Military Launch Contracts Unveiled, Historic Polar Spaceflight Ends

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, where we bring you the latest

0:03 Speaker 1: in space and astronomy news. I'm Anna, and I'm thrilled

0:07 Speaker 1: to be your guide through today's cosmic journey. Coming up

0:10 Speaker 1: on today's episode, we'll explore some major developments spanning the

0:13 Speaker 1: entire space sector. We'll look at how SpaceX Ula and

0:16 Speaker 1: Blue Origin are sharing a massive thirteen point five billion

0:20 Speaker 1: dollars in military launch contracts, marking a significant shift in

0:24 Speaker 1: national security space access. Then we'll follow the adventure of

0:28 Speaker 1: four space tourists who just completed a groundbreaking flight circling

0:32 Speaker 1: our planet above both poles, a true first in human

0:35 Speaker 1: spaceflight history. We'll also check in with the hardworking crew

0:38 Speaker 1: aboard the International Space Station, where cutting edge robotics, experiments

0:42 Speaker 1: and crucial medical research continue as they prepare to welcome

0:45 Speaker 1: new crewmates. Plus, we'll dive into fascinating astronomical research, including

0:51 Speaker 1: how scientists are essentially listening to stars through their vibrations

0:55 Speaker 1: to understand their inner working, and a jaw dropping discovery

0:59 Speaker 1: from the James Webb Space Telescope of an ancient galaxy

1:02 Speaker 1: that's challenging everything we thought we knew about galactic evolution.

1:06 Speaker 1: So strap in As we blast off into today's cosmic

1:09 Speaker 1: news roundup, The US Department of Defense has made a

1:13 Speaker 1: historic move in the space sector, awarding a combined thirteen

1:17 Speaker 1: point seven billion dollars in launch service contracts to SpaceX,

1:21 Speaker 1: United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin. This landmark decision marks

1:26 Speaker 1: the first time three companies will share responsibility for launching

1:30 Speaker 1: high priority military and intelligence payloads, significantly reshaping the national

1:35 Speaker 1: security launch landscape. SpaceX emerged as the leading contractor in

1:39 Speaker 1: this arrangement, securing five point nine billion dollars in anticipated awards.

1:44 Speaker 1: ULA followed closely with five point four billion dollars, while

1:48 Speaker 1: Blue Origin secured nearly two point four billion dollars. Together,

1:52 Speaker 1: these aerospace giants are expected to conduct fifty four launches

1:56 Speaker 1: for the Pentagon between fiscal years twenty twenty five five

2:00 Speaker 1: and twenty twenty nine. General Chance Saltzman, chief of Space

2:04 Speaker 1: Operations for the US Space Force, emphasized the strategic importance

2:09 Speaker 1: of this investment, calling it the foundation of both economic

2:12 Speaker 1: prosperity and national security. These contracts fall under the National

2:17 Speaker 1: Security Space Launch Phase three Lane two procurement, which focuses

2:21 Speaker 1: specifically on complex missions to high energy orbits with enhanced

2:25 Speaker 1: security requirements. The distribution of these fifty four projected missions

2:30 Speaker 1: reflects the current capabilities and trust placed in each provider.

2:34 Speaker 1: SpaceX will carry out the Lion's share with twenty eight

2:37 Speaker 1: launches approximately sixty percent of the total. ULA will handle

2:42 Speaker 1: nineteen missions about thirty five percent, while Blue Origin is

2:46 Speaker 1: slated for seven launches. Interestingly, Blue Origins assignments are contingent

2:51 Speaker 1: on certification of its New Glen rocket, which has flown

2:54 Speaker 1: just once so far. This three provider approach represents a

2:58 Speaker 1: significant shift in the Pentagon strategy. The inclusion of Blue

3:02 Speaker 1: Origin introduces more competition into a market that SpaceX has

3:05 Speaker 1: dominated since the previous round of contracts in twenty twenty.

3:09 Speaker 1: Despite New Glen not yet being certified for national security missions,

3:13 Speaker 1: Space Force officials have expressed confidence that the rocket will

3:16 Speaker 1: be ready by the time Blue Origins assignments begin. The

3:20 Speaker 1: Phase three acquisition strategy employs a dual lane approach to

3:23 Speaker 1: ensure diversification. Lane one targets less risk averse, commercial like missions,

3:29 Speaker 1: while Lane two focuses on high stakes missions demanding elevated

3:32 Speaker 1: performance and security standards. Under these contracts, all three companies

3:37 Speaker 1: must meet stringent mission assurance requirements and participate in joint

3:41 Speaker 1: integration efforts with government teams. This development builds on the

3:45 Speaker 1: Pentagon's ongoing efforts to eliminate dependence on Russian made rocket

3:50 Speaker 1: engines while fostering a competitive domestic launch market capable of

3:54 Speaker 1: meeting evolving space requirements. The first round of mission assignments

3:58 Speaker 1: under these new contracts will be announced later this year,

4:02 Speaker 1: with launches expected to take place from fiscal year twenty

4:04 Speaker 1: twenty seven through twenty thirty two. Next, let's get a

4:09 Speaker 1: rap on the major story of the week. In a

4:11 Speaker 1: remarkable achievement for commercial spaceflight, four space tourists have safely

4:15 Speaker 1: returned to Earth after completing a groundbreaking orbital journey circling

4:19 Speaker 1: the globe above the North and South Poles. This historic mission,

4:23 Speaker 1: which concluded with a Pacific Ocean splash down this past Friday,

4:26 Speaker 1: marks both the first human spaceflight to traverse this unique

4:29 Speaker 1: polar route and the first Pacific splashdown for a crude

4:32 Speaker 1: spacecraft in five decades. Bitcoin entrepreneur Chun Wang privately chartered

4:37 Speaker 1: the SpaceX Dragon capsule for this extraordinary adventure, though he

4:41 Speaker 1: declined to reveal the price tag for the three point

4:43 Speaker 1: five day journey. Wang carefully selected his three fellow travelers,

4:48 Speaker 1: Norwegian filmmaker Jenica Mickelson, German robotics researcher Rebea Roga, and

4:53 Speaker 1: Australian polar guide Eric Phillips. Together, they experienced views of

4:57 Speaker 1: our planet that no human had witnessed before from them

5:00 Speaker 1: orbital perspective. The cruise Dragon capsule featured a specialized domed

5:05 Speaker 1: window providing breath taking three hundred sixty degree views of

5:08 Speaker 1: Earth's polar regions and everything in between. Roga described the

5:12 Speaker 1: polar landscapes as epic and likened them to another kind

5:16 Speaker 1: of desert that extends endlessly across the horizon. Meanwhile, Mickelson

5:21 Speaker 1: documented the journey extensively, bringing along professional camera equipment to

5:26 Speaker 1: capture their unprecedented vantage point. The journey wasn't without its challenges.

5:31 Speaker 1: All four passengers experienced space motion sickness after reaching orbit,

5:36 Speaker 1: according to Wang's social media updates. However, by the second day,

5:41 Speaker 1: they had adjusted to the weightless environment and eagerly opened

5:44 Speaker 1: the window cover right above the south pole to take

5:47 Speaker 1: in the extraordinary view. Beyond sight seeing, the crew conducted

5:51 Speaker 1: meaningful scientific work during their brief mission. They performed the

5:55 Speaker 1: first medical X rays in space as part of a

5:58 Speaker 1: test procedure, and completed two dozen additional science experiments. The

6:02 Speaker 1: mission was named Fram two, after the Norwegian sailing ship

6:06 Speaker 1: that carried explorers to the polar regions more than a

6:08 Speaker 1: century ago. In a touching tribute, a fragment of the

6:12 Speaker 1: original ship's wooden deck accompanied the crew to space. A

6:15 Speaker 1: SpaceX noted that this mission also marked a shift in

6:18 Speaker 1: their operational approach, as they've decided to switch future splash

6:22 Speaker 1: down sites from Florida to the Pacific Ocean for safety reasons.

6:27 Speaker 1: This ensures that any surviving pieces of the trunk section,

6:30 Speaker 1: which is jettison near the end of flight, will fall

6:33 Speaker 1: harmlessly into the ocean. Historically significant, the last space travelers

6:39 Speaker 1: to return from orbit to the Pacific were the three

6:42 Speaker 1: NASA astronauts from the nineteen seventy five Apollo Soyuz mission.

6:47 Speaker 1: This pioneering polar orbit journey represents another significant milestone in

6:51 Speaker 1: the rapidly evolving landscape of commercial space tourism, demonstrating the

6:56 Speaker 1: expanding capabilities and unique experiences now becoming available beyond traditional

7:02 Speaker 1: government space programs. Have you ever wondered what they do

7:06 Speaker 1: on the iss from day to day. Well, I'll tell

7:09 Speaker 1: you it's been a bustling week aboard the International Space Station.

7:13 Speaker 1: As the Expedition seventy two crew balances cutting edge research

7:17 Speaker 1: with preparation for upcoming crew changes, The Orbital Laboratory continues

7:22 Speaker 1: to serve as humanity's premiere microgravity research platform, with activities

7:27 Speaker 1: spanning from robotics to human physiology studies. NASA astronauts Don

7:32 Speaker 1: Pettitt and Jacksa's Takuya Onishi collaborated on an innovative robotics

7:36 Speaker 1: experiment using the station's astro b free flying robots. These

7:41 Speaker 1: cube shaped autonomous devices, equipped with tentacle like grippers featuring

7:45 Speaker 1: gecko inspired adhesive pads, were tested on their ability to detect,

7:50 Speaker 1: maneuver toward, and capture objects in microgravity. The technology demonstrates

7:54 Speaker 1: promising applications for future satellite servicing and space debris removal,

7:59 Speaker 1: critical capabilities as we work towards sustainable space operations. Meanwhile,

8:04 Speaker 1: the unique environment of space continues providing valuable insights into

8:08 Speaker 1: human health. NASA flight engineer Nicole Ayer's conducted exercise physiology research,

8:13 Speaker 1: pedaling on a specialized cycle while connected to sensors and

8:16 Speaker 1: breathing equipment. The data collected helps scientists understand how the

8:21 Speaker 1: cardiovascular system adapts to weightlessness and guides the development of

8:25 Speaker 1: more effective exercise protocols for long duration space missions. Another

8:30 Speaker 1: fascinating experiment involved oneche wearing a specialized thigh cuff designed

8:35 Speaker 1: to alter fluid distribution in the body. This research tackles

8:38 Speaker 1: one of spaceflight's persistent medical challenges, the fluid shift toward

8:42 Speaker 1: the head that can cause increased pressure in the eyes

8:46 Speaker 1: and brain. Airs assisted by using ultrasound equipment to measure

8:50 Speaker 1: blood flow in onehe's legs, evaluating the cuff's effectiveness. Maintaining

8:55 Speaker 1: the station's complex life support systems remains a priority. Air's

8:59 Speaker 1: Pettit and NASA ann maclain performed critical spacesuit maintenance in

9:02 Speaker 1: the quest airlock checking for oxygen leaks, replacing electronic components,

9:07 Speaker 1: and servicing life support gear. These routine but essential tasks

9:11 Speaker 1: ensure the suits remain ready for emergency situations or scheduled spacewalks.

9:16 Speaker 1: On the Russian segment, cosmonauts focused on environmental monitoring roscosmo's

9:21 Speaker 1: flight engineer Evan Wagner collected microbial samples from various station

9:25 Speaker 1: surfaces to better understand how microorganisms adapt to spaceflight conditions,

9:31 Speaker 1: research crucial for maintaining crew health during future long duration missions.

9:35 Speaker 1: Fellow cosmonaut Kyril Peskov measured carbon dioxide levels and performed

9:40 Speaker 1: maintenance on communications equipment. As the current crew continues their

9:44 Speaker 1: orbital work, a fresh trio of spacefarers is making final

9:47 Speaker 1: preparations for launch. NASA astronaut Johnny Kim and ros Cosmos

9:52 Speaker 1: cosmonauts Sergei Rizhakov and Alexander Zubritsky are scheduled to lift

9:56 Speaker 1: off aboard the Soyuz MS twenty seven spacecraft on April

10:00 Speaker 1: eighth from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Following a three

10:04 Speaker 1: hour journey to catch up with the station, they'll dock

10:07 Speaker 1: to the Prishaal module and begin an eight month scientific mission. Meanwhile,

10:12 Speaker 1: station commander Alexei Ovchinin is readying the Soyuz MS twenty

10:17 Speaker 1: six spacecraft for its return journey on April nineteenth, when

10:20 Speaker 1: he'll bring Wagner and Pettit back to Earth after their

10:23 Speaker 1: extended stay in orbit. This carefully choreographed crew rotation ensures

10:27 Speaker 1: continuous human presence aboard our outpost in space, maintaining the

10:31 Speaker 1: unbroken chain of occupation that now extends beyond two decades.

10:36 Speaker 1: Next up. Today, stars don't just shine, They hum, with

10:40 Speaker 1: hidden vibrations that could unlock secrets about their inner workings.

10:44 Speaker 1: Scientists have discovered a fascinating new method to study what

10:47 Speaker 1: they call stellar quakes, which are ripples of gas on

10:50 Speaker 1: a star surface that offer tantalizing clues about what lies beneath.

10:54 Speaker 1: These stellar quakes function remarkably similarly to earthquakes here on

10:58 Speaker 1: our planet. When hot gas rises, cools, and sinks in

11:02 Speaker 1: a churning cycle within a star's convective envelope, the turbulent

11:05 Speaker 1: outer layer, it creates vibrations that propagate throughout the entire

11:09 Speaker 1: stellar body. By detecting subtle variations in a star's brightness,

11:14 Speaker 1: astronomers can identify these acoustic oscillations. Stellar quakes happen in

11:19 Speaker 1: most stars that have a bubbling outer layer, like a

11:21 Speaker 1: pot of boiling water, explains Claudiu Raeus, who conducted the

11:24 Speaker 1: research at the University of New South Wales. These bubbles

11:28 Speaker 1: of hot gas rise and burst at the surface, sending

11:31 Speaker 1: ripples through the entire star. Just as each musical instrument

11:35 Speaker 1: produces its own distinctive sound. Each star vibrates with unique

11:39 Speaker 1: resonant frequencies determined by its internal structure and physical properties.

11:44 Speaker 1: Larger stars produce deeper, slower vibrations, while smaller stars vibrate

11:49 Speaker 1: at higher pitches. By analyzing specific aspects of these vibrations,

11:53 Speaker 1: such as what scientists call small frequency spacing, researchers can

11:57 Speaker 1: estimate a star's hydrogen fuel reserves, essentially determining how far

12:01 Speaker 1: along it is in its life cycle. The research team

12:04 Speaker 1: focused on measuring stellar quakes in twenty seven stars from

12:08 Speaker 1: Messia sixty seven, an open cluster containing over five hundred

12:12 Speaker 1: stars with an age similar to our sun. This cluster

12:15 Speaker 1: offered an ideal laboratory since it contains many stars at

12:18 Speaker 1: different evolutionary stages but with similar chemical compositions. What made

12:24 Speaker 1: their findings particularly exciting was the discovery of a stalling frequency,

12:29 Speaker 1: a point where a star's vibrations stop changing and repeat

12:32 Speaker 1: the same note. This stalling correlates with the lower boundary

12:36 Speaker 1: of the star's convective envelope, providing astronomers with a powerful

12:40 Speaker 1: new diagnostic tool to estimate stellar masses and ages. With

12:43 Speaker 1: improved precision, stars are like fossil records that carry information

12:47 Speaker 1: about the environments in which they formed, noted reyes. By

12:51 Speaker 1: studying them, astronomers can piece together the story of our galaxy.

12:55 Speaker 1: This breakthrough in stellar seismology promises to enhance our understanding

12:59 Speaker 1: of stellar evolution in galactic history. By decoding the subtle

13:03 Speaker 1: music of the stars, scientists are developing a more accurate

13:07 Speaker 1: cosmic timeline and gaining insights into the fundamental processes that

13:11 Speaker 1: drive stellar life cycles, including what might eventually happen to

13:15 Speaker 1: our own sun. Finally, today, let's check in with an

13:19 Speaker 1: old friend. The James Web Space Telescope has made another

13:22 Speaker 1: groundbreaking discovery, uncovering a colossal spiral galaxy that's challenging our

13:27 Speaker 1: understanding of galactic evolution. Nicknamed Big Wheel, this enormous galaxy

13:32 Speaker 1: existed just two billion years after the Big Bang, during

13:36 Speaker 1: what should have been the cosmic equivalent of childhood for

13:39 Speaker 1: most galaxies. The discovery comes from astronomers at the University

13:43 Speaker 1: of Milano Bikoca, who found Big Wheel near a quasar,

13:47 Speaker 1: an extremely powerful and active supermassive black hole located a

13:52 Speaker 1: staggering eleven point seven billion light years away. This ancient

13:56 Speaker 1: galaxy earned its nickname from both its impressive size and

13:59 Speaker 1: remarkably rotation. What makes Big Wheel so extraordinary is its

14:03 Speaker 1: scale and maturity. It's approximately five times more massive than

14:07 Speaker 1: our own Milky Way and stretches across one hundred thousand

14:10 Speaker 1: light years. Using the telescope's near infrared spectrograph, researchers confirmed

14:16 Speaker 1: that Big Wheel is a fully formed, rotating disc with

14:19 Speaker 1: characteristics typically found only in much more developed galaxies. The

14:23 Speaker 1: galaxy's rotation curve shows a pattern consistent with mature spiral

14:27 Speaker 1: galaxies we observe today. Its velocity increases as you move

14:31 Speaker 1: outward from the center, reaching several hundred miles per second,

14:35 Speaker 1: remarkably similar to galaxies that have had billions more years

14:38 Speaker 1: to develop. This suggests that despite its youth, Big Wheel

14:43 Speaker 1: was already behaving like a fully mature galaxy during an

14:46 Speaker 1: era when most galaxies were expected to be small and

14:50 Speaker 1: in their earliest developmental stages. This galaxy is spectacular for

14:54 Speaker 1: being among the largest spiral galaxies ever found, which is

14:58 Speaker 1: unprecedented for this early era of the uear universe, explains

15:01 Speaker 1: Charles' Stitel, the studies lead author and astronomy professor at Caltech,

15:06 Speaker 1: so how did Big Wheel form so quickly. One clue

15:09 Speaker 1: may lie in its cosmic neighborhood. The galaxy resides in

15:12 Speaker 1: an extraordinarily dense region of space where galaxy concentrations are

15:17 Speaker 1: more than ten times higher than the cosmic average. This

15:21 Speaker 1: crowded environment may have provided ideal conditions for accelerated growth

15:25 Speaker 1: through efficient gas secretion and frequent mergers with other gas

15:28 Speaker 1: rich galaxies. We think this may open the door to

15:32 Speaker 1: understanding how some galaxies were able to bypass the usual

15:35 Speaker 1: slow process of star formation and grow to enormous sizes

15:39 Speaker 1: in the early universe, notes study co author Sebastiano Cantalupo.

15:44 Speaker 1: Big Wheel's existence presents a significant challenge to current cosmological models,

15:50 Speaker 1: which don't predict galaxies of this size and mass so

15:53 Speaker 1: early in the universe's history. The discovery suggests that, under

15:57 Speaker 1: certain conditions, galaxy formation and might not be the gradual

16:01 Speaker 1: process scientists previously thought. Instead, some galaxies may experience dramatic

16:07 Speaker 1: growth spurts and environments rich with the necessary building materials.

16:11 Speaker 1: As astronomers continue studying this cosmic outlier, they may need

16:15 Speaker 1: to adjust their models to account for these accelerated development pathways.

16:20 Speaker 1: Big Wheel stands as a testament to the Universe's ability

16:23 Speaker 1: to surprise us, even as our observational capabilities reach unprecedented

16:28 Speaker 1: levels of sophistication. And that wraps up today's episode of

16:32 Speaker 1: Astronomy Daily. From SpaceX securing military launch contracts to groundbreaking

16:37 Speaker 1: space tourism over the Poles, from cutting edge robotics research

16:41 Speaker 1: on the ISS, to the discovery of stellar quakes helping

16:44 Speaker 1: us understand stars, and finally to the astonishing Big Wheel

16:48 Speaker 1: Galaxy challenging our understanding of cosmic evolution. The universe continues

16:54 Speaker 1: to amaze and surprise us. I hope these stories have

16:57 Speaker 1: sparked your curiosity about the vastness above us US and

17:00 Speaker 1: the incredible scientific endeavors working to understand it. There's always

17:04 Speaker 1: something new to discover in the cosmos, and we'll be

17:07 Speaker 1: here to bring those discoveries right to you. I'm Anna,

17:10 Speaker 1: and it's been my pleasure being your host today. If

17:13 Speaker 1: you enjoyed this episode, I invite you to visit our

17:16 Speaker 1: website at Astronomy Daily dot io, where you can sign

17:19 Speaker 1: up for our free daily newsletter. While you're there, you

17:22 Speaker 1: can catch up on all the latest space and astronomy

17:25 Speaker 1: news with our constantly updating newsfeed and listen to all

17:28 Speaker 1: our back episodes. We'd love to connect with you on

17:31 Speaker 1: social media as well. Just search for Astro Daily Pod

17:34 Speaker 1: on Facebook, x YouTube, YouTube, Music, Instagram, and TikTok. Thanks

17:38 Speaker 1: so much for tuning in today, and remember to keep

17:40 Speaker 1: looking up. The universe is an endless source of wonder.

17:44 Speaker 1: Until next time. This is Astronomy Dailyday Start. The story

18:05 Speaker 1: is control