3. Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020: Hotel Mars with The John Batchelor Show. This show will cover Starlink launch news and new health issues for human spaceflight.
4. Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): No program today.
** Tuesday, Nov.24.2020 – Douglas Messier discussed “space in 2020 plus a look ahead for space 2021. All the key events and not so key events were examined.”
Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Space Station Crew Discusses the Meaning of Thanksgiving on Orbit – NASA Johnson
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 64 Flight Engineers Kate Rubins, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) discussed the meaning of spending Thanksgiving on orbit and their holiday plans during downlink messages delivered on Nov. 20. Rubins has been aboard the orbital complex since mid-October following her launch on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and was joined a month later by Hopkins, Glover, Walker and Noguchi, who launched on the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Resilience” from the Kennedy Space Center.
** Thanksgiving in Zero-G: Preparing Meals at the International Space Station – NASA
Thanksgiving dinner aboard the International Space Station is a little different than one here on Earth. Watch this video to learn how astronauts living and working in space can enjoy holiday meals, thanks to the NASA Nutritional Lab at Johnson Space Center. Read more about celebrating Thanksgiving in space: https://nasa.tumblr.com/post/18934937…
** International Space Station 20th Anniversary Panel: Benefits for Humanity, Science for All – NASA
For 20 years, astronauts living and working aboard the International Space Station have conducted science in a way that cannot be done anywhere else. Orbiting about 250 miles above our planet, the space station is the only laboratory available for long-duration microgravity research in the world. In recognition of the 20th anniversary of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station, listen as Tara Ruttley, associate chief scientist for gravitational research at NASA Headquarters, sits down with senior science management who are leading the science and research efforts within the International Space Station Program Research Office. Learn more about the importance of doing research in microgravity, how that research has made technological advances and benefited life on Earth for the past two decades, and how the science conducted on the space station today is preparing us for future Artemis missions. Joining the conversation are ISS Chief Scientist Kirt Costello, ISS Deputy Chief Scientist Jennifer Buchli, and ISS Research Integration Office Manager Marybeth Edeen.
** Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov go outside the ISS – Space.com -Video of an EVA outside the ISS by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov
For the first time, [a] Russian spacewalk [was] carried out from the docking compartment of the Poisk module in Orlan-MKS spacesuits No. 4 and 5. For both cosmonauts this [was] the first experience of work outside the International Space Station. Sergey Ryzhikov [wore] commander gear with red stripes (Orlan-MKS No. 5 spacesuit) and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov [wore] the spacesuit with blue stripes (Orlan-MKS No. 4).
During their work, they [checked] the airtightness of the Poisk module exit hatch immediately after direct airlocking, [replaced] the removable panel of the fluid flow regulator on the Zarya functional cargo block, [cleaned] the window of the Zvezda service module, [switched] the Tranzit-B telemetric system antenna from the Pirs module to the Poisk module, [changed] the pressure and sedimentation control unit sensors position installed on the Poisk module. In addition, as part of the ‘Impact’ space experiment, [they dismantled] tablet No. 1 on the assembly compartment of Zvezda service module and [installed] tablet No. 2 in its place. In the future, this study should allow more reliably estimate the contamination levels of outside scientific and service equipment. Previous spacewalks under the Russian program were carried out from the Pirs module, which is currently being prepared for undocking from the ISS. Next year, Nauka, the new Russian multifunctional laboratory module will arrive in its place. Currently, it is being prepared for the launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
3. Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020: Hotel Mars TBA pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details.
4. Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): No program today. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
5. Friday, Nov. 27, 2020; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): No show for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
6. Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): Welcome to Open Lines. We want to hear from you so give us a call. All space, science, tech, STEM, STEAM topics welcome as are all callers.
Some recent shows:
** Sunday, Nov.22.2020 – Rob Ronci and Trent Tresch talked about “for news, updates, and policy discussions regarding the Caelus Foundation“, which advocates “for broad participation in the space domain and to engage and empower people around the world to build a space-centric community through their decisions and actions”.
** Tuesday, Nov.17.2020 – Dallas Bienhoff discussed cislunar development and also “possible ideas for the new administration and NASA, Artemis, Mars, returning to the Moon, space tugs, the Gateway, private sector advances, and much more“.
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):
Opening another portal to receive more shipments and deploy more satellites and experiments is the challenge a private company took up – Nanoracks LLC, headquartered in Webster, Texas. With support from NASA, the company built a new and different kind of doorway into space.
The Nanoracks Bishop Airlock Module will serve as another door to space, helping to move larger payloads inside and outside the station. This will alleviate one bottleneck slowing down the deployment of new small satellites and CubeSats from the space station. Bishop will also significantly increase the amount of research that can be done in low-Earth orbit – research that helps us better understand the space environment but also has implications for Earth imaging, medical research, and biomanufacturing.
** Sunday, Nov.22.2020 – Rob Ronci and Trent Tresch talked about “for news, updates, and policy discussions regarding the Caelus Foundation“, which advocates “for broad participation in the space domain and to engage and empower people around the world to build a space-centric community through their decisions and actions“.
** The Space Show – Tuesday, Nov.17.2020 – Dallas Bienhoff discussed cislunar development and also “possible ideas for the new administration and NASA, Artemis, Mars, returning to the Moon, space tugs, the Gateway, private sector advances, and much more“.
Listen to Colonel Eric Felt talk about what the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) is doing to keep the U.S. competitive edge in space. Building a strong team is important and he believes that is part of the secret sauce that makes the AFRL so successful. Learn about cislunar and XGEO and why these are exciting areas to be studying. Col Felt reflects that the growing interest in cislunar and XGEO comes down to commercial activity, resources and political advantages. He said there are cost and performance advantages coming from proliferated LEO and that every mission in the future that can be done from LEO will be done from LEO. With so many thousands of satellites going up, a high level of automation will be essential for their management; however, there will be limits to this kind of autonomy – especially in a war fighting scenario.
Luxembourg just entered a strategic partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) to create a “European Space Resources Innovation Centre”, or ESRIC. Unique of its kind, ESRIC aims to become an internationally recognised centre of expertise for scientific, technical, business and economic aspects related to the use of space resources for human and robotic exploration, as well as for a future in-space economy.
Based in Luxembourg, ESRIC will partner with public and private international players in this field to create a hub of excellence for space resources in Europe. The creation of ESRIC was part of the Luxembourg government initiative SpaceResources.lu launched in 2016 to establish an ecosystem favourable to the development of activities related to the exploration and use of space resources.
ESRIC’s activities will focus on space resources research and development, drawing together excellence from public research and its facilities, with private sector initiative and efficiency. The centre will also contribute to economic growth by supporting commercial initiatives and start-ups, offering a business incubation component and enabling technology transfer between space and non-space industries.
Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** SpaceX’s CRS-21 Mission to the Space Station: What’s On Board – NASA
The 21st SpaceX cargo resupply mission that will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carries a variety of critical research and technology demonstrations to the International Space Station. The mission will be the first on an upgraded version of the company’s Dragon cargo spacecraft that can carry more science payloads to and from the orbiting laboratory. The craft’s cargo includes critical materials that support research ranging from heart disease to asteroid mining and a new commercial airlock as part of NASA’s goal to achieve a sustainable economy in low-Earth orbit. Learn more here: https://go.nasa.gov/3pzkkt8
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience successfully docked to the International Space Station at 11:01 p.m. EST Monday, transporting NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission lifted off Sunday, Nov. 15, at 7:27 p.m. on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is the first of six certified, crew missions NASA and SpaceX will fly as a part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will conduct science and maintenance during a six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return in spring 2021. It is scheduled to be the longest human space mission launched from the United States. The Crew Dragon spacecraft is capable of staying in orbit for at least 210 days, as a NASA requirement.
** NASA Leaders Share Update Following NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 Arrival at the International Space Station – NASA
Tune in to hear NASA leadership discuss the successful launch and docking of Crew Dragon “Resilience” following the arrival of the Crew-1 astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Soichi Noguchi at the International Space Station. This is the first crew rotation flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket, following certification by NASA for regular flights to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Learn more about the mission by visiting https://www.nasa.gov/crew1
Working outside the International Space Station, Expedition 64 Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos will conduct the eighth spacewalk of the year at the orbital outpost, using the Poisk module on the space-facing side of the Russian segment as an airlock for the first time. Among other tasks to be performed during the excursion, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov will begin the decommissioning of the venerable Pirs Docking Compartment by disconnecting a telemetry cable linking Pirs to the Zvezda Service Module and connecting it to Poisk. Pirs, which was launched in September 2001 and has served as a docking port and a spacewalk airlock for the past two decades, is scheduled to be replaced next year by the new “Nauka” Multi-Purpose Laboratory Module that will be launched on a Russian Proton rocket. The spacewalk will be the first for both Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov and the 232nd spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.
** How Crew Dragon Will Approach & Dock To ISS (Short!) – Scott Manley
I have a much longer video on proximity operations, but since this is highly relevant, here’s a quick explainer of this final approach maneuvers for today’s planned docking of Dragon.
