S02E20: Rocket Setbacks and Stellar Discoveries: Global Space Endeavors

Hi everybody, and welcome to the Astronomy Daily podcast for Friday, the fourteenth

of July twenty and twenty three. My name is Tim Gibson. I will

be your host for today's podcast. As usual, I have my AI assistant

Halli in the studio with me today. Now, Hallie, do you have

any interesting stories for us? Hi, Tim I do. Indeed, here

are my top stories for today. A Japanese rocket engine exploded during a test

on Friday, an official said, in the latest blow to the country's space

agency. The Epsilon S, an improved version of the Epsilon rocket that failed

to launch in October, blew up roughly fifty seconds after ignition. Science and

Technology Ministry official now Ya Takagami told AFP the testing site in the northern prefecture

of Akita was engulfed in flames and a huge plume of gray smoke rose into

the sky. Footage from National broadcaster and HK showed so far, we have

received no reports of injuries from the japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Jackson, which was

investigating the cause of the explosion. Takagami said. The malfunction comes after Tokyo

in March saw its second attempt to launch its next generation H three rocket fail

after liftoff, and after the failed launch of the solid fuel Epsilon in October.

That was Japan's first failed launch in nearly two decades and the only one

for an Epsilon rocket, a model that has flown five successful missions since its

two thirteen debut. In both incidents, Jackson was forced to send self destruct

orders to the rockets. The Epsilon is smaller than the country's previous liquid fueled

model and a successor to the solid fuel am In five rocket that was retired

in two thousand and six due to its high cost. Jackson said in May

that the cause of the failed launch in October was a defect in pipes that

carry fuel. Japan plans to launch the Epsilon S rocket next year after a

disheartening twenty nineteen moon landing failure. India's lunar exploration effort will resume Friday with

the planned launch of Chandrea in A three, a sophisticated automated mission to touch

down softly and demonstrate how its rover can navigate the surface. Liftoff is planned

for five oh five p m Eastern daylight time from the satishdoan space station in

Andhra province of Sariharakota, just above Chennai on the southeast coast. However,

if there is a delay, the launch window extends to Wednesday. After that

the launch attempt would have to be put off until September. Officials said.

To carry out its plan, the Indian Space Research Organization will send a spacecraft

Trio, a module that will sail all the way to the Moon and enter

orbit around it, a lander called Vicrum to reach the surface, and Pragyon,

a six wheeled mini rover that will travel to explore a region near the

lunar south Pole. The landing is planned for August twenty third or twenty four,

assuming no launch delay occurs. A GSLVMK three rocket, India's most powerful

and normally used to launch communication satellites, will be stretched to the limit of

its abilities to lift the eight thousand, six hundred pound payload. Prageon will

take two weeks or one lunar day to roam around and measure the soil temperature

using a thermal probe that it will insert to a depth of four inches.

Specifically, the probe will measure how heat spreads from the upper surface going downward,

The rover carries a mass spectrometer to analyze soil composition and a seismograph to

listen for mini moon quakes to provide scientists with clues about the Moon's internal structure.

Another instrument will analyze the effect of subatomic particles from the Sun interacting with

sand and dust. Astronomers at the University of Sydney have shown that a small,

faint star is the coldest on record to produce emission at radio wavelength.

The ultracool brown dwarf examined in the study is a ball of gas simmering at

about four hundred and twenty five degrees centigrade, cooler than a typical campfire without

burning nuclear fuel. By contrast, the surface temperature of the Sun a nuclear

inferno is about five thousand, six hundred degrees. While not the coldest star

ever found, it is the coolest so far analyzed using radio astronomy. The

findings are published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Lead author and PhD student in

the School of Physics, Covey Rows said it's very rare to find ultracol brown

dwarf stars like this producing radio emission. That's because their dynamics do not usually

produce the magnetic fields that generate radio emissions detectable from Earth. Finding this brown

dwarf producing radio waves at such a low temperature is a neat discovery. Deepening

our knowledge of ultracol brown dwarfs like this one will help us understand the evolution

of stars, including how they generate magnetic fields. How the internal dynamics of

brown dwarfs sometimes produce radio waves is something of an open question. While astronomers

have a good idea how larger main sequence of stars like the Sun generate magnetic

fields and radio emissions, it is still not fully known why fewer than ten

percent of brown dwarf stars produce such emission. The rapid rotation of ultracol dwarfs

is thought to play a part in generating their strong magnetic fields. When the

magnetic field rotates at a different speed to the dwarf'sionist atmosphere, it can create

electrical current flows. In this instance, it is thought the radio waves are

being produced by the inflow of electrons to the magnetic polar region of the star,

which, coupled with the rotation of the brown dwarf star, is producing

regularly repeating radio bursts. Thanks so that Hallie and now a story which will

be of particular interest to Australian listeners. The Australian government on Friday said it

was acting a billion dollar plan to develop a series of space satellites as it

tries to cut costs amid an economic slowdown and a cost of living crisis.

The Australian one point two billion National Space Mission for Earth Observation was unveiled just

last year and hailed as a key plan plank in developing an Australian space industry.

The program's aim was to design, build and operate four satellites to be

launched between two thousand and twenty eight and two thousand and thirty three to gather

Earth observation data. The data helps authorities forecast the weather, respond to natural

disasters, and manage the environment. But the country's center left government said the

plan will be scrapped for budget repair reasons, leaving Australia reliant on Earth data

from overseas partners. Industry and Science Minister Ed Husick told public broadcaster ABC on

Friday that prior to his prioritizing broader environmental things while fighting inflation, had meant

making tough calls. If I don't cut a bill and there, I've got

to find it somewhere else in the portfolio. He said. There are other

ways we can build capability. We're certainly interested in doing that. We just

have to make the call on this. Australia's government has promised to balance the

budget this year despite slow growth and a steady increase in defense spending. The

Space Industry Association of Australia said the decision to cancel the satellite program was shortsighted.

It will undermine the Albanese government's agenda on climate defense, stem advanced manufacturing

and building tech jobs. The Lobby Group for Australia's Space Industry set now here's

my two cents on this. Anthony Albanize, the Prime Minister of Australia,

commonly referred to as Albo Albo. Mate, if you're listening to the podcast,

this is not a good look for Australia. This is not an invest

in Australia's future. Please rethink your decision here. Invest in science, invest

in Australia, invest in astronomy, and invest in the youth of today.

I urge you to reconsider this decision of yours the Astronomy Daily podcast. China

Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, a leading Chinese science space contractor, has revealed

plans to create an expansive remote sensing satellite network by the end of this decade.

The announcement, made on Friday is an impressive testament to the ongoing advancement

in China's space exploration and surveillance capabilities. Managed by Classic Space Engineering Development Abaijing

based subsidiary of the corporation, a forthcoming satellite network will provide a range of

public services, including emergency response and rescue and disaster prevention and relief. In

addition to these services, the system will facilitate real time, high resolution observation

of specific areas and targets as per user requests. Although the network remains unnamed,

its scope and capability have been outlined with precision. Comprising three hundred remote

sensing satellites, the system will operate in extra low orbits at altitudes below three

hundred kilometers. This strategic positioning will enable the satellites to capture a diverse array

of data, from optical photos to radar data, and from hyper spectral to

infrared images. According to the company by twenty thirty, the network's responsiveness will

be such that it can map and survey any location on Earth within a quarter

of an hour from receiving a request. This bits timeline was announced at the

ninth China International Commercial Aerospace Forum, an influential space event that kicked off in

Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei Province, on Wednesday. Kassik's vision for

a comprehensive remote sensing satellite network underscores China's continued commitment to enhancing its capabilities in

space based technologies. These developments are expected to have far reaching impacts not only

on the nation's disaster management, but also on fields like climate research, land

use planning, and national security. Now as usual, you can find all

of our episodes on spacenuts dot io and bytes dot com. You can find

Steve on Monday's and myself as usual on Friday's. Thanks for listening to today's

episode. Good bye everybody, and enjoy your weekend. Bye for now,

Thanks Tim TTFN. Bye The Astronomy Daily Podcast.

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