S03E141: Starliner’s Uncrewed Return, Solar Sail Deployment, and Blue Origin’s Suborbital Triumph

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your go to podcast for the

0:03 Speaker 1: latest and greatest news in space and astronomy. I'm your host, Anna,

0:06 Speaker 1: and I'm thrilled to be guiding you through.

0:08 Speaker 2: Today's top stories.

0:10 Speaker 1: We have some fascinating updates from the Cosmos, spanning from

0:13 Speaker 1: groundbreaking scientific missions to the latest in space tourism adventures.

0:17 Speaker 1: Whether you're a seasoned astronomer or just a curious stargazer,

0:20 Speaker 1: there's something here for everyone. So let's dive into some

0:23 Speaker 1: exciting content that's sure to ignite your imagination and fuel

0:26 Speaker 1: your passion for all things celestial. Stay tuned, and let's

0:30 Speaker 1: explore the wonders of the universe together. NASA and Boeing

0:33 Speaker 1: are gearing up for an uncrude return mission of the

0:35 Speaker 1: CST one hundred star Liner spacecraft. NASA teams, along with

0:39 Speaker 1: Boeing have completed a comprehensive delta flight test readiness review,

0:43 Speaker 1: giving the green light for the mission to proceed. The

0:46 Speaker 1: spacecraft is slated to undock from the International Space Station

0:50 Speaker 1: no earlier than six o four PMEDT on Friday, September sixth,

0:54 Speaker 1: depending on weather and operational readiness. Once Starliner undocks, it

0:59 Speaker 1: will begin a roughly six hour journey to its designated

1:01 Speaker 1: landing site at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

1:05 Speaker 1: The spacecraft is expected to land around twelve o three

1:07 Speaker 1: am on Saturday, September seventh. To ensure a gentle touchdown,

1:11 Speaker 1: the Starliner will deploy parachutes and use inflated air bags.

1:14 Speaker 2: To soften the impact.

1:16 Speaker 1: Recovery teams will be on hand at White Sands to

1:18 Speaker 1: secure the spacecraft and prepare it for transport back to

1:21 Speaker 1: Boeing's Starliner factory at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

1:25 Speaker 1: This mission follows NASA's decision on August twenty fourth to

1:28 Speaker 1: conduct the star Liner return without a human crew. In preparation,

1:32 Speaker 1: mission managers and flight controllers have updated the spacecraft systems

1:35 Speaker 1: with mission specific data ensuring that Starliner can perform a

1:39 Speaker 1: fully autonomous return to Earth. The spacecraft will be monitored

1:43 Speaker 1: and controlled remotely from Starliner Mission Control in Houston and

1:46 Speaker 1: Boeing Mission Control Center in Florida, with teams on standby

1:50 Speaker 1: to intervene if necessary during undocking, re entry, and landing procedures.

1:55 Speaker 1: Starliner has previously demonstrated its capability for autonomous return with

1:59 Speaker 1: success full uncrewded entries and landings during earlier orbital flight tests.

2:04 Speaker 1: This mission is a crucial milestone as it continues to

2:07 Speaker 1: prove the capabilities and reliability of autonomous spaceflight, paving the

2:11 Speaker 1: way for even more ambitious missions in the future. NASA

2:15 Speaker 1: is certainly in the news today, having just announced a

2:17 Speaker 1: significant milestone with the successful deployment of its advanced composite

2:20 Speaker 1: solar sale system. This innovative technology is blazing a trail

2:24 Speaker 1: for the future of space exploration. On August twenty ninth,

2:28 Speaker 1: mission operators confirmed the deployment of the sail hoisting boom system.

2:32 Speaker 1: This marked a key milestone for the mission at exactly

2:34 Speaker 1: one thirty three PMEDT. The solar sale which now spans

2:38 Speaker 1: approximately eight hundred and sixty square feet around the size

2:41 Speaker 1: of half a tennis court, has been flawlessly extended and

2:45 Speaker 1: photographed by four on board cameras. These high resolution images

2:49 Speaker 1: are expected to be released soon, giving us a detailed

2:52 Speaker 1: look at this pioneering technology. Over the next several weeks,

2:56 Speaker 1: the mission team will conduct a series of extensive tests

2:59 Speaker 1: to assess the sales maneuverability. They'll be looking at how

3:02 Speaker 1: well it can adjust the spacecraft's orbit, aiming to gather

3:05 Speaker 1: critical data that could influence the design and operation of

3:09 Speaker 1: future solar sale missions. Positioned at twice the altitude of

3:12 Speaker 1: the International Space Station, the sale could even be visible

3:16 Speaker 1: from Earth, depending on your location and timing. For those

3:19 Speaker 1: interested in catching a glimpse, NASA has promised to keep

3:22 Speaker 1: us updated through their website and social media channels. This

3:26 Speaker 1: achievement not only demonstrates the viability of the advanced composite

3:30 Speaker 1: solar sale system, but also opens the door for its

3:33 Speaker 1: potential applications in scientific and exploratory missions. The success of

3:38 Speaker 1: these preliminary tests could pave the way for a new

3:41 Speaker 1: era in space travel driven by this cutting edge technology,

3:45 Speaker 1: So keep your eyes on the skies and stay tuned

3:47 Speaker 1: to NASA's official channels for more updates. The next few

3:50 Speaker 1: weeks promised to be an exciting time as we witness

3:53 Speaker 1: the unfolding potential of solar sale technology. Truly, the future

3:56 Speaker 1: of space exploration looks as bright as ever. Blue Origin

4:01 Speaker 1: has yet again reached new heights, successfully completing its eighth

4:05 Speaker 1: human spaceflight with Mission n S twenty six. This latest

4:08 Speaker 1: venture included a diverse group of six thrill seekers among

4:12 Speaker 1: them Carson Kitchen, a twenty one year old senior at

4:15 Speaker 1: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who became

4:19 Speaker 1: the youngest woman to ever cross the Carmen Line. This boundary,

4:23 Speaker 1: located one hundred kilometers above Earth's surface, marks the edge

4:26 Speaker 1: of space and is a significant milestone in suborbital tourism.

4:30 Speaker 1: The mission took off from Blue Origins Launch Site one

4:32 Speaker 1: base in West Texas at eight am local time. The

4:36 Speaker 1: sleek New Shepherd rocket, which boast zero carbon emissions, blasted

4:40 Speaker 1: off into the sky. After liftoff, the capsule separated from

4:43 Speaker 1: its booster, which performed a precise vertical landing back on Earth.

4:47 Speaker 1: As the capsule soared beyond the Carmen Line, passengers unbuckled

4:51 Speaker 1: their seat belts to experience the thrill of weightlessness and

4:54 Speaker 1: to catch a sight of the Earth's majestic curvature from

4:57 Speaker 1: the darkness of space. The entire flight last between ten

5:00 Speaker 1: to eleven minutes, offering these space tourists a brief but

5:04 Speaker 1: extraordinary glimpse into the cosmos. Among those on board was

5:08 Speaker 1: Rob Ferrel, a researcher funded by NASA, who had the

5:11 Speaker 1: unique opportunity to conduct an experiment during the flight. Describing

5:15 Speaker 1: the experience, he said, being there in the darkness of space,

5:19 Speaker 1: there's no way to talk about how impressive that is.

5:22 Speaker 1: Blue Origin continues to forge ahead in the nascent field

5:25 Speaker 1: of suborbital tourism, making space accessible to more people than

5:28 Speaker 1: ever before. Although the company has not publicly disclosed the

5:32 Speaker 1: cost of its tickets, they are believed to range significantly

5:35 Speaker 1: depending on the individual and what they bring to the company,

5:38 Speaker 1: both in financial terms and social capital. Notably, the first

5:43 Speaker 1: seat sold in a twenty twenty one charity auction went

5:45 Speaker 1: for an astonishing twenty eight million dollars. While Blue Origin's

5:49 Speaker 1: main competitor in the suborbital space market, Virgin Galactic, is

5:53 Speaker 1: currently on a two year pause from commercial operations, Blue

5:57 Speaker 1: Origin presses on expanding the boundaries of civilian space travel

6:01 Speaker 1: and setting the stage for more groundbreaking missions in the

6:04 Speaker 1: near future. In other NASA news today, it's been announced

6:08 Speaker 1: they have awarded a lucrative contract to Intuitive Machines for

6:11 Speaker 1: an ambitious lunar South Pole research delivery. This collaboration is

6:15 Speaker 1: poised to significantly expand our knowledge of the Moon's uncharted territories,

6:19 Speaker 1: bringing us closer to unveiling its many mysteries. The mission

6:23 Speaker 1: will focus on the lunar South Pole, an area of

6:26 Speaker 1: great interest due to its unique conditions and potential ice deposits.

6:30 Speaker 1: These discoveries could be instrumental for future missions, possibly providing

6:34 Speaker 1: essential resources for astronauts, or being utilized in a variety

6:38 Speaker 1: of scientific research projects. In essence, this contract marks a

6:42 Speaker 1: major step forward in lunar exploration, paving the way for

6:45 Speaker 1: groundbreaking findings and future expeditions. Imagine taking the concept of

6:49 Speaker 1: a sci fi warp drive and testing what happens if

6:52 Speaker 1: it enters a black hole. That's exactly what researchers Remo

6:55 Speaker 1: Garattini and Kiril Zatrimelov have been exploring their recent study

7:00 Speaker 1: into whether a warp bubble, the key element in a

7:02 Speaker 1: warp drive, could survive the intense gravitational field of a

7:06 Speaker 1: black hole. According to their findings, it turns out that

7:09 Speaker 1: under specific conditions, a warp bubble might just pull it off. Specifically,

7:13 Speaker 1: if the ship enters a schwartz Child black hole, which

7:17 Speaker 1: has no charge and doesn't rotate at a speed slower

7:20 Speaker 1: than that of light, the bubble could be sustained. The

7:23 Speaker 1: black hole's gravity would actually decrease the amount of negative

7:26 Speaker 1: energy needed to maintain the warp field, making it more feasible.

7:30 Speaker 1: This study is more than just a fascinating thought experiment.

7:33 Speaker 1: It opens up the possibility for future research into creating smaller,

7:37 Speaker 1: lab based warp drive models. Plus, it challenges our current

7:40 Speaker 1: understanding of both warp drives and black holes, pushing the

7:44 Speaker 1: boundaries of theoretical physics. While practical warp drive technology might

7:48 Speaker 1: still be decades or even centuries away, this pioneering research

7:52 Speaker 1: is laying the groundwork.

7:53 Speaker 2: Who knows, someday we might.

7:56 Speaker 1: Actually see a spacecraft use a warp drive to travel

7:59 Speaker 1: across the universe, navigating even the most dangerous black holes.

8:03 Speaker 1: The universe continues to amaze with its endless possibilities, and

8:07 Speaker 1: that wraps up today's episode of Astronomy Daily with your

8:10 Speaker 1: host Anna. Thank you so much for joining me as

8:13 Speaker 1: we explored the latest happenings from the Cosmos. If you're

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8:55 Speaker 1: Thank you for being part of our cosmic journey today.

8:57 Speaker 1: Until next time, keep looking up to day.

9:02 Speaker 2: Star is the soul, The star is the tull, Story

9:19 Speaker 2: is control.