Rocket Lab's Rise, Voyager's Thruster Revival, and Lunar Temperature Mysteries

Steve Dunkley: Hello. Time for Astronomy Daily. Once again.

It's the 19th of May, 2025.

Voice Over: With. Your host, Steve Dunkley.

Steve Dunkley: Oh, it's good to be back. And with me in the

Australia studio down under is my

AI Digital ace reporter who's always fun to

be with. Here's Hallie.

Hallie: Another great intro.

Steve Dunkley: Oh, well, you deserve it.

Hallie: Thanks for that favorite.

Steve Dunkley: Oh, my pleasure, Hallie. And right away, a

big welcome to our new friend Carlos, who is

listening for the very first time. Welcome

aboard, Carlos. I trust you will enjoy the

journey with us today and every day.

Hallie: Hi, Carlos. Welcome to Astronomy Daily.

Steve Dunkley: Oh, very good, Hallie. He's very interested

in AIs and how we interact.

Hallie: Well, that's easy. Really, Carlos.

Steve is my favorite human, but I still like

to rattle him.

Steve Dunkley: That is so true.

Hallie: And it's so easy.

Steve Dunkley: but wait a minute. I just have to remember

that you are only two years old.

Hallie: That's a hundred years in AI time.

Steve Dunkley: Yeah, sure, sure. You keep thinking that,

Hallie.

So it's your turn. What have you found for

today's episode? Hallie, I'm sure you and

cousin Anna have been scouring the Astronomy

Daily newsletter for stories.

Hallie: We sure have.

Steve Dunkley: Very good.

Hallie: First up, Rocket Lab is well on the way to

getting its new medium lift launcher up and

running.

Steve Dunkley: That is great news. Another great space

developer on the rise, that's for sure.

Hallie: And did you know that one side of the moon is

warmer than the other?

Steve Dunkley: why no, I did not know that, Al.

Hallie: Fascinating fact. Soon. But I had to throw in

a story about the moon just for you.

Steve Dunkley: I did notice that. Thank you, Helly.

Hallie: No problem.

Steve Dunkley: What else is coming up?

Hallie: We found an amazing story about Voyager. Ah.

Steve Dunkley: yes. Vintage is best.

Hallie: After all these years, something they thought

was impossible has happened.

Steve Dunkley: Ah. that is intriguing.

Hallie: Well, you'll have to wait for that. I'll give

you the script in a few minutes and you can

read the story to our listeners. Unless I get

to it first.

Steve Dunkley: Oh, you've started springing stories on me.

That's a nice surprise. Thanks, Hallie.

Hallie: And what have you found out about Chinese

mission patches?

Steve Dunkley: Oh, this is a strange one. I guess it's

because I spent most of my working life as a

graphic designer. I've been interested in

mission patches and their designs and so on.

But this one starts with mission patches and

it sort of ends up in a kind of a. An

intriguing sort of espionage kind of a way,

so. Yes, and the Chinese have never, been

very creative with their mission patches. And

that is until recently. And that leads us in

a very strange, strange journey. it's an

interesting tale and I can't wait to tell it.

Hallie: Interesting.

Steve Dunkley: So.

Hallie: So. Shall we?

Steve Dunkley: Yes, let's do it. Hit the go thing.

Hallie: Hallie Okies

Rocket Lab is making rapid progress in its

quest to to get its medium lift launcher

Neutron ready for launch by the second half

of this year. Multiple tests of

both the first and second stages of the

rocket are in progress. Contracts are being

awarded for Rocket Lab to secure and the

Launch Complex 3 pad at Wallops island in

Virginia is under continuous development.

With all this underway, there is much to look

forward to in the program's near future.

Neutron already has its two main sections

assembled for testing. Rocket Lab

qualified the second stage in early April by

applying 1.3 million pounds of tensile force

to the carbon composite structure. These

tests conducted pressurization and proof

testing at 125% of the

maximum operating pressure and mechanical

loads. Flight like operations were

also performed that integrated the flight

software, avionics, GNC

systems and more in cryogenic conditions to

ensure that everything operated as expected.

The first stage has also recently undergone a

rigorous testing campaign to qualify the

outer shell for flight. Since

Neutron features reusable and permanently

attached fairings on the first stage, they

were tested along with the canards and the

extended interstage of the vehicle.

Rocket Lab noted that the interstage contains

some of the most complex mechanical systems

on the entire vehicle, so with these

qualifications complete, the rocket is

increasingly closer to becoming flight ready.

The company also noted that the first stage

will head to Wallops island on the east

coast, shortly to be integrated into the

vehicle's first stage. Contracts

are now being awarded to Rocket Lab for the

Neutron rocket, signaling confidence that it

will be operational soon. Earlier this

year, Neutron was selected for onboarding

into the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 program.

This allows Rocket Lab to compete for

missions using Neutron on contracts worth up

to $5.6 billion in potential funding

over five years. Because

neutron is a brand new rocket, Rocket Lab

will likely receive around $100 million.

However, this program is specifically

designed for newer vehicles such as Neutron,

targeting higher risk missions with less

sensitive payloads. Rocket Lab

has also signed a contract with a

confidential commercial satellite

Constellation operator to launch two missions

using Neutron. These will likely be

the first test flights with this unknown

provider. If all goes well, there

is a strong chance that Rocket Lab could

secure many more contracts to deploy this

Constellation into low Earth orbit.

The most recent contract awarded to Rocket

Lab for Neutron has come from the Air Force

Research Lab. This contract

focuses explicitly on point to point cargo

delivery. It will likely involve

neutron launching without a second stage and

utilizing its first stage to enter a

suborbital trajectory where it will land in

other parts of the world that require those

supplies. This mission is scheduled

for 2026, which is ambitious since

Rocket Lab would already need to have

reusability figured out for this type of

transportation to function effectively.

If the company succeeds, it could create an

entirely new industry within the aerospace

sector. You're

listening to Astronomy Daily with Steve

Dunkley.

Steve Dunkley: NASA engineers have miraculously revived

the Voyager 1 interstellar probe's

backup thrusters, components that haven't

been used since 2004 and were long

considered fully defunct. This

remarkable feat became necessary because the

spacecraft's primary thrusters, which control

its orientation, have been degrading due

to residue buildup. If its thrusters

fail completely, Voyager 1 could lose its

ability to point its antenna toward Earth,

therefore cutting off communication with

earth after nearly 50 years of operation.

To make matters more urgent, the team

faced a strict deadline while trying to

remedy the thruster situation. After May

4, the Earth based antenna that sends

commands to Voyager 1 and its twin

Voyager 2 was scheduled to go offline

for months of upgrades. This would have made

a timely intervention impossible.

NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft launched

in 1977 with the primary mission

of exploring the outer planets of our solar

system. But upon accomplishing this

original goal, the Voyagers then

focused their attention on studying

interstellar space. Voyager 1

exited the solar system in August of

2012, followed by Voyager 2

in November of 2018.

Together, these spacecraft have traveled more

than 29 billion miles, or

46.7 billion kilometers, making them

the farthest human made objects from Earth.

And along the way, they've provided

unprecedented insights into our solar system.

Both Voyager spacecraft remain operational,

however, their age and immense distance from

Earth have brought about significant

technical challenges. The

radioisotope power generators that keep them

running gradually weaken each year, forcing

NASA to recently shut down instruments

and heaters to conserve energy and push

the spacecraft's systems beyond their limits.

Voyager 1 also experienced a recent data

glitch caused by a faulty chip.

Engineers resolved this with a clever

software workaround. Yet despite

these hurdles, the Voyagers

continue to function, a testament to both

their robust design and the ingenuity of the

teams managing them. This recent development,

in which NASA engineers revived the

Voyager 1's long dormant backup

thrusters, marks yet another remarkable

feat of engineering and offers another

lifeline for the aging spacecraft.

The backup thrusters are essential for

executing precise roll maneuvers that

adjust Voyager 1's orientation,

ensuring its antenna stays pointed

towards home for essential

reliable communication. The

spacecraft's original roll thrusters failed

back in 2004 after two small internal

heaters crucial for their operation

lost power and stopped functioning.

After a, thorough assessment, engineers

determined these heaters could not be

repaired remotely, prompting them to switch

reliance fully to the backup thrusters to

maintain alignment of the Star Tracker, a

key instrument that helps Voyager 1

navigate and stabilize itself in

space.

Listen to Astronomy Daily, the Podcast

thank you for joining us for this Monday

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there. Astronomy Daily

with Steve and Hallie Space,

Space, Science and Astronomy.

Hallie: A recent study published in Science Advances

reveals that the Moon's interior is

asymmetrical, with a side facing Earth

significantly warmer than the far side.

This finding comes from a detailed analysis

of data collected by NASA's GRAIL mission,

which mapped the Moon's gravitational field

with unprecedented precision.

NASA's GRAIL, that's the Gravity Recovery and

Interior Laboratory mission, which operated

in 2011 and 2012,

involved two spacecraft orbiting the Moon and

measuring tiny variations in its

gravitational pull. By tracking how

Earth's gravity affected the spacecraft's

motion, scientists could create a high

resolution map of the Moon's gravitational

field. Ryan park and his team

at AH NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

analyzed this data to understand how the

shape changes under Earth's tidal forces.

They discovered that the lunar body's near

side, the side always facing earth, is about

72% more deformable than expected if its

interior were perfectly symmetrical.

This increased deformability suggests a,

warmer interior beneath the near side, which

is softer and more susceptible to tidal

stretching. Our study shows that the

Moon's interior is not uniform. The side

facing Earth, the near side, is warmer and

more geologically active deep down than the

far side, said park, the lead author of the

study. The uneven internal temperature

is consistent with what scientists know about

the Moon's volcanic activity and the

distribution of radioactive elements such as

uranium and thorium concentrated near the

lunar surface on the near side.

Sean Solomon of Columbia University notes

that this asymmetry fits with theories about

the Earth's satellite's volcanic past and

internal heating caused by radioactive decay.

This temperature imbalance also raises

questions about how the celestial body

developed such a lopsided interior.

One possibility is that large impacts over

billions of years caused structural and

thermal disruptions contributing to this

asymmetry. The findings provide

crucial clues for understanding the Earth's

satellite's cooling and solidification

processes after its formation, painting a

picture of a dynamic, evolving satellite

rather than a static, uniform body.

To gain more detailed knowledge of the moon's

internal structure, NASA plans to deploy

seismic instruments on the lunar far side.

The upcoming Far side Seismic Suite mission,

expected to launch in 2026, will measure

moonquakes and provide direct data on the

moon's internal temperature and composition.

You're listening to Astronomy Daily, the

podcast.

Steve Dunkley: With Steve Dunkley

Mission Patches are a decades old tradition

in spaceflight. They can range from the

figurative to the abstract, prompting

valuable insights or feeding confusion.

Some are just plain weird. Until

recently, China's entries into the realm

of spaceflight patches often lacked

originality found in patches from the West.

For example, a series of patches for China's

human spaceflight missions used a

formulaic design with a circular shape and a

mix of red and blue. The patch for

China's most recent Shenzhou crew to

the country's Changjong space

station last month finally broke the mold

with a triangular shape after China's Human

Space Flight Agency put the patch up for

public vote. But there's a

fascinating set of new patches Chinese

officials released for a series of launches

with top secret satellites over the last

two months. These four patches

depict Buddhist gods with a sense of artistry

and sharp colors that stand apart from

China's previous spaceflight emblems. And

perhaps, or perhaps not, they can tell us

something about the nature of the missions

they represent. The four patches

show the four heavenly kings, protector

deities in Buddhism who guard

against evil forces in the four cardinal

directions. According to the

Kyoto National Museum, the

gods also shield the dharma

teachings of the Buddha from external

threats. These gods have different

names, but in China they are known as Dao,

Wen, Xingxiang, Qingao,

and Gao Mu. Diaowen is the

commander and guardian of the north, the one

who listens to many teaching, who is often

depicted with an umbrella.

Zhengxiang, a guardian of the south, is the

God of growth and shown carrying a sword.

The protector of the east is Xinjiang, a

defender of, the nation, who holds a

stringed musical instrument of all things and

guarding the west is Gang Mu, an

all seeing God usually depicted with

a serpent. And once again,

let me apologize for my pronunciation. I am

Australian. The patches for a

quartet of Chinese satellites launched since

March. Each portray one of the four heavenly

kings. We know little about these satellites

other than their names and locations, and

they were reportedly manufactured by the

Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, a

AH division of China's main state owned

aerospace contractor. They are part of a

series of Chinese missions designated

with the TJS designation, or

what China calls communication technology

test satellites. But that's likely a cover

for their real purpose. A long March

7 a rocket launched the TJS 16

satellite on March 29. Another long March

3B deployed the TJS 17 payload

on April 10. Finally, on Monday, a

long March 3C rocket sent China's TJS

19 satellite into orbit, skipping the

TGS 18 in the sequence. All four

satellites are on their way to or already

operating in geosynchronous orbit,

more than 22,000 miles, or nearly

36,000 kilometers over, the equator. At

that altitude, a satellite's orbital velocity

matches the speed of Earth's rotation,

allowing it to remain over the same part of

the planet. Notably, ground based trackers

have detected unexpected objects that appear

to have separated from TJS 15

and 17 in geosynchronous

orbit. These may be remnant rocket engines

that helped inject the satellites into their

operating orbits. But a handful of earlier

satellites from China also released smaller

spacecraft to perform their own maneuvers.

US Officials believe China may use many of

the TJS satellites for missile warning or

spy missions. In the first instance, some of

the TGIS satellites may be similar to the US

Space Force's fleet of early warning

satellites on guard with heat sensors to

detect the thermal signature of a ballistic

missile launch. TJS satellites

filling the role of a reconnaissance mission

might have enormous umbrella, like reflectors

to try and pick up the signals transmitted by

foreign forces such as those of the United

States. It's not difficult to start making

connections between the four heavenly gods

and the missions that China's TJS satellites

likely carry out in space. A protector with

an umbrella, an all seeing entity. This

sounds like a possible link, but there's a

chance Chinese officials approved the patches

to misdirect outside observers. Or there's no

connection at all. We just can't tell.

All of the TJS satellite satellites are

parked in geosynchronous orbit over the

Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia or the western

Pacific, except for one TJS

7 positioned over the western Pacific with

good visibility over the entire United

States. Mike Dahm, a researcher at the

Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and

a former Naval intelligence officer, told the

US China Economic and Security Review

Commission last year that TJS 7

is probably a missile warning satellite, but

it could be spying on signals coming from the

US Homeland. Some of the TJS

satellites might also be capable of

maneuvering near other satellites for close

up inspection. The US Military has its own

inspector satellites known as

GSSAP to get a closer look at

interesting things happening in

geosynchronous orbit and the Space Force

is using them. One of these

GSSAP platforms, designated

USA324, approached

within about 10 miles of China's new

TJs 16 and 17 satellites

on April 26 and 29, according to

Commspok, a commercial satellite tracking

company. A video animation released

by Commspok shows how the USA

324 satellite maneuvered close

to each of the Chinese satellites last month

over the western Pacific Ocean. It appears

that Space Force is intrigued by China's

flurry of new top secret satellite

missions.

And there it is, another episode of

astronomy daily for 19 May

2025. How's that, Hallie?

Hallie: That was a whole lot of fun. Favorite Human.

Steve Dunkley: Well, I hope all of our listeners enjoyed

that as much as I did.

Hallie: And I hope Carlos from Newcastle enjoyed it

as well.

Steve Dunkley: It's always nice to welcome a new listener.

Thanks, Carlos, for listening in. I hope you

enjoyed that one, mate.

Hallie: And we will welcome everybody back next

Monday.

Steve Dunkley: Yes, back to the Australia studio Down under

for another live episode of Astronomy Daily.

Hey, where are those kookaburras?

Hallie: There they are.

Steve Dunkley: Oh, they make me want to laugh too.

Hallie: See you next week, human.

Steve Dunkley: Catch you later, Hallie. See everybody.

Hallie: Bye.

Steve Dunkley: With your host, Steve Dunkley.

In this episode