- SpaceX's Starship Booster Anomaly: SpaceX faces a significant setback as Booster 18 of its next-generation Starship program suffers a catastrophic rupture during a routine gas system pressure test. The failure of a composite overwrapped pressure vessel has left the company with no completed flight-ready boosters, prompting a shift in focus to Booster 19. Fortunately, this incident occurred during ground testing, allowing for necessary improvements before future flights.
- Stealth Solar Storm Strikes Earth: On November 20, a stealth solar storm arrived unexpectedly, creating stunning auroras at lower latitudes. Unlike typical coronal mass ejections, this event was difficult to predict, highlighting challenges in space weather forecasting as scientists work to better understand these quiet yet impactful phenomena.
- Innovative Balloon-Assisted Rocket Launch: Welsh startup B2Space successfully tested its unique launch system, combining a high-altitude balloon with a solid fuel rocket. This innovative approach allows for significant fuel savings by launching the rocket from a high altitude, with plans to scale up for operational missions targeting small satellite deployments.
- New Insights into Ancient Mars: Research from New York University, Abu Dhabi, reveals that ancient Mars may have been habitable for longer than previously thought. Evidence from the Curiosity rover suggests that groundwater interactions with sand dunes in Gale Crater could have supported life, extending the timeline for liquid water on the planet.
- BepiColombo's Journey to Mercury: The BepiColombo mission is just one year away from reaching Mercury after a seven-year journey. With multiple flybys completed, the mission is set to provide unprecedented insights into Mercury's magnetic environment and surface features through the collaboration of two spacecraft studying the planet simultaneously.
- 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 and Avery signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and exploring the wonders of our universe.
SpaceX Booster Anomaly Details
[SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/)
Stealth Solar Storm Insights
[NOAA](https://www.noaa.gov/)
B2Space Launch System Updates
[B2Space](https://b2space.co.uk/)
Mars Research Findings
[NYU Abu Dhabi](https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en.html)
BepiColombo Mission Overview
[ESA](https://www.esa.int/)
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 bringing you the biggest news from across the
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 cosmos. I'm Anna.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 Avery: And I'm Avery. And today we're covering
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 everything from unexpected setbacks to
00:00:12 --> 00:00:13 groundbreaking discoveries.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 Anna: That's right on the docket. Today we'll be
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 discussing a significant anomaly during
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 testing for SpaceX's next generation
00:00:21 --> 00:00:23 Starship booster.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 Avery: Then we'll look at a mysterious stealth solar
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 storm that struck Earth without any warning.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:31 We'll also dive into new research that
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 suggests ancient Mars may have been habitable
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 for much longer than previously believed.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 Anna: And to round things out, we have an update on
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 a Welsh startup testing a unique balloon
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 assisted rocket. And we'll check in on the
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 Bepi Colombo mission, which is now just one
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 year away from its destination, the planet
00:00:49 --> 00:00:50 Mercury.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:51 Avery: Let's get started then.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 Anna: It's a lot to get through, so let's start
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 with the big news from Starbase.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 Avery: All right, our first story is a major
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 development in the Starship program.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 SpaceX has been preparing its next generation
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 of boosters, known as Block 3, for testing,
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 but they've hit a serious snag. On
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 November 21, Booster 18 was
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 undergoing a routine gas system pressure test
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 when its liquid oxygen tank ruptured.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 Anna: Ruptured is a gentle way of putting it. From
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 the photos, it looks like a massive hole was
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 torn in the side of the vehicle.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 Avery: Exactly. SpaceX confirmed the anomaly,
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 stating that no propellant was on board and
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 no engines were installed yet. But the damage
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 is extensive. Early analysis
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 suggests that a CoPV, which is a
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 composite overwrapped pressure vessel,
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 might have failed at the bottom of the
00:01:43 --> 00:01:43 booster.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 Anna: So one of those high pressure tanks likely
00:01:45 --> 00:01:46 exploded?
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 Avery: That's the theory. It seems to have set off a
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 chain reaction, blowing out other COPVs
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 along a structural chine and leading to the
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 main tank rupture. What's remarkable is that
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 the booster didn't immediately tip over. It's
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 currently being held up by the new larger
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 liquid MET transfer tube, and the teams are
00:02:06 --> 00:02:07 figuring out how to safely secure it.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 Anna: That sounds incredibly precarious.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 So what does this mean for the program's
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 schedule? This was the first of the new Block
00:02:16 --> 00:02:17 3 boosters, right?
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 Avery: It was. And this failure leaves them with
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 zero completed flight ready boosters. They'll
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 have to shift their focus entirely to the
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 next one in line, Booster 19. It's
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 definitely not the start to the Block 3 era
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 that SpaceX wanted, of.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 Anna: Course, but I suppose there is a silver
00:02:33 --> 00:02:34 lining.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 Avery: There is. As frustrating as this is for them,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 it's far better that this happened during a
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 ground test at their Massey site than during
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 a 33 engine static fire on the launch pad,
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 or worse, during an actual flight. This is
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 why they test. They find the flaw, fix it,
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 and make the next vehicle stronger.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 Anna: From a, uh, failure on the ground to a
00:02:54 --> 00:02:55 disruption from the sky.
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 Our next story is about a stealth
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 solar storm that hit Earth on November 20.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 It arrived almost completely without warning
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 and was responsible for some beautiful
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 auroras seen at lower than usual latitudes.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 Avery: So what makes a solar storm stealthy? I
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 usually think of them as these massive,
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 obvious explosions on the sun.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 Anna: That's typically the case. A regular
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 coronal mass ejection, or cme, is
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 very visible in solar data, often
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 accompanied by a bright solar flare.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 Stealth CMEs are the opposite, and they
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 erupt quietly without any bright signatures.
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 They tend to be faint, slow moving, and
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 incredibly difficult to track.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 Avery: So we often don't even know they're coming
00:03:41 --> 00:03:42 until they're already here.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 Anna: Exactly. That's what happened on November
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 20th. Forecasters at NOAA only
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 noticed it when they saw a, uh, disruption in
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 the solar wind conditions around Earth. They
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 called it an embedded transient. The
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 magnetic field carried by the solar wind,
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 which is normally around 4 to 6
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 nanoteslas, briefly spiked to 18.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 Avery: That's a significant jump. And this, combined
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 with a fast solar windstream from a coronal
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 hole, is what likely triggered those auroras
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 seen in places like Maine and Denmark.
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 Anna: That's the leading hypothesis. This event
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 didn't trigger a major geomagnetic
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 storm, thankfully, but it highlights a
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 known challenge for space weather
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 forecasting. A 2021 study
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 confirmed that these stealth eruptions
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 can come from seemingly quiet regions of the
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 sun, yet still pack a magnetic
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 punch when they reach us. They're a
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 quiet threat that scientists are working
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 hard to better understand and predict.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 Avery: Next up, let's talk about a different
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 approach to reaching orbit. A well, startup
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 called B2Space has just completed a
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 key test of its launch system, which is known
00:04:55 --> 00:04:56 as a raccoon.
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 Anna: A raccoon, as in a
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 rocket and a balloon combined?
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 Avery: Precisely. The idea is to use a large
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 high altitude balloon to carry a solid fuel
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 rocket up through the thickest part of the
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 atmosphere. Then once it's at a very high
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 altitude, the rocket launches. It saves
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 a tremendous amount of fuel you'd normally
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 use just to fight through that dense lower
00:05:20 --> 00:05:20 air.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 Anna: That's a clever concept. So what did
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 this Recent test involve?
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 Avery: B2Space conducted the test from the Canary
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 Islands. They launched the balloon carrying a
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 smaller, lower powered version of their
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 eventual rocket. The balloon ascended to an
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 altitude of 21.5 kilometers.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 That's about 70ft, at
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 which point the rocket successfully launched.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 Anna: Incredible. Was the system reusable?
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 Avery: It was. The company confirmed that all
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 elements of the launch system were
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 successfully recovered. After the test, their
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 next step is to repeat this test with a
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 larger, more powerful rocket in April
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 2026. The ultimate goal is to have
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 their operational system carry payloads of up
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 to 200 kg to low earth
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 orbit, with the balloon releasing the rocket
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 at an even higher altitude of 35
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 km. It's a fascinating and
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 potentially cost effective way to serve the
00:06:18 --> 00:06:19 small satellite market.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 Anna: From innovative launch systems to new
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 discoveries on other worlds, our next
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 story takes us to Mars, where new research
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 is chang our understanding of the planet's
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 past. Scientists at New York University,
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 Abu Dhabi, have found evidence that
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 ancient sand dunes inside the Gale Crater
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 were gradually turned into rock by
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 interacting with underground water billions
00:06:45 --> 00:06:45 of years ago.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 Avery: Wow. So this suggests Mars had liquid water
00:06:49 --> 00:06:50 for a lot longer than we thought.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 Anna: Potentially, yes. The research team
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 examined data from the Curiosity rover
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 looking at a feature called the Stimson
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 formation. These are what's known as
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 lithified formations, basically sand
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 dunes that hardened into stone. The thinking
00:07:07 --> 00:07:10 was that this probably happened
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 during Mars's wet Noachian period,
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 about 4 billion years ago. Okay,
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 so what's new here? The team determined that
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 these rock formations were actually the
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 product of late stage aqueous
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 activity. This means the water that
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 hardened the dunes didn't come from ancient
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 floods, but from groundwater seed creeping
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 from the nearby mountain, Mount Sharp.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 Much later in Mars history, they
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 even found minerals like gypsum, um, left
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 behind, which points to this interaction with
00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 groundwater.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 Avery: That's a huge deal. It extends the timeline
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 for when Mars might have had liquid water and
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 therefore been potentially habitable.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 Anna: Exactly, and it gets even more
00:07:55 --> 00:07:58 exciting. On Earth, similar sandstone
00:07:58 --> 00:08:01 deposits contain some of our planet's ocean
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 oldest evidence of life, like communities
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 of microorganisms. The research team
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 believes that these lithified dunes in the
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 Gale Crater could be prime candidates for
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 finding the preserved remains of ancient
00:08:15 --> 00:08:16 Martian bacteria.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 Avery: So this not only rewrites a bit of Mars
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 geological history, but it also gives us a
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 fantastic new target in the search for life.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 Anna: That's right. It suggests these sites
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 are where future missions should be looking
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 if they want to find evidence of past or,
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 or even present life on Mars.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 Avery: Finally, let's check in on a mission that's
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 been cruising through the inner solar system
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 for over seven years. The joint ESA
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 and JAXA BepiColombo mission is now just
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 one year away from arriving at its final
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 destination, Mercury.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 Anna: It's been a Long journey. The mission has
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 already completed numerous flybys. One of
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 Earth, two of Venus, and six of
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 Mercury itself. Two just to slow down enough
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 to be captured by the planet's gravity.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 Avery: And even those flybys have produced great
00:09:05 --> 00:09:08 science. A, uh, key highlight has been the
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 measurements of Mercury's magnetic
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 environment. We're still trying to understand
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 exactly how the planet's magnetic field
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 works. And BepiColombo has already given
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 us the first measurements from low over the
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 Southern hemisphere, helping to build a
00:09:22 --> 00:09:22 better map.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 Anna: And of course, we've gotten some incredible
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 photos from the monitoring cameras, the so
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 called selfie cams.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 Avery: Absolutely. But the main science phase begins
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 in about a year when the two spacecraft,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter, or
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 MPO, and JAXA's Mercury
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 Magnetospheric Orbiter, known as MIO,
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 finally separate and enter their own orbits.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 Anna: And this will be the first time Mercury is
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 studied by two spacecraft
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 simultaneously. Why is that dual
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 approach so important?
00:09:55 --> 00:09:58 Avery: It gives them a huge advantage. MPO will
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 orbit very close to the planet's surface,
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 while MIO will be in a larger, more
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 elliptical orbit. This allows them to study
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 how the solar wind interacts with Mercury's
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 magnetic field from two different
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 perspectives. @ the same time, MPO
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 will be mapping the surface in incredible
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 detail, determining its composition and
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 temperature.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 Anna: And it will also get a look at those
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 permanently shadowed craters at the poles,
00:10:23 --> 00:10:23 right?
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 Avery: Yes, it will. Peering into those craters is
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 one of the mission's top priorities. If there
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 is water ice on Mercury, that's where we
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 expect to find it. After a long cruise,
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 BepiColombo is on the final stretch to
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 unlocking the secrets of the solar system's
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 innermost planet.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 Anna: And that is all the time we have for today.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 From setbacks at Starbase to stealth
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 storms, and from raccoons to revelations on
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 Mars, it's been a busy time in space.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 Avery: It really shows how much is constantly
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 happening, both in our own celestial
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 neighborhood and in our efforts to explore
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 it. Thank you for joining us on Astronomy
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 Daily.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 Anna: Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 podcasts, and join us next time for another
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 look at the universe.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 Avery: Clear skies and keep looking up.