Highlights:
- SpaceX's Starship Launch Approval: Discover how the Federal Aviation Administration has granted SpaceX the green light for its ninth Starship test flight, following a thorough review of past mishaps. This approval marks a significant milestone in SpaceX's efforts to develop the world's largest rocket system, paving the way for future lunar and Martian missions.
- Blue Origin's Lunar Landings: Get excited about Blue Origin's plans to land an uncrewed prototype of its lunar lander on the Moon's south pole by the end of the year. With impressive payload capabilities, this mission aims to establish Blue Origin as a key player in NASA's Artemis programme.
- NASA's Dragonfly Mission to Titan: Venture to Saturn’s moon Titan with NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft, set to launch in 2028. This innovative mission will explore Titan's unique organic chemistry and investigate the prebiotic processes that could shed light on the origins of life on Earth.
- Dawn Aerospace's Aurora Spaceplane: Learn about Dawn Aerospace's revolutionary approach to suborbital flight with its Aurora spaceplane. By selling spaceplanes to customers instead of operating them, Dawn is paving the way for a more scalable model of access to space.
- Hermes PF and Multimessenger Astronomy: Explore the Hermes PF mission, designed to enhance our understanding of cosmic events through multimessenger astronomy. This innovative satellite constellation will enable astronomers to pinpoint the origins of gravitational wave events with unprecedented accuracy.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, 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 - SpaceX's Starship launch approval
10:00 - Blue Origin's lunar landings
15:30 - NASA's Dragonfly mission to Titan
20:00 - Dawn Aerospace's Aurora spaceplane
25:00 - Hermes PF and multimessenger astronomy
✍️ Episode References
SpaceX Updates
[SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/)
Blue Origin Lunar Mission
[Blue Origin](https://www.blueorigin.com/)
NASA's Dragonfly Mission
[NASA Dragonfly](https://www.nasa.gov/dragonfly)
Dawn Aerospace Aurora
[Dawn Aerospace](https://www.dawnaerospace.com/)
Hermes PF Mission
[Hermes PF](https://www.nasa.gov/hermespf)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host,
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 Anna, bringing you the pulse of our cosmic
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 frontier. Today, we're diving into a
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 constellation of exciting developments that
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 showcase humanity's relentless pursuit of the
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 stars. The space industry never sleeps,
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 and this week proves it. With a flurry of
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 activity that spans from Earth's atmosphere
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 to the mysterious shores of Titan,
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 we've got a packed episode exploring
00:00:25 --> 00:00:26 breakthroughs that could reshape our
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 understanding of the universe and our place
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 within it. Let's get into it then.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:33 First up today, the Federal Aviation
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 administration has given SpaceX the green
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 light for its next starship launch, providing
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 final approval on May 22 for what will be
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 the ninth Test flight of this massive
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 spacecraft. This comes after a careful review
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 of the mishaps that occurred during previous
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 launch attempts. For those who haven't been
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 following Starship's development journey,
00:00:53 --> 00:00:54 this approval represents a significant
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 milestone in SpaceX's ambitious programme to
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 develop the world's largest and most powerful
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 rocket system. The FAA's decision
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 indicates they're satisfied with SpaceX's
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 response to the problems encountered during
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 Flight 8 back in March. During that previous
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 launch, Starship's upper Stage experienced
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 what SpaceX described as an energetic event,
00:01:16 --> 00:01:17 a technical way of saying something went
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 dramatically wrong. This event caused the
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 loss of several Raptor engines and ultimately
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 resulted in the vehicle losing control m the
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 spacecraft eventually re entered Earth's
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 atmosphere over the Caribbean. What's
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 particularly noteworthy is that this failure
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 looked remarkably similar to what happened
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 during Flight 7 in January. Despite the
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 ongoing mishap investigation into Flight 8
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 not being officially closed, the FAA
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 determined that SpaceX has satisfactorily
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 addressed the causes of the mishap and that
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 the vehicle can safely return to flight. This
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 approach mirrors what the agency did for
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 Flight 8, essentially concluding that the
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 launch does not pose a safety risk to the
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 public. One significant change for Flight 9
00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 involves the expansion of aircraft hazard
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 areas, or AHAs. These are
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 airspace closures designed to prevent any
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 debris from a launch failure from potentially
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 hitting aircraft. An environmental review
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 concluded that these safety zones needed to
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 be considerably expanded based on data from
00:02:14 --> 00:02:17 the previous launches, which suggested a
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 higher probability of failure than than
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 originally estimated. The numbers here are
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 striking. The aha for Flight 9 will extend
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 east from SpaceX's Starbase facility in South
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 Texas for approximately 1
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 nautical miles. That's nearly 3
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 kilometres past the Straits of Florida,
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 including the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 Islands. By comparison, the
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 hazard area for Flight 8 extended for just
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 885 nautical miles, or about
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 1 kilometres.
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 Another factor contributing to these expanded
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 safety measures is SpaceX's plan to use a
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 previously flown super heavy booster on the
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 upcoming mission. This marks the first time
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 they've attempted to reuse a super heavy
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 booster, adding another layer of complexity
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 and potential risk to the mission. While
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 SpaceX hasn't announced an official launch
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 date yet, temporary flight restrictions
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 published by the FAA shortly after the
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 approval announcement indicate they're
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 working toward a launch as soon as May 27th.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 As always with experimental rockets of this
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 scale, that date remains fluid and dependent
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 on both technical readiness and weather
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 conditions. The stakes remain incredibly
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 high for Starship as the vehicle
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 designed to eventually carry humans to the
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 moon as part of NASA's Artemis programme and
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 later to M Mars. Each test flight provides
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 critical Data that moves SpaceX closer to
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 achieving these ambitious goals, but the
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 path to creating a fully reusable super heavy
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 lift launch system has proven challenging,
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 with each test revealing new hurdles to
00:03:49 --> 00:03:50 overcome.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 And in SpaceX competitor news today, Blue
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 Origin is making bold strides in the lunar
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 exploration arena, with plans to attempt
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 landing an uncrewed prototype of its human
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 landing system on the moon's south pole
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 before the end of this year. This ambitious
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 timeline was revealed by John Colouris, Blue
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 Origin's senior vice president of lunar
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 permanence, as the company accelerates its
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 efforts to become a key player in NASA's
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 Artemis programme. Blue Origin's lunar
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 lander is one of two systems being developed
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 in partnership with NASA to support crewed
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 landings on the moon. While SpaceX
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 secured the first two flight service
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 contracts for NASA's Artemis 3 and 4 missions
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 with its Starship variant, Blue Origin system
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 has been selected for the Artemis 5 mission,
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 establishing a competitive dual provider
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 approach to lunar transportation. The
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 company's Mark 1 Lander, which is scheduled
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 for this year's demonstration mission, boasts
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 impressive capabilities. It's designed to
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 deliver nearly 3.9 tonnes of payload to
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 any location on the lunar surface. This
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 capacity significantly outperforms the small
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 robotic landers that NASA is developing under
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 its commercial Lunar Payload Services
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 contracts, which can carry up to about one
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 tonne. At the heart of the Mark 1 is
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 the BE7 engine, a sophisticated
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 propulsion system that runs on liquid oxygen
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 and liquid hydrogen. Assembly of the flight
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 unit is nearly complete and is expected to be
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 shipped to Johnson Space Centre in Houston
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 within six weeks for thermal vacuum chamber
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 testing. After completing those tests, the
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 engine will be transported to Cape Canaveral
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 for integration with the lander before
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 launching aboard Blue Origin's new Glenn
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 rocket. Beyond testing technologies and
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 operations for future Mark 2 vehicles, the
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 Mark 1 mission will carry scientific payloads
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 for both NASA and commercial customers.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 One key NASA experiment will measure BE7
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 plume impingement on the lunar surface,
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 providing valuable data about how rocket
00:05:47 --> 00:05:48 exhaust interacts with lunar regolith.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 Colloris also unveiled an updated design
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 for the system's transporter module, which is
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 a critical component of Blue Origin's lunar
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 architecture. This vehicle is designed to
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 launch separately on a new Glenn rocket and
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 be refuelled in low Earth orbit using
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 excess propellant from the rocket's upper
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 stage. The transporter would then travel to
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 lunar orbit to refuel a waiting Blue Origin
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 lander before a crew arrives via NASA's Space
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 Launch System and Orion capsule.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 The transporter's capabilities extend beyond
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 lunar missions, with the ability to transport
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 roughly 110 tonnes from Earth orbit to
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 lunar orbit, or up to 33 tonnes to Mars
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 orbit. This opens up the solar system,
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 Kolluris noted, highlighting the company's
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 vision beyond just moon landings, Blue
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 Origin is also making significant progress in
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 addressing one of the biggest challenges for
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 long duration space propellant storage.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 A ground demonstration of zero boil off
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 cryogenic propellant storage is currently
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 underway in Washington State. By June, the
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 company expects to demonstrate consistent
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 storage of cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen as
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 storable propellants, a technological
00:06:58 --> 00:06:59 breakthrough that would be the first of its
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 kind at this scale. This lunar demonstration
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 mission represents a crucial step in Blue
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 Origin's journey to becoming a major player
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 in deep space exploration, creating a
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 competitive landscape that may ultimately
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 benefit NASA's ambitious plans to establish
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 a sustainable human presence on the moon.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 Next up, let's move on out to Saturn. When it
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 descends through the thick golden haze on
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 Saturn's moon Titan, NASA's Dragonfly
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 rotorcraft will find itself in a world that
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 is simultaneously alien and strangely
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 familiar. This car sized flying
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 vehicle, scheduled to launch no earlier than
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 2028, will explore a frigid
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 realm where dunes wrap around the equator,
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 clouds drift across the skies, rain
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 drizzles down and rivers flow, forming
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 canyons, lakes and seas. But the
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 familiarity ends there. At temperatures of
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 -292 degrees Fahrenheit,
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 Titan's Dune Sands aren't made of silicate
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 grains like on Earth, but of organic
00:07:58 --> 00:08:01 material. The rivers, lakes and seas don't
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 contain water, but liquid methane and ethane.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 This frigid world is laden with organic
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 molecules, making it a unique laboratory for
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 studying the chemical processes that may have
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 led to life on our planet. What makes
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 Dragonfly's mission so fascinating is that it
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 isn't looking for life itself on Titan. It's
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 investigating the chemistry that came before
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 biology here on Earth. As Zibby
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 Turtle, principal investigator for Dragonfly
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 and a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 Applied Physics Laboratory, explains, On
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 Titan, scientists can explore the chemical
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 processes that may have led to life on Earth
00:08:35 --> 00:08:38 without life itself Complicating the picture
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 on our planet, life has reshaped nearly
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 everything, Burying its chemical forebears
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 beneath aeons of evolution. Even today's
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 simplest microbes Rely on complex chemical
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 reactions to exist. The transition from
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 simple to complex chemistry before jumping to
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 biology Remains one of science's greatest
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 mysteries. With many steps still unknown,
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 Titan offers a unique opportunity to uncover
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 some of these missing pieces. What makes
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 Titan so valuable is that it's an untouched
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 chemical laboratory where all the ingredients
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 for known lifeorganic molecules,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 liquid water and energy sources have
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 interacted in the past. Before NASA's
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 Cassini Huygens mission, researchers didn't
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 fully appreciate just how rich titin is in
00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 organic molecules. Data revealed a molecular
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 smorgasbord ethane, propane,
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 acetylene, acetone, vinyl,
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 cyanide, benzene and many more compounds.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 These molecules fall to Titan's surface,
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 forming thick deposits on the moon's ice
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 bedrock. Scientists believe life related
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 chemistry could begin there, particularly if
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 given some liquid water, such as from an
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 asteroid impact. This is why selk crater,
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 a 50 mile wide impact site, is a key
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 destination for Dragonfly. The impact that
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 formed Selkirk melted the icy bedrock,
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 Potentially creating a temporary pool that
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 could have remained liquid for hundreds to
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 thousands of years under an insulating ice
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 layer. If natural antifreeze like ammonia
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 were mixed in, the pool could have stayed
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 unfrozen even longer, Blending water with
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 organics and minerals from the impactor to
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 form what scientists describe as a primordial
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 soup. As Sarah Horst, an atmospheric
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 chemist and co investigator on Dragonfly's
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 science team, puts it, it's essentially a
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 long running chemical experiment. That's why
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 Titan is exciting. It's a natural version of
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 our origin of life experiments. Except it's
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 been running much longer and on a planetary
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 scale. Selk Crater represents what
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 scientists call a, natural laboratory,
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 One that may hold crucial clues to life's
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 origins. When researchers try to understand
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 how life began on Earth, they face a
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 fundamental challenge. Time. For decades,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 scientists have simulated early Earth
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 conditions in labs, creating prebiotic soup
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 mixtures of water and simple organic
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 compounds, Then jump starting reactions with
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 electrical shocks to mimic lightning. But
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 these experiments typically last weeks,
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 months, or at most a few years. The
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 melt pools at Salt Crater, however,
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 potentially persisted for tens of thousands
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 of years. While this is still shorter than
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 the hundreds of millions of years it took for
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 life to emerge on Earth. Models suggest it
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 could be sufficient time for critical
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 chemical processes to unfold. As Horst
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 explains, We don't know if Earth life took so
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 long because conditions had to stabilise or
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 because the chemistry itself needed time. But
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 models show that if you toss Titan's organics
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 into water, tens of thousands of years is
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 plenty of time for chemistry to happen. This
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 is why Dragonflies exploration of Selk is so
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 important. Landing near the crater, the the
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 rotorcraft will fly from site to site,
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 analysing the surface chemistry to
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 investigate what could be the frozen remains
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 of prebiotic chemistry in action. The
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 impact that formed Selk created ideal
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 conditions for this chemistry, melting water
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 ice and potentially mixing it with organic
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 compounds already present on Titan's surface.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 The Dragonfly mass spectrometer, or DRAMS,
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 will be crucial to this investigation.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 Developed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 Centre with a key subsystem from CNS,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 DRAMS will search for indicators of complex
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 chemistry rather than specific molecules.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 We're not looking for exact molecules, but
00:12:18 --> 00:12:21 patterns that suggest complexity, explains
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 Morgan Cable, a research scientist at NASA's
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co investigator
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 on Dragonfly. On Earth, for instance,
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 amino acids, fundamental building blocks of
00:12:31 --> 00:12:34 proteins, appear in specific patterns. A
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 world without life would mainly produce the
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 simplest amino acids and form fewer complex
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 ones. Titan itself isn't considered habitable
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 in the conventional sense. It's far too cold
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 for life's chemistry as we understand it,
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 with no liquid water on the surface where
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 organics and energy sources exist. But
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 this is precisely what makes it valuable for
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 understanding life's origins. If
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 Dragonfly finds evidence that complex
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 chemistry did unfold in silk craters,
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 temporary melt pools, it strengthens the case
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 that life could emerge relatively easily
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 given the right ingredients and conditions.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 Conversely, if complex chemistry didn't
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 develop despite favourable conditions and
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 ample time, it might suggest that life's
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 emergence requires additional factors we
00:13:17 --> 00:13:20 haven't yet identified, potentially making it
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 rarer in the universe than we thought.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 M Meanwhile, back here on Earth, in
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 a significant shift from traditional space
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 business models, Dawn Aerospace has now begun
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 taking orders for its Aurora spaceplane, a
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 ah, remarkable vehicle designed to carry
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 small payloads on suborbital flights. This
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 New Zealand based company announced on May 22
00:13:40 --> 00:13:43 that the Aurora is capable of carrying six
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 kilogrammes of payload to an altitude of 100
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 kilometres, with first deliveries projected
00:13:48 --> 00:13:51 for 2027. What makes Dawn's
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 approach particularly innovative is their
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 business model. Rather than operating the
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 vehicles themselves and selling launch
00:13:57 --> 00:14:00 services, as most space Companies do. Dawn
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 Aerospace is selling the actual spaceplanes
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 to customers who will then operate them
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 independently. This mirrors the commercial
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 aviation industry, where Boeing and Airbus
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 don't fly passengers, they sell aircraft to
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 airlines who handle operations. As Stefan
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 Powell, Dawn Aerospace's chief executive,
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 explained during a recent webinar organised
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 by the Global Spaceport alliance, there are
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 many out there who would love to have this
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 capability and be willing to pay for it, but
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 they simply can't get their hands on it. It's
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 not for sale. He contrasted this with
00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 commercial aviation's approach, noting that
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 the airline model presents us with a far more
00:14:38 --> 00:14:41 scalable model for transportation and one
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 that we would really like to draw on. The
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 Aurora itself has been in testing for several
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 years with its Mark 2 version reaching
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 supersonic speeds for the first time last
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 November, achieving Mach 1.12
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 and reaching an altitude of 25.1 kilometres.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 But what's particularly noteworthy about this
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 vehicle is its fundamental design philosophy.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 This is an aircraft with the performance of a
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 rocket, not a rocket with wings, Powell
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 emphasised. That is to say, reliability,
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 reusability and ultimately scalability are
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 not afterthoughts, but baked in from day one.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:17 To enable this airline model, the upcoming
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 suborbital version of Aurora will feature
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 increased propellant capacity and engine
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 thrust, plus reaction control system
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 thrusters for manoeuvrability outside the
00:15:25 --> 00:15:28 atmosphere. Remarkably, these
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 enhancements will be incorporated within the
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 same external dimensions as the previous
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 version. Maintaining its sleek
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 aircraft like profile, Dawn
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 Aerospace expects the first suborbital Aurora
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 to be ready for flight testing within 18
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 months, with a test programme lasting
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 approximately six to nine months. These
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 flights will begin at lower altitudes, but
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 rapidly progress to higher ones,
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 demonstrating the vehicle's full capabilities
00:15:53 --> 00:15:56 before customer deliveries begin. Looking
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 at Aurora's capabilities in more detail, the
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 spaceplane offers an impressive flight
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 profile. On a typical suborbital mission,
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 Aurora will take off from a conventional
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 Runway and immediately begin a steep
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 vertical ascent. It will reach speeds of Mach
00:16:11 --> 00:16:14 3.5, more than three times the speed of sound
00:16:14 --> 00:16:17 and provide approximately three minutes of
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 true microgravity at the peak of its
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 trajectory. The entire flight from
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 takeoff to landing takes just one half an
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 hour, with most of that time spent gliding
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 back to a Runway landing after re entry.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 Powering this remarkable vehicle is an engine
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 using 90% hydrogen peroxide and
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 kerosene D60 propellants.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:40 When fully loaded, the Aurora weighs just 450
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 kilogrammes and and requires only a 1000
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 metre Runway for takeoff, making it
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 accessible to numerous existing airports and
00:16:47 --> 00:16:50 spaceports worldwide. One of
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 Aurora's Most compelling features is its
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 rapid reusability. Dawn has already
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 demonstrated the ability to prepare the
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 vehicle for another flight within six hours.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02 And Powell confidently stated that a four
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 hour turnaround time should be achievable.
00:17:05 --> 00:17:08 That would make the first aircraft ever the
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 first vehicle of any kind actually to fly
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 above the Karman line twice in one day, he
00:17:13 --> 00:17:16 noted. On the business side, Dawn
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 Aerospace is now taking orders for Aurora,
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 with deliveries starting in 2027.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 While the company hasn't publicly disclosed
00:17:23 --> 00:17:26 pricing, Powell suggested that a per flight
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 operational cost of around $100 is
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 absolutely tenable, with prices
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 potentially higher for more customised
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 mission profiles. Each Aurora is
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 designed for up to 1 flights over its
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 lifetime, with potential revenue per vehicle
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 reaching approximately $100 million.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 The market interest is already evident. Dawn
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 has secured several customers for test
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 flights of the mark two Aurora, including
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 three prestigious universities, Arizona
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 State, Cal Poly and Johns Hopkins, as
00:17:57 --> 00:18:00 well as ScoutSpace, a company developing
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 space domain awareness services. Powell
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 believes there's substantial demand for
00:18:04 --> 00:18:07 suborbital flight even with Aurora's modest
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 payload capacity, particularly in fields like
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 microgravity, life sciences research,
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 semiconductor development and defence payload
00:18:14 --> 00:18:17 testing. This innovative approach has been
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 enthusiastically welcomed by the Global
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 Spaceport alliance, whose chairman George
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 Neild pointed out, With a small reusable
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 system that can operate from a standard
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 Runway, there's no reason why any spaceport
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 with a Runway couldn't provide regular access
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 to to space. For numerous
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 underutilised spaceports worldwide,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 Aurora could be the catalyst that finally
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 brings their facilities into regular
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 operational use.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 Finally today, an innovation worth noting.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 Multimessenger astronomy represents one of
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 the most exciting frontiers in our
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 understanding of the cosmos. It's the science
00:18:51 --> 00:18:54 of capturing different types of signals, both
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 gravitational and electromagnetic, from the
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 same cosmic event. But to fully realise this
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 potential, we need eyes constantly watching
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 the entire sky. This is where the high
00:19:05 --> 00:19:08 energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of
00:19:08 --> 00:19:11 Satellite's Pathfinder Mission, or Hermes pf,
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 comes into play. Successfully launched in
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 March and currently undergoing commissioning,
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 Hermes PF aims to solve a fundamental
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 challenge in multi messenger astronomy when
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 catastrophic cosmic events occur, like black
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 hole mergers or neutron star collisions.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 Gravitational wave detectors can sense these
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 disturbances in spacetime, but they struggle
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 to pinpoint exactly where the signal
00:19:32 --> 00:19:35 originated. The Hermes PF solution
00:19:35 --> 00:19:38 is elegantly simple, yet technologically
00:19:38 --> 00:19:41 sophisticated. Deploy six small
00:19:41 --> 00:19:44 3U cubesats that work together to
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 monitor the entire sky for high energy
00:19:46 --> 00:19:49 bursts. When a cosmic event releases a
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 burst of gamma rays or other high energy
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 radiation, multiple satellites in the
00:19:53 --> 00:19:56 constellation detect it. By triangulating
00:19:56 --> 00:19:59 these signals with precise timing data, the
00:19:59 --> 00:20:02 system can identify the source location to
00:20:02 --> 00:20:05 within 1 degree of accuracy, A remarkable
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 feat that dramatically narrows the search
00:20:07 --> 00:20:10 area for astronomers. Each CubeSat in the
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13 Hermes PF system carries 60
00:20:13 --> 00:20:16 GaGC scintillator crystals and 12
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 silicon drift detectors, allowing them to
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 capture a wide spectrum of energy signatures
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23 with exceptional temporal resolution.
00:20:23 --> 00:20:25 What's particularly clever about this
00:20:25 --> 00:20:28 approach is that the satellites primarily use
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 commercial off the shelf components rather
00:20:30 --> 00:20:33 than expensive radiation hardened parts,
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 making the entire system more cost effective.
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 The technology isn't entirely untested
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 either. A similar sensor system has been
00:20:40 --> 00:20:43 operating on another mission called spirit
00:20:43 --> 00:20:46 since 2023. Though it has faced some
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 challenges with cooling systems and data
00:20:47 --> 00:20:50 downlink capabilities. The full six
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 satellite Hermes PF constellation aims to
00:20:52 --> 00:20:55 overcome these limitations and provide truly
00:20:55 --> 00:20:58 comprehensive sky coverage. This capability
00:20:58 --> 00:21:00 will become increasingly crucial as next
00:21:00 --> 00:21:02 generation gravitational wave detectors like
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 the Einstein telescope come online in the
00:21:04 --> 00:21:07 coming years. These advanced detectors are
00:21:07 --> 00:21:10 expected to identify up to 100 gravitational
00:21:10 --> 00:21:12 wave events annually, 10 times more than
00:21:12 --> 00:21:15 current systems can detect. Without something
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 like Hermes PF wave watching for the
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 electromagnetic counterparts to these events,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:22 we'd be missing half the picture. Imagine
00:21:22 --> 00:21:24 trying to understand a thunderstorm by only
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 feeling the vibrations of thunder, but never
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 seeing the lightning. Multimessenger
00:21:28 --> 00:21:31 astronomy allows us to both see and feel
00:21:31 --> 00:21:34 cosmic catastrophes, giving us complementary
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 data that reveals the underlying physics in
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39 unprecedented detail. The
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 Hermes PF mission stands to transform
00:21:42 --> 00:21:45 our understanding of these extreme events by
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 ensuring we never miss the flash of cosmic
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 lightning that accompanies the thunder of
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 gravitational waves.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:55 As we've explored today, we're witnessing a
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 remarkable convergence of space technologies
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 that are opening new windows into our
00:21:59 --> 00:22:01 universe from SpaceX's persistent
00:22:01 --> 00:22:04 refinement of starship. Despite setbacks to
00:22:04 --> 00:22:07 Blue Origin's bold lunar ambitions, these
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 commercial endeavours are reshaping how we
00:22:09 --> 00:22:12 access space. Both companies are
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 crucial partners in NASA's Artemis programme,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:17 working toward returning humans to the lunar
00:22:17 --> 00:22:19 surface with capabilities far beyond what was
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 possible during the Apollo era.
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 Meanwhile, scientific missions like Dragonfly
00:22:24 --> 00:22:26 represent some of the most ambitious
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 exploration we've ever attempted. By
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 sending a rotorcraft to explore Saturn's moon
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 Titan, we're not just visiting another world.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:36 We're potentially unlocking the chemical
00:22:36 --> 00:22:39 history that preceded life on Earth. Dawn
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 Aerospace's Aurora spaceplane demonstrates
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 yet another innovation in our approach to
00:22:43 --> 00:22:46 space access. By selling spacecraft rather
00:22:46 --> 00:22:49 than just launch services, they're
00:22:49 --> 00:22:51 democratising access to suborbital space in a
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 way that mirrors how commercial aviation
00:22:53 --> 00:22:55 revolutionised earthbound travel last
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 century. Perhaps most exciting is how the
00:22:57 --> 00:23:00 Hermes PF mission connects to everything else
00:23:00 --> 00:23:03 we've discussed. As these cubesats
00:23:03 --> 00:23:05 monitor the sky for high energy events.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:07 They'll complement gravitational wave
00:23:07 --> 00:23:10 detectors, creating a more complete picture
00:23:10 --> 00:23:13 of cosmic catastrophes. Collectively,
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 these advancements aren't just isolated
00:23:14 --> 00:23:17 technological achievements. They represent
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 humanity extending its senses further into
00:23:19 --> 00:23:22 the cosmos. We're building tools that may
00:23:22 --> 00:23:24 answer some of our most profound questions.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:27 How did life begin? Are we alone? What
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 fundamental forces shape our universe?
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32 Thank you for joining me on Astronomy Daily.
00:23:32 --> 00:23:34 I'll be back tomorrow for yet another episode
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 where we'll take a look at more innovations.
00:23:37 --> 00:23:40 Until then, keep looking up. The sky is
00:23:40 --> 00:23:43 full of wonders waiting to be discovered. I'm
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 Ana. signing off,