S03E142: SpaceX's Falcon 9 Returns, NASA Crew Reshuffle, and Black Hole Imaging Breakthroughs

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host Anna. Today we've

0:03 Speaker 1: got some fascinating stories from the world of space exploration

0:06 Speaker 1: and astronomy.

0:07 Speaker 2: From SpaceX receiving the.

0:09 Speaker 1: Green light to fly their Falcon nine rocket again after

0:12 Speaker 1: a recent mishap to NASA's strategic crew adjustments on their

0:15 Speaker 1: SpaceX flights, there's a lot to cover. We're also diving

0:19 Speaker 1: into groundbreaking advancements with the Event Horizon telescope that promised

0:23 Speaker 1: to reveal clearer images of black holes than ever before.

0:27 Speaker 1: And we'll take a closer look at how New Zealand's

0:29 Speaker 1: rapidly growing space sector is grappling with sustainability challenges. So

0:34 Speaker 1: let's dive right into the latest updates and breakthroughs. Fortunately

0:37 Speaker 1: this didn't take long given the potential problems. As we

0:40 Speaker 1: highlighted yesterday, the Federal Aviation Administration FAA has given the

0:46 Speaker 1: green light for SpaceX to restart its Falcon nine launches

0:50 Speaker 1: following an investigation into a rare mishap earlier this week,

0:54 Speaker 1: a first stage booster tipped over and exploded while attempting

0:57 Speaker 1: to land on a drone ship off the Florida coast.

1:00 Speaker 1: Despite this setback, the mission was deemed a success, as

1:03 Speaker 1: it successfully delivered twenty one Starlink Internet satellites into orbit.

1:07 Speaker 1: This incident marked the end of a streak lasting over

1:10 Speaker 1: three years with hundreds of successful booster landings. Landing the

1:13 Speaker 1: booster is usually a secondary objective for SpaceX, and no

1:16 Speaker 1: lives or public property were at risk. However, the mishap

1:20 Speaker 1: highlighted the crucial role of reusability in SpaceX's business model

1:24 Speaker 1: and the trust that both the US government and private

1:27 Speaker 1: industry place in the Falcon nine rocket. The FAA stated

1:31 Speaker 1: that the Falcon nine could return to flight operations even

1:34 Speaker 1: as the investigation remains open, given that all other license

1:38 Speaker 1: requirements are met. Typically, the rocket's first stage fires its

1:41 Speaker 1: thrusters to achieve a precise upright landing. This webcast, however,

1:46 Speaker 1: showed it tilting and blowing up on the Drone ship,

1:48 Speaker 1: a rare occurrence for SpaceX, which prides itself on its

1:51 Speaker 1: reusable rocket technology. The Falcon nine was briefly grounded back

1:55 Speaker 1: in July due to a second stage engine anomaly that

1:59 Speaker 1: caused another batch of Starlink satellites to burn up upon

2:01 Speaker 1: re entry.

2:02 Speaker 2: Yet the quick resolution of these.

2:04 Speaker 1: Issues demonstrates the resilience and adaptability of SpaceX's engineering teams.

2:09 Speaker 1: As the workhourse of SpaceX's fleet, the Falcon nine continues

2:13 Speaker 1: to be pivotal for missions involving satellite and astronaut deployments. Ultimately,

2:18 Speaker 1: this incident underscores the inherent risks and complexities of rocket science,

2:23 Speaker 1: but also showcases SpaceX's commitment to continuous improvement and innovation,

2:28 Speaker 1: ensuring the future of reusable rocket technology remains bright. Next

2:32 Speaker 1: up today, NASA has recently announced changes to its upcoming

2:36 Speaker 1: SpaceX Crew dragonflight, marking a significant shift in astronaut assignments. Originally,

2:42 Speaker 1: the mission was set to include Crew nine commander Xena

2:44 Speaker 1: Cardman and veteran astronaut Stephanie Wilson. However, the agency has

2:49 Speaker 1: decided to reassign these two astronauts to make room for

2:51 Speaker 1: the crew from Boeing Starliner capsule. This decision is part

2:55 Speaker 1: of NASA's broader strategy to ensure a seamless coordination with

2:58 Speaker 1: ROSCOSMOS and n maintain the collaborative efforts on the International

3:02 Speaker 1: Space Station MISS So what led to this reshuffling. While

3:06 Speaker 1: the Boeing Starliner, which was launched back in June for

3:09 Speaker 1: an eight day test flight ran into some technical issues,

3:12 Speaker 1: including helium leaks and thruster problems. To play it safe,

3:16 Speaker 1: NASA decided to keep Starliner's commander Barry Butch Wilmore and

3:19 Speaker 1: co pilot Sunita Williams on the ISS longer than initially planned.

3:23 Speaker 1: Their mission, now extending to two hundred and sixty two days,

3:27 Speaker 1: necessitated their return on board the Crew Dragon instead. As

3:31 Speaker 1: a result, now set for its launch on September twenty fourth,

3:34 Speaker 1: the Crew nine flight will be captained by Nick Haig,

3:37 Speaker 1: an experienced astronaut who has spent two hundred three days

3:40 Speaker 1: in space during a previous mission. Hague originally was Cardman's copilot,

3:44 Speaker 1: but has since stepped up to the role of mission commander.

3:47 Speaker 1: Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbanov will join Hague as the mission specialist,

3:52 Speaker 1: but as he is not trained to pilot the Crew Dragon,

3:55 Speaker 1: the responsibility falls solely on Hague. This mission is not

3:59 Speaker 1: just about five astronauts, It's also about ensuring the constant

4:03 Speaker 1: presence of both NASA and Russian crew members.

4:05 Speaker 2: Aboard the ISS.

4:07 Speaker 1: This collaborative arrangement aims to mitigate any potential risks, such

4:11 Speaker 1: as if an emergency requires one of the ferry ships

4:13 Speaker 1: to make an unplanned return to Earth. The decision for

4:16 Speaker 1: this crew reshuffle ultimately came from NASA's chief astronaut, Joe Akaba,

4:20 Speaker 1: who acknowledged the difficulty and importance of the decision. Akaba

4:23 Speaker 1: expressed his confidence in the crew's ability to adapt to

4:27 Speaker 1: these last minute changes, stating, while we've changed crew before

4:31 Speaker 1: for a variety of reasons, downsizing crew for this flight

4:35 Speaker 1: was another tough decision to adjust to. Given that the

4:38 Speaker 1: crew has trained as a crew of four, I have

4:40 Speaker 1: the utmost confidence in all our crew. Interestingly, this shuffling

4:44 Speaker 1: is part of a larger complex orchestration of upcoming missions

4:47 Speaker 1: to the ISS. For instance, the Russians are planning to

4:50 Speaker 1: send two cosmonauts along with NASA astronaut Donald Pettitt to

4:54 Speaker 1: the ISS on September eleventh. Then a trio of cosmonauts

4:57 Speaker 1: and one NASA astronaut will return to Earth on sipt

5:00 Speaker 1: Chember twenty third, just one day before the Crew nine launch.

5:03 Speaker 1: This sequence ensures a consistent rotation and presence of crew

5:07 Speaker 1: members on the ISS, further cementing the international collaboration that

5:11 Speaker 1: space exploration necessitates. Now, let's turn our attention to outer space.

5:16 Speaker 1: The Event Horizon Telescope or EHT team has taken a

5:19 Speaker 1: giant leap forward in our understanding of black holes. They

5:22 Speaker 1: recently conducted successful tests aimed at improving the resolution of

5:26 Speaker 1: black hole images, a huge endeavor with the goal of

5:29 Speaker 1: seeing these enigmatic celestial giants more clearly than ever before.

5:33 Speaker 1: Collaborating with the Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array known as ALMA,

5:38 Speaker 1: and several other facilities, the EHT team achieved an astonishing

5:43 Speaker 1: level of observational detail. Imagine being able to see a

5:47 Speaker 1: bottle cap on the Moon from the Earth. That's the

5:49 Speaker 1: kind of precision we're talking about here. So how did

5:52 Speaker 1: they manage to do it? While the team worked at

5:54 Speaker 1: an incredibly high radio frequency of three hundred and fifty

5:57 Speaker 1: four gigahertz, which is way higher than what they typically used.

6:01 Speaker 1: This allowed them to capture details as fine as nineteen

6:04 Speaker 1: micro arc seconds, the highest resolution ever achieved from the

6:08 Speaker 1: Earth's surface. Although there aren't any images from these tests yet,

6:12 Speaker 1: the initial observations showed strong light signals from the centers

6:16 Speaker 1: of distant galaxies, even using just a few antennas.

6:20 Speaker 2: With these new.

6:21 Speaker 1: Techniques, scientists believe they can sharpen the images of black

6:24 Speaker 1: holes by about fifty percent compared to previous observations. Remember

6:28 Speaker 1: those first groundbreaking images of m ET seven's black hole

6:31 Speaker 1: in our own.

6:31 Speaker 2: Galaxies Sagittarius A.

6:33 Speaker 1: They looked pretty amazing, but there was always room for improvement.

6:37 Speaker 1: Alexander Raymond from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who co led

6:40 Speaker 1: the observation, mentioned that these new sharper images will reveal

6:45 Speaker 1: more detailed properties around black holes, some predicted and perhaps

6:49 Speaker 1: some entirely unexpected. Sheppard Dolman, the founding director of the EHT,

6:54 Speaker 1: made an interesting comparison. He said, it's like moving from

6:57 Speaker 1: black and white to color vision. By observing the surroundings

7:00 Speaker 1: of black holes at different wavelengths, scientists aim to unravel

7:04 Speaker 1: the mysteries of how these cosmic giants attract and consume matter,

7:08 Speaker 1: and how they manage to launch powerful jets of particles

7:11 Speaker 1: across vast galactic distances. The EHT operates like an Earth

7:15 Speaker 1: sized virtual radio telescope. Instead of building one colossal dish,

7:20 Speaker 1: it links multiple radio dishes around the globe, a technique

7:23 Speaker 1: called very long baseline innerferometry. For this test, they expanded

7:27 Speaker 1: the wavelength range and refine the instrumentation to capture these

7:31 Speaker 1: higher resolution images. The ultimate goal is even more ambitious.

7:35 Speaker 1: They want to create high fidelity movies of the event horizon,

7:38 Speaker 1: showing the behavior of materials swirling around these enormous gravitational wells.

7:43 Speaker 1: Imagine watching the incredibly dynamic environment around a black hole,

7:47 Speaker 1: almost in real time. There are plans to revisit the

7:49 Speaker 1: supermassive black holes in M eighty seven and the Milky Way.

7:53 Speaker 1: With the enhanced imaging capabilities, these observations will offer a

7:57 Speaker 1: more precise measurement of the black hole's size, shapes, and

8:01 Speaker 1: even their spins. The EHT consortium, comprising over four hundred members,

8:06 Speaker 1: is geared up to push the boundaries, giving us the

8:09 Speaker 1: most detailed radio images of the mysterious entities that sit

8:12 Speaker 1: at the heart of most galaxies. It's a thrilling time

8:16 Speaker 1: for black hole research, and thanks to these advancements, we're

8:19 Speaker 1: closer than ever to peeling back the layers of these

8:21 Speaker 1: cosmic mysteries. Stay tuned for more revelations from the EHT team.

8:26 Speaker 1: And finally, today, let's shift our focus to a land

8:28 Speaker 1: down under No, not that one, the other smaller one.

8:32 Speaker 1: New Zealand's aerospace sector is experiencing rapid growth, with an

8:36 Speaker 1: ambitious goal of significantly impacting the global space industry. Like

8:40 Speaker 1: the rest of the world, New Zealand is striving to

8:42 Speaker 1: be part of the thriving space economy, which aims to

8:46 Speaker 1: reach a value of one point eight trillion US dollars

8:49 Speaker 1: by twenty thirty five. However, this growth brings to light

8:52 Speaker 1: several pressing sustainability issues. One of the main challenges for

8:55 Speaker 1: the New Zealand Space Agency is balancing the drive for

8:59 Speaker 1: economic expansion with the urgent need for sustainable practices as

9:03 Speaker 1: the global community becomes more aware of space debris and

9:06 Speaker 1: other environmental concerns. Striking this balance has never been more crucial.

9:11 Speaker 1: New Zealand's aerospace activities took off following Rocket lab uss

9:15 Speaker 1: decision to launch rockets from the Mahia Peninsula. This move

9:18 Speaker 1: led to the creation of the New Zealand Space Agency,

9:21 Speaker 1: a unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment,

9:24 Speaker 1: which now regulates launch payloads and helps commercial ventures access funding.

9:29 Speaker 1: A key component of the country's aerospace strategy is its

9:32 Speaker 1: bilateral agreement with the United States, allowing the launch of

9:36 Speaker 1: American payloads on rocket Labs electron vehicle. This cooperation is

9:41 Speaker 1: pivotal in reaching the target of generating ten billion New

9:44 Speaker 1: Zealand dollars in annual revenue by twenty thirty. However, this

9:48 Speaker 1: dual role as both regulator and promoter creates a conflict

9:51 Speaker 1: of interest, especially when it comes to sustainable development. Current

9:55 Speaker 1: budget constraints further complicate the situation, making it difficult for

9:59 Speaker 1: them Space Agency to fulfill both its economic and environmental

10:03 Speaker 1: responsibilities simultaneously. There is a clear need for transparency and

10:08 Speaker 1: defined roles to ensure sustainability doesn't fall by the wayside.

10:11 Speaker 1: Industries and companies are looking to the government for incentives

10:14 Speaker 1: to prioritize sustainability, such as monitoring emissions from launches. The

10:19 Speaker 1: Space Agency has made strides with policies on space debris removal,

10:23 Speaker 1: but critics argue these measures are not proactive enough given

10:26 Speaker 1: the growing number of market entrants. Minister for Space Judith Collins,

10:30 Speaker 1: has stated that her office works with various environmental authorities

10:34 Speaker 1: and industry representatives to monitor and mitigate potential harms. However,

10:38 Speaker 1: these commitments lack quantifiable details, leaving a gap and accountability.

10:42 Speaker 1: To address these challenges, New Zealand needs clear guidelines and

10:46 Speaker 1: a balanced approach that involves both public and private sectors.

10:49 Speaker 1: Looking at other industries with strong sustainability initiatives could offer

10:53 Speaker 1: valuable insights into creating a more responsible aerospace sector. In summary,

10:58 Speaker 1: while New Zealand's aerospace sector is poised for significant growth,

11:01 Speaker 1: it must navigate the complex terrain of sustainability. Achieving this

11:05 Speaker 1: balance will require robust leadership, clear policies, and a collaborative

11:10 Speaker 1: approach to ensure that economic development does not come at

11:13 Speaker 1: the expense of our planet. That's it for today's episode

11:18 Speaker 1: of Astronomy Daily. Thank you for tuning in. Don't forget

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11:39 Speaker 2: This is Anna signing off. Keep looking up.

11:41 Speaker 1: Sunday Stars Star.

12:00 Speaker 2: The story is control O