Events of Interest: Week of October 22-26, 2012–UPDATE

UPDATE:   This update highlights the Solar System Exploration @ 50 events taking place this week in the “During the Week” section.

The following events may of interest in the coming week.  Congress continues to be in recess (except for pro forma sessions) until after the elections.

During the Week

Among the interesting activities this week, three new crew members will launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday.  They will join the three astronauts already there and return the ISS crew complement to six (three Russians, two Americans, and one Japanese).  NASA TV coverage of the 6:51 am ET launch will begin at 5:30 am ET.  NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Evgeny Tarelkin will dock with the ISS two days later (October 25) at 8:35 am ET.   The following day, October 26, NASA will hold a press conference to discuss an upcoming contingency spacewalk to fix an ammonia leak on one of the ISS radiators.   NASA astronaut and ISS commander Suni Williams and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide will conduct the spacewalk on November 1.  The sixth ISS crew member is Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko.

Also this week, NASA and the National Geographic are holding events to celebrate 50 years of planetary exploration — Solar System Exploration @ 50.   In 1962, NASA launched its first two planetary probes — Mariner 1 and Mariner 2.  Mariner 1 was lost in a launch accident, but Mariner 2 flew by Venus in December of that year, setting the stage for 50 years of discoveries (so far) by U.S. robotic probes.  A panel discussion sponsored by the National Geographic at its offices in Washington, DC on Wednesday night, and a 2-day NASA History Office-sponsored conference all day Thursday and Friday at the Lockheed Martin Global Vision Center in Arlington, Virginia, will discuss not only what we’ve learned over the past 50 years and plans for the future, but how decisions are made on which missions to launch, international cooperation, the Soviet/Russian planetary program, and public perceptions.  Click on the links to the events below for registration information.

Monday, October 22

• TechAmerica panel discussion on impact of sequestration on non-defense agencies, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW (enter from the Indiana Avenue side of the building), Washington, DC., 9:00-10:30 am ET

Tuesday, October 23

• Launch of three ISS crew members, Baikonur, Kazakshtan, 6:51 am ET (NASA TV coverage begins at 5:30 am ET)
• Space and Satellite Regulatory Colloquium, Jones Day offices at 51 Louisiana Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 8:30 am – 3:00 pm ET
• FAA Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) Systems Working Group, telecon, 1:00 pm ET
• NASA Administrator Bolden Speaks to Atlantic Council on Strategic Partnerships in Space, 1101 15th St., NW, Washington, DC, 5:00-6:15 pm ET (closed to the press and off-the-record)
• International Space University (ISU) 25th Anniversary Celebration, Cosmos Club, 2121 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC, 6:30 pm ET

 Wednesday, October 24

• Secure World Foundation panel discussion on Asia in Space: Cooperation or Competition?, 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 12:00-2:00 pm ET
• JAXA Celebration of 20 Years of Human Spaceflight Cooperation with United States, Japanese Information and Culture Center, 1150 18th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 5:00 – 8:30 pm ET (second of three events)
• National Geographic panel discussion on Solar System Exploration @ 50, 1600 M St., NW, Washington, DC, 7:30 pm ET

   

Thursday-Friday, October 25-26

• NASA history conference on Solar System Exploration @ 50, Lockheed Martin Global Vision Center, 2121 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA
• NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Aeronautics Committee, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH

Friday, October 26

• NASA press conference on upcoming spacewalk, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, 1:00 pm CT (2:00 pm ET), watch on NASA TV