IO Group: https://groups.io/g/DARCskynet/topics
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/306498286059167/
Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
What are Solar Storms? Do We Need to Worry?
Solar Flare
Coronal Mass Ejections
Geomagnetic Storm
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Magnetosphere_rendition.jpg
Solar Particle Event
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Solar_flare_%28TRACE%29.gif
Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights)
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Power Grid and Solar Storms
Spacecraft Operations Disruption
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a030000/a031200/a031248/space-weather-effects_print.jpg
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
CME
Cosmic Flare
Florida Keys
https://spaceweather.com/images2024/10may24/floridakeys2_strip.jpg
Mars is blasting plasma out of its atmosphere into space
Mars
https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/08155636/SEI_203195668.jpg?width=900
Hubble Glimpses a Star-Forming Factory
UGC 9684
https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/hubble-ugc9684-potw2419a.jpg?w=2048&format=webp
Space-Related Birthdays
Michael J. Adams 05-May-1930 X-15 flight 191. He died when his plane crashed. He was awarded astronaut wings posthumously
Douglas H. Wheelock 05-May-1960 STS-120, Soyuz TMA-19 (Expedition 24/25)
David Leestma 06-May-1949 STS-41-G, STS-28, STS-45
Donald A. Thomas 06-May-1955 STS-65, STS-70, STS-83, STS-94
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Donald_Thomas.jpg/220px-Donald_Thomas.jpg
Tamara E. Jernigan 07-May-1959 STS-40, STS-52, STS-67, STS-80, STS-96
Charles Camarda 08-May-1952 STS-114
Vance D. Brand 09-May-1931 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, STS-5, STS-41-B, STS-35
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/VanceDBrand.jpg/220px-VanceDBrand.jpg
Lisa Nowak 10-May-1963 STS-121
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Lisa_M._Nowak.jpg/220px-Lisa_M._Nowak.jpg
Ellen Ochoa 10-May-1958 STS-56, STS-66, STS-96, STS-110
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Ellen_Ochoa.jpg/220px-Ellen_Ochoa.jpg
This Week in Space History
Freedom 7
On May 5, 1961, the United States launched its first man into space.
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Ursa Major, the Big Bear and Ursa Minor, the Little Bear.
Space Launches For This Week
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
May 12/13 Falcon 9 • Starlink 6-58
Launch time: 8:11 p.m. (0011 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 23 second-generation Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. About 8.25 minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ out in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: May 10
NET May 17 Atlas 5 • CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test
Launch time: 6:16 p.m. ET (2016 UTC)
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, April 2024, May 6 and May 10.
Updated: May 08
TBD Eris • TestFlight1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Pad 1, Bowen Orbital Spaceport
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. Delayed from May 4 due to a lack of launch permit.
Updated: April 23
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
Second Quarter Vulcan Centaur • Dream Chaser 1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket will launch on its second demonstration flight with Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser cargo vehicle for the International Space Station. The Dream Chaser is a lifting body resupply spacecraft that will launch on top of a rocket and land on a runway. This will be the Dream Chaser’s first flight to space. The Vulcan Centaur rocket will fly in the VC4L configuration with four GEM-63XL solid rocket boosters, a long-length payload fairing, and two RL10 engines on the Centaur upper stage. Delayed from August 2022, December 2023, January 2024 and April 2024.
Updated: March 26
Summer 2024 Falcon 9 • ASBM
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission, consisting of two satellites owned by Space Norway. The Falcon 9 will launch the two Northrop Grumman-built satellites into a highly elliptical orbit that lingers over the Arctic region. The satellites carry communications payloads for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, the U.S. Space Force, and Inmarsat.
Updated: December 13
June 29/30 H3 • DAICHI-4
Launch time: 12:06:42 – 12:19:34 p.m. JST (11:06:42 – 11:19:34 p.m. EDT, 0306:42-0319:34 UTC)
Launch site: Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center
The Japanese Exploration Aerospace Agency (JAXA) will launch the third flight of its H3 Launch Vehicle. The mission, H3 F3: Flight No. 3, will launch the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-4 “DAICHI-4” (ALOS-4). This Earth observation satellite is manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will use a phased array type L-band synthetic aperture radar (PALSAR-3) and is designed to operate for seven years or orbit.
Updated: April 26
NET July 8 Falcon 9 • Türksat 6A
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Türksat 6A communications satellite for the Turkish operator Türksat. Türksat 6A is the first geostationary communications satellite to be built in Turkey, with development led by TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute and Turkish Aerospace Industries. Delayed from 2nd Quarter 2023 and March 2024.
Updated: March 25
NET Summer Falcon 9 • Polaris Dawn
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The Polaris Dawn mission will be commanded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, making his second trip to space. He will be joined on the all-private mission by pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, and SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. Delayed from November and December 2022, March 2023 and April 2024.
Updated: February 08
3rd Quarter Falcon 9 • BlueBird Block 1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch five 700-square-foot Block 1 BlueBird satellites on behalf of its customer, AST SpaceMobile, Inc.
Updated: April 02
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Iron fingerprints in nearby active galaxy | ScienceDaily
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.
May 12
May 12
Tiangong
May 20
Hubble Space Telescope
May 15
May 16
May 17
May 18