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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Black holes could act as natural supercolliders — and help uncover dark matter
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250603114637.htm
Black Hole as Natural Super Collider
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hT859GkqDgSWN6g5bETHFc.png
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Jupiter and Europa News!
Jupiter Magnetic Field
https://caltech-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/main/images/JupiterImage.width-450.png
Amalthea, Thebe, and Metis
Amalthea and Thebe and Jupiter Lines of Flux
https://www.universetoday.com/article_images/jupiter-magnetosphere.jpeg
Plate Tectonics on Europa
https://www.universetoday.com/article_images/960px-11214_2023_990_fig1_html.webp.png
Europa Surface Feature Examples
Double Ridge Formation
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aLE6BQ9xa4UQMMecdt9zZD-1500-80.png.webp
Webb Shows Another Jupiter Forming in Real Time
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-shows-another-jupiter-forming-in-real-time
YSES=1 Artist’s Concept of Two Giant Gas Planets
https://www.universetoday.com/article_images/Hoch-Paper-Press-Image-RS-800X582_20250610_175703.jpg
Planet Spectra YSES-1b and 1c
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
For the First Time, Scientists Spot Water Around a Young Star Similar to Our Sun
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1G2dsn.img?w=768&h=466&m=6
Scientists Discover Volcano on Mars Near Ancient Lake
Space-Related Birthdays
Stanley G. Love Jun 08, 1965 STS-122
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Stanley_G._Love.jpg
F. Drew Gaffney June 9, 1946 STS-40
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Drew_Gaffney.jpg
Johann Gottfried Galle, June 9, 1812 German astronomer born, he became the first person to view and identify the planet Neptune (after receiving a letter indicating where to look
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/JohannGalle.jpg
James McDivitt June 10, 1929 Gemini 4, Apollo 9
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/JamesMcDivitt.jpg
James van Hoften June 11, 1944 STS-41-C, STS-51-I
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Vanhoften-jda.jpg
Ronald Grabe June 13, 1945 STS-51-J, STS-30, STS-42, STS-57
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Ronald_Grabe.jpg
This Week in Space History
1969:
June 10:
The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL), a joint project of the US Air Force & the National Reconnaissance Office, was cancelled by Richard Nixon #OTD June 10 in 1969.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FU63aw4WIAIjHcP?format=jpg&name=small
1957:
June 11:
The U.S. Air Force launched the first Atlas rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. https://www.spaceline.org/spacelineorg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ATLAS-A.jpg
2008:
June 11:
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope launched as the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST). https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Fermi_Gamma-ray_Space_Telescope_spacecraft_model.png
1963:
June 13:
NASA signed the contract with the David Clark Company for the development and manufacture of the Gemini space suits.
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Space Launches For This Week
Tom KE5ICX
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
NET June 16 Atlas 5 • Kuiper 2
Launch time: 1:25 p.m. EDT (1725 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, in a 551 configuration, will launch the second batch of 27 Project Kuiper satellites for Amazon. The mission is referred to as Kuiper Atlas 02 (KA-02) by Amazon. Delayed from June 13.
Updated: June 10
June 16/17 Falcon 9 • Starlink 15-9
Launch time: Window opens at 5:51 p.m. PDT (8:51 p.m. EDT, 0051 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: June 13
TBD 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. Delayed from May 29, June 8, 10 and 11.
Updated: June 13
NET June 23/24 H-2A • GOSAT-GW
Launch time: 1:33:03 a.m. JST on June 24 (12:33:03 p.m. EDT, 1633:03 UTC on June 23)
Launch site: Launch Pad 1, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
A Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. H-2A rocket will launch the Global Observing SATellite for Greenhouse gases and Water cycle (GOSAT-GW), a Japanese Earth-observing satellite. The roughly 2,900 kg (6,393 lbs) satellite will operate in a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 666 km (414 mi). This spacecraft comes from a partnership between the Japanese Ministry of Environment (MOE), National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The two primary instruments are the Total Anthropogenic and Natural emissions mapping SpectrOmeter-3 (TANSO-3) and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 3 (AMSR3). This will be the 50th and final launch of a H-2A rocket.
Updated: April 25
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, the OSSIE OTV (orbital transfer vehicle) from UARX Space 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: May 08
TBD Eris • TestFlight1
Launch time: Window opens 7:30 a.m. AEST on May 16 (5:30 p.m. EDT, 2130 UTC on May 15)
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, 2024, due to a lack of launch permit. Delayed from May 14/15 due to a ground support system issue. Delayed from May 15/16 due to unintended triggering of the payload fairing deployment at the pad.
Updated: May 31
Summer 2025 Falcon 9 • TRACERS
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) as the primary payload on a rideshare mission secured through the agency’s VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) launch services contract, providing new opportunities for science and technology payloads. The two TRACERS satellites are designed to study the interaction of the Sun’s solar particles interact with the Earth’s magnetic field to better understand the impacts of solar activity on Earth. The mission is conducted through a partnership between NASA; the University of Iowa; the Southwest Research Institute; the University of New Hampshire; the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of California, Los Angeles. The secondary payload(s) have not been announced for this mission as of May 15.
Updated: May 15
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
Jun 16
Jun 19
Jun 20
Jun 21
Jun 23
Tiangong
No Passes