IO Group: https://groups.io/g/DARCskynet/topics
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/306498286059167/
Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Scientists Pin Down the Origins of a Fast Radio Burst (FRB)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250101132010.htm
Artist’s Concept – FRB
https://th.bing.com/th?id=OVFT.2si1-qUbhaoSlEu8aGhnni&pid=News&w=300&h=186&c=14&rs=2&qlt=90
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Do We Live in a Special Part of the Universe?
An illustration of the Cosmic Web
CMB Map
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSC2ZbUe8MBB5Y3-aRTuPCcGFT_pf6rVE9l0Q&s
Large Scale Universe Structure
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSC2ZbUe8MBB5Y3-aRTuPCcGFT_pf6rVE9l0Q&s
Cosmological Principle (Redshift) Illustrated
https://mysticwriter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/quasar.jpg
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
Blue Origin test fires New Glenn first stage ahead of inaugural launch
Scientists have discovered a new way oxygen can form in carbon-dioxide-rich atmospheres of worlds beyond our own
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/v2/t:0,l:0,cw:0,ch:0,q:80,w:650/MoyBZYrHXrsHwCBDiuLEx8.jpg.webp
Space-Related Birthdays
Nancy Currie-Gregg Dec 29, 1958 STS-57, STS-70, STS-88, STS-109
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Nancy_Currie.jpg
Barry “Butch” Wilmore, Dec 29, 1962 STS-129, Exp 41/42, Boeing Crewed Flight Test – April 2025?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Barry_Wilmore.jpg
Daniel Barry Dec 30, 1953 STS-72, STS-96, STS-105
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Daniel_Thomas_Barry.jpg
Steven Smith Dec 30, 1958 STS-68, STS-82, STS-103, STS-110
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Steven_Smith.jpg
Martin J. Fettman Dec 31 1956 STS-58
Christopher Cassidy Jan 4 1970 STS-127, Soyuz TMA-08M (Expedition 35/36), Soyuz MS-16 (Expedition 62/63)
This Week in Space History
December 30, 1930 The First Photograph Taken Showing the Curvature of the Eart
January 1, 1801 Ceres Discovered
December 31, 2004 Flyby of Iapetus
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Constellations “Perseus, the Hero” and “Camelopardalis, the Giraffe”
Space Launches For This Week
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
January 5 Falcon 9 • Starlink 6-71
Launch time: 12:10 p.m. EST (1710 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites to low Earth orbit. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will land on a droneship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: December 30
NET January 6 New Glenn • NG-1
Launch time: 1 a.m. EST (0600 UTC)
Launch site: Launch Complex 36, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
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: January 02
January 6 Falcon 9 • Starlink 12-11
Launch time: Window opens at 11:19 a.m. EST (1619 UTC)
Launch site: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the latest batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will land on a droneship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: January 03
NET January 10 Starship • Flight 7
Launch time: 4 p.m. CST (5 p.m. EST, 2200 UTC)
Launch site: OLP-A, Starbase, Boca Chica Beach, Texas
SpaceX will launch its sixth, suborbital flight test of its fully integrated Starship rocket, a combination of the Ship upper stage (S33) and the Super Heavy booster (B14). SpaceX plans to catch the Super Heavy booster using the chopsticks on the launch tower, but will make a final determination on the catch following liftoff and stage separation. This mission will feature first block upgrades for the Ship upper stage. S33 will perform a landing flip and made a gentle splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
Updated: December 30
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.
Updated: September 11
TBD 2025 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.
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
ISS
Jan 11
Jan 12
Jan 13
Tiangong
Jan 10
Jan 11
Jan 12
Jan 13