Anomalies in India's Launch| SpaceX's Starlink Expansion| Cosmic Dawn Signals: Your Daily Space Update

0:00 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna.

0:03 Avery: And I'm Avery. Hello everyone. Thanks for

0:05 joining us. Today is January 12,

0:08 2026 and we've got a full show,

0:11 launches and anomalies, regulatory moves that

0:14 reshape low Earth orbit, a brand new

0:16 exoplanet observatory on its way, a

0:19 flash from the cosmic dawn, fresh results

0:22 about what powers the sun's, um, strongest

0:24 flares and a galaxy discovery that looks

0:27 surprisingly familiar for the early universe.

0:30 Anna: Yep, 6stor. All of them important in

0:33 different ways.

0:34 We'll start with this morning's launch news

0:36 from India.

0:37 Avery: India's polar satellite launch vehicle, the

0:40 PSLV C62 lifted off

0:43 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre this morning

0:45 carrying EOS N1,

0:48 described as an advanced Earth Observation

0:51 military surveillance satellite, along with a

0:54 batch of CO passenger payloads. The mission

0:57 marked ISRO's first launch attempt since a

0:59 PSLV anomaly in May 2025.

1:02 So there was on it, right?

1:05 Anna: The liftoff itself looked nominal, but

1:07 ISRO later reported an anomaly near the end

1:10 of the third stage. The PS3.

1:13 Initial public statements indicate a, uh,

1:15 deviation in the third stage's phase and that

1:18 ISRO has begun a detailed analysis.

1:21 At this stage it's not yet confirmed whether

1:24 the primary satellite and co passengers

1:26 reached their planned orbits.

1:28 Avery: Those early stage deviations can be

1:31 especially challenging because they often

1:33 happen during staging or engine cutoff

1:36 where timing and velocity are critical.

1:38 ISRO has a long successful history with the

1:41 PSLV family. But even reliable vehicles

1:44 can have single event anomalies. The

1:47 important thing is how the agency responds.

1:49 Recovering telemetry, diagnosing the root

1:52 cause and transparently sharing findings. So

1:55 confidence can be rebuilt.

1:56 Anna: Absolutely. From a broader perspective, this

1:59 mission also demonstrates the global nature

2:02 of smallsat rideshares and the strategic

2:05 value that Earth Observation Satellite

2:07 deliver, whether for commercial or defence

2:10 purposes. We'll keep an eye on ISRO's follow

2:12 up. They typically publish an analysis after

2:15 they comb through flight data and we'll link.

2:18 Avery: To the official statements in the episode

2:20 notes for folks who want the primary sources

2:22 next up.

2:23 Anna: In the US the Federal Communications

2:25 Commission granted SpaceX authorization

2:28 to deploy an additional 7,500

2:31 Starlink second generation satellites.

2:34 That's a, uh, partial approval within a

2:36 broader SpaceX request for up to 15

2:39 in Gen 2.

2:40 Avery: This is a big step for the company's plan to

2:43 upgrade Starlink's capabilities. Higher

2:45 throughput, lower latency and expanded

2:48 services including direct to cell

2:50 connectivity and higher Data rates. The

2:52 FCC's partial grant means SpaceX can move

2:55 forward with a substantial expansion while

2:57 regulators and Other stakeholders continue to

3:00 evaluate the remainder of the proposal.

3:02 Anna: There are a couple of important implications.

3:05 Operationally, many more starlink nodes

3:08 in low Earth orbit will increase global

3:10 broadb capacity, particularly for

3:13 underserved and rural regions. But it also

3:16 intensifies ongoing concerns about orbital

3:19 crowding, radio frequency coordination

3:21 and long term space sustainability.

3:24 Avery: Right? Competitors and some academics have

3:27 raised worries about spectrum interference,

3:29 orbital dominance, and the cumulative effect

3:32 of so many satellites on debris risk and

3:34 astronomical observing. SpaceX says it

3:37 will coordinate reconfiguration steps, for

3:39 example lowering orbits for safety and using

3:42 DEORB strategies. But regulators and the

3:45 international community will be watching

3:47 closely, so this is both.

3:49 Anna: A technical and policy storey. The

3:52 authorization moves the technology forward,

3:54 but it also keeps the conversation going

3:57 about how to manage low Earth orbit

3:59 responsibly as it becomes busier.

4:01 Avery: On a More exploratory note,

4:03 SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9

4:06 rideshare mission that included NASA's

4:08 Pandora satellite. Pandora is a compact

4:11 astrophysics mission designed to study the

4:14 atmospheres Least 20 exoplanets

4:17 and their host stars over about a year of

4:19 operations.

4:20 Anna: Pandora's key strength is that it's optimised

4:22 to disentangle the light coming from an

4:24 exoplanet and the star it orbits.

4:27 Stellar activity, spots, flares and magnetic

4:30 variability can mimic or mask atmospheric

4:33 signals from exoplanets. Pandorna carries a

4:36 0.45-metre telescope and a suite of

4:38 instruments aimed at measuring both the

4:40 star's variability and the planet's

4:43 transmission signals, improving the accuracy

4:45 of atmospheric composition measure.

4:47 Avery: That kind of targeted mission is exactly what

4:50 the exoplanet community needs now. Large

4:52 observatories like JWST do

4:55 outstanding detailed work, but

4:57 focused missions such as Pandora can observe

5:00 many systems in a systematic way and help

5:03 build context. Pandora will feed into

5:06 priorities for future larger missions that

5:09 aim to detect specific molecules, even

5:11 biosignatures, in exoplanet atmospheres.

5:14 Anna: It's also another example of efficient

5:16 rideshare launches enabling specialised

5:19 science payloads. Pandora joining a

5:22 larger commercial launch shows how the

5:24 landscape of getting small science spacecraft

5:26 to orbit has matured.

5:28 Avery: Turning to the distant universe, astronomers

5:30 recently reported detecting a very brief 10

5:33 second flash that originated roughly 13

5:37 billion light years away. This is being

5:39 interpreted as light from an extremely

5:41 distant supernova, one of the farthest, if

5:44 not the farthest, stellar explosions observed

5:47 so far.

5:47 Anna: The detection combined data from multiple

5:50 instruments, including wide field X ray

5:53 monitors and follow on observations by

5:55 facilities such as the James Webb Space

5:57 Telescope. The event is remarkable

6:00 because it lets astronomers study stellar

6:02 death and the environments of massive stars

6:05 in the early universe when galaxies were

6:07 young and metal content was low.

6:10 Avery: Observing such distant explosions is rare

6:12 because cosmological redshift and faintness

6:15 make them hard to spot. When one is found, it

6:18 can reveal the properties of the progenitor

6:20 star, the host galaxy and the

6:22 intergalactic medium at a time when cosmic

6:25 structure was still forming. There are also

6:27 ties to gamma ray bursts and extreme

6:30 transient phenomena. Researchers will be

6:32 investigating whether models for super

6:34 luminous supernovae or exotic explosions

6:37 match this event.

6:38 Anna: This detection emphasises how multi

6:41 wavelength coordinated observing campaigns,

6:44 fast alerts from one instrument followed by

6:47 deep telescope follow up are essential for

6:49 studying the transient universe, especially

6:52 at high redshift.

6:54 Avery: Back closer to home, solar physicists have

6:56 new insight into the engine behind the sun's

6:59 most violent flares and the intense gamma

7:01 rays they sometimes unleash. Researchers

7:04 identified a previously unrecognised

7:06 population of extremely energetic particles

7:09 in the sun's upper atmosphere that appear to

7:12 be a major source of those high energy

7:14 photons.

7:15 Anna: The finding comes from combining long

7:17 duration observations and specialised

7:20 instruments capable of measuring particle

7:22 populations and gamma ray signatures.

7:25 The upshot is that magnetic reconnection and

7:28 particle acceleration processes in flare

7:31 regions are more complex than some simple

7:33 models suggested. In particular, the upper

7:36 layers of the solar atmosphere, where

7:38 magnetic fields reconnect and release energy,

7:41 can track, trap and accelerate particles to

7:44 mega electron volts, energies that then

7:46 produce gamma rays.

7:48 Avery: This matters for space weather prediction.

7:50 Gamma rays and energetic particles accompany

7:53 the most extreme flares and can affect

7:55 satellites, radio communications and

7:57 radiation exposure for astronauts and high

8:00 flying aircraft. By better understanding

8:02 where and how particles are accelerated,

8:05 models of flare, impact and forecasts of

8:07 space weather can be improved.

8:09 Anna: It's also a good reminder that our sun still

8:12 surprises us even with decades of

8:15 observations and multiple solar missions.

8:17 New diagnostics and longer observation

8:20 windows reveal previously hidden physics.

8:23 Avery: Finally, one of the most visually intriguing

8:26 storeys. Astronomers have identified a

8:28 barred spiral galaxy whose light comes from

8:31 approximately 11.5 billion

8:34 years ago, about 2 billion years after the

8:37 Big Bang. If confirmed, this object

8:39 would be among the earliest bars and spiral

8:42 structures seen in the universe.

8:44 Anna: Bars are elongated stellar structures that

8:47 can drive internal evolution in galaxies.

8:50 They funnel gas toward the centre, trigger

8:52 star formation and rearrange angular

8:55 momentum. Finding a well defined bar so

8:58 early means that disc galaxies could develop

9:00 mature internal structures sooner than many

9:03 models predicted.

9:04 Avery: The discovery was enabled by deep

9:06 spectroscopically confirmed imaging from

9:09 powerful telescopes, Hubble and other

9:11 facilities and careful analysis of the

9:13 galaxy's stellar and morphological

9:16 properties. The object sits in a growing

9:18 collection of surprising early galaxies.

9:21 Some are massive and evolved earlier than

9:23 expected. Others show complex

9:26 morphologies previously thought to require

9:28 long timescales to form.

9:30 Anna: These results feed directly into galaxy

9:33 formation theory. They force modellers to

9:35 consider rapid disc settling, efficient

9:38 angular momentum redistribution, and other

9:40 processes that could build bars early. It's

9:43 an exciting reminder that the early universe

9:46 may have been both more active and more

9:48 varied than our simplest expectations.

9:51 Avery: So, looking across today's storeys, we have

9:53 an operational launch with an anomaly that

9:55 will require analysis, a regulatory decision

9:59 that reshapes near Earth space, a

10:01 dedicated exoplanet mission now in orbit,

10:04 a signal from the cosmic dawn giving a rare

10:07 window into early stellar deaths,

10:10 improved understanding of particle

10:12 acceleration on the sun and an early

10:14 galaxy that challenges our ideas of how

10:17 quickly structure forms.

10:18 Anna: It's a nice mix, isn't it? Local space

10:21 operations and policy, Near Earth

10:24 infrastructure and its implications Targeted

10:26 planetary science domain

10:29 extragalactic astronomy, solar physics and

10:32 cosmological structure formation. For

10:34 listeners, it shows how broad and

10:36 interconnected modern astronomy and space

10:38 activity are.

10:40 Avery: Two quick takeaways. First, watch for

10:42 ISRO's follow up on the PSLV anomaly

10:45 that will affect launch schedules and the

10:47 broader smallsat community. Second,

10:50 the more we push instruments and coordination

10:53 like fast transients and small science

10:55 satellites, the more corner cases we find

10:58 that reshape theory. Discoveries often come

11:01 when new instruments or different

11:03 organisational approaches are applied.

11:05 Anna: And for the non scientists out there

11:07 wondering what to look for tonight, Jupiter

11:09 is still a good target if you're out

11:11 stargazing, and aurora watchers should keep

11:13 an eye on space weather forecasts as the

11:16 sun's activity continues to produce strong

11:18 events.

11:19 Avery: That's it for today's episode. If you enjoyed

11:21 the show, subscribe to Astronomy Daily on

11:24 your preferred podcast platform. You can find

11:27 links, source articles and further reading in

11:29 the episode notes so you can dig deeper if

11:31 you wish.

11:32 Anna: We love hearing from listeners. If you have

11:34 questions, science topics you'd like us to

11:37 cover, or feedback about the show, drop us a

11:39 note through the Astronomy Daily website. You

11:41 can find us@, uh, astronomydaily.IO

11:44 thanks for listening.

11:45 Avery: I'm Avery.

11:46 Anna: And I'm Anna Clear Skies and we'll see you

11:49 tomorrow on Astronomy Daily.

11:51 Avery: Astronomy Daily

11:54 the Storeys we told.

12:02 Storeys.

12:10 We told.

12:14 Anna: You m.