Committed to Launch turns 1 year old! September of last year, I started this little experiment to see if anyone
Committed to Launch turns 1 year old! September of last year, I started this little experiment to see if anyone would be interested in listening to me jabber about spacey things. It’s been a little rocky, trying to keep up with things, get the show out on time, update the format, figure out how to streamline things, but I’d like to think it’s made the show better. For the most part, I’ve enjoyed the process, and I do hope you’ve enjoyed tuning in once a month. Here’s to another year! May it be filled with launches and discoveries!
So, as I mentioned, this is September, which makes this the ninth episode of the Unity module! Only three more to go before we jump over to the third module added to the International Space Station, Destiny! And no, it’s not named after the video game. It’s been an interesting month, good and bad, so let’s get into it.
First off, please consider donating to help in the relief effort. A category 4 hurricane, Harvey, hit Texas, then three more storms, another category four, and two monster category 5’s, ravaged the Caribbean and Florida. There was also a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Mexico. They need help as well. If you can, please give to any charity you feel does good work. The links below are just a few suggestions, but please do not feel limited to them.
Hurricane Relief
Texas
Houston Food Bank – Bestfriends.org
Florida
Volunteer Florida – Feeding South Florida
Puerto Rico
Team Rubicon USA, Irma Volunteering – Generosity.com
Mexico earthquake relief
Doctors Without Borders – International Community Foundation
There are more areas than just these few that have been affected and they all need help. Don’t feel limited to just these few. Go find one that is a good fit for you and give if you can.
FWIW is on it’s between-season break, so none of these stories were included there. Expect them to return in October.
==Astronomy==
• Theory about powerful stellar novae proven – Link
• X-ray telescopes show smaller stars calm down faster – Link
• Hubble captures image of the darkest known exoplanet – Link
==Earth Science==
• NOAA’s newest Earth observing satellite arrives at Vandenberg for November launch – Link
• NASA using satellite data to track and predict malaria outbreaks – Link
==Planetary Science==
• Radar discovers two moons orbiting asteroid – Link
• Cassini’s spectacular end – Link
• Venusian night side revealed – Link
• OSIRIS-REx gets gravity boost from Earth – Link
==Launches and Rocketry==
• Fairing fails to deploy on Indian satellite – Link
• Northrop Grumman plans to purchase Orbital ATK for $9.2 billion – Link
• Arianne 5 aborts just after ignition – Link 1, Link 2
• Proton launches commercial satellite for Latin America – Link
• NROL launches spy satellite on top of Atlas V from Vandenberg after 2 day delay – Link
==International==
• New air monitoring satellite shipped in preparation for October flight – Link
• SES orders more satellites from Boeing – Link
• Japan wins Inmarsat contract – Link
• Arianespace wins six firm launch contracts – Link
• China’s first robotic refueling vessel re-enters as planned – Link 1, Link 2
==ISS News==
• Adorable Japanese robot on the ISS (July) – Link
• Soyuz carries new crew to the ISS – Link
• Dragon splashes down with science from ISS – Link
==Questions & Listener Discussion==
Someone who wishes to remain anonymous writes in with a very interesting question.
In speculative fiction, a common theme is having “sky stalks” or “space tethers” where an orbiting station or platform is tethered to Earth’s surface with a strong carbon filament line or structure of some kind. Then shuttles can climb and descend the tether to get into orbit. Has NASA or any other space agency ever seriously looked into this? Material science and cost allowing, is it feasible?
==Upcoming Launches==
ALL LAUNCH DATES AND TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO THE NATURE OF ROCKETRY – this is the manifest as of Monday, September 25
October 4 – 9:06am EDT – 6:06 am PDT
Falcon 9 – Iridium Next 21-30 – SLC-4E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
SpaceX is launching the third batch of 10 satellites for the Iridium Next communications fleet
October 7 – 6:52-8:53 pm EDT
Falcon 9 – SES 11/EchoStar 105 – LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Hybrid communications satellite to replace AMC-15 and AMC-18, using a flight-proven booster
October 9 – 6 pm EDT
H-2A – Michibiki 4 – Tanegashima Space Center Japan
Navigation spacecraft, the fourth member in Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System
October 12 – time TBD
Soyuz – Progress 68P – Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
The 68th Progress resupply mission for the ISS launched by the Russian government
October 13 – 5:27 am EDT
Rockot – Sentinel 5p – Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
An Earth observing satellite carrying instruments to measure air quality, ozone, pollution and aerosols in the atmosphere
October 17 – 5:37 pm EDT – 2:37 pm PDT
Minotaur-C – SkySat – SLC-576E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Orbital ATK is launching six SkySat satellites and several other secondary Cubesats for universities and corporate customers
TBD
Long March 2D – VRSS 2 – Jiuquan, China
China is launching the second Venezuelan Remote Sensing Satellite, which will be used for scientific research, national security, and disaster response
October (date TBD) 4-8 am EDT
Atlas V – NROL-52 – SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, using an Atlas in the 421 configuration (four meter fairing, two strap-on solid motors, one centaur upper stage engine)
Late October – Time TBD
Falcon 9 – Koreasat 5A, Cape Canaveral, Florida, launch pad unknown
Communications satellite for KTsat, providing television broadcasts for Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Guam, Indochina, and South Asia
4th Quarter – time TBD
Electron – Still Testing – Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Second test flight of the Electron rocket by Rocket Lab.
All of the administrations and organizations mentioned have accounts on various social media platforms in case you’re interested in learning more. If space news once a month isn’t enough, check out the links in the “Get Your Space Fix!” page, just click on it up there next to ‘contact’ at the top of the page.
Contact:
Email: Show AT CommittedToLaunch DOT com
Twitter @LaunchCommit
Image credit: NASA
==Keep looking up, space fans==