Skynet 4-20-24 “New Time Zone for the Moon?” & Constellation “Centaur” 9 PM CT |

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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.

Discussion Topic of the Evening.

White House directs NASA to create a new time zone for the moon

Astronauts on the Moon: “What time is it?”

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ksbUMxe3ECEDqxYYZNgwAC-650-80.jpg.webp

Guess the timezone…

https://e3.365dm.com/23/02/1600×900/skynews-moon-the_6072786.jpg?20230228102649

Waz Up

Space Exploration and Space History

Astronaut Birthdays [Slide 9]:

April 14, 1929: William Thornton (STS-8, STS-51-B)
April 15, 1951: Marsha Ivins (STS-32, STS-46, STS-62, STS-81, STS-98); was KC5WKF
April 15, 1951: John Phillips (STS-100, Soyuz TMA-6/Exp. 11, STS-119); was KE5DRY
April 15, 1951: Gregory Harbaugh (STS-39, STS-54, STS-71, STS-82)
April 16, 1956: David Brown (STS-107); KC5ZTC SK
April 16, 1959: Michael Barratt (Soyuz TMA-14/Exp 19/20; STS-133; SpaceX Crew 8 launched 3/4/2024); KD5MIJ
April 20, 1955: Don Pettit (Expedition 6, STS-126, Expedition 30/31); KD5MDT

Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week

Constellation “Centaurus, the Centaur”

Space Launches For This Week

Space Flight Now Launch Schedule

Launch Schedule

April 22/23 Falcon 9 • Starlink 6-53

Launch time: Window runs from 6:40 – 10:40 p.m. EDT (2240-0240 UTC)

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 droneship in the Atlantic Ocean about 8.5 minutes after liftoff.

Updated: April 19

NET April 23/24 Electron • ‘Beginning Of The Swarm’

Launch time: Window 10:00-11:00 a.m. NZST April 24 (6:00-7:00 p.m. EDT, 2200-2300 UTC on April 23)

Launch site: Pad B, Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch a pair of satellites on behalf of both NASA and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). KAIST’s NEONSAT-1 is the primary payload and is described as “an Earth observation satellite with a high-resolution optical camera designed to monitor for natural disasters along the Korean Peninsula by pairing its images with artificial intelligence.” Additional NEOSAT satellites will be launched n 2026 and 2027. NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) is the secondary payload. It’s a technology demonstration that is geared to show off materials that can be used for solar sail propulsion. NASA “plans to test the deployment of new composite booms that will unfurl the solar sail to measure approximately 30 feet per side, or about the size of a small apartment in total. Flight data obtained during the demonstration will be used for designing future larger-scale composite solar sail systems for space weather early warning satellites, asteroid and other small body reconnaissance missions, and missions to observe the polar regions of the sun.”

Updated: April 19

April 24 Falcon 9 • WorldView Legion 1 & 2

Launch time: Window opens 11:30 a.m. PDT (2:30 p.m. EDT / 1830 GMT)

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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the first pair of WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. Maxar plans to deploy six commercial WorldView Legion high-resolution remote sensing satellites into a mix of sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits on three SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. The first stage of the Falcon 9 will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base for landing. Delayed from April, June 2023 an April 17, 2024.

Updated: April 19

NET May 4 Eris • TestFlight1

Launch time: TBD

Launch site:

Gilmour Space in Australia is preparing to launch the inaugural flight of its Eris Block 1 rocket. The three-stage launch vehicle is 25 m (82 ft) tall and is equipped with 1.5 m (4.9 ft) diameter payload fairings. The rocket is designed to send up to 305 kg up to low Earth orbit. This first mission, called “TestFlight1,” does not appear to have a payload on board.

Updated: April 19

NET May 6/7 Atlas 5 • CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test

Launch time: 10:34 p.m. ET (0234 UTC on the 7th)

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, July 2023 and April 2024.

Updated: April 06

June 24 Long March 2C • SVOM

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China

A Chinese Long March 2C rocket will launch the Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) spacecraft. The satellite is a dual Franco-Chinese mission, which is “dedicated to the study of the most distant explosions of stars, the gamma-ray bursts.” There are four main instruments on board, two of which are French and two which are Chinese. The spacecraft will be launched to a 625-km Earth orbit and will operate for at least three years with an option to extend for another two years beyond that. Delayed from late 2023.

Updated: January 28

June 25 Falcon Heavy • GOES U

Launch time: TBD

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

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy will launch the fourth and final satellite of the next-generation series of geostationary weather satellites for NASA and NOAA. GOES-U will orbit 22,300 miles above the equator to monitor weather conditions across the United States. The satellite will be renamed GOES-19 once it reaches its operational orbit. Delayed from April 30 and May.

Updated: March 26