Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
“Degradation of Astronomy Due to LEO Satellites”
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
Black History Month
James Webb Space Telescope Discovers Water Ice at Ringed Asteroid Chariklo
RDRE
/2023/01/27/image/jpeg/WMLyMHyfSN4m2dpolYQvkaP1EfrGtTdWq25GMJRc.jpg){kind=link}
Rare comet visitor
Space-Related Birthdays
Christina Koch Jan 29, 1979 Soyuz MS-12/Soyuz MS-13 (Expedition 59/60/61)
Wally Funk Jan 31, 1939 Blue Origin NS-16
Daniel M. Tani Feb 01, 1961 STS-108, STS-120/122 (Expedition 16)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Daniel_Tani.jpg/220px-Daniel_Tani.jpg
Joe F. Edwards Jr. Feb 03, 1958 STS-89
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Joe_Edwards.jpg/220px-Joe_Edwards.jpg
This Week in Space History
January 31, 1961
On this day in 1961, a chimpanzee named Ham became the first chimp in space.
Apollo 14 (January 31, 1971 – February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to land on the Moon.
Feb 1, 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart in the skies over Texas
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Caelum, the Chisel and Columba, the Dove
Space Launches For This Week
Space Coast Launches
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
Feb. 5
Falcon 9 • Amazonas Nexus
Launch time: 2232 GMT (5:32 p.m. EST)
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. 31]
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
Falcon 9 • Starlink 5-4
Launch time: TBD
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 fourth 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. Delayed from Feb. 1. [Jan. 31]
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]
Feb. 18
Falcon 9 • Inmarsat 6 F2
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Inmarsat 6 F2 communications satellite for London-based Inmarsat. Built by Airbus Defense and Space, the satellite carries L-band and Ka-band payloads to provide mobile communications services to airplanes and ships. [Jan. 31]
Feb. 26
Falcon 9 • Crew 6
Launch time: 0707 GMT (2:07 a.m. EST)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the program’s ninth flight with astronauts. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, Warren “Woody” Hoburg, UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev 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. Delayed from Feb. 19. [Jan. 19]
Late February
Falcon 9 • O3b mPOWER 3 & 4
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second pair of 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. [Jan. 13]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
A “One in a Billion Binary System”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230201134112.htm
Artist’s Concept
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
ISS
Feb. 6
Tiangong
Feb. 12
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