Discussion Topic of the Evening.
“Once in a Blue Moon”
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
NASA Unveils “Moon Base One” Strategy — May 26, 2026
SpaceX Starship Flight 12 Achieves Major Milestones — May 23, 2026
Scientists Discover “Zwan-Wolf Effect” on Mars — May 28, 2026
China Launches Shenzhou-23 to Tiangong Station — May 24, 2026
Jupiter’s “Planet Factory” Revealed in New Study — May 26, 2026
Blue Origin Rocket Explodes During Cape Canaveral Test, Artemis Setback Likely – May 29, 2026
Space-Related Birthdays
| Astronaut | Birthday | Birth Year | FCC Callsign | Flights | Notes |
| Sally Ride | May 26 | 1951 | N/A | STS-7, STS-41-G | First American woman in space, flying aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. She later became a professor of physics and a champion for science education. |
| Paul Scully-Power | May 28 | 1944 | WA4SIR | STS-41-G | First Australian-born astronaut and the first to fly in space with a beard. He conducted extensive oceanographic research during his mission. |
| Alexey Leonov | May 30 | 1934 | N/A | Voskhod 2, Soyuz 19 | First human to conduct a spacewalk, spending 12 minutes outside the Voskhod 2 spacecraft. He later commanded the Soviet crew during the historic Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. |
| Michael López-Alegría | May 30 | 1958 | KE5GTK | STS-73, STS-92, STS-113, Soyuz TMA-9, Axiom-1 | Holds the record for the most spacewalks by an American and commanded the first all-private mission to the ISS. He is a veteran of four NASA missions and one commercial flight. |
| Helen Sharman | May 30 | 1963 | GB1MIR | Soyuz TM-12 | First British astronaut, visiting the Mir space station after winning a nationwide competition. She conducted numerous medical and agricultural experiments during her eight-day mission. |
This Week in Space History
Aurora 7 Mission (May 24, 1962)
President Kennedy’s Moon Speech (May 25, 1961)
Skylab 2 Launch (May 25, 1973)
Mars 3 Launch (May 28, 1971)
Mariner 9 Launch (May 30, 1971)
SpaceX Demo-2 Launch (May 30, 2020)
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Constellation “Virgo the Maiden”
Space Launches For This Week
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
June 3 Falcon 9 • Starlink 10-43
Launch time: Window opens at 4:02 a.m. EDT (0902 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. The first stage booster, tail number 1090, launching for a 12th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: May 24
June 3 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-47
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 24 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 16th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. Delayed from June 2.
Updated: May 30
June 8 Falcon 9 • Starlink 10-35
Launch time: Window opens 6:07 a.m. EDT (1007 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. The first stage booster, tail number 1067, launching for a 35th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: May 30
NET June 9/10 H3 • 30 Morphological Tester
Launch time: 9:53 a.m. JST / 0053 UTC on June 10 (8:53 p.m. EDT on June 9)
Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center
An H3 launch vehicle, a rocket developed through a partnership between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), will launch six small sub-satellites (PETREL, STARS-X, BRO-22, VERTECS, HORN -L, HORN-R). JAXA said the rocket is “equipped with a payload (VEP-5) for rocket performance confirmation to demonstrate the flight of the H3 rocket 30 form.” This will be the ninth launch of an H3 rocket.
Updated: May 24
June 10 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-44
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number B1097, launching for a 10th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Updated: May 24
TBD Falcon 9 • Globalstar 2-R Launch 1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch nine of its HIBLEO-4 satellites into low Earth orbit. This is the first of two launches that constitute a replenishment of its HIBLEO-4 fleet. Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number B1090, launching for a 12th time, will target a landing on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from May 18. Delayed from May 20.
Updated: May 23
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.
