- SpaceX Starship Explosion: In this episode, we delve into the latest developments from SpaceX as their Starship spacecraft experienced an explosion during a static fire test at the Starbase site. Initial analyses suggest a failure of a composite overwrapped pressure vessel, but thankfully, no injuries were reported. We discuss the implications of this incident on the timeline for future flight tests and the challenges faced by the upper stage of the Starship programme.
- Monstrous Oort Cloud Comet: Astronomers have made remarkable observations of the colossal comet C/2014 UN271 Bernardinelli-Bernstein, one of the largest Oort Cloud comets ever discovered, measuring 140 kilometres across. We explore its surprising activity, including jets of carbon monoxide gas, and its long journey towards the Sun, with a perihelion expected in January 2031.
- Europe's Space Ambitions: French President Emmanuel Macron has called for Europe to reclaim its status as a global space power, particularly in the competitive low Earth orbit satellite market. We discuss his vision for increased investment and collaboration with international partners to build a robust European satellite infrastructure and the significance of this push for independence in space capabilities.
- ESA's 50th Anniversary: The European Space Agency celebrates its half-century milestone with a new publication highlighting key achievements over the years. From landing on a comet to developing advanced satellite navigation systems, we reflect on the agency's pivotal role in advancing Europe's capabilities in space and its importance for maintaining independence in the field. To download the publication: https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/corporate/ESA_50_booklet.pdf
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 - SpaceX Starship explosion
10:00 - Monstrous Oort Cloud comet
20:00 - Europe's space ambitions
30:00 - ESA's 50th anniversary
✍️ Episode References
SpaceX Starship Update
[SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/)
Oort Cloud Comet Discovery
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
European Space Initiatives
[European Space Agency](https://www.esa.int/)
ESA 50yrs Publication Download (PDF): https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/corporate/ESA_50_booklet.pdfhttps://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/corporate/ESA_50_booklet.pdf
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Hey there space enthusiasts and welcome to
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 Astronomy Daily. I'm your host, Anna, and
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 I'm so glad you could join us today for
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 another journey through the cosmos. We've got
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 some really captivating stories lined up for
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 you this episode. We're going to dive into
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 some big news from SpaceX, talking about
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 their latest Starship developments which have
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 been quite, shall we say, explosive recently.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 And then we'll shift gears to something truly
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 immense, a colossal Oort cloud comet
00:00:28 --> 00:00:29 that's making its way through our solar
00:00:29 --> 00:00:32 system. And we'll also touch on Europe's push
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 to reclaim its status as a space power. So
00:00:35 --> 00:00:36 stay tuned for all that and more.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 Alright, let's talk about SpaceX, shall we?
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 Because they've been in the news again, and
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 not for the reason they usually like to be
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 their newest Starship spacecraft. This
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 massive 171 foot tall vehicle
00:00:50 --> 00:00:53 experienced an explosion on a test stand
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 at their Starbase site late last Wednesday
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 night. This happened as they were getting
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 ready to ignite its six Raptor engines for
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 what's called a static fire trial, which is a
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 pretty common pre launch test. Now, A day
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 later, SpaceX narrowed down the likely cause.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:11 Initial analysis, they say, points to the
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 potential failure of a pressurised tank,
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 specifically what they call a copv, or
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 composite overwrapped pressure vessel. This
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 tank, which holds gaseous nitrogen and is
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 located in Starship's nosecone area. But
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 they're still doing a full data review. Good
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 news though, there were no reported injuries
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 from this explosion. All SpaceX personnel at
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 Starbase are safe and folks living around the
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 site near Brownsville shouldn't worry about
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 contamination. SpaceX has done
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 independent tests on materials inside
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 Starship and they've confirmed no chemical,
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 biological or toxicological risks.
00:01:47 --> 00:01:48 Plus they're coordinating with local, state
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 and federal agencies on environmental and
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 safety impacts. Now, this incident
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 did cause some damage around the test stand
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 at their Massey site. Not the orbital launch
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 mount mind you, but still it ignited several
00:02:01 --> 00:02:02 fires there, which are being assessed once
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 it's safe to approach. Obviously this
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 explosion is going to push back the timeline
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 for Starship's 10th flight test, which SpaceX
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 had hoped to launch by the end of this month.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 It's not clear yet by how much, but it
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 definitely shifts things to the right, as
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 they say. This is also the latest in a
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 series of setbacks for the starship upper
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 stages. SpaceX actually lost the
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 vehicle on its last three flight tests, which
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 happened in January, March and May of this,
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 uh, year. The upper stage, or ship, as
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 they call it, has had a bit of A tough run.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 Interestingly, the first stage, known as
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 Super Heavy, has had a much better track
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 record lately. For example, on flights 7
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 and 8, this huge booster successfully
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 returned to Starbase and was even caught by
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 the launch tower's chopstick arms, which is a
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 jaw dropping feat to watch. On Flight 8,
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 which launched on March 6, the Super Heavy
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 booster was successfully caught. But the
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 ship, the upper stage, it started to tumble
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 after several of its six Raptor engines
00:03:03 --> 00:03:04 failed toward the end of its ascent burn.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 SpaceX lost contact about nine minutes into
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 the flight, and it presumably detonated high
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 in the sky. This kind of mirrored Flight
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 seven, where they also lost ship at about the
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 same point. SpaceX traced that Flight 7
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 anomaly to what they described as a harmonic
00:03:20 --> 00:03:21 response several times stronger in flight
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 than had been seen during testing, which
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 caused increased stress and propellant leaks,
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 leading to fires. They've since taken steps
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 to minimise recurrence, like conducting a
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 longer static fire test with Flight 8's ship
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 and making hardware changes to fuel lines and
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 propellant temperatures. They've even added
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 new vents and a purge system using gaseous
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 nitrogen to make the area more robust to
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 propellant leakage. In the long run,
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 SpaceX plans to bring both Super Heavy and
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 Ship back to Starbase for these launch tower
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 catches. Their vision is for this fully
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 reusable rocket to fly multiple times per
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 day, making Mars settlement, which is Elon
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 Musk's long held goal, economically
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 feasible. They've requested approval for 25
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 Starship launches from Starbase in
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 2025 alone. So despite these recent
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 challenges, they're still aiming high.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 Okay, let's pivot now from rockets and
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 explosions to something a little more serene,
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 but still incredibly exciting. A truly
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 monstrous comet spotted way out in the outer
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 solar system. Astronomers have
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 recently completed a long range observation
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 of a comet named C 2014 UN
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 271 Bernardinelli Bernstein. And this
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 thing is just massive. It's actually one of
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 the largest Oort Cloud comets ever observed,
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 measuring a whopping 140 kilometres across.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 For some context, Halley's Comet, which we
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 all know is only about 15 kilometres across.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 So imagine something nearly 10 times that
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 size. This comet, UN
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 271, is currently pretty far from the sun,
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 about 16 and a half astronomical units away,
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 which makes it super tough to observe.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 But astronomers have been using the powerful
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 Atacama Large Millimetre Submillimeter Array,
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 or alma, in Chile to keep an eye on it. And
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 what they're seeing is quite surprising for
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 something so far out there. They're watching
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 jets of carbon monoxide gas, erupting from
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 its nucleus. That's a really unexpected level
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 of activity for a comet that's so distant and
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 cold. The comet was actually
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 Discovered back in 2014 by astronomers Gary
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 Bernstein and Pedro Bernardinelli, who
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 spotted it as a faint fuzzy smudge in
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 archival images from the Dark Energy Survey.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 Its slow movement immediately told them it
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 was far out in the solar system and therefore
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 quite large. This thing is on an incredibly
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 long journey. Its perihelion, which is its
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 closest approach to the sun, won't be until
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 January 2031. And even then
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 it'll still be 10.9 AU from the sun
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 just outside Saturn's orbit. It's on a
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 2.8 million year orbit inbound, and then a
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 4.6 million year orbit outbound heading
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 almost a light year away, about a fifth of
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 the way to Proxima Centauri, our nearest
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 star. The difference in its inbound and
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 outbound orbit, by the way, is is likely due
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 to interactions with planets when it's closer
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 to the Sun. Nathan Roth from NASA's
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 Goddard Space Flight Centre noted that these
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 measurements give us a look at how this
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 enormous icy world works and that they're
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 seeing explosive outgassing patterns that
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 raise new questions about how this comet will
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 evolve. Now, you might be wondering, is this
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 giant comet going to hit Earth? And
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 thankfully no. While a comet of this size is,
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 it's 12 times the size of the Chicxulub
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 impactor that wiped out the dinosaurs. Would
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 definitely be an extinction level event if it
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 came our way. UN271 isn't coming
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 anywhere near the inner solar system, so
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 breathe easy. It's a bit of a shame it won't
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 visit the inner solar system closer, because
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 it would put on an amazing show even bigger
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 than Comet Hale Bopp. But its appearance
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 really shows us just what might be lurking
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 out there in the remote icy realms of the
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 outer solar system and how active these
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 distant objects can be, which is pretty cool
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 from the distant icy realms of comets.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 Let's zoom in a bit closer to Earth and
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 actually to the geopolitical arena of space.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 French President Emmanuel Macron recently
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 made some pretty strong statements
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 emphasising that Europe really needs to re
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 establish itself as a global space power. And
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 he's particularly focused on the increasingly
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 competitive low Earth orbit or or LEO
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 satellite market. Macron was speaking at the
00:07:31 --> 00:07:34 Paris Air show and he didn't mince words.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 He warned that France, and by extension
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 Europe, risked being completely squeezed out
00:07:39 --> 00:07:42 of this crucial LEO satellite constellation
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 market. He specifically called out players
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 like SpaceX who have as he put it
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 disrupted the market and also Amazon,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 who's getting involved, plus China who's not
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 far behind. He said we all need to be very
00:07:55 --> 00:07:58 clear headed about this situation. The
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 urgency here stems from growing geopolitical
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 tensions which are pushing countries to focus
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 on the independence of their satellite
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 infrastructure. Macron believes that relying
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 on non European constellations in low orbit
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 would be, and I quote, madness.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 He really wants to see Europe, with France at
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 its core, become a space power once again. So
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 what's the plan? Well, he's calling for a
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 significant increase in collective
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 investment, both public and private. He also
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 suggested that non European partners like
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 those in the Gulf, India, Canada and Brazil
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 should team up with France. It's all about
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 building strong alliances and shared
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 solutions. As part of this push,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 France has actually more than doubled its
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 stake in the satellite operator Utilsat,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 making it the largest shareholder in a deal
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 worth about 1.35 billion euros.
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 Utilsat, which by the way merged
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 with the British firm OneWeb in 2023,
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 is now the world's second largest operator of
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 low earth orbit satellites, right behind
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 Starlink. So they're actively positioning
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 Eutelsat as a European alternative,
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 especially for companies and nations looking
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 for sovereign solutions and not wanting to
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 rely solely on Elon Musk's ventures.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 Looking ahead, France also plans to organise
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 a major space Summit in early 2026.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 The goal there is to really mobilise partners
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 globally, both public and private, to
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 push this vision forward. It really
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 highlights how critical this independent
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 space infrastructure is becoming, not just
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 for telecommunications and navigation, but
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 also for emergency response and even defence.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:32 It's a big deal.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 Speaking of global space efforts, the
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 European Space Agency, or esa, is
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 celebrating a pretty big milestone, their
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 first half century. To mark this occasion,
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 they've released a new publication called
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 Issei 50 Hallmark Achievements
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 Across 50 Years. And it really
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 highlights some incredibly pivotal moments.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 From landing on a comet, which is just wild
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 to think about, to fostering Europe's space
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 industry, contributing a lab for the space
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 shuttle, and even implementing the world's
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 most precise satellite navigation system.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 It's a huge retrospective. The that really
00:10:05 --> 00:10:08 underscores ESA's crucial role in undertaking
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 ambitious projects that frankly would
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 just be too big for any single nation to
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 tackle alone. As uh, ESA Director General Jos
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 Aschbacher puts it, being an agency means
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 taking action to deliver results too big
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 and ambitious for any single nation. It
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 really is all about that collective power.
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 Kai Ua Schrogel, who was the agency
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 coordinator for the 50th anniversary,
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 actually mentioned that the biggest challenge
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 wasn't deciding what to include in the
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 publication, but actually what to leave out,
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 because ISSEI has achieved such an enormously
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 long list of remarkable milestones over the
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 years. So the book isn't just about the top
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 achievements, but truly hallmark ones,
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 showcasing technical miracles, historic
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 firsts, and honestly, just moments of
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 pure inspiration that highlight the broad
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 range of ESA's activities. It makes
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 you think about what a Europe without its
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 space agency would even look like. Director
00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 General Aschbacher encourages readers to
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 imagine the wider universe would be a
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 much dimmer, less known place. Our
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 continent might have fewer native astronauts
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 or space scientists, and our
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 telecommunications, navigation, and even
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 weather forecasting could well be dependent
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 on foreign powers. So ESA's work
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 is critical for maintaining Europe's
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 independence and advancing its capabilities
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 in space. The 50 achievements
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 listed in this publication are actually
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 grouped according to the five strategic goals
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 of Issei's Strategy 2040,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 which is their vision for the next 15 years.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 So they're not just looking back, they're
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 treating these past results as baselines to
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 build upon for the future. The publication is
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 available as a PDF and I'll include a link in
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 the show Notes if you'd like to download a
00:11:51 --> 00:11:51 copy.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 That's all for this episode of Astronomy
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 Daily. Wow, we covered a lot of
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 ground today, didn't we? From the latest on
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 SpaceX's Starship and those ongoing
00:12:02 --> 00:12:05 challenges they're facing to that truly
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 monstrous Oort Cloud comet just doing its
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 thing way out there, and even Europe's big
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 push for space independence. And let's not
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 Forget ise celebrating 50 years of incredible
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 achievements. Thank you so much for tuning in
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 and joining me. This has been Anna, your
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 host, and I really invite you to visit our
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 website at astronomydaily IO.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 That's astronomydaily IO. There you
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 can actually sign up for our completely free
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 daily newsletter and just catch up on all the
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 latest space and astronomy news with our
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 constantly updating news feed. And don't
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 forget to subscribe to Astronomy Daily
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 wherever you get your podcasts, whether
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 that's Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 YouTube, anywhere else you listen. That way
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 you'll never miss an episode. Until next
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 time, keep looking up. This is Anna signing
00:12:51 --> 00:12:51 off.