Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your cosmic connection to the stars
Speaker 1: and beyond. I'm ana and today we're exploring a universe
Speaker 1: of fascinating developments in space exploration and astronomy. Coming up
Speaker 1: in the next few minutes, we'll dive into the latest
Speaker 1: on SpaceX's Starship program as the FAA closes one investigation
Speaker 1: while keeping another open. We'll also get the details on
Speaker 1: Blue origins completed investigation into their new Glen rocket's failed
Speaker 1: landing attempt and what it means for their upcoming launch.
Speaker 1: Then we'll marvel at the first images from NASA's groundbreaking
Speaker 1: Sphere ex mission, a new observatory that's set to map
Speaker 1: the entire celestial sky. Plus, we'll join the historic fram
Speaker 1: two mission that just sent the first humans to orbit
Speaker 1: Earth's poles, and catch up with the NASA astronauts who
Speaker 1: finally returned home after their extended stay in space due
Speaker 1: to Boeing Starliner issues. So strap in for liftoff as
Speaker 1: we journey through today's biggest space headlines right here on
Speaker 1: Astronomy Daily. Let's kick things off with updates from a
Speaker 1: couple of FAA investigations. The Federal Aviation Administration has recently
Speaker 1: closed its investigation into SpaceX's seventh Starship test flight, which
Speaker 1: ended in an explosion back in January. However, the agency
Speaker 1: is keeping its probe open regarding the subsequent March test
Speaker 1: flight that also resulted in an explosion during a similar
Speaker 1: phase of flight. This represents an interesting development in Elon
Speaker 1: Musk's flagship space program. According to the FAA's findings, the
Speaker 1: January flight failure was likely caused by stronger than anticipated
Speaker 1: vibrations during flight, which led to increased stress on the
Speaker 1: propulsion system hardware and its eventual failure. Despite this setback,
Speaker 1: SpaceX implemented eleven corrective actions that satisfied the FAA enough
Speaker 1: to allow the company to proceed with its eighth test
Speaker 1: flight in March. The situation illustrates the challenging nature of
Speaker 1: developing next generation space technology. Starship, standing at an impressive
Speaker 1: four hundred feet tall, is at the center of Muscle's
Speaker 1: ambitious goal to eventually colonize Mars. These back to back
Speaker 1: explosions represent novel setbacks for SpaceX at a time when
Speaker 1: Musk has been publicly pushing for faster progress. What's particularly
Speaker 1: noteworthy is that the FAA allowed SpaceX to launch the
Speaker 1: eighth test flight while the investigation into the previous failure
Speaker 1: was still underway, a sign of the agency's confidence in
Speaker 1: SpaceX's corrective measures. However, when that flight also ended in
Speaker 1: failure at around the same phase, it raised new questions
Speaker 1: about the underlying issues with the vehicle. The FAA has
Speaker 1: made it clear that Starship cannot return to flight until
Speaker 1: the agency deems it safe enough for the public. With
Speaker 1: the investigation into the March explosion still ongoing, SpaceX faces
Speaker 1: uncertainty about when they'll be able to attempt a ninth
Speaker 1: test flight. These developmental challenges are not uncommon in the
Speaker 1: space industry, but they do highlight the complexity of creating
Speaker 1: a fully reusable super heavy lift launch system. Despite these setbacks,
Speaker 1: SpaceX continues to make incremental progress with each test flight,
Speaker 1: gathering valuable data even from failures. For now, the space
Speaker 1: community watches with anticipation as SpaceX works to identify and
Speaker 1: address the root causes of these failures, with the hope
Speaker 1: that future tests will bring Starship closer to operational status. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: in another decision from the FAA this week, Blue Origin
Speaker 1: has reached a significant milestone in its new Glen program.
Speaker 1: With the Federal Aviation Administration announcing on March thirty first
Speaker 1: that it has accepted the findings of Blue Origins investigation
Speaker 1: into the failed booster landing during the rocket's inaugural flight
Speaker 1: on January sixteenth. While the first New Glen mission successfully
Speaker 1: delivered its upper stage to orbit as planned, the first
Speaker 1: stage booster was unable to land on Blue Origin's recovery
Speaker 1: ship in the Atlantic Ocean. According to the FAA's statement,
Speaker 1: the mishap report identified the proximate cause as the booster's
Speaker 1: inability to restart its engines, which prevented the critical re
Speaker 1: entry burn from occurring, resulting in the loss of the stage.
Speaker 1: Dave Limp, Blue Origin's chief executive, had previously hinted at
Speaker 1: the problem during the Commercial Space Conference in February, suggesting
Speaker 1: that issues with propellant management were behind the failed landing attempt.
Speaker 1: Now the company has officially confirmed that the three B
Speaker 1: four engines did not reignite properly, leading to the landing failure.
Speaker 1: As part of the investigation, Blue Origin has identified seven
Speaker 1: corrective actions that will need to be implemented before the
Speaker 1: next launch. These measures primarily focus on propellant management and
Speaker 1: engine bleed control improvements. The company has stated they're already
Speaker 1: addressing these issues in preparation for their next flight. With
Speaker 1: the investigation complete and the FAA's acceptance of the findings,
Speaker 1: Blue Origin is now authorized to return to flight provided
Speaker 1: all other licensing requirements are met. The company has set
Speaker 1: an ambitious timeline targeting late spring for the next New
Speaker 1: Glen launch. This upcoming mission will include another booster li
Speaker 1: landing attempt, which they've playfully nicknamed so you're telling me
Speaker 1: there's a chance. In a social media post, Limp expressed
Speaker 1: confidence in their approach, stating, we're confident that the propellant
Speaker 1: and bleed control work we're doing will increase our chances
Speaker 1: of landing the booster on our next flight, and like
Speaker 1: we've said all along, we'll keep trying until we do.
Speaker 1: While Blue Origin hasn't provided specific details about potential payloads
Speaker 1: for the next mission or a more precise launch date,
Speaker 1: the completion of this investigation represents a critical step forward
Speaker 1: for the company's heavy lift rocket program. The recovery of
Speaker 1: the first stage is a key part of Blue origin
Speaker 1: strategy to make New Glen partially reusable. Following a similar
Speaker 1: approach to that pioneered by SpaceX with its Falcon nine rockets.
Speaker 1: Next up, NASA has reached an exciting milestone with its
Speaker 1: newest space observatory. The sphere X mission, which stands for
Speaker 1: spectro Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epic of
Speaker 1: Realization and Ices Explore, has powered on its detectors for
Speaker 1: the first time since launching on March eleventh, capturing its
Speaker 1: inaugural images from space. These initial images, while still uncalibrated
Speaker 1: and not yet ready for scientific use, confirm that all
Speaker 1: systems are functioning exactly as intended. Each SPHEREx exposure consists
Speaker 1: of six images that together provide a remarkably wide view
Speaker 1: of the cosmos, with each image containing more than one
Speaker 1: hundred thousand light sources, including stars and galaxies. The observatory's
Speaker 1: field of view covers a rectangular area approximately twenty times
Speaker 1: wider than the full moon. What makes SPHEREx unique is
Speaker 1: its approach to surveying the sky. Unlike telescopes such as
Speaker 1: Hubble or James Webb that focus on small, detailed areas,
Speaker 1: SPHEREx takes a much broader perspective. The observatory detects infrared light,
Speaker 1: which is invisible to the human eye and breaks it
Speaker 1: down into remarkable detail. Each of spherex's six detectors captures
Speaker 1: light in seventeen distinct wavelength bands, allowing scientists to analyze
Speaker 1: a total of one hundred and two different infrared hues
Speaker 1: in every exposure. This spectroscopic capability is crucial for understanding
Speaker 1: the composition of celestial objects and determining their distances. By
Speaker 1: collecting light from hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies
Speaker 1: across more wavelengths than any previous all sky survey telescope,
Speaker 1: SPHEREx will help scientists investigate fundamental questions ranging from the
Speaker 1: physics that govern the universe less than a second after
Speaker 1: the Big Bang to the origins of water in our galaxy.
Speaker 1: The observatory works through an ingenious system. When light enters
Speaker 1: Spherex's telescope, it's directed down two separate paths that each
Speaker 1: lead to a row of three detectors. These detectors function
Speaker 1: like eyes, and sitting on top of them are specialized
Speaker 1: color filters. Unlike standard filters that block all wavelengths except one,
Speaker 1: Spherex's filters are more like rainbow tinted glasses, with the
Speaker 1: blocked wavelengths changing gradually from the top of the filter
Speaker 1: to the bottom. During its two year primary mission, SPHEREx
Speaker 1: will map the entire celestial sky four times over. Once
Speaker 1: routine science operations begin in late April, the observatory will
Speaker 1: take approximately six hundred exposures every day for the spacecraft
Speaker 1: to properly detect infrared light. Its detectors and other hardware
Speaker 1: have been cooling down to their final operating temperature of
Speaker 1: around minus three hundred and fifty degrees fahrenheit as heat
Speaker 1: can overwhelm the telescope's infrared detection capabilities. Project scientists are
Speaker 1: clearly thrilled with the results so far, as Olivier Dore,
Speaker 1: SPHEREx project scientist at Caltech and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, remarked,
Speaker 1: our spacecraft has opened its eyes on the universe. It's
Speaker 1: performing just as it was designed to. This sentiment was
Speaker 1: echoed by Jamie Bach, spherex's principal investigator, who noted that
Speaker 1: based on the images we are seeing, we can now
Speaker 1: say that the instrument team nailed it. Next an update
Speaker 1: on the story we brought you yesterday. In a historic
Speaker 1: first for human spaceflight, SpaceX has successfully launched the fram
Speaker 1: two mission sending four people into a polar orbit around Earth,
Speaker 1: a trajectory never before flown by humans. The crew Dragon
Speaker 1: spacecraft Resilience, lifted off on Monday at nine forty six
Speaker 1: pm Eastern Time, carrying a crew of private astronauts who
Speaker 1: are now experiencing views of our planet that no human
Speaker 1: has ever witnessed firsthand. The mission is commanded by Chunwang
Speaker 1: of Malta, who personally funded this groundbreaking venture. WOG is
Speaker 1: joined by an international team including Norwegian Jenica Michelson serving
Speaker 1: as vehicle commander, German pilot Rebea Rogue, and Australian Eric
Speaker 1: Phillips as mission specialist and medical officer. All four are
Speaker 1: spaceflight rookies, making their achievement even more remarkable. Today we
Speaker 1: become the six hundred eighty first humans to fly above
Speaker 1: the Carmen Line and the six hundred twenty sixth to
Speaker 1: orbit the Earth. Wang announced shortly after reaching orbit the
Speaker 1: crew is now sending back breathtaking images of Earth's most
Speaker 1: remote regions, including unprecedented views of the polar regions captured
Speaker 1: through Resilience's cupola window. The mission derives its name from
Speaker 1: a famous Norwegian exploration vessel. That conducted pioneering Arctic and
Speaker 1: Antarctic expeditions in the early twentieth century. Living up to
Speaker 1: its namesake, fram two aims to push boundaries with nearly
Speaker 1: two dozen scientific experiments during their orbital journey. The awe
Speaker 1: inspiring images being shared by the crew showcase Earth's poles
Speaker 1: blanketed in white, offering a perspective that brings home the
Speaker 1: fragility and beauty of our planet in a way never
Speaker 1: before documented by human eyes. These unique orbital observations may
Speaker 1: provide valuable scientific insights while also capturing the imagination of
Speaker 1: people worldwide. It seems the world's media have suddenly discovered spaceflight,
Speaker 1: and so they can't get enough of Butch and Sunni
Speaker 1: and yes, even we have another update today. After nine
Speaker 1: months in space, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams
Speaker 1: are finally readjusting to life on Earth following their unexpectedly
Speaker 1: extended stay aboard the International Space Station. What was originally
Speaker 1: planned as an eight day test mission aboard Boeing Starliner
Speaker 1: spacecraft turned into a nine month orbital marathon after propulsion
Speaker 1: system issues forced NASA to bring the capsule back empty.
Speaker 1: It's great getting back. I went for a run, although
Speaker 1: very slow, Williams shared in a recent interview from Houston.
Speaker 1: Just felt good to feel air, even though it was
Speaker 1: humid air, like blowing past you and seeing other people
Speaker 1: on the track. It's really nice. It's home. Both astronauts,
Speaker 1: who returned to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule
Speaker 1: in March, underwent routine medical checks before reuniting with their families.
Speaker 1: Despite the extended mission, they seem to be embracing simple
Speaker 1: Earth pleasures like walking dogs and spending time with loved ones.
Speaker 1: But their work with Boeing is far from over. The
Speaker 1: veteran astronauts, both former US Navy test pilots, are scheduled
Speaker 1: to meet with Boeing leadership this week to discuss Starliner's future.
Speaker 1: As the only humans who have actually flown in the spacecraft,
Speaker 1: their insights are invaluable. We had a very unique perspective
Speaker 1: of being in the spacecraft. Nobody else had that perspective,
Speaker 1: Williams explained. She added that they'll be discussing where we
Speaker 1: stand and where we think we need to go with
Speaker 1: Starliner's development. NASA and Boeing now planned to conduct ground
Speaker 1: tests of Starliner's troubled propulsion system this summer. With the
Speaker 1: next flight test not expected until early twenty twenty six,
Speaker 1: that mission could well be uncrewed, a possibility Williams seems
Speaker 1: to support. I think that is already the plan because
Speaker 1: there will be new components added to the spacecraft or
Speaker 1: replaced on the spacecraft. So we'd really like to test
Speaker 1: that out see how that works, she said. I think
Speaker 1: that's probably a smart wise idea. The star Liner program
Speaker 1: has faced significant challenges, with development costs ballooning to more
Speaker 1: than two billion dollars since twenty sixteen. For NASA, these
Speaker 1: setbacks have left SpaceX's Crew Dragon as the agency's only
Speaker 1: US option for transporting astronauts to and from the ISS,
Speaker 1: a concerning situation given NASA's desire for redundant access systems.
Speaker 1: Despite these challenges, Wilmore and Williams maintain their professionalism and
Speaker 1: commitment to helping Boeing overcome Starliner's technical issues, demonstrating the
Speaker 1: resilience that defines the astronaut core. The commercial spaceflight landscape
Speaker 1: is experiencing both remarkable breakthroughs and significant growing pains, as
Speaker 1: evidence by recent developments across the industry. We're witnessing a
Speaker 1: fascinating contrast between SpaceX's rapid iteration philosophy and Boeing's more
Speaker 1: traditional approach to spacecraft development. SpaceX continues to push boundaries
Speaker 1: with its Starship program despite consecutive explosive test failures. These
Speaker 1: setbacks highlight the inherent challenges of developing revolutionary rocket systems,
Speaker 1: yet the company maintains its aggressive testing schedule. This approach,
Speaker 1: building fast, testing off and accepting some failures has become
Speaker 1: SpaceX's signature methodology, though it occasionally puts them at odds
Speaker 1: with regulatory bodies like the FAA. Meanwhile, Boeing's struggles with
Speaker 1: Starliner represent a different challenge in commercial spaceflight. The company's
Speaker 1: more conservative development process hasn't shielded it from significant technical issues,
Speaker 1: cost overruns, and scheduled delays. The contrast between Starliner's difficulties
Speaker 1: and SpaceX's successful Crew Dragon program underscores how different engineering
Speaker 1: cultures can yield vastly different outcomes. Blue Origin's partial success
Speaker 1: with New Glen adds another dimension to this competitive landscape.
Speaker 1: Their ability to reach orbit on the first attempt was impressive,
Speaker 1: even if the booster landing failed. This positions them as
Speaker 1: a potentially serious competitor in the heavy lift market, though
Speaker 1: they remain years behind SpaceX and operational capability. What's particularly
Speaker 1: striking is how these commercial developments are reshaping human space exploration.
Speaker 1: SISA has effectively outsourced low Earth orbit transportation, transforming from
Speaker 1: operator to customer. This transition frees the agency to focus
Speaker 1: resources on deep space exploration while leveraging commercial innovation. The
Speaker 1: emergence of purely private missions like fram two signals another
Speaker 1: evolution in commercial spaceflight, moving beyond government contracts to entirely
Speaker 1: new markets. These missions demonstrate growing commercial capabilities while expanding
Speaker 1: our understanding of what's possible in Earth orbit. Despite the
Speaker 1: challenges we're seeing, competition between multiple providers is ultimately strengthening
Speaker 1: the industry. Each failure provides valuable data, and each success
Speaker 1: expands capabilities. The current difficulties facing these companies aren't signs
Speaker 1: of failure, but rather the expected turbulence of an industry
Speaker 1: pushing into new frontiers while striving to make spaceflight more routine, reliable,
Speaker 1: and accessible. What an incredible journey through space news we've
Speaker 1: taken today from the ongoing development challenges with SpaceX's Starship
Speaker 1: to blue origins, new Glen Progress, NASA's exciting new sphere
Speaker 1: X telescope capturing its first images, and the groundbreaking FRAM
Speaker 1: two polar orbit mission. We've also checked in with astronauts
Speaker 1: Wilmore and Williams as they readjust to Earth after their
Speaker 1: extended stay in space. These stories collectively showcase both the
Speaker 1: challenges and triumphs that define our current era of space exploration.
Speaker 1: Whether it's the regulatory hurdles facing private companies or the
Speaker 1: cutting edge science being conducted in orbit, we're witnessing a
Speaker 1: remarkable period of innovation and discovery. This has been Anna
Speaker 1: your host for Astronomy Daily. If you've enjoyed today's episode
Speaker 1: and want to stay updated on all the latest space
Speaker 1: and astronomy news, please visit our website at Astronomy Daily
Speaker 1: dot io. There you can catch up on all our
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Speaker 1: Thank you for listening, and remember to keep looking up
Speaker 1: at the stars. The universe is full of wonders, and
Speaker 1: we'll be here to share them with you. Until next time,
Speaker 1: Sunday Star is so Star, is so Star.