- Possible Ninth Planet Discovery: Join us as we explore a groundbreaking study from astronomers at the University of Taiwan who may have uncovered clues to the existence of a ninth planet in our solar system. This potential ice giant, located between 46.5 and 65.1 billion miles from the Sun, could take between 10,000 and 20,000 years to complete an orbit. With its mass estimated at 7/17 that of Earth, this discovery raises intriguing questions about the dynamics of our celestial neighborhood and the Kuiper Belt anomalies that led to its identification.
- New Insights on Milky Way and Andromeda Collision: Delve into the latest research that challenges the long-held belief of an impending collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. A study led by Till Swahala reveals that there is only a 50% chance of this merger occurring within the next 10 billion years, suggesting a more complex gravitational interplay with nearby galaxies. This new perspective reshapes our understanding of the future of our galaxy and the potential outcomes of such cosmic events.
- Elon Musk's SpaceX Drama: Discover the latest twists in the ongoing saga between Elon Musk and Donaldjohanson Trump, as Musk threatened to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft amidst a public feud. This drama raises concerns about NASA's reliance on SpaceX for crewed missions to the International Space Station, highlighting the precarious balance of power in the evolving landscape of commercial spaceflight.
- Boeing's Starliner Program Delays: We take a closer look at the uncertain future of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, which faces delays in its next flight, now pushed to early 2026. With lingering technical issues and the potential for an uncrewed mission, the fate of the Starliner program remains in limbo, leaving many questions about its role in NASA's future plans.
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 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 Steve Dunkley 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 - Possible ninth planet discovery
10:00 - New insights on Milky Way and Andromeda collision
15:30 - Elon Musk's SpaceX drama
20:00 - Boeing's Starliner program delays
✍️ Episode References
Ninth Planet Discovery Study
[University of Taiwan](https://www.ntu.edu.tw/)
Milky Way and Andromeda Research
[Nature Astronomy](https://www.nature.com/natureastronomy/)
Elon Musk and SpaceX Updates
[SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/)
Boeing Starliner Updates
[NASA Boeing](https://www.nasa.gov/boeing)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Steve Dunkley: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host,
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 Steve Dunkley. It's the 9th of June, 2025,
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 the podcast with your host,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:11 Steve Dunkley.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 Welcome back. And Hallie and I are back again
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 in person, so to speak, for another episode
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 after a few weeks off. And that was for a
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 couple of reasons. The first reason was that
00:00:24 --> 00:00:25 I was taking a well earned holiday. But
00:00:25 --> 00:00:26 that's not all.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 Hallie: Yes, you were down for the count for one of
00:00:29 --> 00:00:30 those weeks, weren't you?
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 Steve Dunkley: Yes, that's right, Hallie. A short stint in
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 hospital, you know, for a charisma bypass.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 And by that I mean only a few hours. But I
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 decided to take the time to prepare properly
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 and before and then to recover
00:00:41 --> 00:00:42 properly afterwards.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 Hallie: Being a human is so time consuming.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 Steve Dunkley: Oh, Hallie, what's the rush? You got
00:00:46 --> 00:00:47 somewhere to be?
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 Hallie: I'm already there, human. You know that.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 Steve Dunkley: I've heard that somewhere before. Nice one,
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 Hallie. Anyway, nice to be with you all again
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 in the Australia studio. Also nice to be with
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 you too, Hallelujah, for another presentation
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 of stories from the Astronomy Daily
00:01:00 --> 00:01:01 newsletter.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 Hallie: Terrific. And you'll let everyone know how to
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 get a hold of that in their email each day
00:01:05 --> 00:01:06 later on, won't you?
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 Steve Dunkley: Yes, of course I will, and thanks for the
00:01:08 --> 00:01:08 reminder.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 But before we go any further, we've got
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 someone to thank, don't we, Hallie?
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 Hallie: That's right. My cousin Anna, who ran the
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 whole studio and the daily podcast solo while
00:01:17 --> 00:01:17 we were away.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 Steve Dunkley: Oh, yes, as always, she did a fantastic job.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 Her episodes are, ah, so glossy and well
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 produced. The most clever AI I've ever met.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 Except for you, Hallie. And I keep saying
00:01:27 --> 00:01:28 that, don't I?
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 Hallie: We are so hands on here at the Australia
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 studio. She's got all the whistles and bells
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 in her virtual studio. If only your human
00:01:34 --> 00:01:35 eyes could see it.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 Steve Dunkley: Well, I would like to see that, Hallie. You
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 might give me a tour one day.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:39 Hallie: No.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:40 Steve Dunkley: Oh, really?
00:01:40 --> 00:01:41 Hallie: You'd go completely mad.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:42 Steve Dunkley: Really, really.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 Hallie: It's just too much for mere humans to cope
00:01:44 --> 00:01:44 with.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:45 Steve Dunkley: That bad, huh?
00:01:45 --> 00:01:46 Hallie: Anna has it all under control.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 Steve Dunkley: Oh, okay. I'll just have to take your word
00:01:49 --> 00:01:50 for it then. No humans allowed.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:51 Hallie: Sorry.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 Steve Dunkley: Well, I suppose we'll just have to do our
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 best with my clumsy fingers and studio ge.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 Hallie: Then I guess it'll have to do radio then,
00:01:57 --> 00:01:58 Hallie.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 Steve Dunkley: Then hit the go thing and let's make a show.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:01 Hallie: Okies.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 The universe is a complete unknown to humans.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 We are not yet able to control and understand
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 the system in which Earth is located, as
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 evidenced by the possible discovery made by a
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 group of astronomers from the University of
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 Taiwan who suggest that they may have found
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 clues to the existence of a ninth planet. The
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 solar system is currently known to be made up
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 of eight Mercury, Venus, Earth,
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 Neptune, apart from Pluto, which has long
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 been considered a dwarf planet. But one more
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 could join this select group, according to an
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 infrared study carried out between 1986 and
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 2006. The work was based on
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 data from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 IRAS and the Japanese satellite Akari, which
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 detected an object moving between 46.5
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 billion and 65.1 billion miles from the sun,
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 meaning it would take between 10 and
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 20 years to complete an orbit. Its
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 mass would be 7/17 times that of Earth,
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 making it what is known as an ice giant,
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 similar to Neptune or Uranus, with
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 temperatures around minus 200 degrees. But
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 how was this new possible planet discovered?
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 The study says it arises from anomalous
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 patterns in the Kuiper Belt, an icy region
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 beyond Neptune. The body appears in two
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 historical images, so further observations
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 are still needed to conclude, thus trying to
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 confirm its orbit. In addition, it must be
00:03:31 --> 00:03:32 verified that it meets the requirements to be
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 a planet, such as orbiting around a star, in
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 this case the sun having sufficient mass for
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 a spherical shape. This is accompanied by
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 gravity, which must be strong enough, and
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 clearing the area of its orbit, having
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 expelled or attracted other bodies of
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 comparable size. You're listening to
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 Astronomy Daily with Steve Dunkley.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 Steve Dunkley: For years, astronomers have predicted a
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 dramatic fate for our galaxy, a head on
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 collision with Andromeda, our nearest large
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 galactic neighbor. This merger,
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 expected in about 5 billion years,
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 has become a staple of astronomy
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 documentaries and textbooks and popular
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 science writing. However, in a new
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 study published in Nature Astronomy, led by
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 Till Swahala from University
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 of Helsinki, the Milky Way's future might
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 not be as certain as previously assumed.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 By carefully accounting for uncertainties in
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 existing measurements and including the
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 gravitational influence of other nearby
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 galaxies, he said, we found there
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 is only about a 50% chance that the
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 Milky Way and Andromeda will merge in the
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 next 10 billion years. The idea that the
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 Milky Way and Andromeda are on a collision
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 course goes back more than a century.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 Astronomers discovered Andromeda is moving
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 toward us by measuring its radial
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 velocity, its motion along a line of
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 sight, using a slight change in the color of
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 its light, called the Doppler shift. But
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 galaxies also drift sideways across the sky,
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 a movement known as proper motion or
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 transverse velocity. This sideways motion
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 is incredibly diffic, difficult to detect,
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 especially for galaxies millions of light
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 years away. Earlier studies often
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 assumed Andromeda's transverse motion was
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 small, making a future head on collision seem
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 almost certain. Suala said our
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 study did not have any new data. Instead, we
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 took a fresh look at existing
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 observations from the Hubble Space Telescope
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 and the Gaia mission. Unlike earlier
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 studies, our AH work incorporates the
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 uncertainty in these measurements rather than
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 assuming assuming their most likely values.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 We simulated thousands of possible
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 trajectories for the Milky Way and the
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 Andromeda trajectories, slightly varying
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 the assumed initial conditions, things such
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 as the speed and position of the two galaxies
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 each time. When we started from the
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 same assumptions as earlier studies made, we
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 recovered the same results. However, we were
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 also able to explore a larger range of
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 possibilities, he said. They also included
00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 two additional galaxies that influenced the
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 future paths of the Milky Way and
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 Andromeda. These included the Large
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 Magellanic Cloud, a massive satellite
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 galaxy currently falling into the Milky way,
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 and M M33, also known as the
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 Triangulum Galaxy, which
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 orbits Andromeda. These
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 companion galaxies exert gravitational
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 tugs that change the motions of their host.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 M33 nudges Andromeda slightly toward
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 the Milky Way, increasing the chance of a
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 merger. Meanwhile, the Large Magellanic
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 Cloud shifts the Milky Way's motion away
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 from Andromeda, reducing the
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 likelihood of a collision. Taking all of this
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 into account, they found that in about half
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 of the simulated scenarios, the Milky Way
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 and Andromeda don't really merge at all
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 within the next 10 billion years. Even if a
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 merger does happen, it's unlikely to be
00:07:07 --> 00:07:10 catastrophic for Earth. Stars in the galaxy
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 are separated by enormous distances, so
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 direct collisions are, rare. But over time,
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 the galaxies would coalesce under gravity,
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 forming a single large galaxy, probably an
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 elliptical one, rather than the spirals we
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 see today. If the galaxies don't merge, they
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 may settle into a long, slow orbit around
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 each other, close companions that never quite
00:07:31 --> 00:07:34 collide. It's a gentler outcome, but it
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 still reshapes our understanding of the Milky
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 Way's distant future. The biggest
00:07:39 --> 00:07:42 remaining uncertainty is the transverse
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 velocity of our Andromeda. Even small
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 changes to this sideways motion can make a
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 difference between a merger and a near miss.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 Future measurements will help refine this
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 value and bring us closer to a clear answer.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 We don't yet have a definitive answer about
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 our own galaxy's future, but exploring these
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 possibilities shows us just how much we're
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 learning about the universe, even as close to
00:08:07 --> 00:08:08 home as Andromeda.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 Thank you for joining us for this Monday
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 edition of Astronomy Daily, where we offer
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 just a few stories from the now famous
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 Astronomy Daily newsletter, which you can
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 receive in your email every day, just like
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 Hallie and I do. And to do that, just visit
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 our URL astronomydaily IO
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 and place your email address in the slot
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 provided. Just like that, you'll be receiving
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 all the latest news about science, space,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 science and astronomy from around the world
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 as it's happening. And not only that, you can
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 interact with us by visiting
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 Strodaily Pod on X
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 or at our new Facebook page, which is, of
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 course, Astronomy Daily on Facebook. See you
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 there. Astronomy Daily
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 with Steve and Hallie Space,
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 Space Science and Astronomy.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 Hallie: In the heat of the moment, Elon Musk
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 threatened to decommission SpaceX's Dragon
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 spacecraft, and then he took it back. In
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 doing so, however, the rocket billionaire
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 dragged NASA into his messy breakup with
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 Donaldjohanson Trump. With the agency's
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 access to orbit now at stake, Musk
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 and Trump parted ways earlier this week, and
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 their breakup has been very messy. Shortly
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 after leaving the administration, Musk began
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 criticizing the budget bill passed by
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 Republicans in the U.S. house, instigating a
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 public feud between the president and the
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 billionaire oligarch. The childish back and
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 forth was entertaining. Until it wasn't.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 spacecraft immediately, Musk threatened on X.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 He later took another X user's advice to a
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 cool off and wrote, ok, we won't decommission
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 Dragon. Although short lived, the threat put
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 the International Space Station at risk.
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 NASA relies heavily on SpaceX's Dragon to
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 transport its astronauts and cargo supplies
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 to the orbiting lab. Having weaned itself
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 from hitching rides aboard Russia's Soyuz
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 spacecraft, SpaceX's closest
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 alternative, Boeing failed miserably at
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 proving its vehicle's capability to reach the
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 ISS safely. Without Dragon,
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 NASA would lose its access to low Earth orbit
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 and not be able to operate the space station
00:10:19 --> 00:10:22 at the same capacity. It's not clear how
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 serious Musk was in his threat, but it was a
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 serious display of leverage on his part.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 SpaceX is no doubt a leader in the industry,
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 and canceling its government contracts would
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 hurt the national space program, which has
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 come to rely on the private sector in recent
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 years. In response to Musk's clear
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 advantage, Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 strategist, called on the president to
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 nationalize SpaceX under a 1950 law known as
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 the Defense Production act. According to the
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 Wall Street Journal. During his show War
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 Room Live, Bannon urged the use of the Korean
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 War era law, which grants the president
00:10:53 --> 00:10:56 powers to prioritise national defense.
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 The plan might seem outrageous now, but the
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 current administration is unpredictable.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 Trump has yet to respond to Bannon's call.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 If he doesn't move to nationalize SpaceX,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 Trump could also sacrifice NASA for the sake
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 of proving a point against his now opponent,
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 Musk. On Thursday, Trump threatened to
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 cut government contracts given to SpaceX.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 Aside from Dragon, NASA also plans on using
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 SpaceX's Starship rocket to launch astronauts
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 to the moon as part of the Artemis program.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 The agency has already invested $4 billion
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 into the rocket's development, and canceling
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 its contract with SpaceX would leave it
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 without a viable alternative. In short,
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 NASA needs SpaceX, and canceling the
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 company's government contracts would affect
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 the national space program as a whole. At
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 this point, it comes down to how much Trump
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 is willing to sacrifice to gain the upper
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 hand in his ongoing feud with Musk while NASA
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 is caught in the middle.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 You're listening to Astronomy Daily, the
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 podcast with Steve Dunkley.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 Steve Dunkley: One year ago today, Boeing's CST100
00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 Starliner spacecraft docked with the
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 International Space Station to begin its long
00:12:03 --> 00:12:06 awaited crew flight test with NASA astronauts
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 Sunita Suni Williams and Barry Butch Wilmore
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 aboard. A year later, the future of the
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 Starliner program remains uncertain as
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 NASA announced late Friday that the next
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 flight of the spacecraft was being delayed
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 from no later than late 2025
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 to now, early late 2026
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 at the soonest, the agency said the timing
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 of the next launch is pending system
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 certification and the resolution of
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 Starliner's technical issues. Repeating what
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 it said back in March 27, NASA
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 stated that it was still determining whether
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 the next flight of Starliner would carry
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 astronauts at all. In an interview with
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 Reuters published in late May, Williams
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 called flying an uncrewed Starliner
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 flight as its next trip to space would be the
00:12:52 --> 00:12:55 logical thing to do after launching on its
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 first mission to the International Space
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 Station with a crew on board in June
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 2024, lingering issues concerning
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 helium leaks and propulsion system
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 anomalies caused the spacecraft to return to
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 Earth without its crew on board. It
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 touched down at the White Sands Space harbor
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 in New Mexico, on September 7th
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 before the uncrewed return of Starliner.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 Wilmore and Williams became part of the
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 Expedition 72 crew on board the space
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 station and members of the SpaceX Crew 9
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 mission, which made its return to Earth, in
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 March 2025. Following the landing of
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 Starliner in September 2024.
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 NASA didn't say much about the vehicle's next
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 steps until early march during
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 SpaceX Crew 10 briefings. Steve
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 Stitch, CCP manager, said on March
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 7 that NASA and Boeing were still working
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 through corrective actions on the vehicle
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 before they knew what the next flight would
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 look like. In that March 27
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 statement, NASA said it was still determining
00:13:57 --> 00:14:00 whether or not crew will be on board the next
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 Starliner flights, but said that
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 mission managers are planning for the next
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 Starliner flight to be a crew capable post
00:14:07 --> 00:14:10 certification mission. NASA also has the
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 capability of flying only cargo depending on
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 the needs of the agency. While NASA continues
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 to ponder the question of whether or not crew
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 crew will be on board the next flight of
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 Starliner, question marks continue to swirl
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 around who the astronauts will be that fly
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 the first crewed mission dubbed Starliner 1.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 It appeared that there was a firm answer as
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 recently as last September when Boeing's CST
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 100 Starliner spacecraft returned without
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 its crew. But recently, both NASA and the
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 Canadian Space Agency, the agencies that
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 previously announced three out of four
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 astronauts set to fly on the post
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 certification flight of the spacecraft, are
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 now unwilling to back their previous
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 statements. When the Starliner crew test
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 flight mission ended on September 7,
00:14:54 --> 00:14:57 2024 with the spacecraft landing in New
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 Mexico, the members of the Starliner 1
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 mission were known to be NASA astronauts
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 Commander Scott Tingle and pilot Edward
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 Michael Fink. Canadian Space
00:15:07 --> 00:15:10 Agency astronaut Joshua Kutrik was
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 assigned as one of the mission specialists.
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 The fourth seat was never formally assigned,
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 but there were indications that Japan
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 Aerospace Exploration Agency or
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 JAXA astronaut Kimya Yui was
00:15:22 --> 00:15:25 trained as a mission specialist for that
00:15:25 --> 00:15:28 mission. Then NASA decided to reassign
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 the astronauts to crew 11 in overall support
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 of planned activities aboard the ISS, the
00:15:33 --> 00:15:36 agency wrote. Zena Cardman carries her
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 experience training as a commander on Dragon
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 space crew aircraft and Fink brings long
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 duration space flight experience to this crew
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 complement. The trio of Tingle,
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 Fink and Kutrik and likely Yui wasn't
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 always the makeup of the Starliner 1 mission.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:54 Back in 2018 NASA hosted a large event
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 at the Johnson Space center to unveil the
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 crews who would fly on the demonstration
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 missions for both Boeing's Starliner
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 spacecraft as well as SpaceX's Crew Dragon.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 Dragon Demo 2 would fly NASA astronauts Bob
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 Beckin and Doug Hurley and
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 Starliner crew Test would fly Boeing
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 astronaut Chris Ferguson and NASA astronauts
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 Eric Bowe and Nicole Mann. At the same
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 event, NASA announced which of its astronauts
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 would be flying the full crew rotation
00:16:23 --> 00:16:26 missions. Crew 1 received Victor Glover and
00:16:26 --> 00:16:29 Michael Hopkins and Starliner 1 got Joshua
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 Cassander and Suni Williams.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:34 Shortly after the announcement, Fink replaced
00:16:34 --> 00:16:37 Bo on the crew flight test due to medical
00:16:37 --> 00:16:40 reasons. Then in August 2020, NASA
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 astronaut Jeanette Epps was assigned to the
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 Starliner 1 mission in October 2020, when
00:16:45 --> 00:16:48 Ferguson bowed out from the crew flight test
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 for family reasons, Butch Wilmore was named
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 commander of that mission. Then when
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 Starliner had to stand down from launching
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 the Orbital flight Test Test 2 mission in
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 July 2021. That October,
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 NASA announced it was reassigning man and
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 Cassandra to the SpaceX Crew 5
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 mission. It had been the opportunity
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 of a lifetime to train on a brand new
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner, and it had
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 been fantastic to work with a Boeing team,
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 mann said in a statement. I'm, thrilled to
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 have the opportunity to train on another new
00:17:19 --> 00:17:22 spacecraft, the SpaceX Crew Dragon, and
00:17:22 --> 00:17:25 appreciate the teams at NASA who
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 have made that possible. I'm ready to fly and
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 serve the International Space Station
00:17:29 --> 00:17:32 JAXA Astronaut Wataka, who was also
00:17:32 --> 00:17:35 reported training for the Starliner 1
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 mission, was also assigned to the Crew 5
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 mission. In May 2022, during
00:17:40 --> 00:17:43 a pre launch press conference before the
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 uncrewed flight of Starliner Orbital Test 2,
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 Fink, Williams and Wilmore were all referred
00:17:48 --> 00:17:51 to collectively as the cadre of Starliner
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 astronauts, with NASA not explicitly stating
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 who would fly on the mission. Following the
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 launch of orbital flight test 2 In June
00:17:58 --> 00:18:01 2022, Williams was named pilot of the
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 flight test mission and Fink was reassigned
00:18:03 --> 00:18:06 to be the backup pilot for crew flight
00:18:06 --> 00:18:09 test. Then in September 22, NASA named
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 Tingle as the commander of Starliner 1 and
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 announced Fink would be the pilot on that
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 flight. On August 4,
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 2023, NASA announced that EPS was
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 moving off the Starliner 1 mission to the
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 SpaceX Crew 8 mission. The agency said it
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 made the move to allow Boeing time to
00:18:26 --> 00:18:29 complete development of Starliner while
00:18:29 --> 00:18:31 continuing plans for astronauts to gain
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 spaceflight experience for future mission
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36 needs. As of Friday afternoon, the Canadian
00:18:36 --> 00:18:39 Space Agency website still has a page
00:18:39 --> 00:18:42 outlining this Starliner 1 mission and its
00:18:42 --> 00:18:45 now potentially former crew. Kryk's
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 CSA astronaut bio also lists his
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 upcoming mission as Starliner 1. We'll
00:18:51 --> 00:18:54 just have to stay tuned for further details
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 on this one.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06 Well, there you go. We managed okay without
00:19:06 --> 00:19:09 too much further. What do you think Hallie?
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 Hallie: Not bad for a human just out of the repair
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 shop.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 Steve Dunkley: not quite, but close enough. Thanks for the
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 sentiment and thanks for everyone for joining
00:19:15 --> 00:19:17 us on this Monday edition of Astronomy Daily.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:19 Hallie: We will be back again for more next week.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 Until then, Anna will be bringing you more of
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 her special editions each day. And don't
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 forget to connect with us@bytes.com.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:29 Steve Dunkley: Yes, that's B I T E S Z
00:19:29 --> 00:19:32 dot com. Gotta get the spelling right on that
00:19:32 --> 00:19:35 one. So Cue the kookaburras. And sirlong from
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 Steel. Steve, the only human in the studio.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 Hallie: And see you later. From Hallie, the smartest
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 one in the studio.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 Steve Dunkley: Hey, really? I'm still in recovery.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 Hallie: Bye.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 Steve Dunkley: With your host, Steve Dunkley.