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EI2GYB > ASTRO 24.08.21 14:05l 368 Lines 17786 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Space calendar 2021: Rocket launches, sky events, missions
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Space calendar 2021: Rocket launches, sky events, missions & more!
August
======
Aug. 19: Jupiter at opposition. The gas giant will be directly opposite
the sun in Earth's sky around the same time that it makes its closest
approach to Earth of the year. The planet will shine at its biggest and
brightest tonight and will be visible all night long.
Aug. 19: Arianespace will use a Soyuz rocket to launch 34 satellites into
orbit for the OneWeb internet constellation. The mission, called OneWeb 9,
will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, at 6:23 p.m. EDT
(2223 GMT). Watch it live
Aug. 20: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing gibbous moon will
swing about 3 degrees to the south of Saturn in the evening sky.
Aug. 22: The full moon of August, known as the Full Sturgeon Moon, occurs
at 8:02 a.m. EDT (1202 GMT). This will also be a so-called "Blue Moon"
because it is the third full moon in a season that has four full moons.
Aug. 22: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The Blue Sturgeon moon will
swing about 4 degrees to the south of Jupiter in the night sky.
Aug. 24: NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide
will take a planned 6.5-hour spacewalk outside the International Space
Station today (Aug. 24) to install a bracket on the Port 4 truss for the
next IROSA Solar Array. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. EDT
(1200 GMT); NASA TV coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. EDT (1030 GMT).
Aug. 27: The spaceflight startup Astra will launch a test payload for
the U.S. Space Force's Space Test Program (STP-27AD1). Astra's Rocket 3.3
will lift off from the company's Kodiak Spaceport in Alaska, at 4 p.m. EDT
(2000 GMT). The launch window extends through Sept. 11.
Aug. 28: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon cargo resupply
mission (CRS-23) to the International Space Station. It will lift off
from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at
3:37 a.m. EDT (0737 GMT).
Also scheduled to launch in August (from Spaceflight Now):
Rocket Lab will use an Electron rocket to launch the eighth and
ninth Earth observation satellites for the Seattle-based company
BlackSky Global's planned constellation. The mission, nicknamed
"Love At First Insight," will lift off from the Mahia Peninsula in
New Zealand. This will be the first in a rapid succession of three
BlackSky launches by Rocket Lab scheduled to launch between August
and September.
September
=========
Sept. 3: Mercury reaches its highest point in the evening sky. Shining
at magnitude 0.1, the innermost planet will be barely visible above the
western horizon at sunset.
Sept. 6: The new moon arrives at 8:52 p.m. EDT (0052 Sept. 7 GMT).
Sept. 9: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will
pass about 4 degrees to the north of Venus. Look for the pair above the
western horizon after sunset.
Sept. 13: Mercury at greatest elongation east. The innermost planet will
reach its greatest eastern separation from the sun, shining brightly at
magnitude 0.1. Catch the elusive planet above the western horizon shortly
after sunset.
Sept. 14: Neptune at opposition. The gas giant will appear at its biggest
and brightest of the year, shining at magnitude 7.8.
(You'll need a telescope to see it.)
Sept. 15: SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft to
launch the first all-civilian orbital mission, known as Inspiration4.
It will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
in Florida. Watch it live
Sept. 16: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the
NASA/USGS Landsat 9 satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Sept. 16: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing gibbous moon
will swing about 3 degrees to the south of Saturn in the evening sky.
Sept. 18: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The waxing gibbous moon
will swing about 4 degrees to the south of Jupiter in the evening sky.
Sept. 20: The full moon of September, known as the Full Harvest Moon,
occurs at 7:55 p.m. EDT (2355 GMT).
Sept. 22: The equinox arrives at 3:21 p.m. EDT (1921 GMT), marking the
first day of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of spring
in the Southern Hemisphere.
Sept. 24: The waning gibbous moon and Uranus will make a close approach,
passing within 1.3 degrees of each other. Shining at magnitude 5.7, Uranus
may be bright enough to spot with the naked eye under dark skies.
Also scheduled to launch in September (from Spaceflight Now):
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink internet
satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
China will launch the Tianzhou 3 cargo resupply ship to the Chinese space station. It will lift off on a Long March 7 rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan, China.
Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket to launch the SES-17 and
Syracuse 4A communications satellites from the Guiana Space Center near
Kourou, French Guiana.
Arianespace will use a Soyuz rocket to launch 34 satellites into orbit
for the OneWeb internet constellation. The mission, called OneWeb 10,
will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Watch it live
October
=======
Oct. 5: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Soyuz MS-19 crew capsule to
the International Space Station with Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov and
two space tourists: Russian film director Klim Shipenko and a (not-yet-named)
Russian actress, who plan to film a movie while spending one week in space.
(The two filmmakers are scheduled to return to Earth on the Soyuz MS-18 crew
capsule.) Watch it live
Oct. 6: The new moon arrives at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT)
Oct. 8: The Draconid meteor shower, which is active Oct. 6-10, will peak
overnight.
Oct. 9: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will
pass about 3 degrees to the north of Venus. Look for the pair above the
western horizon after sunset.
Oct. 14: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing gibbous moon will
swing about 4 degrees to the south of Saturn in the evening sky.
Oct. 15: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The waxing gibbous moon will
swing about 4 degrees to the south of Jupiter in the evening sky.
Oct. 16: NASA will launch its Lucy mission to study the Trojan asteroids.
It will lift off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a
United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Watch it live
Oct. 20: A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch NASA's Cislunar
Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment
(CAPSTONE) mission to the moon from Wallops Island, Virginia.
Oct. 20: The full moon of October, known as the Full Hunter's Moon, occurs
at 10:57 a.m. EDT (1457 GMT).
Oct. 21: The waning gibbous moon and Uranus will make a close approach,
passing within 1.3 degrees of each other. Shining at magnitude 5.7, Uranus
may be bright enough to spot with the naked eye under dark skies.
Oct. 21-22: The annual Orionid meteor shower, which is active all month
long, peaks overnight.
Oct. 24: Mercury at greatest elongation west. The innermost planet will
reach its greatest western separation from the sun, shining brightly at
magnitude -0.6. Catch the elusive planet above the eastern horizon shortly
before sunrise. The following day (Oct. 25) Mercury will reach its highest
point in the morning sky.
Oct. 28: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Progress 79 cargo resupply
spacecraft to the International Space Station. It will lift off from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Watch it live
Oct. 31: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on
the Crew-3 mission, the third operational astronaut flight to the
International Space Station. On board will be NASA astronauts Raja Chari
and Thomas Marshburn, and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer.
(The fourth crewmember has not yet been announced).
It will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
in Florida. Watch it live
Also scheduled to launch in October (from Spaceflight Now):
China will launch three astronauts to the Chinese space station on the
Shenzhou 13 mission, which will launch on a Long March 2F rocket from the
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the USSF-44 mission for the U.S.
Air Force. The mission will lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in
Florida and is expected to deploy two undisclosed payloads into geosynchronous
orbit. Watch it live
The Soyuz MS-18 crew capsule will return to Earth from the International
Space Station with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, as well as two space
tourists: Russian film director Klim Shipenko and a (not-yet-named) Russian
actress, who will have arrived on the Soyuz MS-19 mission in September and
plan to film a movie in space. Watch it live
Arianespace will use a Soyuz rocket to launch 34 satellites into orbit for
the OneWeb internet constellation. The mission, called OneWeb 11, will lift
off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Watch it live
November
========
Nov. 2-3: The annual South Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight.
Active from mid-September to mid-November, the Southern Taurids rarely
produce more than five visible meteors per hour, but the nearly-new moon
should make them easier to spot against a dark sky.
Nov. 4: The new moon arrives at 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 GMT).
Nov. 4: Uranus is at opposition, meaning it will appear at its biggest and
brightest of the year. Shining at magnitude 5.7, the planet will be visible
all night long in the constellation Aries. Uranus may be to the naked eye
from dark locations but is best seen through a telescope or binoculars.
Nov. 7: Daylight Saving Time ends. Turn your clocks back one hour at 2 a.m.
local time.
Nov. 8: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will
pass about 1 degree to the north of Venus. Look for the pair above the
western horizon after sunset. Skywatchers in parts of Eastern Asia will
see the moon occult Venus, meaning it will briefly pass in front of the
planet, blocking it from sight.
Nov. 10: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing crescent moon will
swing about 4 degrees to the south of Saturn in the evening sky.
Nov. 11: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The first-quarter moon will
swing about 4 degrees to the south of Jupiter in the evening sky.
Nov. 11-12: The annual North Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight.
The shower, which is active from late October to mid-December, is not
expected to produce more than a handful of visible "shooting stars" per hour.
Nov. 16-17: One of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year, the
Leonid meteor shower peaks overnight. The Leonids are expected to produce
about 15 meteors per hour on the night of the peak, but the shower is active
all month long.
Nov. 17: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the NASA's Imaging X-ray
Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida. Watch it live
Nov. 19: The full moon of November, known as the Full Beaver Moon, occurs
at 3:58 a.m. EST (0858 GMT).
Nov. 19: A partial lunar eclipse will be visible from North and South
America, Australia, and parts of Europe and Asia. The moon will enter
Earth's faint outer shadow, known as the penumbra, at 1:02 a.m. EDT
(0602 GMT). The partial eclipse, when the moon will darken more noticeably,
begins at 2:18 a.m. EDT (0718 GMT). Maximum eclipse occurs at 4:02 a.m.
EDT (0902 GMT). The entire event will last about six hours.
Nov. 24: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA's Double Asteroid
Redirection Test (DART) mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California,
at 1:58 a.m. EST (0658 GMT). Watch it live
Also scheduled to launch in November (from Spaceflight Now):
Starliner OFT-2: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing's
CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its second uncrewed mission to the
International Space Station no earlier than November 2020. The Orbital
Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) mission will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 at
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Live updates | Watch it live
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to lift off in late November
from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, on an Ariane 5 ECA rocket.
Watch it live
An Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch two satellites for Europe's Galileo
navigation constellation. It will lift off from the Guiana Space Center near
Kourou, French Guiana.
Arianespace will use a Soyuz rocket to launch 34 satellites into orbit for the
OneWeb internet constellation. The mission, called OneWeb 12, will lift off
from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana. Watch it live
December
========
Dec. 4: The only total solar eclipse of the year (and the last total solar
eclipse until 2023) will be visible from Antarctica. Skywatchers in South
Africa, Namibia, the southern tip of South America and some islands in the
South Atlantic will be able to see at least a partial solar eclipse, with
the moon blocking a portion of the sun from view.
Dec. 4: The new moon arrives at 2:44 a.m. EST (0744 GMT).
Dec. 4: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon cargo resupply
mission (CRS-24) to the International Space Station. It will lift off
from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Watch
it live
Dec. 6: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will
pass about 2 degrees to the north of Venus. Look for the pair above the
western horizon after sunset.
Dec. 7: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the GOES-T
weather satellite for NASA and NOAA. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral
Space Force Station in Florida, at 4:40 p.m. EST (2140 GMT). Watch it live
Dec. 7: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing crescent moon will
swing about 4 degrees to the south of Saturn in the evening sky.
Dec. 8: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Soyuz MS-20 crew capsule to
the International Space Station with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin,
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and video producer Yozo Hirano.
Dec. 9: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The waxing crescent moon will
swing about 4 degrees to the south of Jupiter in the evening sky.
Dec. 13-14: The annual Geminid meteor shower, one of the best meteor showers
of the year, peaks overnight. The Geminids are active Dec. 4-17 often
produce up to 50 visible meteors per hours, but this year the 78% full moon
will outshine the fainter meteors.
Dec. 18: The full moon of December, known as the Full Cold Moon, occurs at
11:37 p.m. EST (0437 Dec. 19 GMT).
Dec. 21: The solstice arrives at 10:59 a.m. EST (1559 GMT), marking the first
day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer in the
Southern Hemisphere.
Dec. 21-22: The annual Ursid meteor shower peaks overnight. Typically
active around Dec. 17-26, the Ursids produce about five to 10 visible
meteors per hour on the morning of the peak.
More coming in 2021...
TBD: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the STP-3 rideshare
mission for the U.S. Space Force. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space
Force Station in Florida.
TBD: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the USSF-8
mission for the Space Force's Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness
Program (GSSAP). It will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape
Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
TBD: India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will launch the Indian
RISAT 1A radar Earth observation satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space
Center in Sriharikota, India.
Q4: India's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch on its
first orbital test flight from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in
Sriharikota, India. The mission was delayed from April 2021.
Q4: India's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch its first
commercial mission with four Earth observation satellites for the
Seattle-based company BlackSky Global. It will lift off from the Satish
Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India.
Q4: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the first two WorldView
Legion Earth observation satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California. Watch it live
Q4: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Turksat 5B communications
satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Q4: An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch three CERES satellites for
the French military.
(CERES stands for "Capacité de Renseignement dâ€Öorigine Electromagnétique
Spatiale," which translates to "Intelligence Capacity of Space
Electromagnetic Origin.") The mission will lift off from the Guiana
Spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana.
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