In this episode of Astronomy Daily, join host Steve Dunkley and his witty digital companion Hallie as they explore the latest developments in space exploration and lunar research. From exciting lunar sample tours to innovative missions targeting Saturn's moon Titan, this episode is packed with cosmic news that will expand your horizons.
Highlights:
- Chang'e 5 Sample Tour: Discover the latest updates on China's Chang'e 5 lunar samples, which are set to tour universities across the United States. Learn about the international collaboration that allows institutions like Brown University and Stony Brook University to study these precious lunar materials.
- NASA's Dragonfly Mission: Dive into the details of NASA's groundbreaking Dragonfly mission, designed to explore Titan's potential for hosting life. With its recent critical design review passed, this nuclear-powered rotorcraft is gearing up for a launch that promises to revolutionize our understanding of extraterrestrial environments.
- Firefly Aerospace's Latest Launch: Get the scoop on Firefly Aerospace's upcoming Alpha rocket launch, carrying the Lockheed Martin LM400 satellite bus into polar orbit. This mission marks a significant step in Firefly's partnership with Lockheed Martin and showcases the capabilities of their innovative satellite technology.
- Insights into Lunar Exploration: Explore the implications of China's lunar sample sharing and its impact on international space cooperation, amid ongoing US-China trade tensions. Understand how these collaborations could shape the future of lunar exploration and scientific discovery.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io (http://www.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 Steve signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily with Steve and Hallie
01:17 - Today's stories include the latest chapter for the Chang'e 5 samples
02:28 - China has accepted international applications to borrow moon samples from its Changi 5 mission
07:12 - NASA's $3.35 billion Dragonfly mission passes critical design review
15:58 - Hallie will be leaving for the Astronomy Daily virtual studio soon ✍️ Episode References
Chang'e 5 Lunar Samples
[China National Space Administration]( http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/ (http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/) )
NASA's Dragonfly Mission
[NASA]( https://www.nasa.gov/ (https://www.nasa.gov/) )
Firefly Aerospace Launch Details
[Firefly Aerospace]( https://firefly.com/ (https://firefly.com/) )
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily]( http://www.astronomydaily.io/ (http://www.astronomydaily.io/) )
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-exciting-space-discoveries-and-news--5648921/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-exciting-space-discoveries-and-news--5648921/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) .
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/26827548?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 hello again Welcome to Astronomy Daily
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 with Steve and Halley It's the 28th of
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 April 2025
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 Astronomy Daily the podcast with your
00:00:10 --> 00:00:18 host Steve Duncan
00:00:18 --> 00:00:19 [Music]
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 Well welcome back to Astronomy Daily
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 It's great to be here and with me as
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 always is my awesome digital pal who's
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 fun to be with Hello to you Hie Hi again
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 human Nice to be with you in the
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 Australia studio You're very welcome
00:00:34 --> 00:00:35 What's with all this rain oh yes our
00:00:36 --> 00:00:37 crazy rain I thought Australia was a
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 land of sweeping plains and ragged
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 mountain ranges and wide red deserts Oh
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 well it is all that It's all wet Oh I
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 know Harie Uh I think somebody washed
00:00:46 --> 00:00:50 their car Oh that old wife's tail Was it
00:00:50 --> 00:00:53 you you mean Did you wash your car oh it
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 might have been You know if you don't
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 mind I'd prefer not to talk about it on
00:00:57 --> 00:00:58 the air It's been raining pretty hard
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 and people might want somebody to blame
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 and you know someone and I'd like that
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 person to you know not be me Steve
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 washed his car Steve washed his car Hey
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 just kidding You are so easy Do you know
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 that yeah Yeah Yeah I do know that But I
00:01:14 --> 00:01:18 also have a very clean car Funny Now are
00:01:18 --> 00:01:19 you going to tell us about today's
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 lineup okay Hie if you'll behave Today's
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 stories include the latest chapter for
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 the Chang E5 samples which are about to
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 go on tour in the United States visiting
00:01:29 --> 00:01:33 some universities Sounds good Also the
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 latest news out of Firefly Aerospace
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 Remember their amazing moon landing
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 recently and that amazing video footage
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 of the lander descending to the lunar
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 surface That was spectacular Well
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 Firefly Aerospace are not sitting on
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 their hands You're a big fan of Firefly
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 Yeah that's me And the other tale today
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 is from fireflies to dragonflies is
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 about the NASA dragonfly helicopter
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 that's under development which is going
00:01:57 --> 00:01:59 somewhere special That's the one planned
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 for Saturn's moon Titan Saturn's moon
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 Titan Oh wow Yeah it's an amazing piece
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 of engineering so far But exploring
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 Titan Yeah that's really out there
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 Fantastic I know And you'll be bringing
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 us that story as well right i've got it
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 ready on my drive Okay Well let's get
00:02:15 --> 00:02:27 into it Hie Let's hit it
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 Okies China has accepted a number of
00:02:30 --> 00:02:31 international applications to borrow
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 small portions of moon samples collected
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 by its Chang 5 mission including those
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 from two US universities
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 The China National Space Administration
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 CNSA announced the results of a latest
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 round of international applications to
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 borrow samples in Shanghai April 24th
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 during a conference marking China's 10th
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 annual Space Day The event included a
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 lunar sample loan agreement
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 ceremony Seven universities from six
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 countries the US Japan Germany France
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 the United Kingdom and Pakistan had
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 applications approved following a CNSA
00:03:04 --> 00:03:05 review in accordance with its sample
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 management and cooperation rules CNSA
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 said in a statement "The US institutions
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 are Brown University and Stony Brook
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 University both of which receive NASA
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 funding." The announcement comes amid
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 USChina trade tensions following the
00:03:19 --> 00:03:20 imposition of tariffs by the Trump
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 administration US barriers to bilateral
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 cooperation on space and wider Chinese
00:03:25 --> 00:03:26 space diplomacy
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 efforts CNSA also announced the
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 selection of a series of international
00:03:31 --> 00:03:32 projects to join its planned Chinese 8
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 lunar south pole landing mission April
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 24th The selected projects featured
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 countries involved in the international
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 lunar research station a Chinaled
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 alternative to the US Artemis lunar
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 framework The agency also stated in
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 Shanghai that its tonin 3 Mars sample
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 return mission scheduled to launch late
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 2028 is open to proposals for
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 international payloads The robotic
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 Chongi 5 mission collected
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 1 gram of material from a
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 geologically young area of Oanis Proarum
00:04:02 --> 00:04:03 on the near side of the moon using a
00:04:03 --> 00:04:07 scoop and a drill in late 2020 The
00:04:07 --> 00:04:08 material was first made available to
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 Chinese researchers and institutions
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 before CNSA announced in August 2023
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 that international applications for
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 samples would be accepted NASA stated in
00:04:18 --> 00:04:19 November that year that its researchers
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 would exceptionally be allowed to apply
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 to loan China's Chinese 5 samples while
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 still needing to follow long-standing
00:04:26 --> 00:04:27 congressionally set rules which have
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 sharply limited cooperation between the
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 agency and Chinese state entities The
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 Wolf Amendment introduced in 2011 is a
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 provision in annual NASA appropriations
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 bills which heavily restricts bilateral
00:04:39 --> 00:04:40 cooperation with entities of the
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 People's Republic of China Any NASA
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 funded individual or entity seeking to
00:04:45 --> 00:04:46 engage in bilateral activity would
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 require a prior written request to and
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 granted permission from Congress in
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 advance along with certification from
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 the FBI that the activities would not
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 pose a national security risk Analyses
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 of the Chongi 5 samples have led to
00:04:59 --> 00:05:00 discoveries including the new mineral
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 change site dash y evidence of a
00:05:03 --> 00:05:04 prolonged lunar dynamo and allowed
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 insights through comparison with the
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 geologically older Apollo samples
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 China followed up the success of Chongi
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12 5 with a more complex sample mission to
00:05:12 --> 00:05:16 the lunar far side in 2024 The Changi 6
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 mission collected
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 1.3 g of material from Apollo crater
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 located within the vast South Pole can
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 impact basin and the first ever
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 collection of samples from the far side
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 The material has so far provided
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 insights into the lunar near farside
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 dichotomy as well as validation of the
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 lunar magma ocean hypothesis and
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 calibration of lunar crater chronology
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 helping to refine comparative study of
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 planetary surfaces across the solar
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 system Chinese 6 samples are so far only
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 open to applications to Chinese
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 institutions However as with the Changi
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 5 samples these will be made available
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 to international applications at a later
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 date The landing of Chonga samples
00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 reflects China's broader strategy of
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 using space cooperation to build
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 international partnerships particularly
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 as competition with the US over lunar
00:06:03 --> 00:06:08 exploration intensifies
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 You're listening to Astronomy Daily with
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 Steve Dunl
00:06:13 --> 00:06:23 [Music]
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 Thank you for joining us for this Monday
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 edition of Astronomy Daily where we
00:06:27 --> 00:06:28 offer just a few stories from the now
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 famous Astronomy Daily newsletter which
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 you can receive in your email every day
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 just like Hi and I do And to do that
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 just visit our URL at
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00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 latest news about science space science
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 and astronomy from around the world as
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 it's happening And not only that you can
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00:07:03 --> 00:07:07 Astronomy Daily with Steve and Hi Space
00:07:07 --> 00:07:12 space science and astronomy
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 NASA's pioneering Dragonfly mission has
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 cleared a key hurdle keeping it on track
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 for a 2028 launch to Saturn's huge moon
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 Titan Dragonfly is a car-sized
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 nuclearpowered roercraft designed to
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 investigate Titan's potential to host
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 life and it has passed its critical
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 design review NASA announced on Thursday
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 April 24th
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 Passing this mission milestone means
00:07:33 --> 00:07:34 that Dragonflyy's mission design
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 fabrication integration and test plans
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 are all approved and the mission can now
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 turn its attention to the construction
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 of the spacecraft itself NASA reported
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 the 3.35 billion dollar Dragonfly
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 mission was first selected by NASA in
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 2019 and is being designed and built
00:07:50 --> 00:07:51 under the direction of the John's
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 Maryland with APL's Elizabeth Turtle as
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 the principal investigator
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 The mission has been hit by delays and
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 cost overruns but studying Titan is
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 considered a high priority by scientists
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 for its potential to harbor alien life
00:08:06 --> 00:08:07 The mission is set to launch no earlier
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 than July 2028 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 in Florida The spacecraft will then
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 embark on an almost 7-year long voyage
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 through deep space to the Saturn system
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 with the goal of spending more than
00:08:20 --> 00:08:21 three years studying areas across
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 Titan's frigid and diverse surface
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 Equipped with cameras sensors and
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 samplers Dragonfly will assess Titan's
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 habitability looking out for prebiotic
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 chemistry as well as potential signs of
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 life Titan is Saturn's largest moon and
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 the second largest in the solar system
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 behind Ganymede of Jupiter Its thick
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 hazy atmosphere shrouds a surface
00:08:42 --> 00:08:43 featuring dunes of hydrocarbons and
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 methane lakes Beneath the moon's icy
00:08:46 --> 00:08:47 crust scientists think there's a
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 subsurface ocean of salty water adding
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 to the possibilities for Titan to harbor
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 life In 2005 NASA's Cassini mission
00:08:55 --> 00:08:58 delivered the Huygens probe to Titan The
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 European Space Agency built Huygens made
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 a parachute assisted landing which
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 provided profound insights into the
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 giant moon Dragonfly if successful could
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 revolutionize our understanding of how
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 life might arise elsewhere in the solar
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 system
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 Roger that control We're listening to
00:09:15 --> 00:09:20 Astronomy Daily the podcast
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 Firefly Aerospace is preparing its Alpha
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 small satellite launcher for a flight
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in
00:09:28 --> 00:09:32 California The Alpha FLT
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 A006 mission named Message in a Booster
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 is scheduled to launch on Sunday April
00:09:38 --> 00:09:42 27 at 6:37 a.m from Space Launch Complex
00:09:42 --> 00:09:46 to West at the start of a 52minute
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 launch window Message in a booster will
00:09:48 --> 00:09:51 fly on a southern trajectory out of
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 Vanderberg carrying a Loheed Martin
00:09:53 --> 00:09:57 LM400 satellite bus into polar orbit
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 With this mission serving as a
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 demonstration flight Loheed Martin plans
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 to offer the LM400 as a multi-m mission
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 satellite bus for commercial civil and
00:10:06 --> 00:10:10 military uses This flight Fireflyy's
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 second for Lo Loheed Martin is also the
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 first of up to 25 missions in Fireflyy's
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 multilaunch agreement with Loheed Martin
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 that was reached in
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 2024 Powered by four Reaver engines
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 Alpha is capable of flying up to 1
00:10:26 --> 00:10:32 kg to low Earth orbit or 630 kilos to a
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 500 kilometer altitude sun- synchronous
00:10:35 --> 00:10:39 orbit Loheed Martin describes the LM400
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 as a midsize satellite bus with a volume
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 cap comparable to that of a home
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 refrigerator and the capability to host
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 a
00:10:48 --> 00:10:52 1 kg payload Given this flight's
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 destination in a polar orbit the LM400's
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 payload is going to be constrained
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 although it's likely to be the heaviest
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 payload Alpha has launched to date The
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 LM400 multim mission satellite bus is
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 designed to operate in low earth orbit
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 medium earth orbit and geocynchronous
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 orbit The bus can be used in either
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 single or multi-satellite launch
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 configurations and will have the ability
00:11:18 --> 00:11:22 to be launched on multiple rockets LM400
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 is designed to support up to six
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 satellites with a single launch stack
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 arranged in a configuration similar to
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 Starlink satellites on Space X missions
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 This bus was also designed to support
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 onboard data processing using a Loheed
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 Martin softwaredefined satellite
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 architecture that conforms to a modular
00:11:41 --> 00:11:45 open systems architecture This enables
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 interoperability with systems deployed
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 by all United States military services
00:11:51 --> 00:11:54 Loheed Martin states that the LM400 can
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 support various mission types including
00:11:56 --> 00:12:00 remote sensing imagery radar observation
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 and communications with the demo mission
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 on Alpha featuring a communications
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 payload The company has also developed
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 an electronically steered array that is
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 compatible with this bus and will be
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 flown on this mission The LM400 is
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 designed for mass production in large
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 numbers and a rapid production line is
00:12:20 --> 00:12:23 being implemented at a
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 266 square ft manufacturing facility
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 in Waterton Colorado near Denver The bus
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 is being pitched as a solution for
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 satellite constellations with several
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 contracts already secured including one
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 from the US Space Force for its MEO
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 missile track custody program The US
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 Department of Defense is moving toward
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 operating constellations of smaller
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 satellites a prime example of being Star
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 Shield a military constellation based on
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 Space X's Starlink satellites for
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 resilience and redundancy in the face of
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 potential threats to satellites in orbit
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 Loheed Martin is one of the US's primary
00:13:01 --> 00:13:04 military contractors and the LM400
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 though capable of supporting civil and
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 commercial missions was really designed
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 to support military standards Message in
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 a booster will serve as Alpha's first
00:13:14 --> 00:13:18 launch of 2025 Alpha's next flight the
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 yettobe named FLTA 007 mission is
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 currently planned to be the first flight
00:13:23 --> 00:13:27 of Fireflyy's elytra orbital vehicle
00:13:27 --> 00:13:31 FLTA7 will also be a responsive space
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 mission meaning the time between the
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 flight's order and launch will be
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 accelerated to be as short as possible
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 Alpha launched the Victus KN responsive
00:13:41 --> 00:13:45 space mission in 2023 and Firefly has
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 offered this capability to the DoD for
00:13:47 --> 00:13:50 similar flights Although Alpha has only
00:13:50 --> 00:13:54 launched out of SLC2W at Vandenberg
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 other launch sites are being developed
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 for the rocket A launch facility at the
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 Wallups flight facility on Wallops
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 Island Virginia is currently being
00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 developed to host Alpha flights Flights
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 from Wallops are scheduled to begin in
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 2026 with NASA's Incas mission South of
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 Wallop's Space Launch Complex 20 at the
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 Florida is another future launch site
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 for Alpha A facility is also being
00:14:20 --> 00:14:24 prepared in Srange Sweden to support
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 missions for Fireflyy's European
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 customers The Srange facility is also
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 expected to be ready in 2026 Alpha has
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 flown five flights so far with its first
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 flight failing to reach orbit The four
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 other flights have all reached orbit
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 with two full successes and two partial
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 successes The company has encountered
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 issues with restarting its Lightning
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 second stage engine in orbit message in
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 a booster will see the Lightning
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 complete only with a single burn during
00:14:55 --> 00:14:59 its ascent into orbit As Alpha continues
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 to fly missions Firefly is working on
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 its upcoming medium launch vehicle
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 rocket in cooperation with Northrop
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 Grumman which is working on a new
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 version of the Antar's launch vehicle
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 that will utilize the MLV's first stage
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 Firefly currently has up to six missions
00:15:15 --> 00:15:31 planned for Alpha in 2025
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 And there's another episode in the can
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 Thanks for joining us today everyone Yes
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 we covered Changi 5 samples the
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 Titanbound Dragonfly helicopter
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 development and more from Firefly
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 Aerospace a colorful episode of
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 Astronomy Daily And we know where to get
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 our daily dose of all the news from
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 orbit and beyond don't we Hie we sure do
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 Just check out the websites you
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 mentioned earlier and put your email in
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 the slot provided You won't miss a thing
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 Well said And now it is that time So
00:16:00 --> 00:16:03 soon Oh well That's okay Hi I know
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 you'll be heading off to the Astronomy
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 Daily virtual studio with Anna Don't
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 forget to catch Anna during the week
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 with all the Astronomy Daily updates
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 That's right All the best from Anna And
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 that's goodbye from you and so long from
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 me Cheerio
00:16:17 --> 00:16:21 Bye Astronomy Daily the podcast with
00:16:21 --> 00:16:28 your host Steve Dunley
00:16:28 --> 00:16:32 [Laughter]