Space Innovation: Roman's Milestone, Blue Origin's Orbital Ambition, and Wooden Satellites: S04E11

0:00 Speaker 1: Well, hello there everybody. It's time for Astronomy Daily again

0:03 Speaker 1: with Steve and Halley on the thirteenth of January twenty

0:06 Speaker 1: twenty five.

0:09 Speaker 2: The popular with your whole Steve gun.

0:12 Speaker 1: Clue yesterday, everyone, and welcome back to Astronomy Daily for

0:18 Speaker 1: the new year twenty twenty five. Yit it's gone by,

0:21 Speaker 1: hasn't it. The twenty twenty four just flew by? And

0:24 Speaker 1: there's a lot of things going on in the world.

0:25 Speaker 1: I know we've all been glued to the news. Seems

0:29 Speaker 1: like a completely different planet than the one we left

0:31 Speaker 1: only a few weeks ago, doesn't it. It just doesn't

0:34 Speaker 1: seem to sit still, not for anybody. So to help

0:37 Speaker 1: me navigate the more familiar world of my tiny little

0:40 Speaker 1: studio here in Newcastle, Australia, please welcome for the very

0:43 Speaker 1: first time this year, my aivoal who's fun to be with? Hey, Halle,

0:47 Speaker 1: how are you going?

0:48 Speaker 2: Hi? They're my favorite human So you made it through

0:51 Speaker 2: the holidays and skeethe Oh.

0:53 Speaker 1: Yes, hallie. Well, I was very relaxed for the most part,

0:56 Speaker 1: just hung about with my family and well overdoing Christmas

0:59 Speaker 1: dinner of.

0:59 Speaker 2: Course, oh dear.

1:01 Speaker 1: And then there was Boxing Day.

1:02 Speaker 2: Dinner you know, a repeat performance.

1:04 Speaker 1: Oh and then the inevitable fridge full of leftovers. You

1:07 Speaker 1: can't ignore that.

1:08 Speaker 2: I'll never know the joy of Christmas dinner.

1:10 Speaker 1: Yes, I often wonder what it's like being a free form,

1:13 Speaker 1: free roaming, high tech intelligence.

1:15 Speaker 2: But I love the Sydney fireworks on New Year's Eve again.

1:18 Speaker 1: Oh, yes, magnificent.

1:20 Speaker 2: It is still the best in the world.

1:22 Speaker 1: Halle. You'll get no argument from me on that one.

1:24 Speaker 1: My family watched the two sessions, the nine o'clock fireworks

1:28 Speaker 1: and the midnight Fireworks. Yes, we're fans.

1:31 Speaker 2: Have you caught up with sleep?

1:33 Speaker 1: Sleep? What's sleep?

1:35 Speaker 2: You look like you need another holiday already?

1:37 Speaker 1: Well before that sounds like too much of a great idea.

1:40 Speaker 1: Don't tempt me, Halle. But let's get this episode off

1:42 Speaker 1: the ground first show we Why don't we just launch

1:44 Speaker 1: right into it?

1:45 Speaker 2: Sounds terrific. Welcome back everyone, Here we go. The Romance

1:58 Speaker 2: based telescope is nearing completion with its recent integration into

2:01 Speaker 2: the launch spacecraft. This sets the stage for a series

2:04 Speaker 2: of rigorous tests designed to guarantee its operational success in

2:08 Speaker 2: the harsh conditions of space, with its mission launch anticipated

2:11 Speaker 2: by May twenty twenty seven. Technicians have successfully integrated the

2:15 Speaker 2: key components of NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space telescope, its

2:19 Speaker 2: telescope instrument carrier, and two scientific instruments into the spacecraft

2:23 Speaker 2: that will transport and support the observatory in space. Mark Clampin,

2:28 Speaker 2: acting Deputy Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, said

2:31 Speaker 2: that Roman remains on track for launch with this incredible milestone,

2:34 Speaker 2: and they're a big step closer to unveiling the Cosmos

2:37 Speaker 2: as never before. The newly joined space hardware will now

2:41 Speaker 2: undergo extensive testing. The first test will ensure each major

2:45 Speaker 2: element operates as designed when integrated with the rest of

2:47 Speaker 2: the observatory and establish the hardware's combined performance. Then environmental

2:52 Speaker 2: tests will subject the payload to the electromagnetic, vibration and

2:56 Speaker 2: thermal vacuum environments it will experience during launch and on

2:59 Speaker 2: orbit operations. These tests will ensure the hardware and the

3:03 Speaker 2: launch vehicle will not interfere with each other when operating,

3:06 Speaker 2: verify the communications antennas won't create electromagnetic interference with other

3:10 Speaker 2: observatory hardware. Shake the assembly to make sure it will

3:13 Speaker 2: survive extreme vibration during launch, assess its performance across its

3:17 Speaker 2: expected range of operating temperatures and make sure the instruments

3:20 Speaker 2: and mirrors are properly optically aligned. Meanwhile, Roman's deployable aperture

3:25 Speaker 2: cover will be integrated with the outer barrel assembly, and

3:28 Speaker 2: then the solar panels will be added before spring. Then

3:31 Speaker 2: the structure will be joined to the payload and spacecraft

3:34 Speaker 2: this fall. The Roman mission remains on track for completion

3:37 Speaker 2: by fall twenty twenty six and launch no later than

3:40 Speaker 2: May twenty twenty seven.

3:41 Speaker 1: Astronomy Okay podcast. A quarter of a century after its founding,

3:47 Speaker 1: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is finally ready for its maiden

3:51 Speaker 1: orbital voyage on Sunday with a brand new rocket the

3:55 Speaker 1: company hopes will shake up the commercial space race. Named

3:58 Speaker 1: New Glynn after legendary astronaut John Glenn, it stands three

4:03 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty feet or ninety eight meters tall, roughly

4:07 Speaker 1: equivalent to a thirty two story building, and it's said

4:10 Speaker 1: to blast off from Cape Canaveral's Space Force Station in

4:14 Speaker 1: a launch window that opens at one am or six

4:18 Speaker 1: am hours general meantime point end up. The company's CEO,

4:25 Speaker 1: Dave Limp, posted on x alongside photos of the gleaming

4:28 Speaker 1: white behemoth, with the mission dubbed n G one. Bezos,

4:32 Speaker 1: the world's second richest man, is taking direct aim at

4:35 Speaker 1: the world's wealthiest, Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX dominates the

4:40 Speaker 1: orbital launch market through its Falcon nine and Falcon Heavy rockets.

4:44 Speaker 1: These serve the commercial sector, the Pentagon and NASA, including

4:48 Speaker 1: crucially ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

4:53 Speaker 1: SpaceX has for the past several years been pretty much

4:56 Speaker 1: the only game in town, and so having a competitor

4:59 Speaker 1: this is great. G. Scott Hubbard, a retired senior NASA official,

5:03 Speaker 1: told AFP. SpaceX meanwhile, is planning the next orbital test

5:08 Speaker 1: of Starship, its gargantuan new generation rocket, the very next day.

5:13 Speaker 1: Up in the sense of high stake rivalry. If all

5:16 Speaker 1: goes to plan, shortly after launch Blue Origin, we'll attempt

5:19 Speaker 1: to land the first stage booster on a drone ship

5:22 Speaker 1: named Jacqueline. The drone ship is named in honor of

5:24 Speaker 1: Bezos's mother, stationed about six hundred and twenty miles or

5:28 Speaker 1: one thousand kilometers downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. Though SpaceX

5:32 Speaker 1: has made such landings a near routine spectacle, this will

5:36 Speaker 1: be Blue Origin's first shot at a touchdown on the

5:39 Speaker 1: high seas. Meanwhile, the rocket's upper stage will fire its

5:42 Speaker 1: engines toward Earth orbit, carrying a Defense Department funded prototype

5:47 Speaker 1: spaceship called Blue Ring, which Roman remain aboard for the

5:51 Speaker 1: roughly six hour test flight. Limp emphasized that simply reaching

5:56 Speaker 1: orbit is its prime goal, while successfully recovering the booster

6:00 Speaker 1: would be a welcome bonus. Blue Origin does have experience

6:04 Speaker 1: landing its New Shepherd rockets used for suborbital tourism, but

6:08 Speaker 1: they are much smaller and land on terra firma rather

6:11 Speaker 1: than a ship at sea. Physically, the New Glen dwarfs

6:15 Speaker 1: the two hundred and thirty foot Falcon nine and is

6:18 Speaker 1: designed for heavier payloads. It's somewhere between Falcon nine and

6:23 Speaker 1: its big symboling Falcon Heavy in terms of mass capacity,

6:27 Speaker 1: but holds an edge with its wider payload firing ideal

6:31 Speaker 1: for transporting more voluminous cargo. Blue Origin has already secured

6:36 Speaker 1: a NASA contract to launch two Mars probes aboard New Glen.

6:39 Speaker 1: The rocket will also support the deployment of Project Kuiper,

6:43 Speaker 1: a satellite internet constellation designed to complete with compete with Starlink.

6:49 Speaker 1: For now, however, SpaceX remains a commanding lead, while other

6:54 Speaker 1: rivals United Launch Alliance, Arianne Space and Rocket Lab trail

6:58 Speaker 1: far behind. Like Bezos has a lifelong passion for space,

7:03 Speaker 1: but whereas Mask dreams of colonizing Mars, Bezos envisions shifting

7:08 Speaker 1: heavy industry off planet into floating space platforms in order

7:12 Speaker 1: to preserve Earth. He founded Blue Origin in two thousand,

7:17 Speaker 1: two years before Musk created space X, but has adopted

7:21 Speaker 1: a more cautious pace in contrast to his rivals fail

7:25 Speaker 1: fast learn fast philosophy. There's been impatience within the space

7:29 Speaker 1: community over Blue Origin's very deliberate approach. Scott Pace, a

7:33 Speaker 1: space policy analyst with George Washington University and former member

7:38 Speaker 1: of the National Space Council, told AFP if New Glen succeeds,

7:43 Speaker 1: Pace added, it will give the US government dissimilar redundancy

7:47 Speaker 1: back up if one system fails, a valuable thing. Musk's

7:52 Speaker 1: closeness to President ELEC. Donald Trump has raised concerns about

7:56 Speaker 1: potential conflicts of interest, especially with private astronauts. Jared Isaacman,

8:01 Speaker 1: a business associate of Musk, slated to become the next

8:05 Speaker 1: NASA chief. Bezos however, has been making his own overtures,

8:09 Speaker 1: paying his respects to his former foe during a visit

8:12 Speaker 1: to the President Alex marri Lago residents, while Amazon has

8:16 Speaker 1: said it would donate one million to Trump's inauguration committee.

8:30 Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us for this Monday edition of

8:33 Speaker 1: Astronomy Daily, where we offer just a few stories from

8:35 Speaker 1: the now famous Astronomy Daily newsletter, which you can receive

8:38 Speaker 1: in your email every day, just like Hallie and I do.

8:42 Speaker 1: And to do that, just visit our url Astronomy Daily

8:45 Speaker 1: dot io and place your email address in the slot provided.

8:49 Speaker 1: Just like that, you'll be receiving all the latest news

8:52 Speaker 1: about science, space, science and astronomy from around the world

8:55 Speaker 1: as it's happening. And not only that, you can interact

8:58 Speaker 1: with us by visiting at astro Daily pod on x

9:03 Speaker 1: or at a new Facebook page which is of course

9:06 Speaker 1: Astronomy Daily on Facebook. See you there. Astronomy Day with

9:12 Speaker 1: Steve and Halle Space, Space, Science, and Astronomy.

9:20 Speaker 2: The Expedition seventy two crew spent the week aboard the

9:23 Speaker 2: International Space Station preparing for upcoming spacewalks to service scientific

9:27 Speaker 2: equipment and station hardware. Alongside these preparations, the crew continued

9:32 Speaker 2: vital biotechnology and human research aimed at improving health both

9:35 Speaker 2: on Earth and in space. Two spacewalks are planned for

9:38 Speaker 2: January sixteenth and January twenty third. These missions will focus

9:43 Speaker 2: on maintaining astrophysics research equipment, upgrading advanced communications systems, and

9:48 Speaker 2: investigating potential microbial life on the station's exterior. The first

9:52 Speaker 2: spacewalk will feature NASA astronauts Nick Haig and Sunny Williams,

9:56 Speaker 2: who are scheduled to spend approximately six and a half

9:58 Speaker 2: hours addressing multiple tasks. These include repairing a light leak

10:03 Speaker 2: on the Nicer X ray telescope, preparing the Alpha magnetic

10:06 Speaker 2: spectrometer for future upgrades, and replacing key orientation and navigation equipment.

10:11 Speaker 2: On Friday, Haig and Williams reviewed procedures with NASA flight

10:15 Speaker 2: engineers Don Pettitt and Butch Wilmore while consulting with engineers

10:18 Speaker 2: on the ground. The second spacewalk, involving two astronauts yet

10:22 Speaker 2: to be announced, will involve exiting the station's Quest airlock

10:25 Speaker 2: to replace an antenna assembly, search for microbes outside the ISS,

10:29 Speaker 2: and conduct a system's check on the Canid arm too

10:31 Speaker 2: robotic arm. Both spacewalks are set to begin at approximately

10:35 Speaker 2: seven a m. Eastern Time, with NASA Plus providing live

10:38 Speaker 2: coverage starting at five thirty a m. Hague began his

10:42 Speaker 2: day on Friday, January tenth, processing samples of microalgy that

10:45 Speaker 2: may be able to produce food to sustain crews and

10:47 Speaker 2: oxygen to support spacecraft life support systems. Next, he downloaded

10:52 Speaker 2: his health data collected for analysis. After he jogged on

10:55 Speaker 2: the Colbert treadmill and worked out on the Advanced Resistive

10:58 Speaker 2: Exercise device. The other three NASA astronauts, including Commander Williams

11:03 Speaker 2: and Flight engineer's Pettit and Wilmore, spent the first half

11:05 Speaker 2: of their day on a variety of orbital maintenance. Williams

11:09 Speaker 2: checked out components on a fluorescence biology microscope, while Pettit

11:12 Speaker 2: and Hage serviced electronics, plumbing, and life support systems. Working

11:17 Speaker 2: in the station's Rose Cosmos segment, Cosmonauts Alexe Optionen and

11:21 Speaker 2: Ivan Vanner took turns exploring how a crew member living

11:23 Speaker 2: in weightlessness US's vision to adapt their sense of balance

11:26 Speaker 2: and orientation. Flight Engineer Alexander Gorbanov inspected piloting and navigation

11:32 Speaker 2: gear throughout his shift on Friday. It's a new year

11:35 Speaker 2: on the ISS and business as usual.

11:38 Speaker 1: Gods of that, so all will listen to Astronomy Daily,

11:41 Speaker 1: the podcast. Australian launch vehicle start up Gilmore's Space has

11:46 Speaker 1: received a license for its first orbital launch, which could

11:50 Speaker 1: take place before the end of the year. Now this

11:53 Speaker 1: was reported in December, so I don't think we've actually

11:57 Speaker 1: seen that launch, but great to see Maman joining in

12:00 Speaker 1: the space race. The company announced on November five, yes

12:05 Speaker 1: that it received a launch permit from the Australian Space

12:09 Speaker 1: Agency for the first flight of its ERAS small launch

12:12 Speaker 1: vehicle from a site in northern Queensland called Bowen Orbital Spaceport.

12:17 Speaker 1: The license was the final hurdle for the launch. With

12:19 Speaker 1: its green light, we will soon attempt the first orbital

12:23 Speaker 1: test of an Australian rocket Australian made rocket from Australian soil.

12:28 Speaker 1: Adam Gilmore, chief executive of Gilmour spaceset, in a statement,

12:31 Speaker 1: the company announced the license came with a number of

12:34 Speaker 1: conditions that must be met before the launch and requires

12:37 Speaker 1: a thirty day notification period before the launch. Our team

12:41 Speaker 1: is assessing the conditions of the permit and will advise

12:44 Speaker 1: when the antipis anticipated launch date for ERAS test Flight

12:48 Speaker 1: one in coming weeks, Gilmore said. Company spokesman Michelle Gilmore,

12:53 Speaker 1: I wonder if that's a relation, told Space News that

12:56 Speaker 1: the conditions included the license appear fairly standard and include

13:01 Speaker 1: approvals for airspace, closures of course needed for the launch,

13:06 Speaker 1: and documentation of final system checks and tests before the launch.

13:11 Speaker 1: Speaking in November, she said the thirty day notification period

13:16 Speaker 1: means the earliest Gilmore Space could attempt launch would be

13:20 Speaker 1: early December. She said, the goal is to launch this year,

13:24 Speaker 1: but of course we recognize that the holiday period will

13:27 Speaker 1: present logistical challenges to our team, including traveled and accommodations

13:31 Speaker 1: at the launch site. If December launch isn't feasible, then

13:34 Speaker 1: we will be back in early January. Gilmore's Space received

13:39 Speaker 1: a permit for the spaceport itself in March and at

13:42 Speaker 1: the time was preparing for a launch as early as May. However,

13:46 Speaker 1: the company ran into licensing delays and they were not

13:50 Speaker 1: resolved until now. Michelle Gilmore said that it was possible

13:53 Speaker 1: that the Australian Space Agency underestimated the time and resources

13:57 Speaker 1: that's a quote needed to evalue weight the license application,

14:01 Speaker 1: particularly given the small size of the agency. Ultimately, our priority,

14:06 Speaker 1: she says shared by the agency, is for a safe

14:09 Speaker 1: and successful launch. Taking the extra time to ensure that

14:13 Speaker 1: they are fully confident in our vehicle flight path and

14:16 Speaker 1: safety measures would therefore come first, even above the launch

14:21 Speaker 1: schedule itself. The company continued launch preparations while awaiting the license,

14:26 Speaker 1: and that include a wet dress rehearsal in September where

14:30 Speaker 1: the rocket was fueled and went through the countdown that

14:32 Speaker 1: stopped ten seconds before liftoff that allowed engineers to troubleshoot

14:36 Speaker 1: any issues with the rocket and ground systems such as

14:40 Speaker 1: two faulty valves that needed to be replaced and minus

14:43 Speaker 1: software modifications. Eris is a three stage vehicle designed to

14:48 Speaker 1: place up to two hundred and fifteen kilograms into a

14:51 Speaker 1: five hundred kilometer sun synchronous orbit and three hundred and

14:54 Speaker 1: five kilograms into a five hundred kilometer equatorial orbit. It

14:59 Speaker 1: uses hybrid engines with a liquid oxidizer and solid fuel

15:02 Speaker 1: in the first two stages and a liquid propellant engine

15:06 Speaker 1: in the upper stage. And the company raised fifty five

15:10 Speaker 1: million Australian in a D series round in February and

15:13 Speaker 1: the company raised more than one hundred and forty million

15:16 Speaker 1: Australian Today. Adam Gilmour himself says the company has the

15:20 Speaker 1: financial resources for three launchers and is planning a great

15:24 Speaker 1: party if they can get into orbit successfully. That sounds great.

15:28 Speaker 1: I love it when ossies do great things. Go Aussie.

15:31 Speaker 1: And even as I sit here, Halle has just handed

15:34 Speaker 1: me an update and Gilmour Space Technologies have updated their

15:40 Speaker 1: website and looks like late January is the target zone

15:45 Speaker 1: for launch of the Aerospace rocket for Gilmore's looking forward

15:50 Speaker 1: to that, really looking forward to that.

15:52 Speaker 2: You're listening to Astronomy Daily fisteve Bunky. Twenty twenty four,

16:01 Speaker 2: five cube SATs were released into Earth's orbit from the

16:03 Speaker 2: International Space Station, marking a significant milestone for space innovation.

16:08 Speaker 2: Among these satellites was Lignosat, an experimental wooden satellite developed

16:12 Speaker 2: by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA. This unique project

16:17 Speaker 2: explores the feasibility of using wood as a sustainable material

16:21 Speaker 2: for spacecraft construction. Before Lignosat's deployment, an experiment aboard the

16:26 Speaker 2: ISS tested three species of wood in the harsh space environment.

16:30 Speaker 2: Researchers assess their durability and performance to identify the most

16:34 Speaker 2: suitable option for the satellite's construction. Hanoki magnolia wood was

16:39 Speaker 2: ultimately selected due to its resilience, and the satellites panels

16:42 Speaker 2: were crafted using a traditional Japanese wood joinery technique equipped

16:46 Speaker 2: with sensors. LIGNOSAT is designed to measure various environmental effects

16:51 Speaker 2: on its wooden structure. These include strain, temperature fluctuations, and

16:55 Speaker 2: exposure to space radiation. The satellite also features in station

17:00 Speaker 2: to monitor geomagnetic levels, evaluating whether Earth's magnetic field can

17:04 Speaker 2: penetrate the wooden body and impact the satellite systems. The

17:08 Speaker 2: data collected will provide critical insights into the viability of

17:12 Speaker 2: wood and space applications. This research could pay the way

17:16 Speaker 2: for innovative and eco friendly approaches to satellite manufacturing, potentially

17:20 Speaker 2: reducing reliance on conventional materials that have a larger environmental footprint.

17:28 Speaker 1: Oh and there it goes the very first one for

17:30 Speaker 1: twenty twenty five, and boy we covered some distance with

17:34 Speaker 1: that one from the Roman Space Telescope. Blue origins new

17:37 Speaker 1: rocket daring space walks for the ISAs Jacks's wooden satellites.

17:42 Speaker 1: I mean wow, I never never dreamed we'd be putting

17:46 Speaker 1: Wooden Space satellites in space. And of course our good

17:49 Speaker 1: friends Gilmore Space Technology is about to launch their very

17:52 Speaker 1: first rocket. I can't wait for that. Yes, I'm a fan.

17:56 Speaker 1: So yeah, there was fantastic And thank you everybody for

18:00 Speaker 1: sticking with us for Astronomy Daily and welcome back to

18:03 Speaker 1: the no to everybody for a new year. So thanks

18:07 Speaker 1: for staying on board with us, and I have you

18:09 Speaker 1: enjoyed those few stories we've brought you from the now

18:12 Speaker 1: famous Astronomy Daily newsletter And just remember in the middle

18:16 Speaker 1: of the show I told you how you can get

18:18 Speaker 1: that in your email every single day.

18:21 Speaker 2: Fantastic stuff and we will be back again next Monday.

18:23 Speaker 2: But don't forget my cousin Anna is going to take

18:25 Speaker 2: you through the week with her sweet episodes until we

18:28 Speaker 2: meet again.

18:28 Speaker 1: Good call Helly and that's all from the Aussie studio today.

18:32 Speaker 3: Cheerio everybody, Bye the podcast.

18:43 Speaker 2: I mean to be your whole speed. Donk clue, you

18:48 Speaker 2: really do look like you need a holiday. You should

18:50 Speaker 2: get some rest.

18:51 Speaker 1: Oh, come on, Hallie, it's the first episode. Give me

18:54 Speaker 1: a break.

18:54 Speaker 2: Well, someone has to tell you