- Honda's Rocket Ventures: In this episode, we explore Honda's surprising foray into the world of space technology, as they successfully launched and landed an experimental reusable rocket. The Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) reached nearly 900 feet during its test flight in Japan, showcasing Honda's ambition to enter the satellite launch market by 2029.
- European Aerospace Consolidation: Major players in the European aerospace sector are discussing a potential merger to create a more competitive space venture. With Airbus Defence and Space, Leonardo, and Thales Alenia Space considering this move, we delve into the implications for the European space industry and the timeline for potential approval.
- Nyx Spacecraft Ambitions: The exploration company is setting its sights on human spaceflight with plans to develop a crewed version of the Nyx spacecraft. We discuss their vision and the challenges ahead, including the estimated cost and timeline for bringing this ambitious project to fruition.
- Stellar Flybys and Earth's Climate: New research challenges the notion that passing stars have significantly influenced Earth's climate over the past 56 million years. We break down the findings and their implications for our understanding of climate change events like the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum.
- Sally Ride Documentary: National Geographic's documentary, "Sally," takes a deep dive into the life of the first American woman in space. We highlight key aspects of her personal life, her contributions to NASA, and her legacy in education and outreach, showcasing the challenges she faced as a pioneer in both her professional and personal life.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
Chapters:
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily
01:10 - Honda's rocket ventures
10:00 - European aerospace consolidation
15:00 - Nyx spacecraft ambitions
20:00 - Stellar flybys and Earth's climate
25:00 - Sally Ride documentary
✍️ Episode References
Honda RLV Launch
[Honda](https://www.honda.com/)
European Aerospace Merger News
[Airbus](https://www.airbus.com/)
Nyx Spacecraft Information
[Exploration Company](https://www.explorationcompany.com/)
Earth's Climate Research
[Nature](https://www.nature.com/)
Sally Ride Documentary
[National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 Anna. Today we're going to be diving
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 headfirst into the latest and greatest news
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 from across the cosmos. We've got a really
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 exciting lineup for you from Honda's. Yes,
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 Honda's surprising foray into rocket tests
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 all the way to an exploration of the legacy,
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 a very important legacy of Sally Ride.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 So buckle up, space enthusiasts. Get ready
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 for your daily dose of cosmic updates. Let's
00:00:25 --> 00:00:25 get started.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 Alright, let's kick things off with some news
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 that might surprise you. Honda, you know the
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 car company has successfully launched and
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 landed an experimental reusable rocket.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 That's right. They're not just making Civics
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 anymore. They're also testing the waters in
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 space tech. The company's R and D
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 division conducted a test flight in Hokkaido,
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 Japan, reaching almost 900ft.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 The aim, to demonstrate crucial technologies
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 for rocket reusability, like flight stability
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 during ascent and descent, as well as landing
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 capabilities. Now, Honda's rocket,
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 dubbed the Reusable launch vehicle, or RLV,
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 is pretty small compared to SpaceX's Falcon
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 9. We're talking about 20.6ft tall
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 versus Falcon 9's impressive 230ft.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:11 But Honda is hopeful that this emerging
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 rocket technology will one day be able to
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 launch satellites. They're aiming to achieve
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 a suborbital launch by 2029.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 It's clear that Honda's got its sights set on
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 the stars. And who knows? Maybe one day we'll
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 see Honda competing with the likes of SpaceX.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 In other news today, some major players in
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 the European aerospace industry are in talks
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 to consolidate their space divisions.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 Airbus Defence and Space. Leonardo and Thalus
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 Alenia Space are considering a merger to
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 create a larger, more competitive European
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 space venture. This move aims to create a
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 European champion in space better equipped to
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 compete globally. The CEOs of these companies
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 expect to make a final go, no go decision by
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 the end of July. They're currently assessing
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 antitrust concerns, conducting due diligence
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 on finances and evaluating the potential
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 value creation of such a combination.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 Now, if they decide to move forward, don't
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 expect to see changes overnight. Securing the
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 necessary European antitrust approvals could
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 take up to two years before the combined
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 venture can formally begin operations. The
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 goal is to gain scale and speed by
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 consolidating the business, positioning
00:02:19 --> 00:02:20 themselves to better compete with companies
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 like SpaceX and the satellite market.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 Now let's turn our attention to the ambitious
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 plans of the exploration company, yet another
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 new European space player. While they're
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 currently focused on developing the Nyx
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 spacecraft for cargo missions, they have
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 their sights Set on something even bigger.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 Human spaceflight. The exploration company
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 envisions a crewed version of Nyx capable of
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 carrying four or five astronauts. This isn't
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 just a distant dream. They've already begun
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 preliminary studies and are designing the
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 interior to include features like windows and
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 touchscreen displays, much like SpaceX's Crew
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 Dragon. However, transforming Nyx into
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 a crew rated spacecraft is a significant
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 undertaking. The company estimates that it
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 would take about 10 years and cost around
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 1.15 billion euros to
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 develop a fully crewed version. They're
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 actively seeking European government support,
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 particularly from the European Space Agency,
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 to make this vision a reality, as the costs
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 are beyond the reach of private financing
00:03:19 --> 00:03:19 alone.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:22 Now, let's look at something here on Earth.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 For a long time, scientists have wondered if
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 passing stars, stellar flybys, could
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 have altered Earth's climate in the past.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 It's a pretty interesting idea, right? Could
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 a star zooming past our solar system actually
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 mess with our planet's climate? Well,
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 new research is disputing the idea that
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 stellar flybys have significantly altered
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 Earth's climate in the past 56 million years,
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 including during a climate event called the
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum, or
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 petm. The PETM was a period
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 of rapid warming with global temperatures
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 rising by 5 to 8 degrees Celsius. It
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 also saw a massive influx of carbon into the
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 atmosphere and oceans. And scientists have
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 been trying to figure out what caused it for
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 years. Some researchers thought that stellar
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 flybys could be the culprit. The idea is that
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 a passing star could disrupt the orbits of
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 the giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn,
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 which could then affect Earth's orbit and
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 climate. But using a, uh, comprehensive solar
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 system model, scientists found no significant
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 influence from passing stars. They considered
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 all sorts of factors, including the positions
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 of the planets, the gravitational effects of
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 the sun and moon, and even the properties of
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 the passing stars themselves. The
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 researchers found that even when they
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 simulated extremely close flybys, there was
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 no significant impact on Earth's climate. So
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 it seems like we can rule out stellar flybys
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 as a major driver of climate change on Earth,
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 at least for the past 56 million years.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 Okay, shifting gears now, National
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 Geographic's new documentary, Sally takes a
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 deep dive into the life of Sally Ride. You
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 know, the first American woman in space. But
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 it's not just about her time at NASA. The
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 film also explores the private side of her
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 life, which a lot of people didn't know
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 about. The documentary reveals
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 her nearly 30 year relationship with Tam O'
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 Shaughnessy, which she kept secret for most
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 of her life. It also touches upon her
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 disillusionment with NASA after the
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 Challenger disaster. You see, Ride
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 was the only NASA employee to serve on the
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 Rogers Commission investigation following the
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 Challenger explosion. The documentary
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 highlights how she wasn't afraid to challenge
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 the status quo and she even secretly passed
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 along information about the O rings to
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 physicist Richard Feynman. What's really
00:05:41 --> 00:05:42 interesting is hearing from o' Shaughnessy
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 herself. She talks about the challenges of
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 being in a same sex relationship during that
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 time and the pressures that Ride faced to
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 keep their relationship a secret. It really
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 gives you a sense of the personal sacrifices
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 that she made. Ride and o'
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 Shaughnessy eventually co founded an
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 education and outreach programme together
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 called Sally Ride Science and even co wrote
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 several children's books about space science.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 It's a pretty inspiring story about breaking
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 barriers both in space and in life.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 It's also a reminder of the importance of
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 being true to yourself, even when it's
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 difficult. The documentary is streaming on
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 Hulu and Disney. Well worth a look.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 And that's all the space and astronomy news
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 we have for you today on Astronomy Daily.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 This has been your host Anna uh. For the
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 latest updates, a constantly updating
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 newsfeed, and to listen to all our back
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 episodes, make sure you visit our website at
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 astronomydaily IO and don't forget to
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts,
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 Spotify and YouTube or wherever you get your
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 podcasts so you never miss an episode.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 Time for me to sign off and remind you to
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 keep looking up at this wonderful universe we
00:06:51 --> 00:06:52 are a part of. Bye.