S03E211: SpaceX's Starship Drama, UFO Insights, and Lunar Traffic Concerns

0:00 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the

0:03 Speaker 1: latest space and astronomy news. I'm Anna, and we have

0:06 Speaker 1: an exciting show lined up for you.

0:07 Speaker 2: Today.

0:08 Speaker 1: We'll be diving into SpaceX's latest Starship test flight, looking

0:12 Speaker 1: ahead at a busy week of rocket launches, exploring new

0:15 Speaker 1: developments in UAP investigations, and much more.

0:19 Speaker 2: Let's get started with today's top stories.

0:22 Speaker 1: SpaceX launched its sixth Starship test flight on Sunday from

0:26 Speaker 1: their Starbase facility in Bocachica, Texas. The massive vehicle lifted

0:30 Speaker 1: off precisely at five pm Eastern, marking another crucial step

0:34 Speaker 1: in the development of the world's largest rocket system. While

0:38 Speaker 1: the launch itself went smoothly, the mission saw mixed results

0:41 Speaker 1: when it came to the planned booster landing. About two

0:45 Speaker 1: minutes and forty five seconds into flight, the super heavy

0:48 Speaker 1: booster successfully separated from the Starship upper stage. However, controllers

0:53 Speaker 1: soon had to abort the planned return to the launch site,

0:55 Speaker 1: announcing a booster offshore divert. The booster ended up making

0:59 Speaker 1: a powered landing attempt in the Gulf of Mexico, just offshore,

1:02 Speaker 1: where it tipped over and exploded seconds later. This represented

1:06 Speaker 1: a minor setback after SpaceX had successfully caught the booster

1:09 Speaker 1: at the launch tower during October's flight. Despite the booster situation,

1:14 Speaker 1: the Starship upper stage performed well during its mission. The vehicle,

1:18 Speaker 1: designated Ship thirty one, successfully executed a brief engine restart

1:23 Speaker 1: test in space, an important capability needed for future orbital missions.

1:28 Speaker 1: SpaceX intentionally pushed the vehicle's limits during re entry, testing

1:32 Speaker 1: the thermal protection system and flap controls under more extreme

1:36 Speaker 1: conditions than previous flights. The Starship made it through re

1:39 Speaker 1: entry mostly intact, though there was some visible damage to

1:42 Speaker 1: a flap in parts of the heat shield. After a

1:46 Speaker 1: flight lasting sixty five minutes, it made a soft splash

1:49 Speaker 1: down in the Indian Ocean, where it could be seen

1:51 Speaker 1: floating on its side in daylight conditions that allowed for

1:54 Speaker 1: excellent video coverage of the landing. Looking ahead, SpaceX revealed

1:59 Speaker 1: there already incorporate rating upgrades into the next Starship vehicle,

2:02 Speaker 1: including stretching the tanks to increase payload capacity from one thousand,

2:06 Speaker 1: two hundred to one thousand, five hundred tons and modifying

2:10 Speaker 1: the forward flaps for better re entry protection. The rapid

2:14 Speaker 1: six week turnaround between flights was possible because the limited

2:17 Speaker 1: changes fell within the scope of their existing FAA launch license.

2:22 Speaker 1: Space enthusiasts are in for an action packed week ahead,

2:25 Speaker 1: with multiple launches scheduled across the globe. Rocket Lab is

2:29 Speaker 1: taking center stage with two missions launching just days apart

2:33 Speaker 1: from their Wallops facility in Virginia. They're preparing to launch

2:37 Speaker 1: the classified Latos Mission I, which will test experimental hypersonic

2:41 Speaker 1: technologies for the Department of Defense using a modified version

2:45 Speaker 1: of their Electron rocket called HASTE. Meanwhile, on the other

2:49 Speaker 1: side of the world, at their new Zealand launch site,

2:51 Speaker 1: Rocket Lab will send up another Electron carrying five satellites

2:56 Speaker 1: for French company Kinis. These nanosatellites will join their growing

3:00 Speaker 1: Internet of Things constellation, marking the third batch in a

3:03 Speaker 1: series of dedicated launches for this customer. SpaceX continues their

3:07 Speaker 1: ambitious launch cadence with three Starlink missions planned this week.

3:11 Speaker 2: Two will lift off from Florida's.

3:12 Speaker 1: Cape Canaveral, while another is set to launch from Vandenberg

3:16 Speaker 1: in California. The company is pushing to maintain their impressive

3:20 Speaker 1: launch rhythm, currently averaging a launch almost every other day

3:24 Speaker 1: as they work to expand their global satellite Internet constellation.

3:29 Speaker 1: Over in Kazakhstan, ros Cosmos is preparing their reliable Soyuz

3:33 Speaker 1: rocket to launch the progress MS twenty nine cargo mission

3:37 Speaker 1: to the International Space Station. The spacecraft will deliver over

3:41 Speaker 1: two thousand, five hundred kilograms of essential supplies including fuel,

3:46 Speaker 1: drinking water, nitrogen, food, clothing, and scientific equipment for the

3:51 Speaker 1: crew of Expedition seventy two. Blue Origin is also joining

3:55 Speaker 1: the launch lineup with their NS twenty eight mission, marking

3:58 Speaker 1: the ninth crude flight of their new Shepherd vehicle from

4:01 Speaker 1: their West Texas facility. The mission will carry six passengers,

4:06 Speaker 1: including four first time flyers and two returning customers, on

4:10 Speaker 1: a brief journey to the edge of space. Rounding out

4:13 Speaker 1: the week, China has scheduled a launch of their chang

4:16 Speaker 1: Jing two sea rocket from the Jukwan Satellite Launch Center,

4:20 Speaker 1: though details about the payload remain undisclosed at this time.

4:25 Speaker 1: We're getting a lot of UAP or if you prefer

4:27 Speaker 1: UFO stories lately, here's today's update. In recent developments from Washington,

4:33 Speaker 1: the Pentagon's UFO Investigation Office has provided a significant update

4:37 Speaker 1: to the Senate, emphasizing their commitment to scientific rigor while

4:41 Speaker 1: acknowledging some truly puzzling cases. John Kozlowski, who heads the

4:45 Speaker 1: All Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, made it clear during his

4:49 Speaker 1: testimony that while they've found no evidence of extraterrestrial activity,

4:53 Speaker 1: some cases continue to defy conventional explanation. The office, established

4:57 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two, serves as the central ub for

5:00 Speaker 1: military and government personnel to report unusual phenomena not just

5:04 Speaker 1: in the sky, but also in space and water. During

5:08 Speaker 1: the hearing, Kozlowski highlighted their methodical approach to investigating these incidents,

5:13 Speaker 1: explaining how many cases resolved to ordinary explanations like birds, balloons,

5:17 Speaker 1: or drones. In a particularly interesting case study, Kozlowski detailed

5:22 Speaker 1: their analysis of the twenty thirteen Aguadilla incident in Puerto Rico.

5:26 Speaker 1: What initially appeared to be an object diving into the

5:29 Speaker 1: ocean and splitting in two was revealed to be a

5:32 Speaker 1: simpler explanation. The thermal imaging camera created an illusion when

5:36 Speaker 1: the object's temperature matched that of the water behind it.

5:40 Speaker 1: The office has also made progress in explaining other famous cases,

5:43 Speaker 1: including the Go Fast video from twenty sixteen, which turned

5:47 Speaker 1: out to be a case of perspective creating the illusion

5:50 Speaker 1: of extreme speed. These revelations demonstrate how careful analysis can

5:55 Speaker 1: often provide rational explanations for seemingly extraordinary events. However, Kozlowski

6:01 Speaker 1: acknowledged that a small percentage of reports remain truly anomalous,

6:05 Speaker 1: requiring further investigation. The Office continues to face challenges in

6:10 Speaker 1: resolving cases, primarily due to limitations in sensor data and

6:14 Speaker 1: the brief nature of many encounters. Despite these obstacles, they

6:18 Speaker 1: maintain their commitment to following the evidence wherever it leads,

6:22 Speaker 1: while keeping both Congress and the public informed of their findings.

6:27 Speaker 1: As our activities around the Moon continue to increase, we're

6:30 Speaker 1: seeing the first signs of lunar traffic jams emerging. In

6:34 Speaker 1: a recently reported incident, India's Chandrian Iwo orbiter had to

6:38 Speaker 1: perform an emergency maneuver in September to avoid a potential

6:41 Speaker 1: collision with South Korea's Denuri spacecraft. This wasn't just a

6:45 Speaker 1: one off event. It's becoming a regular occurrence in lunar

6:49 Speaker 1: orbit The situation highlights a growing challenge in space exploration.

6:54 Speaker 1: These spacecraft, along with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, all share

6:59 Speaker 1: similar polar orbits around the Moon. This creates particularly risky

7:02 Speaker 1: situations over the lunar poles where their paths naturally converge.

7:07 Speaker 1: To put this in perspective, the Korean Space Agency has

7:10 Speaker 1: received forty collision warning alerts in just the past year

7:13 Speaker 1: and a half. Currently, space agencies are handling these situations

7:17 Speaker 1: through informal email exchanges and teleconferences. There's no formal international

7:23 Speaker 1: protocol for managing these potential collisions. It's all being done

7:26 Speaker 1: through voluntary cooperation. While this system has worked so far,

7:31 Speaker 1: it's becoming clear that we need something more robust. The

7:35 Speaker 1: complexity of coordinating these orbital dances was illustrated when Denuri

7:39 Speaker 1: had to perform three separate maneuvers since entering lunar orbit,

7:43 Speaker 1: dodging not only Chandrian two, but also NASA's LRO and

7:47 Speaker 1: Japan's Slim spacecraft. Sometimes these close calls can be remarkably tight.

7:52 Speaker 1: In a previous incident, Chandrian two had to adjust its

7:55 Speaker 1: course to avoid passing within just one point eight miles

7:59 Speaker 1: of the LA. As we look toward a future with

8:02 Speaker 1: even more nations and private companies heading to the Moon,

8:06 Speaker 1: the need for a formal traffic management system becomes increasingly urgent.

8:11 Speaker 1: Space agencies are now calling for an international platform to

8:15 Speaker 1: share information and establish clear protocols for managing these orbital intersections,

8:21 Speaker 1: similar to what we have for satellites in Earth orbit.

8:25 Speaker 1: Exciting developments are coming from Rocket Lab as they make

8:28 Speaker 1: significant strides toward the launch of their new Neutron rocket.

8:32 Speaker 1: The company has announced their targeting mid twenty twenty five

8:36 Speaker 1: for the vehicle's debut flight, with commercial operations set to

8:40 Speaker 1: begin in twenty twenty six. This timeline shows remarkable progress,

8:45 Speaker 1: especially considering the project was announced just over three years

8:48 Speaker 1: ago with a budget of two hundred and fifty to

8:52 Speaker 1: three hundred million dollars. The launch schedule looks promising, with

8:56 Speaker 1: plans to conduct one test flight in twenty twenty five,

8:59 Speaker 1: rap up to three launches in twenty twenty six, and

9:02 Speaker 1: increasing to five missions in twenty twenty seven. Beyond that,

9:06 Speaker 1: they're aiming for at least seven launches annually. What's particularly

9:11 Speaker 1: noteworthy is that they've already secured their first commercial customer,

9:16 Speaker 1: a Constellation operator, who signed up for two missions in

9:19 Speaker 1: twenty twenty six, with options for additional launches. The Neutron

9:24 Speaker 1: rocket itself is an impressive piece of engineering. Standing at

9:28 Speaker 1: one hundred and forty one feet tall, this partially reusable

9:31 Speaker 1: vehicle will be capable of lifting nearly twenty nine thousand

9:34 Speaker 1: pounds to low Earth orbit. It's powered by nine of

9:37 Speaker 1: rocket Lab's new Archimedes engines, which have already demonstrated successful

9:42 Speaker 1: tests at over one hundred percent throttle level. Construction is

9:46 Speaker 1: well underway, with significant progress on several key components. The

9:50 Speaker 1: distinctive Hungry Hippo nose cone has entered mechanical testing, while

9:54 Speaker 1: the second stage has already completed its first fueling test. Meanwhile,

9:58 Speaker 1: the launch pad at Wallop's Eye, Eyland, Virginia is nearing completion,

10:02 Speaker 1: featuring a massive one hundred and sixty five ton steel

10:05 Speaker 1: launch mount and newly installed propellant tanks.

10:08 Speaker 2: This represents more than just a new rocket.

10:11 Speaker 1: It's a strategic move by rocket Lab to address what

10:13 Speaker 1: they see as a critical bottleneck in launch capacity, particularly

10:17 Speaker 1: for national security missions. The company even hints at future

10:21 Speaker 1: plans to use Neutron to deploy their own satellite constellations,

10:25 Speaker 1: though the details of these projects remain under wraps for now.

10:30 Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us today on Astronomy Daily. This is

10:33 Speaker 1: Anna and Before we wrap up, I want to remind

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