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Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Do ‘completely dark’ dark matter halos exist? | ScienceDaily
https://www.lsst.org/sites/default/files/photogallery/Facility_CU-full.jpg
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Texas senators: Move space shuttle Discovery from Smithsonian to Houston
Discovery on Display – Smithsonian
https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NASM-NASM2013-02525&max_w=900
Shuttle Locations Nationwide
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/google-shuttle-map.png
Space Shuttle Discovery
https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/TWCNews/Space_Shuttle_Discovery_AP?wid=1250&hei=703&$wide-bg$
Endeavour Moved by Land
https://www.aerotechnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/shuttle1-602×400.jpg
Shuttle Enterprise Moved by Barge
Cornyn/Cruz
https://www.oaoa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/John-Cornyn-and-Ted-Cruz.jpg
Space Center Houston
https://blooloop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Space-Center-Houston.jpg
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
April 6-12
Blue Origin
Blue Origin will launch its eleventh crewed flight on April 14,
Ring Plane Crossing
Saturn is so close to the sun that most astronomers have been missing a big event. The planet’s rings have vanished.
https://spaceweather.com/images2025/11apr25/saturn1_strip2.jpg
Space-Related Birthdays
April 6-12
Donald Holmquest Apr 07, 1939 No flights
Timothy Kopra Apr 09, 1963 STS-127/128 (Expedition 20), Soyuz TMA (Expedition 46/47
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/TimotyKorpav2.jpg/220px-TimotyKorpav2.jpg
Serena Auñón-Chancellor Apr 09, 1976 Soyuz MS-09 (Expedition 56/57)
Kenneth Cockrell Apr 09, 1950 STS-56, STS-69, STS-80, STS-98, STS-111
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Ken_Cockrell.jpg/220px-Ken_Cockrell.jpg
Piers Sellers 1955 Apr 11, 1963 STS-112, STS-121, STS-132
Frederick Hauck Apr 11, 1941 STS-7, STS-51-A, STS-26
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Hauck-fh.jpg/220px-Hauck-fh.jpg
This Week in Space History
April 6-12
April 9, 1959: NASA introduced its very first astronaut class, known as the Mercury 7.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KeXqmmtgDPzvnmPkBfoJfm-650-80.jpg.webp
April 9, 2024 Delta IV Heavy rocket launch
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XGboxYaB6bt97drHsQbsX9-650-80.jpg.webp
April 11, 1970: Launch of Apollo 13
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/0101247orig-1.jpg
April 11, 1960: ‘Project Ozma’ begins search for alien life
https://www.astronomy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/96_S_04_01FrankDrakeandhisequation.jpg
April 12, 1961: Yuri Gagarin, launched by the Soviet Union, became the first human to venture into space.
https://th.bing.com/th?id=OSK.dn9Wt6p2POqOMWCpZggsIQHaHa&w=200&h=200&c=7&rs=1&o=6&pid=SANGAM
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Space Launches For This Week
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
April 12/13 Falcon 9 • Starlink 12-17
Launch time: 8:53 p.m. EDT (0053 UTC)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of 21 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, including 13 equipped for direct to cell phone service. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, will land on the drone ship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ in the Atlantic Ocean. Scrubbed April 10 and 11.
Updated: April 12
April 13/14 Falcon 9 • Starlink 6-73
Launch time: 9:59 p.m. EDT (0159 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, will land on the drone ship ‘Just Read the Instructions’ in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: April 11
NET April 16 Minotaur 4 • NROL-174
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-8, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A Northrop Grumman Minotaur 4 rocket will launch the NROL-174 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The agency said there are multiple national security payloads on board, which are “designed, built, and operated by the NRO. The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command was responsible for launch procurement through the Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 contract.
Updated: April 11
NET April 19 Falcon 9 • NROL-145
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of satellites supporting the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) proliferated architecture constellation. The agency has the stated goal to “build and fortify the largest government constellation in history, with proliferated launches continuing through 2029.” This will be the fourth launch for this constellation this year and the tenth overall. 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: April 11
NET April 21 Falcon 9 • CRS-32
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the company’s 32nd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-32) mission to the International Space Station. The flight will carry thousands of pounds of science investigations, technology demonstration and other consumables to the orbiting outpost to support the crew onboard. The Cargo Dragon spacecraft will remain docked to the ISS for about a month before undocking and returning to Earth for a splashdown off the coast of California. The Falcon 9 first stage booster used to launch this mission will target a landing back at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Updated: March 24
April 28 Atlas 5 • Kuiper 1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket will launch a batch of 27 of Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet satellites. These are the first production satellites that will make up Amazon’s satellite internet megaconstellation, which will include 3,236 satellites. ULA is flying its Atlas 5 in the 551 configuration, which features five solid rocket boosters and a medium-length payload fairing. Scrubbed April 9 due to poor weather. New date of April 28 tentative.
Updated: April 11
NET April 29 Vega-C • Biomass
Launch time: 6:15 a.m. GFT (5:15 a.m. EDT, 0915 UTC)
Launch site: Europe’s Spaceport, Kourou, French Guiana
An Arianespace Vega-C rocket will launch the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Earth Explorer Biomass satellite into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 666 km (413.8 mi). Biomass features a P-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and is designed “to collect information on the height and structure of different forest types and measure the amount of carbon stored in the world’s forests and how it changes over time. In addition, the Biomass mission will map subsurface geology in deserts, the ice structure of ice sheets and the topography of forest floors.” This mission, also referred to as VV26, will be the fourth launch of a Vega-C rocket.
Updated: March 25
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: March 08
NET April 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. Delayed from NET March.
Updated: April 03
NET May Falcon 9 • Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4)
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Former NASA astronaut and Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight will serve as the commander of the mission. This will be her fifth trip to space and her second time commanding a private astronaut mission. Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot and astronaut with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be the pilot onboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a Polish member of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Astronaut Reserve Class of 2022, and Tibor Kapu, a Hungarian member of the Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) Astronaut Program, will serve as the Mission Specialists. These four astronauts will spend up to 14 days docked to the ISS after launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on a Falcon 9 rocket. Following stage separation, the booster will target a touchdown at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Updated: April 02
NET Late May Falcon 9 • GPS 3 SV-08
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the eighth Global Positioning System (GPS) 3 satellite, built by Lockheed Martin. The GPS 3 Space Vehicle 08 (SV-08) is named in honor of mathematician, Katherine Johnson, whose calculations contributed significantly to early human spaceflight. The Falcon 9 first stage booster will target a landing on a droneship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: April 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.
Updated: October 17
NET June Falcon 9 • Transporter-14
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch dozens of payloads on its latest Smallsat rideshare program, called Transporter. This mission, dubbed Transporter-14, will include a variety of customers, including the MayaSat-1 capsule from The Exploration Company and three Erminaz PocketQubes from AMSAT-DL. The Falcon 9 first stage booster will perform a return to landing site touchdown at Landing Zone 4 less than eight minutes after liftoff.
Updated: April 02
NET November 2025 Falcon 9 • Sentinel-6B
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second of the two-satellite Sentinel-6 series. NASA awarded SpaceX a $94 million firm fixed price contract for the launch in 2022. The Sentinel-6B “will use a radar altimeter to bounce signals off the ocean surface and deliver continuity of ocean topography measurements,” according to NASA. The missions is designed through a partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the European Organization for the Exploration of Meteorological Studies.
10. Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
ISS
Apr 17
Apr 18
Apr 19
Apr 20
Apr 22
Tiangong
Apr 18
Apr 19
Apr 20