IO Group: https://groups.io/g/DARCskynet/topics
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/306498286059167/
Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
“Ripples in spacetime may have revealed 1st evidence of tiny black holes born in the Big Bang”
Primordial Black Holes (Big Bang – with and without)
Connecting dark matter and primordial black holes
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
Cygnus NG-24 Resupply Ship Reaches ISS (April 11, 2026)
SpaceX Completes Rapid Double Launch (April 14-15, 2026)
World’s Largest 3D Map of the Universe Released (April 15, 2026)
Planetary Parade Begins Over Earth (April 16, 2026)
SpaceX Files for Historic IPO (April 17, 2026)
Space-Related Birthdays
| Astronaut | Birthday | Birth Year | FCC Callsign | Flights | Notes |
| Igor Volk | April 12 | 1937 | N/A | Soyuz T-12 | Igor Volk was a test pilot and cosmonaut who flew to the Salyut 7 space station in 1984. He was selected for the Buran space shuttle program and performed several high-profile test flights of the Buran atmospheric prototype. |
| Anatoly Solovyev | April 12 | 1948 | N/A | Soyuz TM-5, TM-9, TM-15, TM-21, STS-71, TM-26 | Anatoly Solovyev holds the world record for the most time spent on spacewalks with over 82 hours outside of spacecraft. He flew five missions to the Mir space station and one mission on the Space Shuttle Columbia. |
| Jean-Jacques Favier | April 13 | 1949 | N/A | STS-78 | Jean-Jacques Favier was a French engineer and astronaut who flew as a payload specialist on the STS-78 mission. During the 17-day mission, he conducted extensive life science and microgravity experiments in the Spacelab module. |
| William E. Thornton | April 14 | 1929 | NM5P | STS-8, STS-51-B | William E. Thornton was a physician and astronaut who significantly advanced our understanding of space adaptation syndrome. He invented several medical devices for spaceflight, including the first in-flight mass measurement device and the shuttle treadmill. |
| Georgi Beregovoi | April 15 | 1921 | N/A | Soyuz 3 | Georgi Beregovoi was a decorated World War II pilot who commanded the Soyuz 3 mission in 1968. He was the oldest person to reach space at the time and was the first to fly a crewed Soyuz mission after the Soyuz 1 disaster. |
| Marsha Ivins | April 15 | 1951 | KC5EHU | STS-32, STS-46, STS-62, STS-81, STS-98 | Marsha Ivins is a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions, during which she spent more than 1,300 hours in space. She was primarily known for her expertise in satellite deployment and docking operations with the Mir and ISS stations. |
| David M. Brown | April 16 | 1956 | KC5ZTC | STS-107 | David M. Brown was a physician, Navy pilot, and astronaut who tragically perished during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. He served as a mission specialist on STS-107, where he worked on numerous scientific experiments during the 16-day flight. |
| Michael Barratt | April 16 | 1959 | KD5KQL | Soyuz TMA-14, STS-133, Crew-8 | Michael Barratt is a physician and astronaut who has flown on three different spacecraft types to reach the International Space Station. He served as the pilot for SpaceX Crew-8 and has conducted extensive research on human health in microgravity. |
| Andrei Borisenko | April 17 | 1964 | N/A | Expedition 27/28, 49/50 | Andrei Borisenko is a Russian cosmonaut who has spent over 337 days in orbit across two long-duration missions to the ISS. During his first mission, he served as the commander of Expedition 28, overseeing critical station operations and science. |
This Week in Space History
Vostok 1 Mission (April 12, 1961)
Launch of STS-1 (April 12, 1981)
Apollo 13 Emergency (April 13-17, 1970)
Launch of Apollo 16 (April 16, 1972)
Surveyor 3 Launch (April 17, 1967)
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Constellations “Sextans the Sextant and Hydra The Water Snake”
Space Launches For This Week
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
NET April 19 New Glenn • BlueBird 7
Launch time: Window opens 6:45 a.m. EDT (1045 UTC)
Launch site: Launch Complex 36, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will launch AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7satellite into low Earth orbit. This is the second satellite in AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation satellite constellation and is designed to support space-based cellular broadband for commercial and government customers. This will be the third launch of a New Glenn rocket to date. As of Jan. 22, Blue Origin hasn’t stated if it intends to attempt a booster recovery on this mission.
Updated: April 16
April 19 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-22
Launch time: Window opens 7 a.m. PDT (10am EDT / 1400 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number B1097, launching for an eighth time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. Delayed from April 18. Watch live coverage.
Updated: April 18
NET April 20 Falcon 9 • GPS III-8
Launch time: 2:57 a.m. EDT (0657 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the GPS III-8 mission for the U.S. Space Force. The satellite, formally identified as GPS III Space Vehicle 10 (GPS III SV10) and named ‘Hedy Lamarr’ after the actress and inventor of frequency-hopping technology, will be launched into a medium Earth orbit. A little more than 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number 1095, launching for a seventh time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: April 17
April 21/22 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-14
Launch time: Window opens at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT / 0200 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number B1100, launching for an eighth time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Updated: April 17
April 22/23 Electron • ‘Kakushin Rising’
Launch time: 3:09 p.m. NZST / 0309 UTC on April 23 (11:09 p.m. EDT on April 22)
Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch a batch of eight satellites for JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program. This is the second of two planned missions for this program.
Updated: April 17
April 25 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-16
Launch time: Window opens at 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT / 1400 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number B1088, launching for a 15th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Updated: April 17
April 25/26 Soyuz 2.1a • Progress MS-34 / 95P
Launch time: 1:21 a.m. MSK on April 26 (6:21 p.m. EDT / 2221 UTC on April 25)
Launch site: Site 31/6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, launched Soyuz 2.1a rocket with the Progress MS-34 spacecraft on a journey to the International Space Station. Referred to as Progress 95 by NASA, the cargo vehicle will bring supplies and science components to the orbiting outpost.
Updated: April 17
NET April 27 Atlas 5 • Amazon Leo 6
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch a batch of 29 broadband internet satellites for Amazon Leo’s low Earth orbit constellation. This is the seventh out of nine Atlas 5 rockets purchased by Amazon to fly its satellites.
Updated: April 17
NET April 28 Ariane 6 • Leo Europe 2 (LE-02)
Launch time: 5:51 a.m. Kourou time (4:51 a.m. EDT / 0851 UTC)
Launch site: Europe’s Spaceport, Kourou, French Guiana
An Arianespace-built Ariane 6 rocket, flying in a 64 configuration, will launch 32 Amazon Leo satellites into low Earth orbit. This will be the second flight of an Ariane 64 rocket, which features four boosters. The mission is designated as VA268 by Arianespace and Leo Europe 02 (LE-02) by Amazon. This is the second in a series of 18 Ariane 64 launches procured by Amazon to launch its Amazon Leo satellites (previously called Project Kuiper).
Updated: April 17
April 29 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-36
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number B1071, launching for a 33rd time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Updated: April 17
NET April Vega-C • Smile
Launch time: TBA
Launch site: ZLV pad, Europe’s Spaceport, Kourou, French Guiana
An Avio Vega-C rocket will launch the Smile mission, a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The Smile (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is set to deploy from the rocket 57 minutes after liftoff and deploy its solar arrays within 10 minutes after that. It has a planned mission life of three years and will operate in a highly elliptical Earth orbit. According to ESA, “Smile will use four science instruments to study how Earth responds to the solar wind from the Sun. This will improve our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic storms and the science of space weather.” Delayed from April 9 “due to a technical issue… on a subsystem component production line after VV29 launcher integration.”
Updated: April 13
NET Q4 2026 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. Delayed from 2025.
Updated: December 22
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.
