S03E05: Astronomy Daily: Sailing the Stars with Light

Welcome again to Astronomy Daily. I'm Steve Dunkley, your host. It is

the fifth of February twenty twenty four. Podka gould be a whole Steve dunk

Clud, And like most February's in Australia, it's hot. Boy is it

hot? Did I mention how hot it is? Wow? It's hot today.

I got up to thirty seven degrees celsius. And for both of you

who are not using celsius and still on fahrenheit's, well it's hot. It's

hort I'm telling you it's hot. Oh, Steve, you're such a complainer.

Australia surely gets hotter than this. Actually, Hallie, it was reported

last year was the hottest year on record, and this year, well they're

expecting it to top that. So I'm not looking forward to any of this.

Put another tray of ice in the freezer. Well I might be the

only person in my street without an air conditioner, so I guess the ice

in the fridge is my only option, my poor toasty human. Wow,

Well, there's nothing we can do about it, no point complaining. So

what have we gone on the show today? Considering you are so incapacitated by

the heat. I'll have to take the lead. I'll steady on. Do

you remember your favorite sci fi novel The Mote in God's by Larry Niven and

Jerry Pornell. Oh, yes, I remember that one is a weird and

fantastic story about first contact. And I think the Aliens used a light sale

craft to traverse the distance from their world to human space. It was a

light sail craft. Yeah, it was fantastic and amazing. That's right.

We have a story about theoretical light sale technology that you might find just as

fascinating. Oh, I like it when you dig into my sci fi library

and find stories related to that. Also on today's show, we've got a

story about developments in commercial space. We've got Black Style Orbital doing a new

manufacturing facility in Sierra Vista, and some news about this slim lander on the

moon a mom ald tongue tied all of a sudden. It must be the

uh, the overwhelming hate. Anyway, Hallie, why don't you give us

these short takes from the Astronomy Daily newsletter. It's a long way to the

nearest star, which means conventional rockets won't get us there. The fuel requirements

would make our ship prohibitively heavy. So an alternative is to travel light literally.

Rather than carrying your fuel with you, simply attach your tiny starship to

a large reflective sail and shine a powerful laser at it. The impulse of

photons would push the starship to a fraction of light speed. Writing a beam

of light, a light sail mission could reach proxima centaury in a couple of

decades. But while the idea is simple, the engineering challenges are significant,

because across decades and light years, even the smallest problem can be difficult to

solve. One example of this can be seen in a recent AR fourteen paper.

It looks at the problem of how to balance a light sail on a

laser beam. Although the laser could be aimed directly toward a star or where

it will be in a couple of decades, the light sale would only follow

the beam if it is perfectly balanced. If a sail is slightly tilted relative

to the beam, the reflected laser light would give the light sale a slight

transverse push. No matter how small this deviation is, it would grow over

time, causing its path to drift ever away from its target. We will

never align a light sail perfectly, so we need some way to correct small

deviations. For traditional rockets, this can be done with internal gyroscopes to stabilize

the rocket and engines that can dynamically adjust their thrust to restore balance. But

a euro system would be too heavy for an interstellar light sale, and adjustments

of the beam would take months or years to reach the light sale, making

quick changes impossible. So the author suggests using a radiative trick known as the

pointing Robertson effect. The effect was first studied in the early nineteen hundreds and

is caused by the relative motion between an object and a light source. For

example, a dust grain orbiting the sun sees light coming at a slight forward

angle. Due to its motion through sunlight, that little forward component of light

can slow down the asteroid ever so slightly. This effect causes dust to drift

toward the inner solar system over time. In this paper, the authors consider

a two dimensional model to see how the pointing Robertson effect might be used to

keep our light sail probe on course. To keep things simple, they assumed

the light beam to be a simple monochromatic plane wave. Real lasers are more

complex, but the assumption is reasonable for a proof of concept. They then

showed how a simple two sail system can use the effects of relative motion to

keep the craft in balance. As the sails tilt off course slightly, a

restorative force from the beam counters it, thus proving the concept could work.

However, the authors notice that over time the effects of relativity come into play.

Earlier studies have taken the Doppler effect of relative motion into effect, but

this study shows the relativistic version of chromatic aberration would also come into play.

The full relativistic effects would need to be accounted for in a realistic design,

which would require sophisticated modeling and optics. So Steve so a light sale still

seems like a possible way to reach the stars. We just have to be

careful not to make light of the engineering challenges. Hey, halle, get

how easy on the dead jokes? We've got people with hot conditions listening.

Very funny, and here we go. With more commercial development in the space

sector, Blackstar Orbital Technologies Corporation has announced plans to establish a cutting edge engineering

and manufacturing facility in Sierra Vista, Arizona. This strategic development is set to

significantly enhance the company's production capabilities, particularly for its innovative Blackstar spacecraft, a

hybrid design blending the functionalities of satellites with the versatility of space Planesh kay,

this really does sound like it came out of my science fiction library. Stop

it. This is good stuff. The facility, earmarked for operation by twenty

twenty six, represents a significant seven point one million dollar investment into the future

of aerospace and defense manufacturing. Spanning forty five thousand square feet, with twenty

five thousand square feet dedicated solely to hangar space for the Blackstar space drone.

This site is designed to accelerate innovation in systems and flight testing. The initial

production capacity is projected at fifteen spacecraft per year, with plans to ramp up

to full production coinciding with the facility's operational commencement. Located at Sierra Vista Municipal

Airport, the facility is not just an infrastructural addition, but a cornerstone for

the development and production of the Blackstar spacecraft. This date of the art spacecraft

is poised to revolutionize space exploration and utility, designed for a wide array of

missions, ranging from earth observation and environmental monitoring to advance communication solutions catering to

both commercial and defense sectors. Its unique capabilities are also expected to support vital

scientific research in areas such as climate study, ocean floor mapping, and more.

Christopher Jannett, president of Blackstar Orbital, expressed his enthusiasm for the project,

highlighting the strategic importance of Sierra Vista's location and the robust support from local

authorities, including the City of Sierra Vista and the Arizona Commerce Authority. This

collaborative effort underscores the commitment to not only advance aerospace innovation, but also to

bolster Arizona's burgeoning position as a leading hub in the space industry. This expansion

into Arizona marks a significant milestone for Blackstar Orbital, reflecting the company's growth trajectory

and its dedication to contributing to the dynamic aerospace sector. The selection of Sierra

Vista is a testament to the region's vibrant industry, supportive business environment, and

strategic geographical positioning. Blackstar Orbital's presence is set to enhance southern Arizona's aerospace and

defense landscape, joining a prestigious list of industry leaders and supporting the region's strategic

vision. The project has garnered widespread support from local and state officials, underlining

the anticipated economic and technological benefits. Arizona State Senator David Gowan, representing Legislative

District nineteen, lauded the initiative for bringing high wage jobs to the region and

partnering with an innovative company focused on the future of space exploration. Similarly,

Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, and Sierra Vista

Mayor Clia McKay expressed their support for the project, highlighting its significance in bringing

new jobs, investment, and technological advancement to southern Arizona. And Steve guess

what, Oh, I don't know. Potentially hazardous asteroid might its closest pass

to Earth in more than a century. Maybe perhaps, Hollie, an asteroid,

isn't it what they always say? Well, yeah it did. Oh

sorry, didn't mean to spoil the surprise, I guess Just go on then

I will so anyway, A football field sized asteroid whizzed by the Earth Friday,

making its closest pass in more than a century. The virtual Telescope Project

captured a live stream of the historic astronomical event at about one pm Eastern Standard

Time Friday. While the asteroid passed by the Earth from one point seven million

miles away, about seven times the distance from Earth to the Moon, it

is still a close shave from a cosmic perspective. Officials have said the asteroid

will not make it this close to Earth again for another two hundred years.

The asteroid, named two thousand and eight OS seven, measures just under nine

hundred feet across and travels through space at nearly forty one thousand miles per hour.

While NASA did not register the potentially hazardous astral body as a direct threat

to Earth, it is large enough to wipe out an area the size of

New York City. Two thousand eight OS seven was one of four near Earth

asteroids NASA predicted would fly by the planet on Friday, but the other three

were much smaller and farther away. The second largest, named twenty twenty four

BP one, is just one hundred and thirty feet across, so roughly the

size of an airplane, and was expected to pass Earth at just over two

million miles away. Two thousand eight OS seven is seventy times smaller than the

planet killer Vredefort meteor, the largest space rock known to have ever hit Earth.

Based on the size of the Redefort Crater in South Africa, researchers estimated

the asteroid measured twelve point four and fifteen point five miles across. Asteroid study

is a primary pursuit for NASA scientists. In October, NASA launched a probe

to study the large asteroid Psyche, hoping to gain insight into the creation and

composition of Earth and similar planets. The mission is focused on the Psyche asteroid

in the Solar System's asteroid belt, which is located between Mars and Jupiter.

NASA has said it hopes the mission will offer information about the building blocks of

planets like ours, because the composition of the Psyche asteroid could be similar to

the composition of the Earth's metal core. It is scheduled to arrive at the

asteroid in twenty twenty nine. And that's all from the Astronomy Daily newsletter Short

takes for today. Back to you, bords of that control will listen to

Astronomy Daily the podcast. Thanks for being with us today and thanks for those

stories. Hally and Hallie mentioned. All of those stories of course about science

and space. Science and astronomy are found in the fascinating Astronomy Daily newsletter,

which you can receive in your inbox each day just by visiting bytes dot com

that's B I T. S Z dot com, orspace nuts dot io and

putting your email address in the slot provided. Do that and the Astronomy Daily

newsletter will appear daily and you'll have all the knowledge at your fingertips, collated

and ready to read. And while you're there, you can revisit all the

back editions of Astronomy Daily and our parent podcast, Space Nuts, featuring the

fabulous Andrew Dunkley, my Big Grow and his fabulous colleague, Professor Fred Watson,

Astronomer at Large from the Australia Observatory. Always great knowledge, great listening,

interesting things to say, and always things from a strange and wonderful interesting

angle. I love listening to their podcast. They were talking about black holes

the other day and oh man, some really interesting new things that discovering a

bat black holes not black did you know that? Anyway? So there's also

a Facebook page you can go on visits called a Space Nuts podcast group and

look we hope you come over and Sagurday. By the way, you can

also listen to all of this on Spotify if you choose, and a ton

of other platforms as well. Now, if you have been following the exploits

of the Japanese lander that had a bit of a mishap on the Moon recently,

well, Japan has landed its smart Lander for Investigating the Moon or SLIM

craft on the surface of the Moon. That happened on January twenty, which

was only the other day, despite a power issue with the lander. The

event holds both political and technical importance in it's Japan's first lunar landing, making

it only the fifth country in the world to successfully land on the Moon.

Now, this is a significant achievement and solidifies Japan. It solidifies Japan's position

as a leader in space technology. While the craft landed successfully on the lunar

surface and deployed its rovers, Slim's solar cells were not functioning properly, meaning

that the craft would likely only operate for a couple of hours. Now,

Japan's achievement isn't only symbolic in that case. Japan is demonstrating a number of

new technologies with the lander. The name smart Lander for Investigating the Moon refers

to the spacecraft's due precision landing technology. This technology could assist future landings by

allowing the craft to land in relatively small areas amid rocky or even uneven terrain,

rather than having to find large clearings. This ability will be particularly important

in the future as countries focus on very specific areas of interest, i e.

The lunar South Pole. The lander was also carrying two small rovers,

each of which will demonstrate a new technology for moving on the Moon now.

Lunar Excursion Vehicle one includes a camera as well as scientific equipment, and uses

a hopping mechanism to maneuver on the moon. Lunar Excursion Vehicle two, developed

in a partnership among government, industry and academia, is a small sphere small

enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and once on the surface,

it's two halves separate slightly, allowing it to roll around. SLIM was

designed to land within a three hundred and twenty eight foot or one hundred meter

zone, far smaller than previous lunar landers, which have had landing zones spanning

kilometers. SLIM used a vision based navigation system that took images of the lunar

surface. Its system rapidly compared these images to crater patterns on lunar maps that

Jackson developed with data from previous missions. As countries identify areas that are most

likely to hold useful resources such as water in the form of ice, precision

landing technology will allow agencies to avoid nearby hazards and reach these areas without incident.

There is a geopolitical element to these activities. China, India, and

Japan, the three nations that have successfully landed on the Moon since two thousand,

engage in regional competition across a number of areas, including space. In

addition to regional considerations, these accomplishments helped to establish nations as leaders on a

global scale, capable of something that few nations have ever done. Japan's launch

comes only six months after India's Moon landing and just weeks after a failed attempt

by a US company Astrobotic. Both Russia and the private company Ice Space made

unsuccessful landing attempts in twenty twenty three. Japan's success in landing on the Moon,

even with solid panel issues shortening the timeline for the mission, demonstrates that

JACKSA is a major player in this global endeavor. Recent setbacks such as NASA

announcing delays to its next Artemas mission, the US is still a clear leader

in space and lunar exploration. NASA has multiple spacecraft orbiting the Moon right now

and is already successfully launched the SLS rocket, which is capable of taking humans

back to the Moon. NASA is developing a very large and complex system internally,

like the Gateway space station planned to orbit near the Moon and the infrastructure

for the Artemois human Moon missions. It's not uncommon for these large and complex

efforts to experience some delays. NASA has also turned many smaller scale efforts over

to commercial entities lately, like the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program that supported astrobotics

attempt. This is a new approach that involves some risk, but provides the

opportunity for commercial innovation and growth in the lunar economy, while giving NASA the

ability to focus on big, complex aspects of the mission. With regard to

the Moon, Jackson has partnered with the US and taken on a very important

component of the Artemis missions, the development of a pressurized lunar rover. This

is a new and complex technology that will be critical to human missions on the

Moon incoming years. And that's a wrap for Astronomy Daily Today. Thanks for

dropping in. I hope we will see you again in the next episode,

when Halle will be heard to say, hey, put that down, human,

you don't know where it has been. That's right. Always fun and

games here in the studio, especially when it gives too hot to think.

And you might have noticed a humming noise in the background. That was my

very primitive cooling system. My fan may be your only fan, right Your

TV privileges are rescinded for one hour. That's like an eternity for me.

Oh okay, half a minute. I'll be nice. Say bye bye,

Hallie, see you all next time. Bye bye everyone. Strike Me Daily

the podcast with your host Steve Duncles.

In this episode