IO Group: https://groups.io/g/DARCskynet/topics
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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Violent Supernova May Have Triggered Two Earth Extinction Events
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250313130822.htm
Supernova – Cassiopeia A
https://th.bing.com/th?id=OIP.7nPIBBb95rkxorPgsJj-GAHaH4&w=200&h=200&c=10&r=0&o=6&pid=Spaced
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
The Laniakea Supercluster
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1409/laniakea_nrao_1200.jpg
Laniakea Supercluster in the Local Group
3D Map with Laniakea Highlighted
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laniakea_Supercluster#/media/File%3ALaniakea.gif
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Back on Earth After Science Mission
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/nhq202503180003.jpg?resize=2000,1333
NASA Achieves Historic First Radio Telescope Observations on the Moon
https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/21132627/SEI_244648100.jpg?width=837
Space-Related Birthdays
Walter Cunningham March 16 1932: Apollo 7
Michael J. Bloomfield March 16, 1959: STS-86, STS-97, STS-110
James Irwin March 17, 1930: Apollo 15
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Jim_Irwin_Apollo_15_LMP.jpg
Ken Mattingly March 17, 1936: Apollo 16, STS-4, STS-51-C
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Astronaut_Thomas_K._%28Ken%29_Mattingly.jpg
Kalpana Chawla March 17, 1962: STS-87, STS-107; UTA
James Reilly March 18, 1954: STS-89, STS-104, STS-117
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Jim_Reilly_official_photo.jpg
This Week in Space History
March 16:
1966
First successful space docking
March 18:1965
The Soviet Union’s Voskhod 2 launched carrying two crew members: Pavel Belyayev and Alexei Leonov.
https://www.russianspaceweb.com/images/spacecraft/manned/voskhod/voskhod1/flight_1.jpg
March 19:
2008
A gamma ray burst that occurred 7.5 billion light years away from Earth (halfway across the visible universe) was detected by NASA’s Swift satellite. https://ecuip.lib.uchicago.edu/multiwavelength-astronomy/images/gamma-ray/tools/main_swift-burst_m.jpg
March 20:
1962
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev responded to President John F. Kennedy’s March 7th letter suggesting teamwork in space exploration. https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/250734/nikita-khrushchev.webp?w=737&f=eed92f430e30c1a3e25ffad007c8e91d
March 21:
1965
NASA launched the Ranger 9 lunar probe. https://moonregistry.forallmoonkind.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ranger9-launch-801×1024.jpg
March 22:
1997
Comet Hale-Bopp made its closest approach to the Earth. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Comet_Hale-Bopp_1995O1.jpg
2010
After five successful years of operating on Mars, the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit sent its last transmission to Earth. https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/psd/solar/2023/07/rover2-1.jpg?w=1280&h=960&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Constellations “Leo, the Lion” and “Leo Minor, the Small Lion.”
Space Launches For This Week
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
March 24 Spectrum • ‘Going Full Spectrum’
Launch time: 12:30 p.m. CET (7:30 a.m. EDT, 1130 UTC)
Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Andøya Spaceport, Norway
Isar Aerospace will launch its first Spectrum rocket on a test flight dubbed ‘Going Full Spectrum.’ The 28-meter-tall (92 ft) rocket is set to lift off from the Andøya Spaceport in Norway. The mission will not carry any customer payloads, but rather is a test of the fully integrated rocket, which will attempt to reach orbit. Delayed from March 20.
Updated: March 21
NET March 24 Falcon 9 • NROL-69
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the NROL-69 mission on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office. The first stage booster will target a landing back at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station about eight minutes after liftoff.
Updated: March 18
NET March Alpha • ‘Message in a Booster’
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-2, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket will launch Lockheed Martin’s LM 400 satellite bus to low Earth orbit. The sixth launch of an Alpha rocket, designated FLTA006, marks the second flight within a multi-launch agreement between Firefly Aerospace and Lockheed Martin, which may include up to 25 missions within a five-year timeframe. Delayed from March 15/16 due to range availability.
Updated: March 20
March 26/27 Electron • ‘Finding Hot Wildfires Near You’
Launch time: 4:30 a.m. NZT on March 27 (11:30 a.m. EDT, 1530 UTC on March 26)
Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Pad B, Mahia, New Zealand
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch eight satellites for phase one of German-based OroraTech’s wildfire detection constellation. The satellites will head into a 550 km circular Earth orbit at an inclination of 97 degrees. Rocket Lab will not attempt to recover the first stage booster.
Updated: March 20
March 26 Falcon 9 • Starlink 11-7
Launch time: Window opens at 3 p.m. PDT (6 p.m. EDT, 2200 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will target a landing on the droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’
Updated: March 21
NET March 31/April 1 Falcon 9 • Fram2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch four commercial astronauts into a 90-degree inclination polar orbit to begin a three-day, free-flyer mission onboard Crew Dragon Resilience. The mission is led by Chun Wang, a cryptocurrency investor and co-founder of Bitcoin mining company, f2pool. He is joined by Norway’s Jannicke Mikkelsen, vehicle commander; Australia’s Eric Philips, vehicle pilot; and Germany’s Rabea Rogge, mission specialist. This will be the fourth launch for Dragon Resilience, which will feature the return of the cupola addition to the nose cone. It replaces the Skywalker apparatus used during the Polaris Dawn mission.
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At this point we should be reaching our 90 minute cut-off point, so NCS can decide whether to cut any of these topics due to lack of time.
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.
ISS
Mar 27
Mar 28
Mar 29
Mar 30
Tiangong
Mar 22
Mar 30