Three Chinese taikonauts lifted off from the Jiuquan Space Center this morning headed to the Tiangong-3 space station. They are joining three other taikonauts who have been aboard since July and for the first time will have a handover of operations from one crew to another. While routine on the International Space Station for the past 22 years and on Soviet space stations before that, it’s a first for China.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of November 27-December 3, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
Today’s a big day for the European Space Agency. Its governing Ministerial Council approved a 17 percent increase in funding, committed to support the International Space Station through 2030, and vowed to ensure that the Rosalind Franklin rover makes it to Mars after the European-Russian ExoMars project was derailed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On top of all that, ESA announced a new class of astronauts.
Adm. John Aquilino, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, formally established U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific today during a ceremony at INDOPACOM’s headquarters in Hawaii. Space Force officials pointed out this is the first regional combatant command to be assigned a Space Force Component Command, a deliberate choice since its Area of Responsibility includes China.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft took the first of two steps today into a Distant Retrograde Orbit around the Moon. The engine firing this morning not only put the spacecraft on the right path, but allowed Orion’s cameras to send back breathtaking views of Earth from more than two hundred thousand miles away. NASA officials were beaming this afternoon while describing how well the system is performing so far, while cautiously noting it is just the beginning of a 26-day mission.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of November 20-26, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess this week.
Japan has formally agreed to continue participation in the International Space Station through 2030, the first of the ISS partners to officially join the United States in that commitment. The two countries also reaffirmed their partnership in the Artemis program. Japan will provide critical equipment for the Gateway space station that will orbit the Moon and the United States will launch a Japanese astronaut there, extending the long history of Japanese astronauts participating in NASA missions. Koichi Wakata is aboard the ISS right now.
NASA successfully launched the Artemis I uncrewed test flight early this morning. After two scrubs and two hurricanes, the Space Launch System rocket finally got to show what it could do. Now it’s up to the Orion spacecraft that is starting an almost month-long trip around the Moon. Though years late and billions over budget, today’s launch is the beginning of America’s return to the Moon almost exactly 50 years after astronauts last walked on the surface.
NASA confirmed this evening they will make a third attempt to launch the Artemis I mission on Wednesday at 1:04 am ET. After two scrubs and two hurricanes, everyone is hoping this third try will be the charm. NASA officials were circumspect, however, reiterating they while they are confident Wednesday will be the day, if not, they will overcome whatever hurdles emerge and launch when the time is right. The weather, at least, looks great.
CAPSTONE became the first cubesat to enter lunar orbit last night. Developed through a Public-Private Partnership with NASA, the tiny Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment is testing out a unique lunar orbit called a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit or NRHO. The agency plans to put a small space station there as part of the Artemis program of sustained exploration and use of the Moon.