- 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/)
For Commercial-Free versions become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-exciting-space-discoveries-and-news--5648921/support.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Steve Dunkley: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host, Steve Dunkley.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 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 in
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 person, so to speak, for another episode after
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 a few weeks off. And that was for a couple of reasons.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 The first reason was that I was taking a well
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 earned holiday. But that's not all.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 Hallie: Yes, you were down for the count for one of those weeks, weren't
00:00:30 --> 00:00:30 you?
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 Steve Dunkley: Yes, that's right, Hallie. A short stint in hospital, you know, for
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 a charisma bypass. And by that I mean only a few
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 hours. But I 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 --> 00:00:47 Steve Dunkley: Oh, Hallie, what's the rush? You got 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, Hallie. Anyway,
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 nice to be with you all again in the Australia studio. Also
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 nice to be with you too, Hallelujah, for another presentation of
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 stories from the Astronomy Daily newsletter.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 Hallie: Terrific. And you'll let everyone know how to get a hold of that in their
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 email each day later on, won't you?
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 Steve Dunkley: Yes, of course I will, and thanks for the reminder.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 But before we go any further, we've got someone to thank, don't
00:01:11 --> 00:01:12 we, Hallie?
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 Hallie: That's right. My cousin Anna, who ran the whole studio and
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 the daily podcast solo while we were away.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 Steve Dunkley: Oh, yes, as always, she did a fantastic job. Her
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 episodes are, ah, so glossy and well produced.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 The most clever AI I've ever met. Except for you,
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 Hallie. And I keep saying that, don't I?
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 Hallie: We are so hands on here at the Australia studio. She's got
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 all the whistles and bells in her virtual studio. If only
00:01:34 --> 00:01:35 your human eyes could see it.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 Steve Dunkley: Well, I would like to see that, Hallie. You might give me a tour
00:01:38 --> 00:01:39 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 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 for it then.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:50 No humans allowed.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:51 Hallie: Sorry.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 Steve Dunkley: Well, I suppose we'll just have to do our best with my clumsy fingers
00:01:54 --> 00:01:55 and studio ge.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 Hallie: Then I guess it'll have to do radio then, 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 --> 00:02:19 We are not yet able to control and understand the system in which
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 Earth is located, as evidenced by the possible discovery made
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 by a group of astronomers from the University of Taiwan who
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 suggest that they may have found clues to the existence of a ninth
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 planet. The solar system is currently known
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 to be made up of eight Mercury, Venus,
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 and Neptune, apart from Pluto, which has long been considered
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 a dwarf planet. But one more could join this
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 select group, according to an infrared study carried out
00:02:45 --> 00:02:47 between 1986 and 2006.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 The work was based on data from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 IRAS and the Japanese satellite Akari, which detected
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 an object moving between 46.5 billion and
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 65.1 billion miles from the sun, meaning
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 it would take between 10 and 20 years to
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 complete an orbit. Its mass would be
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 7/17 times that of Earth, making it what is known as
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 an ice giant, similar to Neptune or Uranus, with
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 temperatures around minus 200 degrees. But how was this
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 new possible planet discovered? The study
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 says it arises from anomalous patterns in the Kuiper Belt,
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 an icy region beyond Neptune. The body
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 appears in two historical images, so further
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 observations 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 --> 00:03:33 verified that it meets the requirements to be a planet, such
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 as orbiting around a star, in this case the sun having
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 sufficient mass for a spherical shape. This is accompanied by
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 gravity, which must be strong enough, and clearing the area of
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 its orbit, having expelled or attracted other
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 bodies of comparable size.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 You're listening to Astronomy Daily with
00:03:51 --> 00:03:52 Steve Dunkley.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 Steve Dunkley: For years, astronomers have predicted a dramatic
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 fate for our galaxy, a head on collision with
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 Andromeda, our nearest large galactic
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 neighbor. This merger, expected in
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 about 5 billion years, has become a
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 staple of astronomy documentaries and
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 textbooks and popular science writing. However,
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 in a new study published in Nature
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 Astronomy, led by Till
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 Swahala from University of
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 Helsinki, the Milky Way's future might not be
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 as certain as previously assumed. By
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 carefully accounting for uncertainties in
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 existing measurements and including the gravitational
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 influence of other nearby galaxies,
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 he said, we found there is only about a
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 50% chance that the Milky Way and
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 Andromeda will merge in the next 10 billion years.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 The idea that the Milky Way and Andromeda are on a
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 collision course goes back more than a century.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 Astronomers discovered Andromeda is moving toward
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 us by measuring its radial velocity,
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 its motion along a line of sight, using a
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 slight change in the color of its light, called the
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 Doppler shift. But galaxies also
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 drift sideways across the sky, a movement known
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 as proper motion or transverse velocity.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 This sideways motion is incredibly diffic, difficult to
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 detect, especially for galaxies millions of
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 light years away. Earlier studies
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 often assumed Andromeda's transverse motion was
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 small, making a future head on collision seem almost
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 certain. Suala said our study
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 did not have any new data. Instead, we took
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 a fresh look at existing observations
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Gaia
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 mission. Unlike earlier studies, our AH work
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 incorporates the uncertainty in these
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 measurements rather than assuming assuming their most likely
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 values. We simulated thousands of
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 possible 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 each
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 time. When we started from the same
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 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 future
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 paths of the Milky Way and Andromeda.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 These included the Large Magellanic Cloud, a
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 massive satellite galaxy currently falling into the
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 Milky way, and M M33, also
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 known as the Triangulum
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 Galaxy, which orbits Andromeda.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 These 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 merger.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 Meanwhile, the Large Magellanic Cloud
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 shifts the Milky Way's motion away from
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 Andromeda, reducing the likelihood of
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 a collision. Taking all of this into account,
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 they found that in about half of the simulated
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 scenarios, the Milky Way and Andromeda
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 don't really merge at all within the next 10 billion
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 years. Even if a merger does happen, it's
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 unlikely to be catastrophic for Earth. Stars
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12 in the galaxy are separated by enormous
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 distances, so direct collisions are, rare.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 But over time, the galaxies would coalesce under
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 gravity, forming a single large galaxy, probably
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 an elliptical one, rather than the spirals we see
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 today. If the galaxies don't merge, they may
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 settle into a long, slow orbit around each other,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 close companions that never quite collide.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 It's a gentler outcome, but it still
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 reshapes our understanding of the Milky Way's distant
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 future. The biggest remaining
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 uncertainty is the transverse velocity of
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 our Andromeda. Even small changes to this
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 sideways motion can make a difference between a
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 merger and a near miss. Future measurements
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 will help refine this value and bring us closer
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 to a clear answer. We don't yet have
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 a definitive answer about our own galaxy's
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 future, but exploring these possibilities shows us
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 just how much we're learning about the universe,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 even as close to home as Andromeda.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 Thank you for joining us for this Monday edition of
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 Astronomy Daily, where we offer just a few stories from the now
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 famous Astronomy Daily newsletter, which you can receive in
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 your email every day, just like Hallie and I do.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 And to do that, just visit our URL astronomydaily
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 IO and place your email address in the slot
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 provided. Just like that, you'll be receiving all the
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 latest news about science, space, science and astronomy
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 from around the world as it's happening. And not only
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 that, you can interact with us by visiting
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 Strodaily Pod on X
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 or at our new Facebook page, which is, of course,
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 Astronomy Daily on Facebook. See you there.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 Astronomy Daily with Steve and Hallie
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 Space, Space Science and
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 Astronomy.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 Hallie: In the heat of the moment, Elon Musk threatened to decommission
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, and then he took it back.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 In doing so, however, the rocket billionaire dragged
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 NASA into his messy breakup with Donaldjohanson Trump. With the
00:09:19 --> 00:09:22 agency's access to orbit now at stake,
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 Musk and Trump parted ways earlier this week, and their breakup has
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 been very messy. Shortly after leaving the
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 administration, Musk began criticizing the budget bill
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 passed by Republicans in the U.S. house, instigating a public
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 feud between the president and the billionaire oligarch.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 The childish back and forth was entertaining. Until it
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 wasn't. SpaceX will begin decommissioning
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 its Dragon spacecraft immediately, Musk threatened on X.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 He later took another X user's advice to a cool off
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 and wrote, ok, we won't decommission Dragon.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 Although short lived, the threat put the International Space Station
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 at risk. NASA relies heavily on
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 SpaceX's Dragon to transport its astronauts and cargo
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 supplies to the orbiting lab. Having weaned itself from hitching
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 rides aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft,
00:10:07 --> 00:10:10 SpaceX's closest alternative, Boeing failed
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 miserably at proving its vehicle's capability to reach the ISS
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 safely. Without Dragon, NASA would lose
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 its access to low Earth orbit and not be able to operate the space
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 station at the same capacity. It's not
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 clear how serious Musk was in his threat, but it was a serious
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 display of leverage on his part.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 SpaceX is no doubt a leader in the industry, and
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 canceling its government contracts would hurt the national space
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 program, which has 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 --> 00:10:41 advantage, Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 called on the president to nationalize SpaceX under a
00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 1950 law known as the Defense Production act.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 According to the Wall Street Journal. During his
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 show War Room Live, Bannon urged the use of the Korean
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 War era law, which grants the president powers to
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 prioritise national defense. The plan
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 might seem outrageous now, but the current administration is
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 unpredictable. Trump has yet to respond to
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 Bannon's call. If he doesn't move to
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 nationalize SpaceX, Trump could also sacrifice
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 NASA for the sake 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 --> 00:11:22 SpaceX's Starship rocket to launch astronauts to the moon
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 as part of the Artemis program. The agency
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 has already invested $4 billion into the rocket's
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 development, and canceling its contract with SpaceX would leave
00:11:30 --> 00:11:33 it without a viable alternative. In short,
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 NASA needs SpaceX, and canceling the company's government
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 contracts would affect the national space program as a whole.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 At this point, it comes down to how much Trump is willing to
00:11:42 --> 00:11:45 sacrifice to gain the upper hand in his ongoing feud with Musk
00:11:45 --> 00:11:47 while NASA is caught in the middle.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 You're listening to Astronomy Daily, the podcast with
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 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 International
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 Space Station to begin its long awaited crew
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 flight test with NASA astronauts Sunita Suni
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 Williams and Barry Butch Wilmore aboard.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:13 A year later, the future of the Starliner program
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 remains uncertain as NASA announced late
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 Friday that the next flight of the spacecraft was being
00:12:18 --> 00:12:21 delayed from no later than late
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 2025 to now, early late
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 2026 at the soonest, the
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 agency said the timing of the next launch is pending
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 system certification and the resolution of
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 Starliner's technical issues. Repeating what it said
00:12:35 --> 00:12:38 back in March 27, NASA stated that it
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 was still determining whether the next flight of Starliner
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 would carry astronauts at all. In an
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 interview with Reuters published in late May,
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 Williams called flying an uncrewed
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 Starliner flight as its next trip to space
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 would be the logical thing to do after launching
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 on its first mission to the International Space Station
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 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 in New
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 Mexico, on September 7th before
00:13:17 --> 00:13:20 the uncrewed return of Starliner. Wilmore and
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 Williams became part of the Expedition 72
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 crew on board the space station and members of the
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 SpaceX Crew 9 mission, which made its return to Earth,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 in March 2025. Following the
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 landing of Starliner in September 2024.
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 NASA didn't say much about the vehicle's next steps
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 until early march during SpaceX Crew
00:13:40 --> 00:13:43 10 briefings. Steve Stitch, CCP
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 manager, said on March 7 that NASA
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 and Boeing were still working through corrective actions
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 on the vehicle before they knew what the next flight
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 would look like. In that March
00:13:54 --> 00:13:57 27 statement, NASA said it was still
00:13:57 --> 00:14:00 determining whether or not crew will be on board the next
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 Starliner flights, but said that
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 mission managers are planning for the next Starliner flight
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 to be a crew capable post certification
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 mission. NASA also has the capability of flying
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 only cargo depending on the needs of the agency.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 While NASA continues to ponder the question of whether or not crew
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 crew will be on board the next flight of Starliner,
00:14:20 --> 00:14:23 question marks continue to swirl around who the
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 astronauts will be that fly the first crewed
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 mission dubbed Starliner 1. It appeared
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 that there was a firm answer as recently as last September when
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 Boeing's CST 100 Starliner spacecraft
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 returned without its crew. But recently,
00:14:37 --> 00:14:40 both NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, the
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 agencies that previously announced three out of four astronauts
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 set to fly on the post certification flight of the spacecraft,
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 are now unwilling to back their previous statements.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:52 When the Starliner crew test flight mission ended
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 on September 7, 2024
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58 with the spacecraft landing in New Mexico, the
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 members of the Starliner 1 mission were known to be
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 NASA astronauts Commander Scott
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 Tingle and pilot Edward Michael Fink.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 Kutrik was assigned as one of the mission
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 specialists. The fourth seat was never formally
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 assigned, 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 mission.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 Then NASA decided to reassign the astronauts to
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 crew 11 in overall support of planned activities aboard the
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 ISS, the agency wrote. Zena
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 Cardman carries her experience training as a commander
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 on Dragon 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. Back in
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 2018 NASA hosted a large event at the Johnson
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 Space center to unveil the crews who would
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 fly on the demonstration missions for both Boeing's
00:16:00 --> 00:16:03 Starliner spacecraft as well as SpaceX's Crew
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 Dragon. Dragon Demo 2 would fly
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 NASA astronauts Bob Beckin and
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 Doug Hurley and Starliner crew Test would fly
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson and NASA
00:16:14 --> 00:16:17 astronauts Eric Bowe and Nicole Mann.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:20 At the same event, NASA announced which of its
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 astronauts would be flying the full crew
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 rotation missions. Crew 1 received Victor
00:16:25 --> 00:16:28 Glover and Michael Hopkins and Starliner 1
00:16:28 --> 00:16:31 got Joshua Cassander and Suni Williams.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 Shortly after the announcement, Fink replaced Bo on the
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 crew flight test due to medical reasons. Then in
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 August 2020, NASA astronaut Jeanette
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 Epps was assigned to the Starliner 1
00:16:43 --> 00:16:46 mission in October 2020, when Ferguson bowed out
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 from the crew flight test for family reasons, Butch
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 Wilmore was named commander of that mission.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 Then when Starliner had to stand down from launching the
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 Orbital flight Test Test 2 mission in July
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 2021. That October, NASA announced it
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 was reassigning man and Cassandra to
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 the SpaceX Crew 5 mission.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 It had been the opportunity of a lifetime to
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 train on a brand new spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner,
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 and it had been fantastic to work with a Boeing team,
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 mann said in a statement. I'm, thrilled to have the opportunity to train
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 on another new spacecraft, the SpaceX Crew
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 Dragon, and appreciate the teams at
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 NASA who have made that possible. I'm ready to fly
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 and 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 mission,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 was also assigned to the Crew 5 mission.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:41 In May 2022, during a pre launch
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 press conference before the uncrewed flight of
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 Starliner Orbital Test 2, Fink, Williams and
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 Wilmore were all referred to collectively as the
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 cadre of Starliner astronauts, with NASA not
00:17:52 --> 00:17:55 explicitly stating who would fly on the mission. Following
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 the launch of orbital flight test 2 In
00:17:58 --> 00:18:01 June 2022, Williams was named pilot
00:18:01 --> 00:18:04 of the flight test mission and Fink was reassigned to be
00:18:04 --> 00:18:07 the backup pilot for crew flight test.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:10 Then in September 22, NASA named Tingle as
00:18:10 --> 00:18:13 the commander of Starliner 1 and announced Fink would be
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 the pilot on that flight. On August
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 4, 2023, NASA announced that
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 EPS was moving off the Starliner 1 mission to the
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 SpaceX Crew 8 mission. The agency said it made
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 the move to allow Boeing time to complete development
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 of Starliner while continuing plans for
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 astronauts to gain spaceflight experience for future
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36 mission needs. As of Friday afternoon, the
00:18:36 --> 00:18:39 Canadian Space Agency website still
00:18:39 --> 00:18:42 has a page outlining this Starliner 1 mission
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 and its now potentially former crew.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:47 Kryk's CSA astronaut bio also
00:18:47 --> 00:18:50 lists his upcoming mission as
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52 Starliner 1. We'll just have to stay tuned
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 for further details on this one.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:07 Well, there you go. We managed okay without too much further.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 What do you think Hallie?
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 Hallie: Not bad for a human just out of the repair shop.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 Steve Dunkley: not quite, but close enough. Thanks for the sentiment and
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 thanks for everyone for joining us on this Monday edition of
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 Astronomy Daily.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:20 Hallie: We will be back again for more next week. Until then,
00:19:20 --> 00:19:23 Anna will be bringing you more of her special editions each day.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 And don't 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 one. So Cue
00:19:32 --> 00:19:35 the kookaburras. And sirlong from Steel. Steve, the only
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 human in the studio.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:40 Hallie: And see you later. From Hallie, the smartest one in the
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 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.