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Vol 29, No 6
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Solar Dynamics Observatory to Probe Power of the Sun

NASA will launch the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) aboard an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral FL on February 9.  This marks the 1st mission of the ‘Living with a Star Program’ which is designed to understand the Sun’s influence on Earth. Changes in solar activity can disable satellites, disrupt GPS communications and affect our climate. The inclined geosynchronous orbit of SDO will allow for continuous observations of the Sun, gathering as much as 1.4 terabytes of data per day. 2 dedicated radio antennas near Las Cruces NM have been set up to handle the data load. Instruments aboard the spacecraft include the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment which measures fluctuations of the Sun’s UV output and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly to photograph surface and atmosphere. Another instrument is the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager which Project Scientist Dean Pesnell of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (C) says will allow us to see activity inside and through to the other side of the Sun. The SDO is one of the largest solar observing spacecrafts to be placed into orbit, weighing approximately 3100 kg with solar panels measuring 6.5 meters wide. Scientists hope the SDO will provide vital clues to predict future solar activity and cycles.  (Credit: NASA)

2 FAA Meetings Highlight Enhanced Role Of Commercial Space In USA Space Policy

USA commercial space companies stand to play an increasingly important role with the revision of the America space policy. Along with cancelling the Constellation program, President Obama's proposed direction for NASA provides US$6B over 5 years in support of commercially built spaceships to transport NASA astronauts to the ISS. This new plan brings added importance to 2 events this week sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). A public meeting will be held in Washington DC on February 9 to discuss the plan to establish a new FAA Center of Excellence (COE) for Commercial Space Transportation (CST). The meeting will include a discussion on the COE Program and CST technical requirements. On Feb 10-11, the FAA Office for Commercial Space Transportation and AIAA will host the '13th FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference' in Arlington VA. Policy makers and technical experts will come together to share insights and discuss developments in the field, while focusing on the theme 'Igniting the Space Economy.' Keynote speakers include FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt (BL) and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden (BR). (Credit: AIAA, FAA, SpaceX, NASA)
THIS WEEK
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
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).
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Mercury (ESE) / Evening Planets: Mars (ENE), Jupiter (WSW), Saturn (E).
 

MONDAY
Feb 8 — 1% for NASA Ensures USA Multi World Civilization, Nationwide / Washington DC: America's future in space exploration contingent upon Obama Administration dynamic leadership; http://www.spaceagepub.com/calendar/SCarchive/SC-20090831.html.
Feb 8 — International Space Station, LEO: E22 crew members continue preparations for the arrival of space shuttle Endeavour and the STS-130 crew; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html.
Feb 8 — NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Orbit: LRO Camera continues to capture imagery of Moon surface, highlighting regions of interest for potential future human and robotic lunar exploration; http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
Feb 8 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Hawai`i Island HI / Global: ILOA planning Galaxy Forum Waimea, focusing on Science of Galaxy 1st Light Imaging; http://www.iloa.org.
Feb 8 — Mars, Red Planet: Polar dust storms on the Red Planet more visibly seen from Earth as temperature differences between south polar ice and darker regions are heated by sun which stir up winds and dust; http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=03&month=02&year=2010.
Feb 8 —The Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, Hilo HI: Teacher workshop at the Institute for Astronomy Auditorium in UH-Hilo Campus Technology Park; http://spaceclass.org/default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fcontrolpanel.aspx.
Feb 8 — Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware OH: 'Sleuthing Space Secrets,' James Oberg; http://news.owu.edu/2010/20100129-oberg.html.
Feb 8-11 — University NAVSTAR Consortium, Boulder CO: '2010 UNAVCO Science Workshop;' http://www.unavco.org/community/announce_meetings/2010/sciworkshop10/sciworkshop10.html.
Feb 8-11 — Institute of Nuclear Theory, Seattle WA: 'The Future of Neutrino Mass Measurements: Terrestrial, Astrophysical, and Cosmological Measurements in the Next Decade;' http://www.int.washington.edu/PROGRAMS/10-44w.html.
Feb 8-19 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Vienna, Austria: '47th Session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space;' http://www.raes.org.uk/event.asp?eventcode=000927&mastereventcode=Branch%20Lecture.
Feb 8-19 — Committee on Space Research, International Astronomical Union, et al, Bangalore, India: '11th COSPAR Capacity-Building Workshop: Data Analysis of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope;' http://www.rri.res.in/fermi_cospar_2010/fermi-cospar-2010_files/page0008.htm.
Feb 8 — Alpha Centaurid Meteors: Alpha Centaurids meteors are considered to be minor but produce meteors of swift velocity, radiating southeast of constellation Centaurus; http://meteorshowersonline.com/.
Continued from . . .
Jan 22 — The Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, Mauna Kea HI: PISCES to host teams from NASA, Canadian and German space agencies for field tests on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea, Hawai`i Island; through Feb 11; http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/special/index.shtml.
Jan 30 — Museum of Science and Industry, Confucius Institute / University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom: 'Exhibition: From Gunpowder to Space Rockets - The China Space Program,' includes models of ancient rockets, recent satellites, rockets, space ships and a lunar rover; through Aug 7; http://www.mosi.org.uk/whats-on/china-space-exhibition.
Feb 5 — National Society for Black Engineers, Los Angeles CA: 2010 NSBE Aerospace Systems Conference; through Feb 10; http://www.nsbe-asc.org/.
Feb 6 — American Astronautical Society, Breckinridge CO: '33rd AAS Guidance and Control Conference;' through Feb 10; http://aas-rocky-mountain-section.org/conf_info.htm.
Feb 7 — Space Frontier Foundation, Washington DC: 'Take Back Space 2010;' through Feb 12; http://spacefrontier.org/events/take-back-space-2010/.
Feb 7 — Aspen Center for Physics, Aspen CO: '2010 Aspen Winter Conference on Astrophysics: The High Redshift Universe - A Multi-Wavelength;' through Feb 13; http://wise-obs.tau.ac.il/~barkana/aspen.html.
TUESDAY

NET Feb 9 — Launch Atlas 5 / SDO, Cape Canaveral FL: United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket set to launch NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory; SDO will be the 1st mission for Living With a Star Program.; http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html.
Feb 9 — Royal Aeronautical Society, London, United Kingdom: 'Branch Lecture: Virgin Galactic,' Will Whitehorn; http://www.raes.org.uk/event.asp?eventcode=000927&mastereventcode=Branch%20Lecture.
Feb 9 — FAA Centers of Excellence, Washington DC: 'Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation Public Meeting;' http://www.spaceref.com/.
Feb 9 — NASA, Crystal City VA: 'NASA Commercial Space Initiatives Team Meeting;' http://www.spaceref.com.
Feb 9 — WM Keck Observatory, Kamuela HI: 'Room with a View: Perspective from Earth on the Cosmos,' Sandra Faber; http://keckobservatory.org/education/evenings_with_astronomers.
Feb 9-10 — NASA Academy of Program / Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL), Galveston TX: 'NASA Project Management Challenge 2010;' http://pmchallenge.gsfc.nasa.gov.
Feb 9-11 — Applied Technology Institute, Beltsville MD: 'Satellite Laser Communications,' Hamid Hemmati; http://www.aticourses.com/satellite_laser_communications.htm.
WEDNESDAY
Feb 10 — Intech Science Center and Planetarium, Winchester, United Kingdom: 'The Violent Universe: A Search for Black Holes,' Malcolm Coe; http://www.intech-uk.com/folders/planetarium/space_lectures.cfm.
Feb 10 — The Moon Society, Skype Teleconference: 'Moon Society Town Meeting at 09:00-11:00 EST;' http://www.moonsociety.org/about/meetings.html.
Feb 10-11 — Federal Aviation Administration, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Arlington VA: '13th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference: Igniting the Space Economy;' http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=230&lumeetingid=2382.
Feb 10-12 — Japan US Science Technology and Space Application Programs, Hilo HI: 'Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) Conference 2010;' http://pisces.hilo.hawaii.edu/announcements.php.
Feb 10-Mar 21 — Canadian Space Agency, West Vancouver Community Center Spirit Square, Vancouver, BC, Canada: 'Sports in Space,' CSA celebrates the spirit of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games by unveiling an exclusive exhibit in West Vancouver; http://www.westvancouver.ca/Level3.aspx?id=23342.

Feb 10 — Asteroid 2008 CQ116: Near-Earth Flyby (0.050 AU).

Feb 10 — Asteroid 1704 Wachmann: Closest Approach to Earth (1.082 AU).

THURSDAY

Feb 11 — Launch Proton / Intelsat 16, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: International Launch Services Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage set to deploy Intelsat 16 telecommunications which will provide direct-to-home services to Latin America; http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html.
Feb 11 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: 'Finding and Making Habitable Planets,' Jim Kasting; http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/lectures/Jkasting-flyer.pdf.
Feb 11 — NASA Advisory Council, Moffett Field CA: 'NASA Advisory Council Technology and Innovation Committee Meeting;' http://www.spaceref.com/calendar/calendar.html.
Feb 11 — Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Chantilly VA: 'Ask an Expert: The Gemini 8 Thruster,' Margaret Weitekamp; http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/eventDetail.cfm?eventID=1752.
Feb 11 — Moon: 2.3° NW of Mercury; 17:00.
FRIDAY
Feb 12 — NASA Alumni League, Washington DC: 'The State of the Agency: NASA Future Programs Presentation;' http://hobbyspace.com/nucleus/?itemid=18063.
Feb 12 — Brevard Community College Space and Astronomy Department, Cocoa FL: Lecture Series: 'Running Rings Around Saturn: The Cassini Mission' Josh Colwell; http://www.brevardcc.edu/index.cfm?mainframe=/space_and_astronomy.
Feb 12 — Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson KS: 'Explore Hutch: Living in Space,' a presentation by the education staff about being in space for extended periods of time; http://www.cosmo.org/calendar/ne_calendar_day.cfm?start_date=02/12/10&end_date=02/12/10.
Feb 12 — International Institute of Space Law, Online: 'Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition,' submission of requests for clarifications to the Moot problem, Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific; http://www.spacemoot.org/currentfinal.htm.
Feb 12 — Moon: At Apogee (Distance 63.74 Earth-radii), Moon at its farthest in the year; 16:00.

Feb 12 — Asteroid 2009 UN3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.049 AU).

SATURDAY
Feb 13 — Zero Gravity Corporation, Los Angeles CA: Commercial weightless flight onboard G Force One at Los Angeles International Airport; http://www.gozerog.com/.
Feb 13 — Cassini Distant Flyby, Saturn Orbit: Spacecraft conducts distant flyby of Calypso, Epimetheus, Janus, Tethys and Mimas; http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/saturntourdates/.
Feb 13 — Moon: New Moon; Hoku I Hilo,16:52; 3.5° NW of Neptune, 17:00.

Feb 13 — Asteroid 228502: Near-Earth Flyby (0.067 AU).

Feb 13 — Chi Capricornid Meteors: Daylight meteor shower radiating from constellation Capricornus; http://meteorshowersonline.com/showers.
SUNDAY
Feb 14-17 — National Center for Radio Astrophysics, Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, India: 'Library and Information Services in Astronomy;' http://libibm.iucaa.ernet.in/conf/index.php/LISA/conf.
Feb 14-17 — American Astronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, San Diego CA: '20th AAS / AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting;' http://www.space-flight.org/AAS_meetings/2010_winter/2010%20winter.html.
Feb 14-18 — Reflective X-ray Optics LLC, Big Sky MO: '10th International Conference on the Physics of X-Ray Multi-layer Structures;' http://www.rxollc.com/pxrms/.
Feb 14-20 — Aspen Center for Physics, Aspen CO: 'Conference: Formation and Evolution of Black Holes;' http://ciera.northwestern.edu/Aspen2010/.
Feb 14 — China New Year (Year of the Tiger): Also known as 'Lunar New Year,' is the longest and most important festivity in the Lunar Calendar; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year.
Feb 14 — Moon: 4.6° NNW of Jupiter; 15:00.
 
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Space Calendar Published Weekly, Mondays. ISSN 0741-1731. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © February 8, 2010. Space Age Publishing Company, 65-1230 Mamalahoa Highway - Suite D-20, Kamuela, Hawaii 96743; 480 California Avenue - Suite 303, Palo Alto, California 94306, USA. Editor & Publisher, ILOA Director / Steve Durst. Associate Editor, ILOA Executive Director / Charles Bohannan. Assistant Editor / Joseph Sulla. Marketing Editor / Michelle Gonella. Special Contributors: Hawaii Aloha. Australia / Kirby Ikin. Canada / Robert Richards. China, Asia / Chen Kan Arth. Europe-Russia / Theo Pirard. India, South Asia / Radhakrishna Rao, USA, Bill Carswell. www.spaceagepub.com, news@spaceagepub.com.