October 31-November 6, 2005 / Vol 24, No 44
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Electric Rocket Propulsion And Space Biology Focus Of Two Important Conferences

The Electric Rocket Propulsion Society will hold its ‘29th International Electric Propulsion Conference’ on 31 October to 4 November in Princeton NJ. The event is held every other year, and since there will be no IEPC in 2006, this conference will commemorate the centennial of the field, whose formal inception dates back to Goddard’s (M-R) first ideas on electric propulsion in 1906. Hall, ion, MPD, pulsed plasma, field emission and colloid thrusters will be discussed. Also, resistojets / arcjets, micropropulsion, cathode technologies, and electric thruster interactions. The American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology will hold its ‘21st Annual Meeting’ on 1-4 November in Reno NV. The effects of microgravity, hypergravity, and many more topics will be presented, including a paper on growing crops on the Moon and Mars using greenhouses (M-L). NASA is studying ways to reduce the equivalent systems mass for advanced life-support systems ten-fold by 2010. The chief strategy is by significantly lowering the energy necessary for electric lighting of crops. (Credit ERPS, ASGSB, NASA)

Boeing Workhorse Set To Loft Spacecraft To Study Earth’s Atmosphere, Climate

On 7 November, Boeing's Delta 2 (L) will put into a nearly circular, Sun-synchronous orbit (705 km altitude) CloudSat (T-R) and CALIPSO (B-L) from Vandenberg AFB CA. CloudSat is a NASA spacecraft that will measure the vertical structure of clouds and cloud properties from orbit. In fact, CloudSat has the first sat-based millimeter-wavelength cloud radar that is over 1,000 times more sensitive than existing weather radars. CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) is a joint mission with France that will study the effects of clouds and aerosols on changes in the Earth's climate. Scientists hope the data from CALIPSO will help them better predict the ultimate fate of aerosols, so they can devise more effective strategies for limiting pollution. Both spacecraft will join three sats already in orbit (Aqua, PARASO, and Aura) to form a constellation of sats known as the A-Train. A CloudSat Educator Launch Conference for K-12 educators takes place that day. Teachers are invited to watch the launch and learn about the spacecraft's instruments. (Credit: Boeing, NASA)
THIS WEEK
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
LEGEND
All times for terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
All times for international terrestrial events in local time unless noted.
All times for space events, and...
All times for international space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT ('Universal Time;' Greenwich, England).
Monday
Oct 31 — ISS E12, LEO: Expedition 12 crew prepares for 27 October space walk dry run; EVA on 7 November to install external video camera assembly on P1 (port) truss; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station.
Oct 31 — Cassini OTM #41, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #41 today; http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm.
Oct 31-Nov 1 — Chandra X-Ray Center, Cambridge MA: 'Chandra Callibration Workshop;' includes 'Incorporating Calibration Uncertainties into Data Analysis;' http://cxc.harvard.edu/ccw.
Oct 31-Nov 4 — Electric Rocket Propulsion Society, et al, Princeton NJ: '29th International Electric Propulsion Conference;' latest developments and research results in the field; commemorates the centennial of the field, whose formal inception dates back to Goddard's first ideas on electric propulsion in 1906; http://www.iepc2005.org.
Oct 31 — Moon: Moves 2.6° SSW of Jupiter; 23:00.
Tuesday
Nov 1 — NASA, Washington DC: 'Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Industry Day;' overview of upcoming acquisition activities related to the implementation of the Vision for Space Exploration; schedule and implementation plans for the Constellation Program and its constituent projects; http://www.exploration.nasa.gov/events.
Nov 1-3 — ITE Group, Moscow, Russia: 'Broadband Russia and CIS 2004 Conference;' http://www.broadband-conference.com.
Nov 1-4 — American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology, Reno NV: '21st Annual Meeting;' covers crops on the Moon and Mars, effects of microgravity, hypergravity, and much more; http://asgsb.org/annual_meeting.html.
Nov 1 — US Senate Commerce Committee, Washington DC: Full committee to consider nomination of Shana Dale to be Deputy Administrator of NASA; http://commerce.senate.gov.
Nov 1-4 — Creative Telecommunication, Inc., Houston TX: 'Offshore Communications 2005;' http://www.offshorecoms.com.
Nov 1-5 — Sejong University Convention Center, Seoul, Korea: '7th Pacific Rim Conference: Stellar Astrophysics;' covers stellar structure: interior, atmosphere and evolution; http://arcsec.sejong.ac.kr/~web/pacific-rim.
Nov 1 — Moon: New Moon; 15:23 HST.
Nov 1 — Asteroid 9134 Encke: Closest Approach to Earth (1.887 AU).
Wednesday
Nov 2 — NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: 'Five Years in Space: Satellite Interviews With Expedition 11;' Krikalev and Phillips, an Arizona native, will discuss their experiences during their six-month stay aboard the station; http://www.nasa.gov/tv; 06:30 CST.
Nov 2 — Naval Research Lab, Washington DC: ' Industry Briefing: Spacecraft for the Universal Modification of Orbits;' offers the potential for spacecraft salvage, repair, rescue, reposition, and debris removal; http://www.spaceref.com/calendar/calendar.html?pid=3725.
Nov 2-3 — NASA, Morovia CA: 'Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group Meeting;' purpose to communicate status of Mars program, review recent scientific results from current missions, discuss analysis of updated Mars exploration plan through 2020; http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html.
Nov 2-4 — Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge MA: 'Six Years of Science with Chandra;' science results from the past six years of operation of the Chandra X-ray Observatory with emphasis on recent results;  contributions covering recent results from the XMM-Newton Observatory will also be presented;' http://cxc.harvard.edu/ccw.
Nov 2-4 — TransGlobalNet, Inc., Beijing, China: 'China Satellite 2005;' call 650-428-1872 / 650-504-2978, and homepage listed as http://www.transglobalnet.com.
Nov 2 — Asteroid 1999 VF22: Near-Earth Flyby (0.073 AU).
Thursday
Nov 3 — US House Science Committee, Washington DC: 'Status of NASA's Programs;' NASA Administrator Mike Griffin to attend; http://www.house.gov/science; 10:00 EST.
Nov 3 — Adler Planetarium, Chicago IL: 'TimeSpace;' transports audiences across the Universe over 14 billion years to see and experience the Big Bang, the doom of the dinosaurs, the sudden appearance of Halley's Comet, Apollo 11's Moon landing, and a leap into the future to 3001; www.adlerplanetarium.org; 10:00 CDT.
Nov 3 — Digital Avionics Systems Conference, Washington DC: 'Avionics in a Changing Marketplace: Safe and Secure?;' http://www.dasconline.org; ends today (began 30 Oct).
Friday
Nov 4 — Sea Launch #18 / Zenit 3SL / Inmarsat-4F2, Pacific Ocean (154°W, 0°N): Astrium's mobile communications satellite to provide broadband services to South America, most of North America, the Atlantic Ocean and part of the Pacific Ocean ; 04:53 HST.
Nov 4-5 — East Tennessee State University, Johnson City TN: 'Probing the Distant Universe with Gravitational Waves;' theme of workshop is interface between gravitational wave astronomy and cosmology, with focus on opportunities from LISA mission; http://www.astro.gla.ac.uk/users/martin/basler/workshop/gw_workshop.html.
Saturday
Nov 5-6 — Zero Gravity Corporation, KSC FL: Teachers to experience weightlessness of space in series of four flights using the Shuttle Landing Facility; http://www.nogravity.com.
Nov 5 — Friends of the Sky, Amigos del Cielo AZ: '1st International Star Party;' world class event featuring some of the darkest skies in the USA; http://www.arizonaskyparty.com; ends today (began 29 Oct).
Nov 5 — Moon: Moves 1.4° S of Venus; 09:00.
Sunday
Nov 6-9 — Launch Soyuz FG / Venus Express, Baikonur: ESA 82.4 million euros (US$99M) mission set to launch in this window; will be Europe's first mission to explore Earth's sister planet; time TBD.
Nov 6-10 — NASA, East TX: The space agency will show its appreciation to the people of East Texas who helped with the Space Shuttle Columbia recovery effort through a series of events in the communities that hosted recovery teams; http://www.nasa.gov; 14:00 CST.
Nov 6 — Cernan Earth and Space Center, River Grove IL: 'Earth and Sky Show;' public planetarium on the campus of Triton College conducts regular shows of astronomical interest; http://www.triton.edu; 15:00 CDT.

Space Calendar Published weekly, Mondays. ISSN 0741-1731. All Rights Reserved. Copyright October 31, 2005, Space Age Publishing Company, 65-1230 Mamalahoa Highway - Suite D-20, Kamuela, Hawaii 96743 USA. Subscription Rates: $59 / Year Individual ($99 / 2 Years, $139 / 3 Years); $99 / Year Institution ($179 / 2 Years, $259 / 3 Years). Add $60 / Year Overseas, not including China and Mexico - please remit in US$ International Money Order. $3 for sample preview copies. Editor & Publisher / Steve Durst. Assistant Editors / Michael R. Cerney, Chris Thomason, Jason Ventura. Special Consultants: Hawaii Aloha / Leilehua Yuen. Lunar Enterprise / Greg Nemitz. Asia News: Chen Kan Arth. USA Contributors: Houston / Bill Best. Huntsville / Bill Carswell. Southern California / Gloria McMillan. International Contributors: Europe-Russia / Theo Pirard. Canada / Robert Richards. India-South Asia / Radhakrishna Rao. Australia / Kirby Ikin.

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DOWNRANGE-TOWARD 2010
2005
2005 — Launch Delta 2 / CloudSat / CALIPSO, Vandenberg AFB CA: CloudSat will use radar to measure the vertical structure of clouds and cloud properties from orbit; Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations will study the effects of clouds and aerosols on changes in the Earth's climate; time TBD.
2005 — Space Endeavour Center, Vandenberg AFB CA: 'CALIPSO / CloudSat Educator Launch Conference;' K-12 educators invited to watch launch and attend conference; unique opportunity to learn about Satellite Earth Science and spacecraft's instruments; http://www.endeavours.org/sec/index.htm.
2005 — Launch Rockot / Monitor-E, Plesetsk, Russia: Environmental research satellite flies into Earth orbit; time TBD.
2005 — NSAU / NASA, Washington DC: National Space Agency of Ukraine to sign agreement this year with US space agency to use Zenit, Dnepr and Cyclone rockets to launch US satellites into lunar orbits.
2005 — China-France Committee on Space, Toulouse, France: Next meeting of group to take place 2H 2005.
2005 — Launch Boeing Delta 4 Medium+ / NRO-L22, Vandenberg AFB CA: Classified spy satellite cargo for the US National Reconnaissance Office flies today; time TBD.
Fall — International Space Station Meeting, Moscow, Russia: Space agency leaders from the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada meet to review the status of the ISS program.
Nov 7-11 — International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland: '1st ISSI Team Meeting: The Pioneer Explorer Collaboration - Investigation of the Pioneer Anomaly at ISSI;' http://www.issi.unibe.ch.
Nov 8-9 — South African Astronomical Observatory, et al, Cape Town, SA : 'African Astronomical History;' includes talk on astronomy and culture in Nigeria; http://www.saao.ac.za/assa/aahs.
Nov 8-10 — American Astronomical Society / IEEE / AIAA, Colorado Springs CO: '8th Core Technologies for Space Systems Conference;' space science, debris, robotics, Mars science, propulsion, imaging, planetary defense, lunar exploration; http://www.spacecoretech.org.
Nov 8-10 — European Space Agency, Darmstadt, Germany: 'ESA / ESOC Ground Operation Software System Workshop;' topics include standards and interoperability, architectural methods and frameworks, automation and integrated services; http://www.congrex.nl/05c18.
Nov 8-11 — International Institute for Asian Studies / et al, Hanoi, Vietnam: '2nd Asian Space Conference;' http://www.iias.nl/iias/show/id=48033.
Nov 9 — Launch Ariane 5 ECA Flight 168 / Spaceway-2 / Telkom-2, Kourou, French Guiana: Boeing-built Spaceway-2's Ka-band payload will expand DIRECTV's service and provide broadband services across the USA; OSC-built Telkom-2 has 24 C-band transponders to transmit telecoms to Indonesia; time TBD.
Nov 9-10 — Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, UK: 'Panoramic near-Infrared Astronomy;' includes talk on 'Large Area Near Infrared Detectors for Astronomy;' http://www.roe.ac.uk/roe/workshop/2005.
Nov 10-13 — Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, Urbana-Champaign IL: 'SEDS-USA National Conference: SpaceVision2005;' guest speakers include Peter Diamandis, Elon Musk, James Garvin, George Whitesides, and Robert Farquhar; http://www.space2005.org/index.php.
Nov 10 — British Interplanetary Society, London, England: 'Space Tourism: The Key to Low Cost Space Travel?;' one-day symposium to hear from Will Whitehorn (president of Virgin Galactic), Patrick Collins (Space Future Consulting), and possibly Chris Faranetta (Space Adventures); http://www.bis-spaceflight.com/societyC.htm.
Nov 10 — NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston TX: 'Holiday Space Recipes;' NASA culinary experts to discuss key steps for holiday meals in space: irradiate, rehydrate and thermostabilize; meals for Moon missions may not differ much from ISS fare, but menus for Mars may be very different; http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv.
Nov 10 — Washington Space Business Roundtable, Washington DC: 'The Way Ahead for Space;' luncheon speech features Congressman Terry Everett (R-AL) discussing America's dependency upon satellite technology for national defense, and on its underpinning of the economy; http://www.wsbr.org.
Nov 11 — Adler Planetarium, Chicago IL: ‘TimeSpace;' transports audiences across the Universe over 14 billion years to see and experience the Big Bang, the doom of the dinosaurs, the sudden appearance of Halley's Comet, Apollo 11's Moon landing, and a leap into the future to 3001; www.adlerplanetarium.org; 10:00 CDT.
Nov 12 — Planetary Society, Santa Anita Park CA: '25th Anniversary Gala Awards Dinner;' society to honor Ray Bradbury with 'The Thomas O. Paine Award for the Advancement of Human Exploration of Mars' and James Cameron with 'The Planetary Society's Inaugural Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science;' http://planetary.org.
Nov 12-16 — Japan-US Science, Technology and Space Applications Program, Oahu HI: 'Hawaii: Forging US-Japan Collaboration in Space Exploration;' http://www.justsap.us.
Nov 13 — Cassini OTM #42, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #42 today; http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm.
Nov 13 — Discovery Channel, Nationwide USA: 'How William Shatner Changed the World;' two-hour special reveals how scientists are surpassing the far-out vision of the future foreshadowed in Star Trek series; presented in High Definition broadcasting; 20:00 EST / 21:00 PST.
Nov 14 — Launch Ariane / Insat-4A, Kourou, Fr Guiana: The three-ton INSAT-4A will have 12 Ku-band transponders for direct-to-home satellite-link telecast applications and 12 C-band communication transponders; time TBD.
Nov 14-18 — International Astronomical Union, Cape Town, South Africa: IAU Symposium 232: 'The Scientific Requirements for Extremely Large Telescopes;' http://www.iau.org/IAU/News/deadlines.html.
Nov 15 — Aerospace Industries Association / et al, Great Meadows, The Plains VA: ‘2006 Team America Rocketry Challenge;' first 750 teams to submit an application postmarked on or before today will be allowed to compete in the event set for 20 May next year; qualified teams must launch a rocket 800 feet (243.84 meters) in the air and keep it aloft for 45 seconds; rockets will carry a raw-egg payload that must return unbroken; winners share US$60K in cash and savings bonds; http://www.rocketcontest.org.
Nov 15-16 — American Astronautical Society, Houston TX: 'AAS National Conference and 52nd Annual Meeting: Building Bridges to Exploration -- The Role of ISS;' http://www.astronautical.org.
Nov 15-17 — Space Foundation, Cape Canaveral FL: 'Florida Space 2005 '; will feature elements of Cape Canaveral Spaceport Symposium and provide means to improve partnerships with and between NASA, 45th Space Wing and Florida Space Authority; http://www.floridaspace.org/information/index.cfm.
Nov 16-18 — International Telecommunication Union, Tunis, Tunisia: 'World Summit on the Information Society;' http://www.itu.int/wsis.
Nov 17 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA: 'From Darkness to Light: The Exploration of the Planet Pluto;' presented by Bonnie Buratti; http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/nov05.cfm.
Nov 17-20 — Space Age Publishing Company / Lunar Enterprise Corporation, Hawaii Island: 'Intl Lunar Observatory Advisory Committee Workshop;' http://www.spaceagepub.com/ilo/ilo.home.html.
Nov 18 — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena City College, Pasadena CA: 'From Darkness to Light: The Exploration of the Planet Pluto;' presented by Bonnie Buratti; http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/nov05.cfm.
Nov 20 — Zero Gravity Corporation, Titusville FL: Company has flight scheduled for today that creates short periods of lunar gravity, Mars gravity and zero gravity during a series of bell-curve-shaped ascents and descents; costs US$3,750; http://www.nogravity.com.
Nov 30 — California Space Authority, Los Angeles CA: 'CSA Membership Meeting;' highlights members' successes and CSA accomplishments; http://www.californiaspaceauthority.org.
Nov 30-Dec 2 — International Space University, Strasbourg, France Central Campus: 10th Annual International Symposium 'Space Exploration: Who, What, When, Where, Why?;' to help move forward from problems to innovative solutions; http://www.isunet.edu/EN/191.
Dec — Launch Dnepr / TrailBlazer, Baikonur: First private mission to Moon takes place this month.
Dec — Launch Proton M / KazSat / Express AM-3, Baikonur: Kazakstan to launch its first satellite this month to GEO; spacecraft will service Kazakstan, Central Asia, and part of Russia.
Dec — Launch SpaceX Falcon 1 / FalconSat-1, Kwajalein Atoll: SpaceX maiden launch; two-stage, liquid-fueled rocket to carry US Air Force Academy’s space plasma research satellite into low Earth orbit; time TBD.
Dec 1-2 — California Space Authority, Los Angeles CA: 'Transforming Space: California Innovation, Infrastructure and Intellectual Capital' conference and spotbeam awards dinner; http://www.californiaspaceauthority.org/html/spotbeam_conf_2005/.
Dec 2-5 — Cebet Broadcast, Instanbul, Turkey: 'International Trade Fair for Satellite Communication, Broadcasting and TV Content;' http://www.cebit-bcs.com.
Dec 5-9 — American Geophysical Union, San Francisco CA: 'American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting;' may feature more papers on various lunar topics; http://www.agu.org/meetings.
Dec 15 — Launch Boeing Delta 2 / GPS2RM-5, CCAS FL: Fifth modernized NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Block 2R military navigation satellite flies today; launch will be run by USAF; time TBD.
Dec 21 — Launch Progress 20 (M55), Baikonur, Kazakhstan: 20th Progress cargo ship to ISS; http://msdb.honeywell-tsi.com/missioninfo.asp?Mission=ISS-20P.
Dec 31— Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown OH: 'Alan Bean: An Artist on the Moon ;' show theme is 'American Spirit: No Dream is Impossible;' http://www.butlerart.com; ends today.
  2006
2006 — Launch H 2A / SELENE, Tanegashima, Japan: ISAS-NASDA joint mission to Moon will study origin, evolution, tectonics, magnetic field.
2006 — NASA CEV, Washington DC: Phase 2 of CEV development to begin with NASA selection of prime contractor between Lockheed and Boeing teams. Originally scheduled for 2008; http://www.nasa.gov/lb/home/hqnews/2005/jun/HQ_05146_contractor.html.
2006 — Launch Long March / Multi-Purpose Small Satellite, ?: Spacecraft developed by China, Pakistan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Mongolia, South Korea, and Iran will be launched this year; will carry out scientific experiments and environmental observations for countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
2006 — Launch STS-116 & 117, KSC FL: Two missions to ISS planned for this year to continue assembly of the orbiting laboratory; time TBD.
2006 — Launch Atlas 5 / Classified, KSC FL: Natl Reconnaissance Office classified payload under ILS, Air Force’s EELV program; time TBD.
2006 — Space Technology & Applications International Forum, ?: 'STAIF-2006;' major international technical forum hosts six concurrent conferences organized by the University of New Mexico's Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies; http://www.unm.edu/~isnps/staif/main.html.
Jan 2 — Cassini OTM #48, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #48 today; http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm.
Jan 5 — Stardust TCM #18, Earth Return Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Trajectory Correction Maneuver #18 today; http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm.
Jan — NASA KSC New Horizons, Cape Canaveral FL: Proposed launch date for NASA JHU/APL New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto; http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/2005/050613.htm.
Jan 7-8 — NIRMA University / NIOH, ?: '93rd India Science Conference.'
Jan 8-12 — American Astronomical Society, Washington DC: ‘AAS 206th Meeting;' http://www.aas.org.
Jan 9 — Launch Atlas 5 / New Horizons Pluto Probe, KSC FL: Launch of NASA $600M Pluto and Kuiper Belt Flyby Mission; time TBD.
Jan 9-12 — AIAA, Reno NV: ‘44th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit’; http://www.aiaa.org.
Jan 9-12 — University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland: ‘27th Nordic Geological Winter Meeting;' topics include planetary geology, impact craters and impactites, and Mars Express; http://wintermeeting.oulu.fi.
Jan 9-12 — American Geophysical Union, Savannah, Georgia: ‘Chapman Conference on Jets and Annular Structures in Geophysical Fluids;' predictive theories of annular modes and the behaviors of jets in Earth's atmosphere, in the oceans, and in planetary atmospheres; http://www.agu.org/meetings/cc06acall.html.
Jan 12 — Cassini OTM #49, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Orbital Trim Maneuver #49 today; http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm.
Jan 13 — Stardust TCM #19, Earth Return Orbit: Spacecraft conducts Trajectory Correction Maneuver #19 today; http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm.
Jan 13 — The Planetary Society, Pasadena CA: 'Venus Express Art Contest: Postcards from Venus;' deadline for entries today at 11:59 PST; artwork can be in any 2D medium and should be about the planet itself; each finished piece should be the size and shape of a postcard; winner will receive trip to Darmstadt, Germany in April 2006 to visit ESOC during the spacecraft's arrival at Venus; http://planetary.org.
Jan 13-14 — National Radio Astronmy Observatory, Charlottsville VA: 'Conference: From Z-Machines to ALMA: (Sub)millimeter Spectroscopy of Galaxies;' http://www.cv.nrao.edu/naasc/zmachines.
Jan 15 — Landing Stardust, Utah Desert: Stardust spacecraft lands with collection of Wild 2’s coma dust for analyzation; time TBD.
Jan 15-18 — Pacific Telecommunications Council, Honolulu HI: 'PTS'06;' http://www.ptc.org/events/ptc06.html.
Jan 26 — Southern California Aeronautic Association, Los Angeles CA: SpaceShipOne developer Burt Rutan to receive 2005 Howard Hughes Memorial Award at the banquet; http://home.businesswire.com.
Jan 27 — 39th Apollo 1 Observation, Nationwide USA: Spacecraft fire took place 27 January 1967 killing Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee; Apollo Command Module crew were conducting a preflight test for the Earth-orbiting mission at Cape Canaveral FL.
Jan 28 — 20th Challenger 51-L Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle accident took place 28 January 1986 killing seven crew members including Commander Francis R. "Dick" Scobee, its pilot, Michael J. Smith, and its crew, Christa McAuliffe (the first 'Teacher in Space'), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
Feb 1 — Third Columbia STS-107 Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle explosion took place 1 February 2003 on its return to Earth killing David M. Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael P. Anderson, William McCool, and Ilan Ramon.
Feb 4-8 — American Astronautical Society, Breckenridge CO: '29th Annual AAS Guidance & Control Conference;' includes 'Techniques for Deployables and Large Structures,' 'GPS and Satellite Navigation,' and 'Space Exploration Initiatives;' http://www.aas-rocky-mountain-section.org.
Feb 20-24 — Terrapinn, Johannesburg, South Africa: 'Satcom Africa 2006;' http://www.satcomafrica.com.
Feb 25-Mar 12 — Moon Society / Mars Society, Southern Utah: Moon Society volunteers become part of 6-person crew that will conduct research at the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station; knowledge gained to be of great help to building and operating its own research station; http://www.moonsociety.org/projects/rent-mdrs.
Mar — Launch Dnepr / BelKA, Baikonur: First Belarusian sat to fly today; has maximum resolution of two meters and is designed for cartographic, metrological and agricultural surveys from an altitude fo 550 km; time TBD.
Mar 5-8 — Aerospace Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers, League City TX: ‘Earth and Space 2006 Conference - "Engineering, Construction and Operations in Challenging Environments’; discussions include challenging environments the Moon and Mars; http://www.asce.org/conferences/space06.
Mar 6-10 — Scientific Committee on Solar Terrestrial Physics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: ‘11th Quadrennial Solar Terrestrial Physics Symposium: Sun, Space Physics, and Climate;’ http://www.abc.org.br/scostep2006.
Mar 20-24— American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Washington DC: ‘4th Annual US Missile Defense Conference;’ http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=230&lumeetingid=1183&viewcon=submit.
Mar 22 — Launch Soyuz / Marcos Pontes, Baikonur: Brazil's first astronaut to fly to ISS today; time TBD.
Apr 2-7— European Geosciences Union , Vienna, Austria: 'EGU 2006 General Assembly;' http://meetings.copernicus.org.
Apr 9 — Aerospace Industries Association / et al, Great Meadows, The Plains VA: ‘2006 Team America Rocketry Challenge;' teams have until today to qualify for final round of competition on 20 May; http://www.rocketcontest.org.
Apr 24-25 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics / Space Foundation, Washington DC: 'Inside Aerospace;' topics cover the future of commercial flight, European aeronautics research, policies, ITAR, space security, partnerships and cooperation, and entrepreneurial space activities, AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala to be held in coordination with this event on 25 Apr; http://www.spacefoundation.org.
Apr 24-27 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, et al, Los Angeles CA: 'Responsive Space Conference 2006: Pulling It Together;' attendees will consider how the progress on multiple fronts can be put together to create truly responsive low-cost missions; http://www.responsivespace.com.
Apr 24-28 — International Space University, Strasbourg, France: 'Introductory Space Course;' overview of space and space-related subjects for professionals of diverse backgrounds; http:www.isunet.edu/EN/204.
Apr 29 — Space Tourism Society, Pasadena CA: '2nd Space Tourism Pioneer Award Show;' takes place on the fifth anniversary of Dennis Tito's historic space tourism experience; full day 'Space Venturing' symposium will lead up to the award show; http://www.spacetourismsociety.org.
May 1-4 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Newport RI: '47th AIAA / ASME / ASCE / AHS / ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference;' http://www.aiaa.org.
May 1-4 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Newport RI: '7th Annual Gossamer Spacecraft Forum;' Provides an opportunuty to discuss recent research findings and newly proposed concepts emerging from Gossamer spacecraft technology; http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=230&lumeetingid=1172.
May 3 — Launch STS-121 / Discovery / ISS ULF1.1, KSC FL: Mission to complete testing of new inspection and thermal protection system repair techniques before resuming station construction; time TBD.
May 8-10 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge MA : ‘12th AIAA / CEAS Aeroacoustics Conference;' www.aiaa.org/events/aero.
May 18-21 — National Space Society / Planetary Society, Los Angeles CA: ‘International Space Development Conference 2006;' http://www.nss.org.
May 20 — Aerospace Industries Association / et al, Great Meadows, The Plains VA: ‘2006 Team America Rocketry Challenge;' final round of competition in which teams must launch a rocket 800 feet (243.84 meters) in the air and keep it aloft for 45 seconds; rockets will carry a raw-egg payload that must return unbroken; winners share US$60K in cash and savings bonds; http://www.rocketcontest.org.
Jun — Launch Delta 2 / Dawn, KSC FL: NASA Discovery mission spacecraft will reach Vesta (530 km) across in 2010 and Ceres (957 km across) in 2014; their surfaces are believed to contain a snapshot of the conditions present in the solar system's first 10 million years, allowing Dawn to investigate both the origin of the solar system and its present state; http://discovery.nasa.gov/dawn.html.
Jun 4-8 — American Astronomical Society, Calgary, Alberta: ‘AAS 208th Meeting’; http://www.aas.org.
Jun 19-23 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics / Agenzia Spaziale Italiana , Rome, Italy: 'Spaceops 2006: Earth, Moon, Mars, and Beyond;' topics include solar system exploration, planetary surface exploration, human and robotic missions, in-situ resource utilization; http://www.spaceops2006.org.
Jun 25-30 — CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), Geneva, Switzerland: 'International Symposium on Nuclear Astrophysics - Nuclei in the Cosmos # 9;' http://indico.cern.ch/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=059.
Jul — Space Frontier Foundation, Las Vegas NV?: ‘Return to the Moon 7;’ Annual event focuses on latest developments on the human settlement of Earth's nearest neighbor; more info at http://www.space-frontier.org.
Jul — Intl Lunar Exploration Working Group 8 / ILC 8, Beijing, China: ‘International Lunar Conference 8;’ topics on lunar enterprise; http://www.estec.esa.nl/ilewg.
Jul 1-Sep 3 — International Space University, Strasbourg, France: 'Summer Session Program 2006;' topics include: 'A Big Revolution on a Tiny Scale - Nanotechnolgy' and 'Artificial Environments & Artificial Life from Space for Earth;' a third topic also will be offered; http://www.isunet.edu/EN/211.
Jul 16-23 — Committee On Space Research, Beijing: ‘36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly’; conference to assortment of space topics; http://www.copernicus.org/COSPAR/COSPAR.html.
Jul 16-18? — Moonfest, Global: ‘World Moon Festival;’ organization studies Moon in world culture, generates new art about Moon, and works to build interest in space exploration; http://www.moonfest.net.
Jul 20 — Evoloterra, Los Angeles CA: ‘Celebration: Story of When We First Left Earth;’ tells of the species that not only dreams, but has the ability to make those dreams a reality; honors those who advanced humanity's body of knowledge and recognizes profound significance of methods of science; http://www.evoloterra.com.
Aug — ESA SMART-1, Lunar Polar Orbit: Extended mission end date. Originally August 2005; http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=36528.
Aug 14-25 — International Astronomical Union, Prague, Czech Republic: ‘26th General Assembly’; conference to address variety of topics; http://www.astronomy2006.com.
Oct — MESSENGER, Mercury Trajectory: Spacecraft flies past Venus this month and in June 2007; uses the tug of Venus' gravity to resize and rotate its trajectory closer to Mercury's orbit; http://messenger.jhuapl.edu.
Oct — IAF, Valencia, Spain: ‘IAC 2006 - 57th International Astronautical Congress’; http://www.iafastro.com.
Late 2006 — Launch MV / Lunar-A, Kagoshima, Japan: JAXA lunar penetrator mission to deploy two penetrators - one on near side, one on far side.
  2007
1Q 2007 — Launch Long March 3A / Chang’e-1, Xichang: China Moon Mission to conduct mapping of lunar surface & resources as precursor to robotic, then human presence.
2007— Launch Long March / Shenzhou 7, Xichang: China to launch its third human space flight that will see its crew conduct country's first space walk.
2007 — Launch Soyuz M2 / ?, Kourou, Fr Guiana: 1st blast-off of Russia carrier rocket for Samara-based TsSKB-Progress Space Center; time TBD.
2007 — Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, ?: Normal operations set to begin sometime this year, according to China National Space Administration (CNSA) Vice Administrator Luo Ge.
2007 — Launch GSLV / InSat-4C, Sriharikota?: First launch of India Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle, powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine, to take place this year; time TBD.
2007 — Launch Ariane 5 / ConeXpress ORS, Kourou, Fr Guiana: Space tug designed by Dutch Space for Orbital Recovery set for maiden launch this year; 703-560-6330.
2007 — Launch Proton / FGB-2, Baikonur: Multi-purpose laboratory module set to take off this year; will dock with ISS; first Kazakstan cosmonaut could fly to station to work in module; time TBD.
2007 — Space Technology & Applications International Forum, ?: 'STAIF-2007;' major international technical forum hosts six concurrent conferences organized by the University of New Mexico's Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies; http://www.unm.edu/~isnps/staif/main.html.
Jan 6-7 — NIRMA University / NIOH, ?: '94th India Science Conference.'
Jan 7-11 — American Astronomical Society, Seattle WA: ‘AAS 209th Meeting’; joint with AAPT; http://www.aas.org.
Jan 8-11 — AIAA, Reno NV: ‘45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit’; http://www.aiaa.org.
Jan 27 — 40th Apollo 1 Observation, Nationwide USA: Spacecraft fire took place 27 January 1967 killing Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee; Apollo Command Module crew were conducting a preflight test for the Earth-orbiting mission at Cape Canaveral FL.
Jan 28 — 21st Challenger 51-L Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle accident took place 28 January 1986 killing seven crew members including Commander Francis R. "Dick" Scobee, its pilot, Michael J. Smith, and its crew, Christa McAuliffe (the first 'Teacher in Space'), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
Feb 1 — Fourth Columbia STS-107 Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle explosion took place 1 February 2003 on its return to Earth killing David M. Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael P. Anderson, William McCool, and Ilan Ramon.
May / June — American Astronomical Society, Hawaii: ‘AAS 210th Meeting’; http://www.aas.org.
Jun — MESSENGER, Mercury Trajectory: Spacecraft flies past Venus this month; uses the tug of Venus' gravity to resize and rotate its trajectory closer to Mercury's orbit; http://messenger.jhuapl.edu.
Jul — Launch ? / International Lunar Observatory, ?: Astrophysical landing mission; dish may conduct following: communications with Earth and lunar orbiters, SETI, studies of galactic center and deposit land claims; info http://www.spaceagepub.com; time TBD.
Aug — Launch Mars Phoenix Lander, ?: Low-cost Mars Scout mission heads for high northern latitude locale; robot to characterize landing zone's ice, soil and rock.
Sep — Launch PSLV / Chandrayaan-1, ?: First India Moon Mission to conduct two-year, three-dimentional mapping; will carry a 25-kg impactor that will descend on Moon in hard landing mode; will be released from craft's final circular polar orbit at 100-kg altitude; effect of device's impact will be used to analyze Moon dust's chemical composition; will take spacecraft 6 days to reach Moon; time TBD.
Oct — Launch KSLV 1 / ?, Korea Space Center: First launch of South Korea light carrier rocket takes place this month; developments from the Russia Angara rocket have been used for the first stage of rocket; time TBD.
Oct — National Space Agency, Malaysia: Agreement has been reached by RKA Director Anatoly Perminov and NSA Director Mazlan Otman to send Malaysia's first astronaut to the ISS as early as this month.
Oct — International Astronautical Federation, New Delhi, India: ‘IAC 2007 - 58th International Astronautical Congress’; http://www.iafastro.com.
  2008
2008 — Launch Angara / ?, Baiterek: 1st take off of Russia carrier rocket from new Russia-Kazak environmentally-friendly complex takes place this year; time TBD.
2008 — Crew Exploration Vehicle, ?: First unpiloted tests of CEV to take place this year; may be ‘fly-off’ between two competing vehicles; time TBD.
2008 — Launch Japan H 2 Transfer Vehicle, ?: 1st flight of spacecraft that could eventually serve as ISS support vehicle; time TBD.
2008 — Space Technology & Applications International Forum, ?: 'STAIF-2008;' major international technical forum hosts six concurrent conferences organized by the University of New Mexico's Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies; http://www.unm.edu/~isnps/staif/main.html.
Jan 5-6 — NIRMA University / NIOH, ?: '95th India Science Conference.'
Jan 7-10 — American Institute Of Aeronautics And Astronautics, Reno NV: ‘44th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit’; http://www.aiaa.org.
Jan 27 — 41st Apollo 1 Observation, Nationwide USA: Spacecraft fire took place 27 January 1967 killing Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee; Apollo Command Module crew were conducting a preflight test for the Earth-orbiting mission at Cape Canaveral FL.
Jan 28 — 22nd Challenger 51-L Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle accident took place 28 January 1986 killing seven crew members including Commander Francis R. "Dick" Scobee, its pilot, Michael J. Smith, and its crew, Christa McAuliffe (the first 'Teacher in Space'), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
Feb 1 — Fifth Columbia STS-107 Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle explosion took place 1 February 2003 on its return to Earth killing David M. Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael P. Anderson, William McCool, and Ilan Ramon.
Oct 15 — Launch NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, KSC FL: Precursor to USA / human return to Moon; Goddard SFC managing mission; time TBD.
  2009
2009 — Launch NASA Lunar Lander, KSC FL?: Next step in USA / human return to the Moon; Goddard SFC managing mission; time TBD.
2009 — Space Technology & Applications International Forum, ?: 'STAIF-2009;' major international technical forum hosts six concurrent conferences organized by the University of New Mexico's Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies; http://www.unm.edu/~isnps/staif/main.html.
2009 — International Astronomical Union, ?: ‘27th General Assembly’; conference to address variety of topics; possible website: http://www.astronomy2009.com.
Jan 27 — 42nd Apollo 1 Observation, Nationwide USA: Spacecraft fire took place 27 January 1967 killing Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee; Apollo Command Module crew were conducting a preflight test for the Earth-orbiting mission at Cape Canaveral FL.
Jan 28 — 23rd Challenger 51-L Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle accident took place 28 January 1986 killing seven crew members including Commander Francis R. "Dick" Scobee, its pilot, Michael J. Smith, and its crew, Christa McAuliffe (the first 'Teacher in Space'), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
Feb — Space Age Publishing Company / ILEWG, Hawaii Island: ‘International Lunar Conference 2009 - From Hawaii to the Moon;’ 808-326-2014.
Feb 1 — Sixth Columbia STS-107 Observation, Nationwide USA: Shuttle explosion took place 1 February 2003 on its return to Earth killing David M. Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael P. Anderson, William McCool, and Ilan Ramon.
Aug 2-15 — International Astronomical Union, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 17th IAU General Assembly; http://www.iau.org/IAU/News/deadlines.html.
Dec 31 — Launch ? / Mars Science Laboratory, ?: Robot will study potential habitat for life and help verify if human explorers could exist there; time TBD.
  2010
2010 — Launch ? / Lunar Lander, ?: NASA lunar lander to demonstrate ability for precision landings at targeted locations on Moon, evaluate landing zone environment, and determine if lunar resources can support a sustained human presence; primary objective is to determine if there is water-ice in the permanently dark areas within craters in the Moon's ploar regions; time TBD.
2010 — Launch ? / Moonrise, ?: NASA sends two stationary robots to land at South Pole Aitken Basin and collect Moon rock samples; time TBD.
2010 — Bigelow Aerospace, ?: Company plans to launch an orbital resort, tentatively called the CSS (Commercial Space Station) Skywalker sometime this year; http://www.bigelowaerospace.com.
2010 — Space Technology & Applications International Forum, ?: 'STAIF-2010;' major international technical forum hosts six concurrent conferences organized by the University of New Mexico's Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies; http://www.unm.edu/~isnps/staif/main.html.
Jan 10 — America's Space Prize, Las Vegas NV: US$50M award goes to first person to build spacecraft capable of taking at least five people to altitude of 400 km, complete two Earth obits, and then do it again within 60 days; no more than 20 percent of hardware can be expendable; also, must be able to dock with Bigelow Aerospace’s inflatable space habitat and stay docked in orbit for up to six months; http://www.bigelowaerospace.com.
  2011
  2012
2012 — Launch Long March 3A / Chang’e-2, ?, China: China robotic Moon Mission to explore lunar surface as precursor to human missions; time TBD.
2012 — Launch Russia Kliper, Baikonur, Kazakhstan?: Multiple entry spacecraft intended to cut launch costs makes maiden voyage today; two cosmonauts will fly: one responsible for orbiting maneuvers and the other for landing; Kliper can carry scientists and space tourists; can land at Baikonur, Kourou, or other sites; intended eventually for Moon missions.
2012 — International Astronomical Union, ?: ‘28th General Assembly’; conference to address variety of topics; possible website: http://www.astronomy2012.com.
  2013
  2014
  2015
2015 — Launch ? / Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter (JIMO), USA: NASA nuclear-powered spacecraft to determine if Jupiter’s moons Callisto, Europa, Ganymede have life.
2015 — Launch Crew Exploration Vehicle / Moon Mission, Cape Canaveral FL?: Earliest possible USA / human return to Moon to begin preparation of permanent base.
2015 — Launch ? / Moon Mission, Bangalore, India: Earliest projected date for India human mission to the Moon.
2015 — ESA / Rosetta, Comet 67P / Churyumov- Gerasimenko Orbit: Spacecraft reaches core part of mission; will orbit comet for 17 months.
  2016
  2017
2017 — Launch Long March 3A / Chang’e-3, ?, China: China robotic Moon Mission to collect samples of lunar soil as precursor to human missions; time TBD.
2017 — International Space Station, LEO: If USA decides to abandon station after this year, ESA along with Russia as member, could take 100% control.
  2018
  2019
  2020
2020 — Launch Crew Exploration Vehicle / Moon Mission, Cape Canaveral FL?: first crew to inhabit permanent? base; time/date TBD.
2020 — Launch Long March 3A / Chang’e-3, ?, China: China unpiloted Moon Mission to conduct sample return as precursor to future human presence on Moon.
  2021
  2022
  2023
  2024
2024 — Launch ? / Moon Mission, Kourou, French Guiana: Earliest projected date for Europe human mission to the Moon.
  2025
2025 — Launch ? / Moon Mission, Kagoshima?, Japan: Earliest projected date for Japan to complete a lunar station.
  2029
  Apr 13 — Minnesota 4, Earth Near-Miss: Astronomers agree that on this day, which happens to be a Friday, an asteroid will narrowly miss hitting Earth; no one seems to think there is great danger, but there could be a return visit in 2036 and a possible collision depending on the physics of today's event.
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