1. Monday, Jan. 18, 2021; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT: No program today.
2. Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT): We welcome back Dr. Deana Weibel to discuss her latest work on space tourism, space development and faith.
4. Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): No program today.
5. Friday, Jan.22, 2021; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome back Dr. Namrata Goswami to discuss national security space, China and space, and space policy in the new administration.
Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Expedition 64 Inflight with Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Josh Dobbs – January 15, 2021
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Victor Glover of NASA discussed life and work aboard the complex with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Josh Dobbs during an in-flight event Jan. 15. Dobbs, who majored in aeronautical engineering at the University of Tennessee, and Glover answered questions provided by Pittsburgh-area students involved in local STEM activities. Glover, who arrived at the station in November aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Resilience”, is in the midst of a six-month mission on the complex.
The men and women who live and work on the International Space Station take thousands of photographs of their home planet every year, and we asked the folks at the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for a few of their favorites from 2020. Here are the top 20 from ’20, and you can check out the images for yourself at the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth(https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/):
** International Space Station NASA View With Map – 1505 – 2021-01-14 – Julian Danzer – YouTube
** SpaceX CRS-21 Dragon undocking and departure
The SpaceX Dragon CRS-21 cargo spacecraft autonomously undocked from the International Space Station, on 12 January 2021, 14:05 UTC (09:05 EST). The CRS-21 Dragon is loaded with about 2360 kg of scientific experiments and other cargo; and is expected to make its parachute-assisted splashdown around 01:14 UTC, on 13 January 2021 (12 January, 20:14 EST). The audio commentary is provided by NASA’s Public Affairs Officer Shaneequa Vereen. Credit: NASA/SpaceX
** Expedition 64 Inflight with CNBC – January 15, 2021 – NASA Video
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 64 Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Mike Hopkins of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight event Jan. 15 with CNBC’s Shepard Smith. Rubins, who arrived on the station last October on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and Hopkins, who few to the station last November on the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Resilience”, are in the midst of their respective six-month missions on the complex.
A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):
9 CubeSat missions comprising 10 total spacecraft are set to fly on LauncherOne during Launch Demo 2, which will also mark the 20th mission in NASA’s Educational Launch of NanoSatellites (ELaNa XX) series. NASA is using small satellites, including CubeSats, to advance exploration, demonstrate emerging technologies, and conduct scientific research and educational investigations. Nearly each payload on this flight was fully designed and built by universities across the US.
** Cal Poly’s ExoCube-2 on LauncherOne. The 3U CubeSat built by students carries a
… spectrometer as its payload, made to analyze particle densities in the exosphere which can, in turn, show how geomagnetic storms affect the atmosphere. This data is then used to improve atmospheric models.
ExoCube-2 at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Credits: Cal Poly
The team is studying the idea of tethering two cell phone-sized small satellites with a wire 10 to 30 meters long that is able to drive current in either direction using power from solar panels and closing the electrical circuit through the Earth’s ionosphere. When a wire conducts a current in a magnetic field, that magnetic field exerts a force on the wire. The team plans to use the force from the Earth’s magnetic field to climb higher in orbit, compensating for the drag of the atmosphere.
The first experiments to test the idea will be on a CubeSat satellite called MiTEE-1: The Miniature Tether Electrodynamics Experiment-1. The version being launched was designed and built by more than 250 students, over a course of six years. They were mentored by engineers and technicians of the U-M Space Physics Research Laboratory. The version launching now will have a deployable rigid boom, one meter long, between one satellite the size of a bread box and another the size of a large smartphone. It will measure how much current can be drawn from the ionosphere under different conditions.
The Passive Inspection CubeSat is a 10 cm cube with cell phone-like cameras on all six faces. After the vehicle launches and reaches space, the two CubeSats are deployed in a Pez-dispenser fashion. Each CubeSat then immediately starts taking pictures of the spacecraft, the other CubeSat, earth and anything else near the satellite. Because there are cameras on each face of the cube, the data will provide a virtual environment, as if those viewing it are in space themselves.
Mauritius was the winner of the 3rd round UNOOSA/JAXA KiboCube Programme in 2018 whereby Mauritius was awarded (by JAXA) the opportunity to build and deploy, for the first time in its history, a 1U Cube Satellite through the International Space Station (ISS). The MIR-SAT1 will be sent by JAXA to the International Space Station (ISS) and deployed from the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo) “KiboCUBE”.
The first 1U Mauritian nanosatellite, MIR-SAT1 (Mauritius Imagery and Radio – Satellite 1) was designed by a team of Mauritian Engineers and an experienced Radio Amateur from the Mauritius Amateur Radio Society in collaboration with experts from AAC-Clyde Space UK.
…
The testing and building of the satellite (MIR-SAT1) was carried out by the MRIC’s collaborating partner, AAC-ClydeSpace in Glasgow and was completed in November 2020. JAXA started the 3rd Safety Assessment review, which will ensure that the cubesat is compliant with all the requirements of KiboCube Program. Further to the successful completion of this review, the MIR-SAT1 will be shipped to JAXA from Glasgow. It is expected that the Satellite will be at JAXA in January 2021. JAXA will then launch the satellite to the ISS via the launcher SpaceX-22 and eventually deploy it space by May/June 2021. The MRIC will be the operator of the satellite, and a state-of-the-art ground control station is currently being set up for this purpose.
Students and faculty from the University of Georgia, Athens, were thrilled to see their hard work on the CubeSat Spectral Ocean Color (SPOC) pay off when it deployed from the International Space Station recently.
SPOC, developed through the NASA Undergraduate Student Instrument Project, launched to the space station aboard a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket October 2, 2020, from Wallops along with nearly 8,000 pounds of cargo and science investigations. The goal of SPOC is to monitor the health of coastal ecosystem from space. The cubesat, about the size of a loaf of bread, includes an advanced optic system that can zoom in on coastal areas to detect chemical composition and physical characteristics on ocean and wetland surfaces.
The satellite was originally expected to stay in orbit for a maximum of two years, but a particularly mild solar cycle kept it aloft a bit longer. Rick Fleeter, an adjunct professor of engineering who is adviser to BSE, says the fact that EQUiSat’s systems kept functioning for its entire flight is a tribute to the students who designed, built and operated it.
“EQUiSat is just an assembly of parts — the success and the learning were accomplished by the ingenuity, hard work and dedication of a diverse team of Brown students past and present,” Fleeter said. “That’s what I will remember about it — the great satisfaction of having been a part of their team.”
To keep its systems running, the satellite’s custom-made solar array powered a set of LiFePO batteries, which were part of its mission objective. This type of battery had never flown in space before, so NASA was interested to see how they’d perform in an environment that goes from -250 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade to 250 degrees in the sun. Those batteries, along with the rest of the EQUiSat’s systems, performed about as well as anyone could have expected.
** History of the Wolverine CubeSat Team – Simmons COSPAR-K 2021 (Sydney, Australia)
** Understanding Radio Communications – Lecture 11: Receiving a satellite – Tutorial for teacher
This is the last in a series of 6 videos designed to accompany the “Understanding Radio Communications – using SDRs” teaching materials. It supports the lecture/lab work presented in lecture 11 of the 11 one hour sessions (Receiving a satellite) You can find out more and register to download the materials free of charge at this link: https://sdrplay.com/understandingradio
** Getting Started with Amateur Radio Satellites – Tom Schuessler N5HYP
** Q&A – Getting Started with Amateur Radio Satellites – Tom Schuessler N5HYP
3. Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021: Hotel Mars TBA pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details.
4. Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): No program today.
5. Friday, Jan.15, 2021; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): No program today.
6. Sunday, Jan.17, 2021; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): Welcome to our first Open Lines program for 2021. All callers welcome. We want first time callers. What is on your mind? Talk space, science, tech, policy and more. Give us a call.
A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):
As the world leaves behind the strange and challenging year of 2020, we look towards 2021 with a mixture of relief and expectation. And this is the same at ESA, where we look forward to a brighter and very exciting 2021. This year will see Vega-C making its maiden flight, two ESA astronauts start long-duration missions on board the International Space Station, and BepiColombo and Solar Orbiter continuing their voyages around the Solar System. Also this year, we will say farewell to our current Director General Jan Wörner as his tenure ends, while welcoming into office his successor, Josef Aschbacher.
** Casey Dreier: Are Changes Coming to NASA/US Space Policy – Weekly Space Hangout: December 9, 2020
We are pleased to once again welcome Casey Dreier from the Planetary Society to the WSH. Casey will update us (as much as possible) about Space Policy changes that may occur once the new American Presidential administration takes office on January 20, 2021. As Chief Advocate, Casey is the public face of The Planetary Society’s efforts to advance planetary exploration, planetary defense, and the search for life. He educates and empowers the organization’s members to take political action. He writes, teaches, and speaks to The Society’s members, the public, and policymakers to impress upon them the importance, relevancy, and excitement of space exploration….
