Space News Update - November 21, In the News Story 1: Story 1: China launches for the second time in 24 hours Story 2: Story 2: Contact Lost with Sun-watching Stereo B Story 3: Story 3: 3-D printer powered up on the International Space Station Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities Space Calendar NASA-TV Highlights Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

China launches for the second time in 24 hours The Long March 2D rocket lifted off at 0712 GMT (2:12 a.m. EST) Thursday, Nov. 20 from the Jiuquan space base in northwest China. Credit: Xinhua

Contact Lost with Sun-watching Stereo B

3-D printer powered up on the International Space Station

The Night Sky Sky & Telescope Friday, November 21 Does night already seem to be falling about as early as it ever will? You're right! We're still a whole month away from the winter solstice — but the Sun sets its earliest around December 7th, and right now it already sets within only about 5 minutes of that time (if you're near latitude 40° north). A surprising result of this: The Sun actually sets a trace earlier on Thanksgiving than on Christmas, even though Christmas is around solstice time. This offset is made up for by the opposite happening at sunrise: the Sun doesn't come up its latest for the year until January 7th. You can blame the tilt of Earth's axis and the eccentricity of its orbit. Saturday, November 22 High in the northeast, the W pattern of Cassiopeia stands on end as early as 6 p.m. now. Whenever this happens, the dim handle of the Little Dipper (far lower left of Cassiopeia) extends straight left from Polaris. Algol in Perseus should be at its minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 11:50 p.m. EST (8:50 p.m. PST). Algol takes several hours to fade beforehand and to rebrighten after. New Moon (exact at 7:32 a.m. EST). Sunday, November 23 We're two thirds of the way through fall, so Capella shines well up in the northeast as soon as the stars come out. As night grows darker, look to its right by about three fists at arm's length for the frosty little Pleiades cluster, the size of your fingertip at arm's length. Monday, November 24 With the waxing Moon still thin, plan some deep-sky observing while the evenings are still dark! Around the spilling water bucket of Aquarius are the Helix Nebula, the R Aquarii nebula, a little-known globular cluster, and some galaxies in the 11th- and 12th- magnitude range — as told in depth by Sue French in her Deep-Sky Wonders column in the November Sky & Telescope, page 56, with map and photos.Sky & Telescope Tuesday, November 25 Look for Mars left of the crescent Moon in twilight, as shown above. Algol is at minimum light for a couple hours centered on 8:39 p.m. EST.

ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information ISS For Denver: DateVisibleMax HeightAppearsDisappears Sat Nov 22, 5:40 AM4 min16°11 above NNW10 above ENE Sun Nov 23, 4:52 AM< 1 min12°12 above NNE10 above NE Sun Nov 23, 6:26 AM4 min42°10 above NW32 above ENE Mon Nov 24, 5:37 AM3 min27°16 above NNW19 above ENE Tue Nov 25, 4:50 AM1 min18°18 above NE12 above ENE Tue Nov 25, 6:23 AM5 min71°10 above NW29 above SE

NASA-TV Highlights 9 p.m., Friday, November 21 - The STS-125 Crew, from SMA-4 -- the Last Mission to Hubble at the Intrepid Museum in New York - Get Ready to Celebrate 25 years of Hubble! (all channels) 1 p.m., Saturday, November 22 - Video File of the Russian State Commission Meeting and Final Expedition 42/43 Pre-Launch Crew News Conference in Baikonur, Kazakhstan (all channels) 3 p.m., Sunday, November 23 - ISS Expedition 42/43 Soyuz TMA-15M Launch Coverage (Launch scheduled at 4:01 p.m. ET; includes video B-roll of the crew’s pre-launch activities at 3:15 p.m. ET) - (all channels) 6 p.m., Sunday, November 23 - Video File of ISS Expedition 42/43 Soyuz TMA-15M Pre-Launch, Launch Video B-Roll and Post-Launch Interviews (all channels) 9:15 p.m., Sunday, November 23 - ISS Expedition 42/43 Soyuz TMA-15M Docking Coverage (Docking scheduled at 9:50 p.m. ET) (all channels) 11 p.m., Sunday, November 23 - ISS Expedition 42/43 Soyuz TMA-15M Hatch Opening and Other Activities (Hatch Opening scheduled at 11:30 p.m. ET) (all channels) 1 a.m., Monday, November 24 - Video File of ISS Expedition 42/43 Soyuz TMA-15M Docking, Hatch Opening and Other Activities (all channels) 9:40 a.m., Tuesday, November 25 - ISS Expedition 42 In-Flight Interviews with WBAL-TV, Baltimore and WKRN- TV, Nashville, TN with Station Commander Barry Wilmore and Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA (all channels) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA websiteNASA website (all times Eastern Daylight Time)

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar Nov 21 - [Nov 21] Kuaizhou 2 Kuaizhou Launch, SuccessfulKuaizhou 2Kuaizhou Launch Nov 21 - Cassini, Orbital Trim Maneuver #396 (OTM-396)Cassini Nov 21 - Comet 197P/LINEAR At Opposition (3.345 AU)Comet 197P/LINEARAt Opposition Nov 21 - [Nov 21] Asteroid 2014 WR7 Near-Earth Flyby (0.008 AU)Asteroid 2014 WR7Near-Earth Flyby Nov 21 - [Nov 21] Asteroid 2014 WS7 Near-Earth Flyby (0.011 AU)Asteroid 2014 WS7Near-Earth Flyby Nov 21 - Asteroid 2009 BS5 Near-Earth Flyby (0.090 AU)Asteroid 2009 BS5Near-Earth Flyby Nov 21 - Asteroid 3673 Levy Closest Approach To Earth (0.934 AU)Asteroid 3673 Levy Nov 21 - Asteroid 3354 McNair Closest Approach To Earth (1.493 AU)Asteroid 3354 McNair Nov 21 - Asteroid 5805 Glasgow Closest Approach To Earth (1.731 AU)Asteroid 5805 Glasgow Nov 21 - Lecture: Advanced Spacecraft Propulsion, London, United KingdomLecture: Advanced Spacecraft Propulsion Nov 22 - [Nov 19] Asteroid 2014 WP4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU)Asteroid 2014 WP4Near-Earth Flyby Nov 22 - Asteroid 3654 AAS Closest Approach To Earth (0.903 AU)Asteroid 3654 AAS Nov 22 - Asteroid 4125 Lew Allen Closest Approach To Earth (1.031 AU)Asteroid 4125 Lew Allen Nov 22 - Asteroid 719 Albert Closest Approach To Earth (1.175 AU)Asteroid 719 AlbertClosest Approach To Earth Nov 22 - Asteroid Jayleno Closest Approach To Earth (1.863 AU)Asteroid Jayleno Nov 22 - Lost Dutchman State Park Star Party, Apache Junction, Ariz onaLost Dutchman State Park Star Party Nov th Anniversary (1989), STS-33 Launch (Space Shuttle Discovery, DOD)STS-33 Launch Nov 23 - [Nov 16] Soyuz TMA-15M Soyuz FG Launch (International Space Station 41S)Soyuz TMA-15MSoyuz FG Launch Nov 23 - Cosmos-Glonass K1 N2 Soyuz 2-1B-Fregat LaunchCosmos-Glonass K1 Nov 23 - Comet C/2014 A4 (SONEAR) At Opposition (4.077 AU)Comet C/2014 A4 (SONEAR)At Opposition Nov 23 - [Nov 21] Asteroid 2014 WH6 Near-Earth Flyby (0.075 AU)Asteroid 2014 WH6Near-Earth Flyby Nov 23 - Asteroid Seanconnery Closest Approach To Earth (1.306 AU)Asteroid Seanconnery Nov 23 - Asteroid 4115 Peternorton Closest Approach To Earth (1.996 AU)Asteroid 4115 Peternorton Nov 23 - Asteroid 1069 Planckia Closest Approach To Earth (2.305 AU)Asteroid 1069 Planckia Nov 24 - Comet 193P/LINEAR-NEAT Perihelion (2.166 AU)Comet 193P/LINEAR-NEATPerihelion Nov 24 - Comet C/2013 P3 (Palomar) Perihelion (8.646 AU)Comet C/2013 P3 (Palomar)Perihelion Nov 24 - Asteroid 5811 Keck Closest Approach To Earth (1.638 AU)Asteroid 5811 Keck Nov 24 - Asteroid 1886 Lowell Closest Approach To Earth (1.842 AU)Asteroid 1886 Lowell Nov 24 - Asteroid 6143 Pythagoras Closest Approach To Earth (1.857 AU)Asteroid 6143 Pythagoras Nov 24 - [Nov 18] Teleconference: Discovery 2014 AO Pre-Proposal ConferenceTeleconference: Discovery 2014 AO Pre-Proposal Conference Nov 24 - Carolyn Hurless' 80th Birthday (1934)Carolyn Hurless' Nov th Anniversary (1639), 1st Observations of a Transit of Venus1st Observations of a Transit of Venus Nov 25 - Comet 300P/Catalina Closest Approach To Earth (1.462 AU)Comet 300P/CatalinaClosest Approach To Earth Nov 25 - Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro At Opposition (2.447 AU)Comet 133P/Elst-PizarroAt Opposition Nov 25 - Asteroid 4970 Druyan Closest Approach To Earth (1.071 AU)Asteroid 4970 Druyan Nov 25 - Asteroid 5703 Hevelius Closest Approach To Earth (1.173 AU)Asteroid 5703 Hevelius Nov 25 - Asteroid Madrid Closest Approach To Earth (1.377 AU)Asteroid Madrid Nov 25 - Asteroid 7495 Feynman Closest Approach To Earth (1.661 AU)Asteroid 7495 Feynman Nov 25 - Asteroid 9499 Excalibur Closest Approach To Earth (1.949 AU)Asteroid 9499 Excalibur Nov 25 - Kuiper Belt Object (2005 RR43) At Opposition ( AU)Kuiper Belt Object (2005 RR43)At Opposition Nov 25 - Kuiper Belt Object (2009 YE7) At Opposition ( AU)Kuiper Belt Object (2009 YE7)At Opposition

Food for Thought Iconic Kennedy Space Center Countdown Clock Retires

Space Image of the Week LDN 988: Dark Nebula in Cygnus Image Credit & Copyright: Bob FrankeCopyrightBob Franke