#sbag — Public Fediverse posts

Hubble Space Telescope update at #SBAG:

- With 2 gyro operations, about 50% of the sky is observable at any given time.

- Budget pressure and uncertainties are not great.

- Reentry projections are currently for mid-2033, with large uncertainties. It will be the end of an era.

Hayabusa 2# update at #SBAG:

The spacecraft is in cruise phase and on track for flying by the asteroid 2001 CC21 in 2026 July.

It has had software updates for onboard self-navigation; to permit a closer flyby. These are being tested by observing Ceres and other objects en route.

@VRubinObs commissioning update at #SBAG:

Asteroid linking is working on the commission test fields and commissioning data release is pending.

It is finally happening.

This is a fascinating aspect of long-term #PlanetaryScience missions: ensuring continuity of instrument PIs as people retire! Also, check our the rest of this very interesting live thread of the NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group meeting #SBAG

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:vj27goe6a4rlqapyanu2vxdy/post/3lfaijvrvn22x

#TeamRadar presentations at #SBAG 32:

Aaron DeLeon describes the unusual binary asteroid system Atira: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ad7814

Patrick Taylor gives an update on the ngRADAR project at Green Bank: https://ngradar.nrao.edu/

There is quite a lot of talking around the pending threats of Donald Trump and those with him at this #SBAG workshop; with more direct mentions in question sessions.

There is also a lot of "call your members of Congress".

The NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group is meeting this week: https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/sbagjan2025/technical_program/

Among other #SBAG presentations:

Amanda Hendrix discussed the recent NASA facilities review.

Either NASA's budget is increased; or new projects & missions are deferred; or the agency risks a crisis by continuing to defer necessary maintenance & upgrades of facilities.

Particularly highlighted: The Deep Space Network.

Also featured at #SBAG today:

Hopkins, @astrokiwi , and Lintott 2024, "Predicting Interstellar Object Chemodynamics with Gaia" - https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.04904

With predictions for @VRubinObs .

Marin Ferrais, postdoc with #TeamRadar at UCF, described shape modeling of the binary near-Earth asteroid #1994AW1 using archival radar images at #SBAG today.

There is still quite a lot of new science to be done based on data from the #AreciboTelescope .

NASA management also promotes #TeamRadar at #SBAG , highlighting the #2011UL21 and #2024MK observations two weeks ago: https://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/june2024.goldstone.planning.html

Thank you again, management.

This week's Small Bodies Assessment Group meeting ( #SBAG ) opens with NASA management hyping current space missions; including the OSIRIS-APEX extended mission for OSIRIS-REx, which will send the spacecraft to #Apophis after its flyby of Earth in 2029: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-apex .

Thank you, management.

NASA's Small Bodies Assessment Group ( #SBAG ) will be meeting virtually later this week; for anyone who wants to call in and has not registered already: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/meetings/sbagjuly2024/ .

There will be the regular updates on space missions and Earth-based observations of everything from near-Earth asteroids out to any more interstellar objects that should fly through.