What's Happening in Space Policy September 21-October 3, 2014

Here is our list of events for the next TWO weeks, September 21-October 3, 2014, starting with MAVEN’s arrival at Mars tonight (Sunday).   Congress is in recess until November 12.

During the Weeks

Mars will get two new visitors this week.  NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission is due to enter orbit around Mars tonight, September 21, at 9:37 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).   Signal travel time between Mars and Earth means that NASA won’t know certain that everything went smoothly until 9:50 pm EDT.   NASA TV coverage begins at 9:30 pm EDT.  

On Tuesday evening (Wednesday morning local time in India), India’s first mission to Mars, Mars Orbiting Mission (MOM), will join MAVEN and three other U.S. and European spacecraft orbiting Mars.   MOM is scheduled to fire its engine to enter orbit at 07:17 Indian Standard Time on Wednesday (9:47 pm Tuesday EDT).  The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has not announced its plans for live coverage. Check the ISRO website for up to date information.

Back here in Earth orbit, SpaceX’s CRS-4 cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS), with its cargo of mice, fruit flies, spacesuit batteries, a 3D printer and many other supplies and scientific experiments, will arrive at the ISS on Tuesday morning at 7:04 am ET.  Two days later three new ISS crew members will launch to and dock with the ISS on Soyuz TMA-14M.

Meanwhile, here on terra firma, there are many interesting events on the schedule.  John Logsdon will provide an update on his research for his upcoming book Richard Nixon and the American Space Program at 4:00 pm EDT on Monday at the National Air and Space Museum.  The event is free, but you MUST register in advance in order to access the museum’s office area.  Later on Monday (8:00 pm EDT), the Secure World Foundation and The Space Show will host a webinar on Satellites and Disaster Management.  The NASA Advisory Council’s heliophysics subcommittee meets on Tuesday and Wednesday at NASA Headquarters, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Frank Rose will talk to the AIAA National Capital Section in Arlington, VA on Thursday.

Quite a full week, as many in the space community also get ready to head to Toronto for the annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC) next week.  It officially runs from September 29-October 3, but there are a number of associated meetings in the days preceding the conference beginning on September 25.

For those not traveling to Toronto, there are two very interesting events in the Washington, DC area that week.  On Monday, September 29, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) will talk to the Maryland Space Business Roundtable in Greenbelt, MD.

On Tuesday afternoon (September 30), the inaugural Yvonne C. Brill Lectureship in Aerospace Engineering will be presented at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington (the one on the Mall, not on 5th Street).  This first Brill Lectureship, created in honor of the distinguished aerospace engineer Yvonne Brill, was awarded to Adam Steltzner of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Steltzer led the entry, descent and landing team for the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover.  Steltzer’s lecture will be on “Engineering and the Mars Entry Descent and Landing (EDL) System.”

Here is the list of the events we know about as of Sunday afternoon, September 21, for the two-week period through October 3, 2014.

Sunday, September 21

• NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft arrives at Mars, 9:37 pm EDT (NASA TV coverage begins at 9:30 pm EDT)

Monday, September 22

• Space Policy and History Forum Featuring John Logsdon, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC, 4:00 pm EDT (advance registration REQUIRED)
• Satellites and Disaster Management Webinar (Secure World Foundation/The Space Show), virtual, 8:00 pm EDT

Tuesday, September 23

• SpaceX CRS-4 mission arrives at International Space Station, approximately 7:04 am EDT
• India’s Mars Orbiter Mission Arrives at Mars, 9:47 pm EDT (7:17 am September 24 local time in India)

Tuesday-Wednesday, September 23-24

• NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Heliophysics Subcommittee, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC

Thursday, September 25

• AIAA National Capital Section Luncheon Featuring State Department’s Frank Rose, Army Navy Country Club, Arlington, VA, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm EDT
• Soyuz TMA-14M Launch and Docking:  Launch, 4:25 pm EDT (NASA TV coverage begins 3:30 pm EDT); Docking, 10:16 pm EDT (NASA TV coverage begins 9:45 pm EDT)

Thursday-Sunday, September 25-28

• Pre-events associated with the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), including
  the 13th Annual Space Generation Congress (September 25-27), Toronto, Ontario, Canada   

Monday-Friday, September 29-October 3

• 65th International Astronautical Congress, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Monday, September 29

• MSBR Luncheon Featuring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Martin’s Crosswinds, Greenbelt, MD, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm EDT

Tuesday, September 30

• AIAA-NAE Yvonne C. Brill Lecture Featuring JPL’s Adam Steltzner, National Academy of Sciences building, 2101 Constitution Ave, NW, Washington, DC, 1:30-5:30 pm EDT