Events of Interest: Week of October 28-November 2, 2012

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

During the Week

For people on the East Coast, all eyes will be on data from NOAA’s weather satellites as “Frankenstorm” bears down on a wide area of the region, including Washington, DC.   Before heading out to any of the Washington-based events listed below, check with the sponsor to be sure it is still being held.   Widespread, multi-day power outages are forecast, which means that some websites — like this one — may not be able to be updated either.   We’ll do our best, though!

Also of particular note, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is due to return from its first operational mission to the International Space Station today.   Splashdown in the Pacific is scheduled for 12:25 pm PT (3:25 pm ET) and will be covered live on NASA TV.

Sunday, October 28

• SpaceX Dragon spacecraft returns from International Space Station, Pacific Ocean, 12:25 pm PT (3:25 pm ET); watch on NASA TV

Tuesday, October 30

• Secure World Foundation/IFRI conference on On-Orbit Servicing and Active Debris Removal, Brussels, Belgium
• NASA Mars Curiosity update, telecon, 11:30 am PT (2:30 pm ET)

Tuesday-Wednesday, October 30-31

• JAXA Space Exploration Conference, Tokyo, Japan

Thursday, November 1

• Marshall Institute panel discussion on Exploring Space: Considering U.S. Goals and Aspirations for its Space Exploration Programs, Capitol Hill Club, Washington DC, 8:00 – 11:00 am ET
• Women in Aerospace (WIA) Annual Awards Banquet, Ritz Carlton Pentagon City, Arlington, VA, 5:30 pm

Friday, November 2

• Sharing Satellite Imagery for Natural and Technological Disasters, Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, DC, 10:00-11:00 am ET
• JAXA Celebration of 20 Years of Japan-US Human Spaceflight Cooperation (third of three events, rescheduled from October 29), Washington, DC, 6:00-8:30 pm ET