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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Pete Conrad walking on the moon (Apollo 12)
https://i0.wp.com/eos.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/conrad-apollo-12.jpg?w=1200&ssl=1
Moon’s South Pole
https://i0.wp.com/eos.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/lunar-south-pole.jpg?w=1200&ssl=1
Lunar South Pole Elevation Map
Video: South Pole Shadows
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Astronaut Birthdays:
- February 5, 1947: Mary Cleave (STS-61-B, STS-30)
- February 5, 1976: Andrew Morgan (Exp. 60/61/62)
- February 5, 1984: Jonny Kim (None – short list for Artemis)
- February 7, 1932: Alfred Worden (Apollo 15)
- February 7, 1963: Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (STS-115, STS-126)
- February 9, 1960: Peggy Whitson (STS-111/STS-113 (Exp 5), Exp 16, Exp 50/51/52; Axiom Mission 2)
- February 10, 1968: Garrett Reisman (STS-123/124 (Exp 16/17), STS-132)
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Auriga, the Charioteer
Space Launches For This Week
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
NET February 14 Falcon 9 • IM-1
Launch time: 12:57 a.m. EST (0557 UTC)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the IM-1 mission with the Nova-C lander built and owned by Intuitive Machines. The IM-1 mission will attempt to deliver a suite of science payloads to the surface of the moon for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Delayed from 3rd Quarter of 2022, December 2022, January 2023, March 2023, June 2023 and November 2023.
Updated: February 05
February 14 Falcon 9 • USSF-124
Launch time: Four-hour launch period opens at 5:30 p.m. EST (2230 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch a mission for the U.S. Space Force and Missile Defense Agency. This mission was part of the third order year of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) contracts for SpaceX.
Updated: February 09
February 14/15 H3 • VEP-4
Launch time: 9:22:55 a.m. – 13:06:34 p.m. JST (9:22:55 p.m. – 1:06:34 a.m. EST, 0222:55-0606:34 UTC)
Launch site: Yoshinobu Launch Complex, JAXA Tanegashima Space Center
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is preparing for a second test flight of its H3 rocket following a failure with the second stage engine in March 2023. The mission is dubbed H3/TF2 (Test Flight No. 2). The flight will feature the Vehicle Evaluation Payload-4 (VEP-4) for purposes of the demonstration. JAXA stated in December 2023 that it “will capitalize on the excess launch capability of the H3TF2 by providing launch and orbit insertion opportunities for two small secondary payloads (piggyback payloads), CE-SAT-IE and TIRSAT.”
Updated: February 07
February 14/15 Soyuz • Progress MS-26 / 87P
Launch time: 6:25 a.m. MSK on Feb. 15 (10:25 p.m. EST, 0325 UTC)
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will the 87th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. This mission used a rocket in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration.
Updated: February 05
February 17 GSLV-F14 • INSAT-3DS
Launch time: 5:30 p.m. IST (7 a.m. EST, 1200 UTC)
Launch site: SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota
An Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk. 2 rocket, designated GSLV-F14, will launch the INSAT-3DS satellite for the country’s Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). This geostationary meteorological satellite will support the previously launched INSAT-3D and INSAT3DR satellites. The 2275 kg INSAT-3DS satellite is based off of the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) I-2k satellite bus.
Updated: February 08
NET February 22 Falcon 9 • Crew 8
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 13th flight with astronauts. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to land at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin will launch on a Crew Dragon spacecraft to begin a six-month expedition on the International Space Station. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea off the coast of Florida.
Updated: February 01
February Falcon 9 • Starlink 6-39
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of 23 second-generation Starlink V2 Mini internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: February 09
March 21 Soyuz • Soyuz MS-25
Launch time: 4:21 p.m. MSK (9:21 a.m. EDT, 1321 UTC)
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will the crewed Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft to the International Space Station. The mission will carry Russian commander Oleg Novitsky, Belarusian flight engineer Marina Vasilevskaya, and NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson into orbit for a long-duration flight on the space station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. The Soyuz will dock at the Prichal module about three hours after liftoff. On its return trip, it will bring back Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub.
Updated: February 05
TBD Atlas 5 • USSF 51
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-101, will launch the USSF 51 mission for the U.S. Space Force. This mission will launch an undisclosed payload for the military.
Updated: January 15
NET April 2024 Atlas 5 • CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-085, will launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its first mission with astronauts, known as the Crew Test Flight, to the International Space Station. The capsule will dock with the space station, then return to Earth to landing in the Western United States. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will fly on the mission. The rocket will fly in a vehicle configuration with two solid rocket boosters and a dual-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from August and 1st Quarter of 2020. Delayed from mid-2020 after Boeing decision to refly the Orbital Flight Test. Delayed from early 2021, June 2021, and late 2021. Delayed from late 2022 to implement fixes on the Starliner spacecraft after OFT-2. Delayed from April 2023 and July 21, 2023.
Updated: October 26
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Which Came First: Black Holes or Galaxies?
Galaxy
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
ISS
Feb. 14
Feb. 16
Tiangong
Feb. 16
Feb. 17
Feb. 18