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.
NASA Langley transforms Boeing 777 into a flying science lab
NASA’s New B777-200ER (N577NA)
Four Layer Reinforcement Fasteners
“The Closest Scientific Instrument May be Behind You!” Card
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
Space-Related Birthdays
| Astronaut | Birthday | Birth Year | FCC Callsign | Flights | Notes |
| C. Gordon Fullerton | October 11 | 1936 | None | Enterprise ALT, STS-3, STS-51-F | U.S. Air Force Colonel and NASA research pilot who flew the 1977 Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests. Piloted STS-3 and commanded Spacelab-2, later serving as chief test pilot at NASA Dryden. |
| Ronald E. McNair | October 12 | 1950 | None | STS-41-B, STS-51-L | MIT laser physicist and second African American in space on STS-41-B. He died in the Challenger accident on STS-51-L in 1986. |
| Jake Garn | October 12 | 1932 | None | STS-51-D | U.S. Senator and retired brigadier general, first sitting member of Congress to fly in space. Logged 168 hours on STS-51-D and studied space motion sickness. |
| Michael R. “Rich” Clifford | October 13 | 1952 | None | STS-53, STS-59, STS-76 | U.S. Army Lt. Colonel who flew three Shuttle missions totaling 665 hours. He performed a six-hour EVA during STS-76 despite a secret Parkinson’s diagnosis. |
| Kate Rubins | October 14 | 1978 | KG5FYJ | Soyuz MS-01, Soyuz MS-17 | Molecular microbiologist and NASA astronaut who logged 300 days in space. She became the first person to sequence DNA in space. |
| Roberto Vittori | October 15 | 1964 | IZ6ERU | Soyuz TM-34/TM-33, Soyuz TMA-6/TMA-5, STS-134 | Italian Air Force Brigadier General and ESA astronaut with over 35 days in orbit. He was the last non-American to fly a U.S. Shuttle and made voice radio contacts from space. |
| James H. Newman | October 16 | 1956 | None | STS-51, STS-69, STS-88, STS-109 | Physicist and veteran of four Shuttle flights with six EVAs. He helped assemble the ISS and serviced Hubble. |
| William A. Anders | October 17 | 1933 | None | Apollo 8 | Air Force Major General and nuclear engineer who flew on Apollo 8. He took the famous Earthrise photo, inspiring the environmental movement. |
| Mae C. Jemison | October 17 | 1956 | None | STS-47 | Physician and chemical engineer, first African American woman in space. Logged 190 hours on Spacelab-J conducting microgravity research. |
| Karl G. Henize | October 17 | 1926 | None | STS-51-F | Astronomer and Shuttle mission specialist who operated solar telescopes in orbit. He died in 1993 on Mount Everest testing a NASA radiation meter. |
This Week in Space History
Launch of Apollo 7, NASA’s First Crewed Apollo Mission – October 11, 1968
Soviet Union Launches Voskhod 1, First Multi-Person Spaceflight – October 12, 1964
Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier in the Bell X-1 Rocket Plane – October 14, 1947
NASA Launches Lucy Mission to Explore Jupiter’s Trojan Asteroids – October 16, 2021
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Space Launches For This Week
Tom KE5ICX
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
October 19 Falcon 9 • Bandwagon-5
Launch time: Window opens at 6:30 a.m. EDT (1030 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Bandwagon-5 mission to a mid-inclination low Earth orbit. The mission features 31 separation events, per the SpaceX launch timeline. The first stage booster, tail number B1085, launching for a 19th time, will target a landing on the droneship, A Shortfall of Gravitas.
Updated: October 13
NET October 19/20 H3 • Martian Moons eXploration (MMX)
Launch time: 4:41:03 JST on Oct. 20 (3:41:03 p.m. EDT / 1941:03 UTC on Oct. 19)
Launch site: Yoshinobu Launch Complex, JAXA 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 the Martian Moons eXplorer (MMX) mission to survey the Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos. This is set to be the first sample return mission from the Martian sphere of influence with the samples from Phobos expected to return to Earth in fiscal year 2031. The mission is supported by NASA, CNES, DLR, and ESA.
Updated: August 26
October 20 Falcon 9 • Starlink 15-15
Launch time: Window opens at 3:14 p.m. PDT (6:14 p.m. EDT / 2214 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 27 Starlink V2 Mini optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. The first stage booster, tail number B1063, launching for a 36th time, will target a landing on the droneship, Of Course I Still Love You, positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Updated: October 13
NET October 21 Electron • ‘We’re Not Hawking Around’
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch three Hawk satellites for commercial signals intelligence (SIGINT) company, HawkEye 360. The satellites will deploy into a 520 km low Earth orbit at an inclination of 97 from the Equator. This will be the 98th Electron launch.
Updated: October 13
October 24 Falcon 9 • Starlink 15-16
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 27 Starlink V2 Mini optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. The first stage booster will target a landing on the droneship, Of Course I Still Love You, positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Updated: October 13
NET November 4 Electron • ‘The Sea God Surveys’
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch a QPS-SAR satellite on behalf of Japanese Earth observation company, iQPS. This is the 10th Electron launch booked by iQPS to fly its synthetic aperture radar satellites.
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.
HTV-X1
No visible passes.