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Recent Astronomical Discoveries
In odd galaxy, NASA’s Webb finds potential missing link to first stars | ScienceDaily
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UEcxDiAoKMeDPHNrsS45cL-650-80.jpg.webp
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Super-Mars Found Orbiting Banard’s Star
Sun’s Closest Neighbors
https://earthsky.org/upl/2024/10/neighbors-closest-to-sun.jpg
Bernard’s Star
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Astronaut Birthdays:
- September 29, 1942: Bill Nelson (STS-61-C as a congressional observer; current NASA Administrator)
- September 29, 1956: James Halsell (STS-65, STS-74, STS-83, STS-94, STS-101)
- September 30, 1964: Stephen Frick (STS-110, STS-122)
- October 1, 1964: Eric Boe (STS-126, STS-133)
- October 3, 1935: Charles Duke (Apollo 16)
- October 3, 1951: Kathryn Sullivan (STS-41-G, STS-31, STS-45; first EVA by an American woman)
- October 4, 1957: Gregory Linteris (STS-83, STS-94)
- October 5, 1929: Richard Gordon Jr (Gemini 11, Apollo 12)
- October 5, 1958: Brent Jett Jr (STS-72, STS-81, STS-97, STS-115)
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Austrinus, the Southern Fish, and Grus the Crane
9. Space Launches For This Week
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
October 7 Falcon 9 • Hera
Launch time: 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
SpaceX will launch the Hera European Space Agency mission to study the Didymos binary asteroid system that was impacted by the DART mission in September 2022.
Updated: September 01
TBD Falcon 9 • OneWeb 20
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will carry the final batch of OneWeb’s Gen 1 satellites to low Earth orbit. Nearly eight minutes after liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, the Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number B1082, will return for a touchdown at Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4). Launch on hold due to Falcon 9 second stage problem on Crew 9.
Updated: October 01
NET October 10 Falcon Heavy • Europa Clipper
Launch time: 12:31 p.m. EDT (1631 UTC)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch NASA’s Europa Clipper to begin its journey to the Galilean moon of the same name. Europa, a moon believed to have a saltwater ocean on its surface, is the fourth largest of Jupiter’s 95 moons. It’s also the sixth closest to the planet. This Falcon Heavy rocket will be flown in a fully expendable configuration, bringing an end to the side booster, tail numbers B1064 and B1065, after they each flew on five previous Falcon Heavy missions.
Updated: September 12
NET November New Glenn • NG-1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 36
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will launch the company’s Blue Ring spacecraft, which is capable of both hosting and deploying multiple payloads. Blue Origin will attempt to land the first stage booster on its sea-based landing platform, ‘Jacklyn.’
Updated: September 11
TBD 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, April 2024 and September 2024.
Updated: July 12
NET Spring 2025 New Glenn • EscaPADE
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 36, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will launch a pair of identical spacecraft on NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE) mission. The two satellites, named Blue and Gold, will make a roughly 11-month journey to Mars where they will then perform about an 11-month science mission while orbiting the Red Planet. Blue and Gold were manufactured by Rocket Lab over about 3.5 years and carry science experiments from the University of California, Berkeley. This launch of the New Glenn rocket will also feature a landing attempt on its landing barge in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from October 13.
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
ISS
Oct. 12
Oct. 14
Tiangong
NO PASSES