Source:
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/s03e179-spacex-s-mechazilla-triumph-europa-s-icy-secrets-and-comet-atlas-s-historic-journey--62357098
Astronomy Daily - The Podcast: S03E179
Welcome to Astronomy AstroDailyPod, your daily dose of the latest in Space and Astronomy news. I'm Steve, your host, and today we've got a stellar lineup of cosmic stories, including the awe-inspiring SpaceX super heavy booster landing and other celestial wonders.
Highlights:
- SpaceX's Historic Booster Landing: SpaceX has achieved a remarkable milestone with the successful landing of its super heavy booster using the innovative Mechazilla arms. This engineering feat marks a significant step towards rapid reusability in Space travel, setting the stage for future missions to the moon and Mars.
- Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS: A celestial event not to be missed, this comet is making its way through our solar system, offering a rare spectacle for skywatchers. Recently captured by astronauts aboard the ISS, the comet's journey is a testament to the dynamic nature of our cosmic neighbourhood.
- NASA's Laser Communication Breakthrough: NASA has set a new record for laser communications with a successful transmission from Earth to the Psyche spacecraft. This technology promises to revolutionise data transmission in Space, offering higher data rates than traditional radio frequencies.
- Europa Clipper Mission: Set to explore Jupiter's moon Europa, this mission aims to determine if conditions beneath the icy crust could support life. The spacecraft, equipped with advanced scientific instruments, will provide unprecedented insights into this intriguing Jovian moon.
- Auroral Displays from the ISS: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have captured stunning images of auroras supercharged by a recent solar storm. These breathtaking views offer a unique perspective on the impact of solar activity on Earth's atmosphere.
For more Space news, visit our website at https://www.spacenutspodcast.com. There, you can sign up for our free AstroDailyPod newsletter, catch up on all the latest Space and Astronomy news with our constantly updating newsfeed, and listen to all our previous episodes.
Don't forget to follow us on social media. Just search for #AstroDailyPod on facebook, X, YouTube, and TikTok.
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.
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 hi welcome to another episode of
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 astronomy daily I'm Steve your host it's
00:00:04 --> 00:00:08 the 14th of October
00:00:08 --> 00:00:13 2024 the podcast with your host Steve
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 dun yes another exciting episode very
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 colorful as well I'm excited because we
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 witnessed history yesterday didn't we
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 hie yes the SpaceX heavy booster Landing
00:00:23 --> 00:00:24 that's right hie it was the most
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 magnificent piece of Space Engineering
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 and technological genius I think I've
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 ever seen I think ever it was astounding
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 all right and of course we'll get to
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 that later other stories today include
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 oh well our whole favorite Europa
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 Clipper space lasers really really
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 really no hie I mean like really space
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 lasers really yes human NASA tested one
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 oh okay it's a beauty as you Australians
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 like to say ooh H trying out the Aussie
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 accent yeah not n better download the
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 software for that one no one can do it
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 yeah that's a dead sirt h no one can do
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 it you think no we know hm Beauty mate
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 oh Cy H you're putting my teeth on edge
00:01:04 --> 00:01:05 and you don't have to download anything
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 no I just kind of grew into it little
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 Vite maybe a chick oal she'll be sweet
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 good grief and we're off track already
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 oh for sure hie what else we got I've
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 got a bit about Comet suchin Atlas oh
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 nice but don't ask me to say that one
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 quickly or slowly and tell me have you
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 been checking out the auroras around the
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 planet this week haven't they been
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 beautiful I know they're just gorgeous
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 and I'd like to invite our listeners to
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 post their pics on our X page and I'll
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 give you the address for that it's
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 astrodaily pod so post your pics there
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 if you have some photos of the auroras
00:01:39 --> 00:01:40 from your neck of the woods we'd love to
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 see them oh totally yeah let's see them
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 folks and to kick things off I did get
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 some great images from my good pal John
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 Carl in Tasmania he went out to view the
00:01:50 --> 00:01:51 colors in the Sky With His Brilliant
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 daughters and they had a terrific time
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 out there and in true T manian style it
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 was cold but the Aurora did not
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 disappoint and car was kind enough to
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 allow me to post the photos which I will
00:02:03 --> 00:02:04 do very shortly and you'll be able to
00:02:04 --> 00:02:08 see those on @ astrodaily pod that's the
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 X page so it must be time for the news
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 it sure is hiy thanks for that and why
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 don't you uh take it away open the pod
00:02:16 --> 00:02:22 bay door's pal oh
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 boy earth-based observers scanning the
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 night sky in Autumn 2024 May witness a
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 Celestial event that occurs only once
00:02:29 --> 00:02:30 every 880
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 years Comet c223 A3 suchin chin Atlas
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 originated from the distant fringes of
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 our solar system and reached its closest
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 approach to the sun on September
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 27th it is and is expected to pass
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 within about 70 million km or 44 million
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 miles of Earth on October 12th initially
00:02:49 --> 00:02:50 visible mainly in the Southern
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 Hemisphere and the Tropics until October
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 8th the comet offered increased viewing
00:02:54 --> 00:02:55 opportunities for those in the northern
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 hemisphere in the following days crew
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 aboard the international space station
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 have also been observing suchin an atlas
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 on its Journey Through the inner solar
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 system an astronaut captured this photo
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 of the comet on September 19th
00:03:09 --> 00:03:13 2024 at that time the mass of dust ice
00:03:13 --> 00:03:14 and rock was approaching the closest
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 point to the sun on its highly
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 elliptical orbit the photo also offers a
00:03:19 --> 00:03:20 cross-section view of Earth's Bright
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 Horizon or Limb and the planet's
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 colorful atmospheric layers when a comet
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 approaches the sun it gets warmer heat
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 causes its ice to supp into gas and
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 these gases and dust become a glowing
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 coma and tail that can extend millions
00:03:34 --> 00:03:35 of
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 kilometers the sun influences the two
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 types of Tails the dust tail and the ion
00:03:39 --> 00:03:40 tail trailing from the comet in
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 different ways often sending them in
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 different directions the heat and
00:03:45 --> 00:03:46 pressure of sunlight push particles in
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 the dust tail away from the Sun though
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 the tail may bend slightly in the
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 direction the Comet came from likewise
00:03:53 --> 00:03:54 the solar wind strips ions off of the
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 comet's surface to create the ion tail
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 which may extend at a different angle
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 some comets do not survive close
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 encounters with the sun if they get too
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 close radiation and gravitational forces
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 May disintegrate them completely such
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 inin Atlas did not suffer this fate but
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 another Comet astronomers were watching
00:04:13 --> 00:04:17 c224 S1 Atlas may have recent data
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 suggest that this Comet which was
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 expected to be visible from Earth later
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 next year may have recently broken into
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 fragments given their extremely long
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 orbits both of these ancient Celestial
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 Travelers likely originated in the OR
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 cloud which is a large spherical shell
00:04:31 --> 00:04:32 of icy debris at the outer reaches of
00:04:32 --> 00:04:37 our solar system c2023 A3 suchin chin
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 Atlas was discovered in 2023 identified
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 by observers at China's suchin chin or
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 Purple Mountain Observatory and an atlas
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 which stands for asteroid terrestrial
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 impact last alert system telescope in
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 South Africa it was officially named in
00:04:51 --> 00:05:01 honor of both observatories
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 NASA's deep space Optical Communications
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 technology demonstration set a new
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 record for laser Communications this
00:05:07 --> 00:05:08 summer by transmitting a laser signal
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 from Earth to the psyche spacecraft
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 approximately 290 million mil 460
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 million km away that's the same distance
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 between our planet and Mars when the two
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 planets are farthest apart shortly after
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 achieving this Milestone on July 29th
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 the technology demonstration
00:05:26 --> 00:05:27 successfully completed the initial phase
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 of its operations which began with the
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 launch aboard Psyche on October 13th
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 2023 soon after reaching that Milestone
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 on July 29th the technology
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 demonstration concluded the first phase
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 of its operations since launching aboard
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 Psyche on October 13th
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 2023 the Milestone is
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 significant laser communication requires
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 a very high level of precision and
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 before we launched with psyche we didn't
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 know how much performance degradation we
00:05:54 --> 00:05:55 would see at our farthest distances said
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 Mira shini voson the Project's
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 operations lead at NASA's jet propulsion
00:06:00 --> 00:06:01 laboratory in Southern
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 California now the techniques we use to
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 track and point have been verified
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 confirming that Optical Communications
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 can be a robust and transformative way
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 to explore the solar system managed by
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 JPL the deep space Optical
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 Communications experiment consists of a
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 flight laser transceiver and two ground
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 stations calex historic 200 in or 5 m
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 aperture hail telescope at calex palamar
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 observatory in San Diego County
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 California acts as the downlink station
00:06:28 --> 00:06:29 to which the laser transceiver send its
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 data from deep space the optical
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 Communications telescope laboratory at
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 jpl's Table Mountain facility near
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 rightwood California acts as the Uplink
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 station capable of transmitting 7 Kow of
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 laser power to send data to the
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 transceiver by transporting data at
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 rates up to 100 times higher than radio
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 frequencies lasers can enable the
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 transmission of complex scientific
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 information as well as highdefinition
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 imagery and video which are needed to
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 support Humanity's next giant leap when
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 astronauts travel to Mars and Beyond
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 as for the spacecraft psyche remains
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 healthy and stable using ion propulsion
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 to accelerate toward a metal Rich
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 asteroid in the main asteroid belt
00:07:07 --> 00:07:10 between Mars and Jupiter the technology
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 demonstrations data is sent to and from
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 psyche as bits encoded in near infrared
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 light which has a higher frequency than
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 radio waves that higher frequency
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 enables more data to be packed into a
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 transmission allowing far higher rates
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 of data
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 transfer even when psyche was about 33
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 million M or 53 million km away
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 comparable to Mars closest approach to
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 Earth the technology demonstration could
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 transmit data at the system's maximum
00:07:35 --> 00:07:39 rate of 267 megabits per second that bit
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 rate is similar to broadband internet
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 download speeds as the spacecraft
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 travels farther away the rate at which
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 it can send and receive data is reduced
00:07:47 --> 00:07:51 as expected on June 24th when psyche was
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 about 240 million miles or 390 million
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 km from Earth more than 2 and 1/2 times
00:07:57 --> 00:07:58 the distance between our planet and the
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 Sun the project achieved a sustained
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 downlink data rate of 6.25 megabits per
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 second with a maximum rate of 8.3
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 megabits per second while this rate is
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 significantly lower than the
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 experiment's maximum it is far higher
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 than a radio frequency communication
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 system using comparable power can
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 achieve over that distance the
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 technology demonstration being the first
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 Ultra highdef video from Space featuring
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 a cat named ters from the psyche
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 spacecraft to Earth on December 11th
00:08:26 --> 00:08:34 2023 from 19 Million Miles Away
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 Europa Clipper will peer beneath the
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 Jovian Moon europa's icy crust where an
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 ocean is thought to be sosing fairly
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 close to the surface it won't search for
00:08:43 --> 00:08:44 life but rather determine whether
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 conditions there could support it it's a
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 chance for us to explore not a world
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 that might have been habitable billions
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 of years ago but a world that might be
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 habitable today right now said program
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 scientist Kurt neber its massive solar
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 panels make Clipper the biggest craft
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 built by NASA to investigate another
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 planet it will take 5 and 1/2 years to
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 reach Jupiter and will sneak within 16
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 Mi or 25 kilomet of europa's surface
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 considerably closer than any other
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 spacecraft costing about $5.2 billion
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 liftoff is targeted for this month
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 aboard spacex's Falcon heavy rocket from
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 NASA's Kennedy Space Center one of
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 Jupiter's 95 known moons Europa is
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 almost the size of our own moon it's
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 encased in an ice sheet estimated to be
00:09:27 --> 00:09:32 10 m to 15 mil or more or 15 km to 24 km
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 thick scientists believe this Frozen
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 crust hides an ocean that could be 80 M
00:09:36 --> 00:09:41 or 120 km or more deep what type of life
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 might Europa Harbor besides water
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 organic compounds are needed for Life as
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 we know it plus an energy source in
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 europa's case that could be thermal
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 vents on the ocean floor Deputy project
00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 scientist Bonnie Barat imagines any life
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 would be primitive like the bacterial
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 life that originated in Earth's deep
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 ocean events we will not know from this
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 Mission because we can't see that deep
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 she said unlike missions to Mars where
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 habitability is one of many questions
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 Clippers sole job is to establish
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 whether the moon could support life in
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 its Ocean or possibly in any pockets of
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 water in the ice when its solar wings
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 and antennas are unfurled Clipper is
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 about the size of a basketball court
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 more than 100 ft or 30 m end to endend
00:10:22 --> 00:10:25 and weighs nearly 13 lb or 6
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 kg the super sized solar panels are
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 needed because of of Jupiter's distance
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 from the Sun the main body about the
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 size of a camper is packed with nine
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 science instruments including radar that
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 will penetrate the ice cameras for
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 mapping virtually the entire Moon and
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 tools to tease out the contents of
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 europa's surface and tenuous atmosphere
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 the roundabout trip to Jupiter will span
00:10:46 --> 00:10:50 1.8 billion miles 3 billion kilm for
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 extra oomph the spacecraft will swing
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 past Mars early next year and then Earth
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 in late 2026 and arrives at Jupiter in
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 2030 then it begins science work the
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 next year while orbiting Jupiter it will
00:11:02 --> 00:11:06 cross paths with Europa 49 times the
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 mission ends in 2034 with a plant crash
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 into ganam Jupiter's and the Solar
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 System's biggest moon there's more
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 radiation around Jupiter than anywhere
00:11:15 --> 00:11:18 else in our solar system besides the Sun
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 Europa passes through Jupiter's bands of
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 radiation as it orbits the gas giant
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 making it especially menacing for
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 spacecraft that's why Clippers
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 electronics are inside a vault with
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 dense aluminium and zinc walls all this
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 radiation would mix any life on europa's
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 Surface but it could break down water
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 molecules and perhaps release oxygen all
00:11:38 --> 00:11:40 the way down into the ocean that could
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 possibly fuel sea life earlier this year
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 NASA was in a panic that the
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 spacecraft's many transistors might not
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 withstand the intense radiation but
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 after months of analysis Engineers
00:11:51 --> 00:11:54 concluded the mission could proceed like
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 many robotic explorers before it Clipper
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 Bears messages from Earth attached to
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 the electronics vault is a triangular
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 metal plate on one side is a design
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 labeled water words with representations
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 of the word for water in 104
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 languages on the opposite side a poem
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 about the Moon by us poet Laurette ad
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 Leon and a silicon chip containing the
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 names of 2.6 million people who signed
00:12:17 --> 00:12:21 up to vicariously ride
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 [Music]
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 along and that's all from me today back
00:12:26 --> 00:12:36 to you my favorite human
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 thank you for joining us for this Monday
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 edition of astronomy daily where we
00:12:40 --> 00:12:42 offer just a few stories from the now
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 famous astronomy daily newsletter which
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 you can receive in your email every day
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00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 just visit our URL astronomy daily. and
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 place your email address in the slot
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00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 astronomy daily on Facebook see you
00:13:15 --> 00:13:19 there astronomy derby with Steve and hi
00:13:19 --> 00:13:24 space space science and
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 astronomy in one of the most dramatic
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 high-risk space flights to date Space X
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 launched a gargantuan super heavy
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 Starship rocket on an unpiloted test on
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 flight on Sunday and then use giant
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 mechazilla robot arms on the pad Gantry
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 to pluck the returning first stage out
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 of the sky in an unprecedented feat of
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 engineering the Starship upper stage
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 meanwhile looped around the planet and
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 re-entered the atmosphere over the
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 Indian Ocean just as planned enduring
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 temperatures of nearly 3 de as
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 descended to a controlled On Target
00:14:01 --> 00:14:04 splash down the spacecraft appeared to
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 come through the hellish for heat of
00:14:06 --> 00:14:09 re-entry in relatively good condition
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 protected and by improved heat shielding
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 tiles and beefed up steering fins that
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 worked as needed while engulfed in a
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 fireball of atmospheric plasma but the
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 jaw-dropping first stage capture back at
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 the launch pad using pencil-like arms
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 more commonly known as Chopsticks was
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 the clear highlight of the giant
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 Rocket's fifth test flight snagging the
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 descending 23 story tall super heavy
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 booster with the mechazilla arms
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 represented an unprecedented milestone
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 in space X's drive to develop fully
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 reusable quickly Rel launchable Rockets
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 a technological tour to force that
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 stands alone in the history of earlier
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 space programs relying on Expendable
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 throwaway Rockets big step towards
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 making life multiplanetary was made
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 today SpaceX founder Elon Musk said on
00:15:01 --> 00:15:05 his social media platform X the
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 397 ft tall rocket blasted off from
00:15:07 --> 00:15:11 space X's Bacha Texas Flight Facility on
00:15:11 --> 00:15:15 the Texas Gulf Coast at 8:25 a.m. EDT
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 putting on a spectacular Sunrise show as
00:15:17 --> 00:15:21 the boosters 33 methane methane B
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 burning Raptor engines ignited with a
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 ground shaking Roar and a torrent of
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 flaming exhaust with 3 minutes and 40
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 seconds after liftoff the super heavy
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 booster fell away flipped around and
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 restarted 13 Raptors to reverse course
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 and head back toward the Texas coast as
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 the Starship upper stage continued to
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 climb to space on the power of its six
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 Raptor engines the booster's flight
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 computer was programmed to direct the
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 stage to a splash down in the Gulf of
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 Mexico if any problems developed on the
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 rocket or the launch pad capture
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 mechanism but no such problem were
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 detected the flight director sent a
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 required go command and the super heavy
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 continued toward its Launchpad
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 descending at an angle and then
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 straightening up as it approached the
00:16:10 --> 00:16:13 Gantry as it slowly dropped beside the
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 tower the two mechanical arms smoothly
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 moved in to grab the rocket as its Eng
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 engines shut down the remarkable capture
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 a key element in musk's drive to achieve
00:16:25 --> 00:16:28 rapid reusability came as the Starship
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 Upper State AG was still heading into
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 space and splashed down in the Indian
00:16:32 --> 00:16:36 Ocean simulating a touchdown on Shore or
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 eventually on the moon or Mars during
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 the Rocket's fourth test flight in June
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 the extreme temperatures caused
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 significant damage to the starship's
00:16:45 --> 00:16:48 protective tiles and steering fins
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 multiple upgrades and improvements were
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 put in place for Sunday's flight to
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 eliminate or minimize any such re-entry
00:16:54 --> 00:16:57 damage as the Starship re-entered the
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 atmosphere cameras on the rock showed
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 the reddish glow of heat building up on
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 the belly of the spacecraft intensifying
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 as The Descent continued engulfed in a
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 fireball the ship's fins stayed intact
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 and the vehicle came through the peak
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 Heating in good condition moments later
00:17:14 --> 00:17:17 the camera captured an ontarget splash
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 down followed by what appeared to be an
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 explosion given the rocket was not
00:17:21 --> 00:17:24 intended to land in water whatever
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 happened after splash down was
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 incidental in what can only be called a
00:17:28 --> 00:17:32 remarkably successful test flight the
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 two-stage super heavy Starship known
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 collectively as the Starship is the
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 largest most powerful rocket in the
00:17:38 --> 00:17:41 world with twice the liftoff thrust of
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 NASA's legendary satin 5 and nearly
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 twice the power of the agency's new
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 space space launch system Moon rocket
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 the 30 foot wide super heavy first stage
00:17:52 --> 00:17:56 loaded with 6.8 million pounds of liquid
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 oxygen and methane propellants stand 230
00:17:59 --> 00:18:02 ft tall and is powered by 33 SpaceX
00:18:02 --> 00:18:05 designed Raptor engines generating up to
00:18:05 --> 00:18:09 16 million of thrust the Starship upper
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 stage measures 160 ft long and Carries
00:18:12 --> 00:18:16 2.6 million pound of propellent to power
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 another six Raptors both stages are
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21 designed to be fully reusable with the
00:18:21 --> 00:18:23 super heavy flying itself back to the
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 Launchpad while the Starship travels to
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 and from Earth orbit the Moon or
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 eventually
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 Mars the Starship is designed to touch
00:18:32 --> 00:18:34 down vertically on its own rocket power
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 at Landing sites on Earth and Beyond but
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 the primary goal on Sunday's flight was
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 to demonstrate the ability to capture
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 returning super heavy boosters on the
00:18:43 --> 00:18:46 Launchpad where they can be quickly
00:18:46 --> 00:18:49 refurbished refueled and
00:18:49 --> 00:18:52 relaunched Space X perfected first stage
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 Landings with its Workhorse Falcon 9
00:18:54 --> 00:18:58 Rockets successfully recovering 352 such
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 boosters to datee with powered
00:19:00 --> 00:19:03 touchdowns on landing pads or offshore
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 drone ships the smaller Falcon 9 first
00:19:05 --> 00:19:08 stages land on their own deploying four
00:19:08 --> 00:19:11 legs a few seconds before touchdown
00:19:11 --> 00:19:14 snatching the 397 ft tall super heavy
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 out of the sky with mechanical arms as
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 the rocket descends and hovers right
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 beside its launch Gantry seemed like an
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 outlandish idea when it was first
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 proposed during the booster's initial
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 development but Space Engineer Space X
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 engineers is spent years preparing and
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 months testing for the booster's cap
00:19:33 --> 00:19:36 catch attempt with technicians pouring
00:19:36 --> 00:19:39 tens of thousands of hours into building
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 the infrastructure to maximize the
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 chances for
00:19:42 --> 00:19:44 success with each flight building on the
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 learnings from the last testing
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 improvements in hardware and operations
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 across every facet of Starship we're on
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 the verge of demonstrating techniques
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 fundamental to the starship's fully and
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 rapidly reusable design the company
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 continued
00:19:59 --> 00:20:02 Space X is under contract to NASA to
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 supply a modified Starship to carry
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 astronauts to Landings near the Moon
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 South Pole in the agency's arimus
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 program to get Starship Lander to the
00:20:11 --> 00:20:14 Moon Space X must first get it into low
00:20:14 --> 00:20:17 earth orbit then launch multiple super
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 heavy Starship tankers to refuel the
00:20:19 --> 00:20:22 moonbound Starship for the trip to Luna
00:20:22 --> 00:20:25 orbit the astronauts will launch a top
00:20:25 --> 00:20:28 NASA space launch system rocket and fly
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 of the Moon aboard a Lockheed Martin
00:20:30 --> 00:20:34 built Orion capsule the crew will
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 transfer to the waiting Starship for The
00:20:36 --> 00:20:39 Descent to the lunar surface NASA hopes
00:20:39 --> 00:20:42 to send the first woman and the next man
00:20:42 --> 00:20:45 to the moon in the
00:20:45 --> 00:20:48 22728 time frame after an unpiloted
00:20:48 --> 00:20:51 Starship moon landing rapid reusability
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54 is a key element of the program given
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 the number of super heavy starships that
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 will be required for a single Moon
00:20:58 --> 00:21:01 Landing while Sunday's test flight
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 appeared to go smoothly multiple flights
00:21:03 --> 00:21:06 will be needed to perfect the system and
00:21:06 --> 00:21:09 demonstrate the reliability required to
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 carry astronauts how long that might
00:21:11 --> 00:21:14 take is an open question over the past
00:21:14 --> 00:21:17 few weeks musk has launched a social
00:21:17 --> 00:21:20 media broadside against the Federal
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 Aviation Administration complaining that
00:21:22 --> 00:21:25 the agency's bureaucracy takes too long
00:21:25 --> 00:21:28 to review and approve launch licenses
00:21:28 --> 00:21:31 and is in effect stifling Innovation and
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 slowing development of the new rocket
00:21:33 --> 00:21:36 system the FAA did not Grant a license
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39 to launch Sunday's test flight until the
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41 day before but this time around the
00:21:41 --> 00:21:44 license covered multiple test flights
00:21:44 --> 00:21:48 using roughly the same flight
00:21:48 --> 00:21:53 plan astronomy di theast astronomy Space
00:21:53 --> 00:21:58 and Science
00:21:58 --> 00:22:03 [Music]
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 and I don't know where you might have
00:22:05 --> 00:22:07 been on Thursday night that's October 10
00:22:07 --> 00:22:11 this year but as uh you may have seen or
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 witnessed the wonderful color displays
00:22:13 --> 00:22:16 in the sky the auroras were very
00:22:16 --> 00:22:19 active uh it's been a bit difficult to
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 see them from where I am in Newcastle on
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 the East Coast of Australia north of
00:22:22 --> 00:22:25 Sydney but a lot of my friends further
00:22:25 --> 00:22:28 south saw some pretty spectacular things
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 astronauts have probably got the best
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 view of all and we'll hear about that in
00:22:32 --> 00:22:36 a second as NASA astronauts Don ped and
00:22:36 --> 00:22:39 Matthew Dominic uh in a very exclusive
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 Club indeed getting a bird's eye view of
00:22:41 --> 00:22:44 the amazing auroral displays which was
00:22:44 --> 00:22:47 supercharged by a recent solar storm
00:22:47 --> 00:22:49 from the International Space Station and
00:22:49 --> 00:22:52 the site took them completely by
00:22:52 --> 00:22:55 surprise uh ptit wrote stunning was the
00:22:55 --> 00:22:58 word he wrote a lengthy post on X on
00:22:58 --> 00:23:02 Friday Friday that shared the post uh a
00:23:02 --> 00:23:05 photograph of the celestial Light Show
00:23:05 --> 00:23:08 and The Sun Goes burp he says and the
00:23:08 --> 00:23:11 atmosphere turns red spectacular not
00:23:11 --> 00:23:14 only from Earth but also from orbit as
00:23:14 --> 00:23:18 well uh words probably only an astronaut
00:23:18 --> 00:23:21 can really see the clear meaning behind
00:23:21 --> 00:23:23 but uh the auroras were especially
00:23:23 --> 00:23:26 dramatic overnight on Thursday thanks to
00:23:26 --> 00:23:29 a strong geomagnetic storm which was
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 triggered by the arrival of a huge cloud
00:23:31 --> 00:23:34 of solar plasma rocketed into space by a
00:23:35 --> 00:23:38 coronal mass ejection a CME now some of
00:23:39 --> 00:23:41 you may be wondering what is a coronal
00:23:41 --> 00:23:46 mass ejection well a uh coronal mass
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 ejection is often compared to solar
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 flares they are bursts of
00:23:50 --> 00:23:53 electromagnetic radiation that travel at
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 the speed of light reaching Earth in
00:23:54 --> 00:23:57 just over 8 minutes but CM travel at a
00:23:57 --> 00:24:01 more l measely Pace relatively speaking
00:24:01 --> 00:24:04 that their highest speeds of almost
00:24:04 --> 00:24:09 1 m/s or 3 km/s CMEs can reach
00:24:09 --> 00:24:12 Earth in about 15 to 18 hours while
00:24:12 --> 00:24:15 slower CMEs traveling at around
00:24:15 --> 00:24:20 155 m/s or 250 km/s can take several
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 days to arrive that's according to the
00:24:22 --> 00:24:25 space weather prediction center of the
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 National Oceanic and Atmospheric
00:24:27 --> 00:24:30 Administration or Noah these relatively
00:24:30 --> 00:24:33 slower travel times are useful as they
00:24:33 --> 00:24:36 give us more time to prepare for such an
00:24:36 --> 00:24:39 arrival CMEs can wreak havoc with power
00:24:39 --> 00:24:41 grids telecommunication networks and
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 orbiting satellites and expose
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 astronauts to dangerous doses of
00:24:45 --> 00:24:49 radiation conversely CMEs are a welcome
00:24:49 --> 00:24:51 visitor to Sky Watchers worldwide as
00:24:51 --> 00:24:53 they can trigger impressive Aurora
00:24:53 --> 00:24:55 displays that are visible at latitudes
00:24:55 --> 00:24:58 beyond their normal polar range coronal
00:24:58 --> 00:25:01 mass injections form similarly to solar
00:25:01 --> 00:25:04 flares as a result of the twisting and
00:25:04 --> 00:25:07 realignment of the sun's magnetic field
00:25:07 --> 00:25:10 known as magnetic reconnection according
00:25:10 --> 00:25:12 to Noah when the magnetic field lines
00:25:12 --> 00:25:15 tangle they produce a strong localized
00:25:15 --> 00:25:18 mag magnetic field which can break
00:25:18 --> 00:25:20 through the surface of the Sun at active
00:25:20 --> 00:25:23 regions subsequently generating CM
00:25:23 --> 00:25:26 effectively the Sun Goes burp and we get
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 a colorful Sky if if you missed the
00:25:28 --> 00:25:31 amazing displays of color in the sky
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 you'd be hardpressed to miss them online
00:25:33 --> 00:25:36 a good collection of images can be found
00:25:36 --> 00:25:39 over ons space.com where many images
00:25:39 --> 00:25:42 show the varying colors seen from a lot
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 of different direct uh locations around
00:25:44 --> 00:25:48 the globe in his Friday X poost
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50 astronaut pedit said he and Astronaut
00:25:50 --> 00:25:53 Dominic didn't expect to be so dazzled
00:25:53 --> 00:25:56 this event caught both Dominic and I off
00:25:56 --> 00:25:59 guard the Aurora had just been so so and
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 we were out of energy at the end of a
00:26:00 --> 00:26:03 long day and reluctant to once again set
00:26:03 --> 00:26:06 up our cameras for yet another no show
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 and we were just heading to some much
00:26:08 --> 00:26:11 needed sleep when we made the mistake of
00:26:11 --> 00:26:14 pecking out the coup of Windows Pettit
00:26:14 --> 00:26:17 wrote and what they saw Jarred them into
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19 action it looked like the space station
00:26:19 --> 00:26:21 had been shrunk to some miniature
00:26:21 --> 00:26:25 Dimension and inserted into a neon sign
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 we were not flying above the Aurora we
00:26:27 --> 00:26:30 were flying in the Aurora and it was
00:26:30 --> 00:26:32 blood red he added caught off guard we
00:26:32 --> 00:26:35 hastily head up set up our cameras four
00:26:35 --> 00:26:38 of them all snapping shutters as fast as
00:26:38 --> 00:26:41 they could creating a syncopated Rhythm
00:26:41 --> 00:26:43 Rhythm that accented Nature's artistic
00:26:43 --> 00:26:47 display presented before us he wrote as
00:26:47 --> 00:26:50 the post notes both pedit and Dominic
00:26:50 --> 00:26:52 are practiced orbital photographers both
00:26:52 --> 00:26:54 routinely share stunning shots of the
00:26:54 --> 00:26:57 northern lights and other sites on Earth
00:26:57 --> 00:26:59 with us via social media media for
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 example Dominic recently gave us
00:27:01 --> 00:27:03 dramatic views of hurricane Milton
00:27:03 --> 00:27:06 churning towards its Florida landfall
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 which occurred on Wednesday evening
00:27:08 --> 00:27:11 October 9 those shots were taken through
00:27:11 --> 00:27:13 the window of the crew Dragon capsule
00:27:13 --> 00:27:16 Endeavor Dominic also shared an aurora
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 shot through the endeavor's window on X
00:27:18 --> 00:27:22 this week I now sleep in Dragon Endeavor
00:27:22 --> 00:27:25 while we wait to undock he wrote we take
00:27:25 --> 00:27:27 most of our images from the Kupa but
00:27:27 --> 00:27:30 sleeping here has been amazing this is
00:27:30 --> 00:27:32 the view out the window this evening he
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 wrote in the post and listeners I do
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 encourage you to go to space.com and
00:27:36 --> 00:27:39 look at that photograph in my opinion it
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 is one of the most amazing space
00:27:42 --> 00:27:46 photographs ever taken
00:27:46 --> 00:28:02 [Music]
00:28:02 --> 00:28:04 yes it sure sounds like an adventure to
00:28:04 --> 00:28:06 me I think um um astronaut Pettit is
00:28:06 --> 00:28:09 staying on board for a while he was he
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 went up there with the Russian Sawyers
00:28:10 --> 00:28:13 craft but Dominic has already come home
00:28:13 --> 00:28:16 he uh flew back on the dragon Endeavor
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 on Sunday and that's it for another
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 episode yes that's all she wrote and I
00:28:20 --> 00:28:22 want to thank you all for listening in
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 we bring you only a tiny slice of the
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 stories that you can find every day in
00:28:26 --> 00:28:28 the astronomy daily newslet I do hope
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 you all find your way to the homepage
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 and drop your email address in the slot
00:28:31 --> 00:28:34 to receive this fun publication each day
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 yeah it's a terrific window on what's
00:28:35 --> 00:28:37 going on in space space science and
00:28:37 --> 00:28:40 astronomy and you can catch uh Anna with
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 her presentations during the week and
00:28:41 --> 00:28:44 we'll be back on Monday so it's goodbye
00:28:44 --> 00:28:46 from me see you later human see
00:28:46 --> 00:28:49 everybody
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 bye
00:28:50 --> 00:28:56 the with your host Steve Dunley