Skynet 4-1-23 “Earliest Galaxies Confound Theory” 9PM CT |

37 years later to the day, the MESSENGER spacecraft sent back the first photo of Mercury from orbit #OTD in 2011! MESSENGER gave scientists the first new data on the composition of Mercury’s surface since Mariner 10’s final 1975 flyby.

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64 years ago on April 1, 1959, the first

@NASA_Astronauts, the Mercury 7, were chosen (announced on April 9). Of them, Al Shepard went on to crew a mission to the Moon!

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today March 28) the final test of the Saturn I’s first stage, Saturn SA-4, launched from

@NASAKennedy

. The uncrewed#60YearsAgo suborbital test flight was successful, paving the way for tests of the second stage.

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Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week

Constellations “Lynx, the Wild Cat” and “Cancer, the Crab”

Space Launches For This Week

Space Coast Launches

Upcoming Rocket Launch List

Space Flight Now Launch Schedule

Launch Schedule

NET April 2 Falcon 9 • SDA Tranche 0A

Launch time: 1429 GMT (10:29 a.m. EDT; 7:29 a.m. PDT)

Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 10 Tranche 0 demonstration satellites for the U.S. military’s Space Development Agency. The launch is the first of two Falcon 9 missions to carry SDA demonstration spacecraft for a future constellation of military missile tracking and data relay satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg. Delayed from Sept. 24. Delayed from Sept. 29 by payload supply chain issues. Delayed from January due to satellite issue. Delayed following an abort at T-3 seconds on Mar. 30.

Updated: April 01

April 7 Falcon 9 • Intelsat 40e/TEMPO

Launch time: 0439 GMT (12:39 a.m. EDT)

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Intelsat 40e communications satellite for Intelsat. Intelsat 40e will join Intelsat’s “Epic” fleet of high-throughput satellites, providing in-flight connectivity and other mobile communications services over North and Central America. Intelsat 40e is a partial replacement for Intelsat 29e, which failed in 2019. Intelsat 40e hosts NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument to measure atmospheric chemistry and monitor air pollution over North America. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellite was built by Maxar, and is based on the 1300 platform. Delayed from March 7.

Updated: March 28

April Falcon 9 • Transporter 7

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Transporter 7 mission, a rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with numerous small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg. Delayed from April 9.

Updated: April 01

April 13 Ariane 5 • JUICE

Launch time: 1215:01 GMT (8:15:01 a.m. EDT)

Launch site: ELA-3, Guiana Space Center, French Guiana

Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA260, to launch the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, or JUICE. The JUICE spacecraft, built by Airbus, will make detailed observations of the giant gas planet and its three large ocean-bearing moons — Ganymede, Callisto and Europa — with a suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments. JUICE will enter orbit around Jupiter in July 2031. This will mark the penultimate launch of Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket.

Updated: March 21

April Falcon 9 • WorldView Legion 1 & 2

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. Delayed from February and March.

Updated: March 21

April PSLV • TeLEOS 2

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV, will launch the TeLEOS 2 satellite for Singapore. TeLEOS 2 was built in Singapore by ST Electronics, and carries an all-weather synthetic aperture radar Earth observation payload.

Updated: March 21

April Falcon 9 • Starlink 5-9

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink V1.5 internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Payload originally Starlink V2 Mini satellites but changed to V1.5 spacecraft.

Updated: April 01

April 18 Falcon Heavy • ViaSat 3 Americas

Launch time: 2336 GMT (7:36 p.m. EDT)

Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the ViaSat 3 Americas broadband communications satellite. ViaSat 3 Americas is the first of at least three new-generation Boeing-built geostationary satellites for ViaSat. A small communications satellite named Arcturus will launch as a secondary payload for Astranis. Delayed from 3rd Quarter and December 2022. Delayed from January, March 2023, and April 8.

Updated: March 28

April 20 Delta 4-Heavy • NROL-68

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The largest of the Delta 4 family, the Heavy version features three Common Booster Cores mounted together to form a triple-body rocket. This is the penultimate flight of a Delta 4 rocket. Delayed from March.

Updated: March 21

NET April 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 2022.

Updated: March 21

April 28 Falcon 9 • O3b mPOWER 3 & 4

Launch time: 2112 GMT (5:12 p.m. EDT)

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

Updated: March 28

April Falcon 9 • Starlink 6-3

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of second-generation Starlink V2 Mini internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Updated: April 01

April Falcon 9 • Starlink 2-9

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.

Updated: March 21

May 2 Falcon 9 • Axiom Mission 2

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the program’s 10th flight with astronauts. The commercial mission, managed by Axiom Space, is commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. Paying passenger John Shoffner will serve as pilot of the mission. Two commercial space fliers from Saudi Arabia, Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, will also be on the approximately two-week mission to the space station. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea off the coast of Florida.

Recent Astronomical Discoveries

Redness of Neptunian asteroids sheds light on early Solar System

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230328145329.htm

Neptune

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