SpaceX's Test Flight Trials, Blue Origin's Next Steps, and SphereX Wakes Up

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your cosmic connection to the stars

0:03 Speaker 1: and beyond. I'm ana and today we're exploring a universe

0:07 Speaker 1: of fascinating developments in space exploration and astronomy. Coming up

0:12 Speaker 1: in the next few minutes, we'll dive into the latest

0:14 Speaker 1: on SpaceX's Starship program as the FAA closes one investigation

0:19 Speaker 1: while keeping another open. We'll also get the details on

0:22 Speaker 1: Blue origins completed investigation into their new Glen rocket's failed

0:26 Speaker 1: landing attempt and what it means for their upcoming launch.

0:29 Speaker 1: Then we'll marvel at the first images from NASA's groundbreaking

0:32 Speaker 1: Sphere ex mission, a new observatory that's set to map

0:36 Speaker 1: the entire celestial sky. Plus, we'll join the historic fram

0:40 Speaker 1: two mission that just sent the first humans to orbit

0:43 Speaker 1: Earth's poles, and catch up with the NASA astronauts who

0:46 Speaker 1: finally returned home after their extended stay in space due

0:50 Speaker 1: to Boeing Starliner issues. So strap in for liftoff as

0:54 Speaker 1: we journey through today's biggest space headlines right here on

0:57 Speaker 1: Astronomy Daily. Let's kick things off with updates from a

1:00 Speaker 1: couple of FAA investigations. The Federal Aviation Administration has recently

1:05 Speaker 1: closed its investigation into SpaceX's seventh Starship test flight, which

1:10 Speaker 1: ended in an explosion back in January. However, the agency

1:14 Speaker 1: is keeping its probe open regarding the subsequent March test

1:17 Speaker 1: flight that also resulted in an explosion during a similar

1:20 Speaker 1: phase of flight. This represents an interesting development in Elon

1:23 Speaker 1: Musk's flagship space program. According to the FAA's findings, the

1:28 Speaker 1: January flight failure was likely caused by stronger than anticipated

1:32 Speaker 1: vibrations during flight, which led to increased stress on the

1:35 Speaker 1: propulsion system hardware and its eventual failure. Despite this setback,

1:40 Speaker 1: SpaceX implemented eleven corrective actions that satisfied the FAA enough

1:45 Speaker 1: to allow the company to proceed with its eighth test

1:47 Speaker 1: flight in March. The situation illustrates the challenging nature of

1:52 Speaker 1: developing next generation space technology. Starship, standing at an impressive

1:57 Speaker 1: four hundred feet tall, is at the center of Muscle's

2:00 Speaker 1: ambitious goal to eventually colonize Mars. These back to back

2:04 Speaker 1: explosions represent novel setbacks for SpaceX at a time when

2:07 Speaker 1: Musk has been publicly pushing for faster progress. What's particularly

2:11 Speaker 1: noteworthy is that the FAA allowed SpaceX to launch the

2:15 Speaker 1: eighth test flight while the investigation into the previous failure

2:19 Speaker 1: was still underway, a sign of the agency's confidence in

2:23 Speaker 1: SpaceX's corrective measures. However, when that flight also ended in

2:27 Speaker 1: failure at around the same phase, it raised new questions

2:30 Speaker 1: about the underlying issues with the vehicle. The FAA has

2:34 Speaker 1: made it clear that Starship cannot return to flight until

2:36 Speaker 1: the agency deems it safe enough for the public. With

2:39 Speaker 1: the investigation into the March explosion still ongoing, SpaceX faces

2:44 Speaker 1: uncertainty about when they'll be able to attempt a ninth

2:46 Speaker 1: test flight. These developmental challenges are not uncommon in the

2:49 Speaker 1: space industry, but they do highlight the complexity of creating

2:53 Speaker 1: a fully reusable super heavy lift launch system. Despite these setbacks,

2:58 Speaker 1: SpaceX continues to make incremental progress with each test flight,

3:02 Speaker 1: gathering valuable data even from failures. For now, the space

3:06 Speaker 1: community watches with anticipation as SpaceX works to identify and

3:10 Speaker 1: address the root causes of these failures, with the hope

3:13 Speaker 1: that future tests will bring Starship closer to operational status. Meanwhile,

3:18 Speaker 1: in another decision from the FAA this week, Blue Origin

3:22 Speaker 1: has reached a significant milestone in its new Glen program.

3:26 Speaker 1: With the Federal Aviation Administration announcing on March thirty first

3:29 Speaker 1: that it has accepted the findings of Blue Origins investigation

3:32 Speaker 1: into the failed booster landing during the rocket's inaugural flight

3:35 Speaker 1: on January sixteenth. While the first New Glen mission successfully

3:40 Speaker 1: delivered its upper stage to orbit as planned, the first

3:43 Speaker 1: stage booster was unable to land on Blue Origin's recovery

3:46 Speaker 1: ship in the Atlantic Ocean. According to the FAA's statement,

3:50 Speaker 1: the mishap report identified the proximate cause as the booster's

3:54 Speaker 1: inability to restart its engines, which prevented the critical re

3:58 Speaker 1: entry burn from occurring, resulting in the loss of the stage.

4:02 Speaker 1: Dave Limp, Blue Origin's chief executive, had previously hinted at

4:06 Speaker 1: the problem during the Commercial Space Conference in February, suggesting

4:10 Speaker 1: that issues with propellant management were behind the failed landing attempt.

4:14 Speaker 1: Now the company has officially confirmed that the three B

4:17 Speaker 1: four engines did not reignite properly, leading to the landing failure.

4:22 Speaker 1: As part of the investigation, Blue Origin has identified seven

4:25 Speaker 1: corrective actions that will need to be implemented before the

4:29 Speaker 1: next launch. These measures primarily focus on propellant management and

4:34 Speaker 1: engine bleed control improvements. The company has stated they're already

4:38 Speaker 1: addressing these issues in preparation for their next flight. With

4:41 Speaker 1: the investigation complete and the FAA's acceptance of the findings,

4:46 Speaker 1: Blue Origin is now authorized to return to flight provided

4:50 Speaker 1: all other licensing requirements are met. The company has set

4:53 Speaker 1: an ambitious timeline targeting late spring for the next New

4:56 Speaker 1: Glen launch. This upcoming mission will include another booster li

5:00 Speaker 1: landing attempt, which they've playfully nicknamed so you're telling me

5:03 Speaker 1: there's a chance. In a social media post, Limp expressed

5:08 Speaker 1: confidence in their approach, stating, we're confident that the propellant

5:11 Speaker 1: and bleed control work we're doing will increase our chances

5:15 Speaker 1: of landing the booster on our next flight, and like

5:17 Speaker 1: we've said all along, we'll keep trying until we do.

5:21 Speaker 1: While Blue Origin hasn't provided specific details about potential payloads

5:25 Speaker 1: for the next mission or a more precise launch date,

5:28 Speaker 1: the completion of this investigation represents a critical step forward

5:32 Speaker 1: for the company's heavy lift rocket program. The recovery of

5:36 Speaker 1: the first stage is a key part of Blue origin

5:38 Speaker 1: strategy to make New Glen partially reusable. Following a similar

5:43 Speaker 1: approach to that pioneered by SpaceX with its Falcon nine rockets.

5:48 Speaker 1: Next up, NASA has reached an exciting milestone with its

5:52 Speaker 1: newest space observatory. The sphere X mission, which stands for

5:56 Speaker 1: spectro Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epic of

6:00 Speaker 1: Realization and Ices Explore, has powered on its detectors for

6:04 Speaker 1: the first time since launching on March eleventh, capturing its

6:08 Speaker 1: inaugural images from space. These initial images, while still uncalibrated

6:12 Speaker 1: and not yet ready for scientific use, confirm that all

6:15 Speaker 1: systems are functioning exactly as intended. Each SPHEREx exposure consists

6:20 Speaker 1: of six images that together provide a remarkably wide view

6:24 Speaker 1: of the cosmos, with each image containing more than one

6:27 Speaker 1: hundred thousand light sources, including stars and galaxies. The observatory's

6:33 Speaker 1: field of view covers a rectangular area approximately twenty times

6:37 Speaker 1: wider than the full moon. What makes SPHEREx unique is

6:40 Speaker 1: its approach to surveying the sky. Unlike telescopes such as

6:44 Speaker 1: Hubble or James Webb that focus on small, detailed areas,

6:49 Speaker 1: SPHEREx takes a much broader perspective. The observatory detects infrared light,

6:54 Speaker 1: which is invisible to the human eye and breaks it

6:56 Speaker 1: down into remarkable detail. Each of spherex's six detectors captures

7:01 Speaker 1: light in seventeen distinct wavelength bands, allowing scientists to analyze

7:06 Speaker 1: a total of one hundred and two different infrared hues

7:09 Speaker 1: in every exposure. This spectroscopic capability is crucial for understanding

7:14 Speaker 1: the composition of celestial objects and determining their distances. By

7:19 Speaker 1: collecting light from hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies

7:23 Speaker 1: across more wavelengths than any previous all sky survey telescope,

7:27 Speaker 1: SPHEREx will help scientists investigate fundamental questions ranging from the

7:32 Speaker 1: physics that govern the universe less than a second after

7:35 Speaker 1: the Big Bang to the origins of water in our galaxy.

7:38 Speaker 1: The observatory works through an ingenious system. When light enters

7:42 Speaker 1: Spherex's telescope, it's directed down two separate paths that each

7:46 Speaker 1: lead to a row of three detectors. These detectors function

7:50 Speaker 1: like eyes, and sitting on top of them are specialized

7:52 Speaker 1: color filters. Unlike standard filters that block all wavelengths except one,

7:57 Speaker 1: Spherex's filters are more like rainbow tinted glasses, with the

8:01 Speaker 1: blocked wavelengths changing gradually from the top of the filter

8:05 Speaker 1: to the bottom. During its two year primary mission, SPHEREx

8:09 Speaker 1: will map the entire celestial sky four times over. Once

8:13 Speaker 1: routine science operations begin in late April, the observatory will

8:16 Speaker 1: take approximately six hundred exposures every day for the spacecraft

8:21 Speaker 1: to properly detect infrared light. Its detectors and other hardware

8:25 Speaker 1: have been cooling down to their final operating temperature of

8:28 Speaker 1: around minus three hundred and fifty degrees fahrenheit as heat

8:32 Speaker 1: can overwhelm the telescope's infrared detection capabilities. Project scientists are

8:37 Speaker 1: clearly thrilled with the results so far, as Olivier Dore,

8:40 Speaker 1: SPHEREx project scientist at Caltech and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, remarked,

8:46 Speaker 1: our spacecraft has opened its eyes on the universe. It's

8:49 Speaker 1: performing just as it was designed to. This sentiment was

8:52 Speaker 1: echoed by Jamie Bach, spherex's principal investigator, who noted that

8:57 Speaker 1: based on the images we are seeing, we can now

9:00 Speaker 1: say that the instrument team nailed it. Next an update

9:04 Speaker 1: on the story we brought you yesterday. In a historic

9:06 Speaker 1: first for human spaceflight, SpaceX has successfully launched the fram

9:10 Speaker 1: two mission sending four people into a polar orbit around Earth,

9:14 Speaker 1: a trajectory never before flown by humans. The crew Dragon

9:18 Speaker 1: spacecraft Resilience, lifted off on Monday at nine forty six

9:21 Speaker 1: pm Eastern Time, carrying a crew of private astronauts who

9:24 Speaker 1: are now experiencing views of our planet that no human

9:26 Speaker 1: has ever witnessed firsthand. The mission is commanded by Chunwang

9:30 Speaker 1: of Malta, who personally funded this groundbreaking venture. WOG is

9:34 Speaker 1: joined by an international team including Norwegian Jenica Michelson serving

9:37 Speaker 1: as vehicle commander, German pilot Rebea Rogue, and Australian Eric

9:42 Speaker 1: Phillips as mission specialist and medical officer. All four are

9:46 Speaker 1: spaceflight rookies, making their achievement even more remarkable. Today we

9:50 Speaker 1: become the six hundred eighty first humans to fly above

9:53 Speaker 1: the Carmen Line and the six hundred twenty sixth to

9:56 Speaker 1: orbit the Earth. Wang announced shortly after reaching orbit the

10:00 Speaker 1: crew is now sending back breathtaking images of Earth's most

10:03 Speaker 1: remote regions, including unprecedented views of the polar regions captured

10:07 Speaker 1: through Resilience's cupola window. The mission derives its name from

10:12 Speaker 1: a famous Norwegian exploration vessel. That conducted pioneering Arctic and

10:16 Speaker 1: Antarctic expeditions in the early twentieth century. Living up to

10:20 Speaker 1: its namesake, fram two aims to push boundaries with nearly

10:23 Speaker 1: two dozen scientific experiments during their orbital journey. The awe

10:27 Speaker 1: inspiring images being shared by the crew showcase Earth's poles

10:31 Speaker 1: blanketed in white, offering a perspective that brings home the

10:34 Speaker 1: fragility and beauty of our planet in a way never

10:37 Speaker 1: before documented by human eyes. These unique orbital observations may

10:42 Speaker 1: provide valuable scientific insights while also capturing the imagination of

10:46 Speaker 1: people worldwide. It seems the world's media have suddenly discovered spaceflight,

10:52 Speaker 1: and so they can't get enough of Butch and Sunni

10:54 Speaker 1: and yes, even we have another update today. After nine

10:58 Speaker 1: months in space, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams

11:01 Speaker 1: are finally readjusting to life on Earth following their unexpectedly

11:06 Speaker 1: extended stay aboard the International Space Station. What was originally

11:10 Speaker 1: planned as an eight day test mission aboard Boeing Starliner

11:13 Speaker 1: spacecraft turned into a nine month orbital marathon after propulsion

11:19 Speaker 1: system issues forced NASA to bring the capsule back empty.

11:22 Speaker 1: It's great getting back. I went for a run, although

11:25 Speaker 1: very slow, Williams shared in a recent interview from Houston.

11:29 Speaker 1: Just felt good to feel air, even though it was

11:31 Speaker 1: humid air, like blowing past you and seeing other people

11:34 Speaker 1: on the track. It's really nice. It's home. Both astronauts,

11:37 Speaker 1: who returned to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule

11:40 Speaker 1: in March, underwent routine medical checks before reuniting with their families.

11:45 Speaker 1: Despite the extended mission, they seem to be embracing simple

11:49 Speaker 1: Earth pleasures like walking dogs and spending time with loved ones.

11:52 Speaker 1: But their work with Boeing is far from over. The

11:55 Speaker 1: veteran astronauts, both former US Navy test pilots, are scheduled

11:59 Speaker 1: to meet with Boeing leadership this week to discuss Starliner's future.

12:04 Speaker 1: As the only humans who have actually flown in the spacecraft,

12:07 Speaker 1: their insights are invaluable. We had a very unique perspective

12:12 Speaker 1: of being in the spacecraft. Nobody else had that perspective,

12:15 Speaker 1: Williams explained. She added that they'll be discussing where we

12:19 Speaker 1: stand and where we think we need to go with

12:22 Speaker 1: Starliner's development. NASA and Boeing now planned to conduct ground

12:26 Speaker 1: tests of Starliner's troubled propulsion system this summer. With the

12:29 Speaker 1: next flight test not expected until early twenty twenty six,

12:33 Speaker 1: that mission could well be uncrewed, a possibility Williams seems

12:36 Speaker 1: to support. I think that is already the plan because

12:39 Speaker 1: there will be new components added to the spacecraft or

12:41 Speaker 1: replaced on the spacecraft. So we'd really like to test

12:44 Speaker 1: that out see how that works, she said. I think

12:47 Speaker 1: that's probably a smart wise idea. The star Liner program

12:51 Speaker 1: has faced significant challenges, with development costs ballooning to more

12:55 Speaker 1: than two billion dollars since twenty sixteen. For NASA, these

12:59 Speaker 1: setbacks have left SpaceX's Crew Dragon as the agency's only

13:03 Speaker 1: US option for transporting astronauts to and from the ISS,

13:07 Speaker 1: a concerning situation given NASA's desire for redundant access systems.

13:12 Speaker 1: Despite these challenges, Wilmore and Williams maintain their professionalism and

13:16 Speaker 1: commitment to helping Boeing overcome Starliner's technical issues, demonstrating the

13:20 Speaker 1: resilience that defines the astronaut core. The commercial spaceflight landscape

13:25 Speaker 1: is experiencing both remarkable breakthroughs and significant growing pains, as

13:30 Speaker 1: evidence by recent developments across the industry. We're witnessing a

13:34 Speaker 1: fascinating contrast between SpaceX's rapid iteration philosophy and Boeing's more

13:39 Speaker 1: traditional approach to spacecraft development. SpaceX continues to push boundaries

13:44 Speaker 1: with its Starship program despite consecutive explosive test failures. These

13:49 Speaker 1: setbacks highlight the inherent challenges of developing revolutionary rocket systems,

13:54 Speaker 1: yet the company maintains its aggressive testing schedule. This approach,

13:58 Speaker 1: building fast, testing off and accepting some failures has become

14:02 Speaker 1: SpaceX's signature methodology, though it occasionally puts them at odds

14:06 Speaker 1: with regulatory bodies like the FAA. Meanwhile, Boeing's struggles with

14:11 Speaker 1: Starliner represent a different challenge in commercial spaceflight. The company's

14:15 Speaker 1: more conservative development process hasn't shielded it from significant technical issues,

14:20 Speaker 1: cost overruns, and scheduled delays. The contrast between Starliner's difficulties

14:26 Speaker 1: and SpaceX's successful Crew Dragon program underscores how different engineering

14:30 Speaker 1: cultures can yield vastly different outcomes. Blue Origin's partial success

14:34 Speaker 1: with New Glen adds another dimension to this competitive landscape.

14:38 Speaker 1: Their ability to reach orbit on the first attempt was impressive,

14:42 Speaker 1: even if the booster landing failed. This positions them as

14:45 Speaker 1: a potentially serious competitor in the heavy lift market, though

14:49 Speaker 1: they remain years behind SpaceX and operational capability. What's particularly

14:54 Speaker 1: striking is how these commercial developments are reshaping human space exploration.

15:00 Speaker 1: SISA has effectively outsourced low Earth orbit transportation, transforming from

15:04 Speaker 1: operator to customer. This transition frees the agency to focus

15:08 Speaker 1: resources on deep space exploration while leveraging commercial innovation. The

15:14 Speaker 1: emergence of purely private missions like fram two signals another

15:17 Speaker 1: evolution in commercial spaceflight, moving beyond government contracts to entirely

15:22 Speaker 1: new markets. These missions demonstrate growing commercial capabilities while expanding

15:27 Speaker 1: our understanding of what's possible in Earth orbit. Despite the

15:32 Speaker 1: challenges we're seeing, competition between multiple providers is ultimately strengthening

15:37 Speaker 1: the industry. Each failure provides valuable data, and each success

15:42 Speaker 1: expands capabilities. The current difficulties facing these companies aren't signs

15:47 Speaker 1: of failure, but rather the expected turbulence of an industry

15:50 Speaker 1: pushing into new frontiers while striving to make spaceflight more routine, reliable,

15:55 Speaker 1: and accessible. What an incredible journey through space news we've

16:00 Speaker 1: taken today from the ongoing development challenges with SpaceX's Starship

16:05 Speaker 1: to blue origins, new Glen Progress, NASA's exciting new sphere

16:09 Speaker 1: X telescope capturing its first images, and the groundbreaking FRAM

16:13 Speaker 1: two polar orbit mission. We've also checked in with astronauts

16:16 Speaker 1: Wilmore and Williams as they readjust to Earth after their

16:19 Speaker 1: extended stay in space. These stories collectively showcase both the

16:22 Speaker 1: challenges and triumphs that define our current era of space exploration.

16:27 Speaker 1: Whether it's the regulatory hurdles facing private companies or the

16:30 Speaker 1: cutting edge science being conducted in orbit, we're witnessing a

16:33 Speaker 1: remarkable period of innovation and discovery. This has been Anna

16:38 Speaker 1: your host for Astronomy Daily. If you've enjoyed today's episode

16:41 Speaker 1: and want to stay updated on all the latest space

16:43 Speaker 1: and astronomy news, please visit our website at Astronomy Daily

16:47 Speaker 1: dot io. There you can catch up on all our

16:49 Speaker 1: previous episodes, read the latest space news, and sign up

16:52 Speaker 1: for our free daily space news newsletter. You can also

16:56 Speaker 1: find us across social media. Just search for astro Daily

16:58 Speaker 1: Pod on x, Facebook, YouTube, YouTube, music, Instagram, and TikTok.

17:04 Speaker 1: Thank you for listening, and remember to keep looking up

17:06 Speaker 1: at the stars. The universe is full of wonders, and

17:09 Speaker 1: we'll be here to share them with you. Until next time,

17:12 Speaker 1: Sunday Star is so Star, is so Star.