S03E190: Medical Mystery, Boeing's Big Decision, and Starship's Shaky Save

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

0:02 Speaker 1: latest and most exciting space and astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna,

0:06 Speaker 1: and I'm thrilled to bring you today's cosmic Update. In

0:09 Speaker 1: this episode, we've got a packed lineup of fascinating stories

0:12 Speaker 1: from the world of space exploration and discovery. We'll dive

0:15 Speaker 1: into the recent return of a SpaceX crew Dragon mission

0:18 Speaker 1: and an unexpected medical situation that followed. Then we'll explore

0:22 Speaker 1: some intriguing developments in the commercial space sector, including potential

0:26 Speaker 1: changes at Boeing Space Division. We'll also take a closer

0:30 Speaker 1: look at SpaceX's Starship program and a nail biting moment

0:32 Speaker 1: during its latest test flight. Plus we'll discuss the progress

0:35 Speaker 1: of ast Spacemobile's ambitious direct to smartphone satellite project. And

0:39 Speaker 1: to wrap things up, we have an incredible story about

0:42 Speaker 1: a piece of space history that just made auction headlines.

0:45 Speaker 1: So buckle up and get ready for an exciting journey

0:47 Speaker 1: through the cosmos. Let's kick things off today with some

0:51 Speaker 1: not so good news for one of NASA's astronauts who

0:54 Speaker 1: returned to Earth yesterday. An unnamed NASA astronaut faced and

0:58 Speaker 1: unspecified medical issue shortly after returning to Earth from a

1:01 Speaker 1: nearly eight month mission aboard the International Space Station. The

1:05 Speaker 1: incident occurred following the splash down of SpaceX's Crew Dragon

1:08 Speaker 1: capsule off the coast of Florida. The crew, consisting of

1:11 Speaker 1: US astronauts Matthew Dominic, Michael Barrett, and Jeanette Epps, along

1:16 Speaker 1: with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gribenkin, had just completed a record

1:20 Speaker 1: breaking two hundred thirty five days stay in orbit. This

1:22 Speaker 1: mission marked the longest duration for SpaceX's reusable crew Dragon

1:26 Speaker 1: spacecraft to date. The splashdown took place at three twenty

1:30 Speaker 1: nine a m. Eastern time on Friday, with the crew

1:33 Speaker 1: safely touching down in the Gulf of Mexico. However, shortly

1:36 Speaker 1: after their return, one of the NASA astronauts, whose identity

1:39 Speaker 1: has not been disclosed for privacy reasons, required medical attention.

1:44 Speaker 1: NASA initially reported that the entire crew was transported to

1:47 Speaker 1: a medical center for evaluation as a precautionary measure. Later,

1:51 Speaker 1: it was clarified that only one astronaut was experiencing issues

1:54 Speaker 1: and had been flown to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola Hospital

1:58 Speaker 1: near the splashdown site. The Space Agency has stated that

2:01 Speaker 1: the astronaut in question is in stable condition and under observation.

2:05 Speaker 1: The nature of the medical issue has not been revealed,

2:08 Speaker 1: and NASA has emphasized that it will not share further

2:10 Speaker 1: details about the astronaut's condition. Interestingly, the Russian space agency

2:15 Speaker 1: ros Cosmos posted a photo of cosmonaut Alexander Gribenkin standing

2:19 Speaker 1: upright and smiling, with a caption indicating that he was

2:22 Speaker 1: feeling great after the mission and splashed down. It's worth

2:25 Speaker 1: noting that the crew's return had been delayed for several

2:28 Speaker 1: weeks due to two hurricanes that swept through the US Southeast,

2:31 Speaker 1: affecting the expected splashdown zones for the crew Dragon capsule.

2:35 Speaker 1: This mission not only set a new record for SpaceX,

2:38 Speaker 1: but also highlighted the company's growing role in NASA's space operations.

2:42 Speaker 1: SpaceX has now completed forty four flights to the ISS

2:45 Speaker 1: and remains the sole US option for NASA astronaut transportation

2:48 Speaker 1: to and from the orbiting laboratory. Next up today, In

2:53 Speaker 1: a surprising turn of events, aerospace giant Boeing is reportedly

2:57 Speaker 1: considering selling off parts of its space business. This potential

3:00 Speaker 1: move includes the troubled Starliner spacecraft program, which has faced

3:04 Speaker 1: numerous setbacks and delays over the years. According to sources

3:07 Speaker 1: familiar with the matter, Boeing is exploring options for its

3:10 Speaker 1: NASA related operations, including the Starliner and support for the

3:15 Speaker 1: International Space Station. However, it's worth noting that the company's

3:19 Speaker 1: work on NASA's Space Launch System Rocket is not part

3:22 Speaker 1: of the potential sale. This news comes as Boeing grapples

3:25 Speaker 1: with ongoing challenges and significant cost overruns in its space division.

3:29 Speaker 1: The Starliner program alone has experienced more than one point

3:32 Speaker 1: eight billion dollars in private cost overruns, largely due to

3:36 Speaker 1: development delays and technical problems. The aerospace industry has been

3:40 Speaker 1: watching Boeing space endeavors closely, particularly as rival SpaceX has

3:45 Speaker 1: made significant strides in both crude and uncrewed spaceflight. With

3:49 Speaker 1: two NASA astronauts still aboard the International Space Station awaiting

3:52 Speaker 1: their return via a spacexcraft, the contrast between the two

3:56 Speaker 1: companies progress is stark. Boeing's patient tential divestment from parts

4:01 Speaker 1: of its space business signals a shift in strategy for

4:04 Speaker 1: the company, which has been a key player in space

4:07 Speaker 1: exploration for decades. As the commercial space industry continues to

4:11 Speaker 1: evolve rapidly, it seems Boeing maybe reassessing its role and

4:15 Speaker 1: focus in this competitive landscape. Moving on, in a surprising revelation,

4:22 Speaker 1: it turns out SpaceX's super heavy booster came dangerously close

4:26 Speaker 1: to aborting its groundbreaking catch landing during the recent Starship

4:29 Speaker 1: test flight. This near miss highlights the razor thin margins

4:32 Speaker 1: and intense pressure under which SpaceX operates as it pushes

4:36 Speaker 1: the boundaries of space technology. According to audio accidentally leaked

4:40 Speaker 1: by Elon Musk himself, the booster was just one second

4:43 Speaker 1: away from triggering an abort sequence. This would have resulted

4:47 Speaker 1: in the rocket attempting to crash land next to the

4:49 Speaker 1: launch tower instead of executing its planned catch maneuver. The

4:53 Speaker 1: issue stemmed from a misconfigured parameter related to the Raptor

4:56 Speaker 1: engine's spin pressure. This glitch almost tripped in a boork criterion,

5:01 Speaker 1: which would have erroneously told an otherwise healthy rocket to

5:03 Speaker 1: abandon its landing attempt. What's particularly concerning is that SpaceX

5:08 Speaker 1: had implemented numerous new abort and commit criteria for this flight.

5:12 Speaker 1: While the team had tried to double check these thoroughly,

5:15 Speaker 1: it seems their concerns were well founded, as one of

5:17 Speaker 1: these new parameters nearly caused a major problem. The incident

5:21 Speaker 1: underscores the immense complexity involved in developing and testing new

5:24 Speaker 1: space technologies. Each flight brings with it a multitude of

5:28 Speaker 1: variables and potential failure points that must be meticulously managed

5:32 Speaker 1: and monitored. It's a stark reminder of the risks inherent

5:35 Speaker 1: in pushing the envelope of what's possible in space exploration.

5:39 Speaker 1: SpaceX is aggressive development pace. While impressive, also means they're

5:43 Speaker 1: often working on the knife's edge of success and failure.

5:46 Speaker 1: As SpaceX prepares for its next Starship test flight, they're

5:49 Speaker 1: focusing on reducing risks associated with the booster while still

5:53 Speaker 1: maintaining a rapid development schedule. It's a delicate balancing act

5:57 Speaker 1: between speed and safety, one that will continue to def

6:00 Speaker 1: find the company's approach to innovation in the space industry.

6:03 Speaker 1: By the way, we've posted a new look at the

6:05 Speaker 1: Catch on our TikTok page today, this one showing the

6:08 Speaker 1: catch from the tower perspective. Just search for Astro Daily

6:11 Speaker 1: Pod to see it. In an exciting development for space

6:14 Speaker 1: based communication, ast Spacemobile has reached a significant milestone. The

6:19 Speaker 1: company recently announced the successful unfolding of its first five

6:22 Speaker 1: production satellites, a crucial step in building their direct to

6:26 Speaker 1: smartphone broadband constellation. These Block one Bluebird satellites are impressive

6:31 Speaker 1: in size, each spanning about sixty four square meters when

6:34 Speaker 1: fully deployed. To put that into perspective, they boast the

6:37 Speaker 1: largest solar array commercially deployed in low Earth orbit, matching

6:41 Speaker 1: the size of ast Spacemobile's earlier Blue Walker three prototype.

6:46 Speaker 1: The company is now conducting thorough in orbit health checks

6:49 Speaker 1: to ensure the satellites are ready for operations. However, before

6:52 Speaker 1: they can begin service in the United States, AST Spacemobile

6:56 Speaker 1: needs to clear some regulatory hurdles. They're currently awaiting approval

6:59 Speaker 1: to test services using wireless frequencies from their telco partners

7:03 Speaker 1: AT and T and Verizon. It's worth noting that ast

7:07 Speaker 1: Spacemobile isn't alone in this race to provide direct to

7:10 Speaker 1: smartphone services from space. Competitors like SpaceX and link Global

7:14 Speaker 1: are also vuying for a piece of this emerging market.

7:17 Speaker 1: All these companies are awaiting the green light from the

7:19 Speaker 1: Federal Communications Commission to offer commercial services in the US.

7:24 Speaker 1: Looking ahead, ast Spacemobile has ambitious plans. While these five

7:28 Speaker 1: satellites can provide intermittent connectivity in the US, the company

7:32 Speaker 1: aims to deploy between forty five to sixty satellites for

7:35 Speaker 1: continuous text, voice, and data services. They're also working on

7:39 Speaker 1: more advanced Block two Bluebirds, set to launch next year,

7:43 Speaker 1: which will offer ten times the capacity of the current models.

7:46 Speaker 1: This development marks a significant step forward in bridging the

7:50 Speaker 1: global digital divide, potentially bringing reliable communication to areas previously

7:55 Speaker 1: out of reach of traditional cellular networks. Now, let's turn

7:59 Speaker 1: our time tension to a piece of space history that's

8:01 Speaker 1: making waves in the auction world. A Rolex GMT Master Chronometer,

8:06 Speaker 1: worn by Apollo fourteen astronaut edgar Mitchell during the historic

8:09 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one Moon mission, has just sold for an

8:12 Speaker 1: astronomical two point two million dollars at auction. This sale

8:16 Speaker 1: has set a new record, making it the most expensive

8:18 Speaker 1: astronaut time piece ever sold. The watch, which accompanied Mitchell

8:22 Speaker 1: on his journey to the Moon, attracted intense interest from

8:25 Speaker 1: both space memorabilia collectors and watch enthusiasts alike. It's not

8:29 Speaker 1: just a time piece. It's a tangible connection to one

8:32 Speaker 1: of humanity's greatest achievements. What makes this Rolex so special, well,

8:37 Speaker 1: it's one of only two known moonflown Rolexes to have

8:39 Speaker 1: been sold publicly. The watch bears the marks of its

8:42 Speaker 1: extraordinary journey, with light scratches and wear that tell the

8:45 Speaker 1: story of its time and space. Interestingly, NASA officially issued

8:51 Speaker 1: Omega Speedmaster watches to Apollo astronauts, but some, like Mitchell,

8:55 Speaker 1: chose to bring personal time pieces as well. This Rolex

8:58 Speaker 1: was Mitchell's personal choice, a testament to the trust he

9:01 Speaker 1: placed in its reliability for such a crucial mission. The

9:04 Speaker 1: watch's case back is engraved with a touching personal message

9:07 Speaker 1: from Mitchell to his daughter, adding a human element to

9:10 Speaker 1: this piece of space exploration history. This record breaking sale

9:14 Speaker 1: underscores the enduring fascination with space exploration and the value

9:18 Speaker 1: placed on items that have made the journey beyond our planet.

9:22 Speaker 1: It's a reminder of the risks taken and the technological

9:25 Speaker 1: marvels that made the Apollo missions possible. And that brings

9:30 Speaker 1: us to the end of today's episode of Astronomy Daily.

9:33 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Anna, and I hope you've enjoyed this

9:35 Speaker 1: cosmic journey through the latest space and astronomy news. If

9:39 Speaker 1: you're hungry for more stellar content, I've got great news

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