starlink satellites into a high-inclination orbit inclined 70 degrees to the equator. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. [Jan. 8]
Jan. 31
Falcon 9 • Starlink 5-3
Launch time: 0827 GMT (3:27 a.m. EST)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink internet satellites. This will be the third launch into a new orbital shell for SpaceX’s second-generation Starlink constellation, called Starlink Gen2. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [Jan. 19]
Feb. 5
Falcon 9 • Amazonas Nexus
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Amazonas Nexus communications satellite for the Spanish company Hispasat. Amazonas Nexus will provide broadband connectivity to airplanes, ships, and other mobile users across the Americas, Greenland, and travel corridors across the Atlantic Ocean. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space, and is based on the Spacebus NEO platform. [Jan. 19]
February
SSLV • Test Flight 2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch on its second orbital test flight following a failed inaugural launch attempt in 2022. [March 31]
Feb. 9
Soyuz • Progress 83P
Launch time: 0651 GMT (1:51 a.m. EST)
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 83rd Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. [Jan. 13]
Feb. 11/12
H3 • ALOS 3
Launch window: 0137:55-0144:15 GMT on 12th (8:37:55-8:44:15 p.m. EST on 11th)
Launch site: Launch Pad 2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
A Japanese H3 rocket will launch on its first test flight with the Advanced Land Observing Satellite 3, or ALOS 3, Earth observation satellite for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. ALOS 3, also named Daichi 3, will capture high-resolution, wide-swath images of all of the world’s land surfaces, providing data for applications in disaster management, land use, urban sprawl, scientific research, and coastal and vegetation environmental monitoring. The H3 rocket for Test Flight 1, or TF1, will fly in the H3-22S configuration with two first stage engines, two strap-on solid rocket boosters, and a short payload fairing. [Jan. 13]
Feb. 19/20
Soyuz • Soyuz MS-23
Launch time: 0157 GMT on 20th (8:57 p.m. EST on 19th)
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft to the International Space Station. The mission was originally supposed to carry Russian commander Oleg Kononenko, Russian flight engineer Nikolai Chub, and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, but managers removed the crew from the mission in order to use the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft as a replacement for the damaged Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to the space station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. [Jan. 13]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Astronomers find the most distant stars in our galaxy halfway to Andromeda
VISTA Infrared Survey Telescope Shows Central Part of Milky Way
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
You can use the http://www.heavens-above.com website to find out what’s in orbit and
where to look during fly-overs
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
ISS
Jan. 28
Jan. 29
Jan. 30
Hubble Space Telescope
Jan. 26
Jan. 26
Jan. 27
Jan. 28
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