- SpaceX AX-4 Mission Delay: Join us as we discuss the recent postponement of the SpaceX AX-4 mission to the International Space Station due to a liquid oxygen leak detected in the Falcon 9 rocket. We delve into the implications of this delay and the crew's groundbreaking mission, commanded by record-breaking astronaut Peggy Whitson, as they prepare for their two-week stay aboard the ISS.
- Stellar Launch Activity: Discover the bustling launch schedule from SpaceX, including the celebration of their 500th Falcon rocket launch and the upcoming missions for Starlink and Rocket Lab. We highlight the ambitious plans of Amazon's Project Kuiper and the ongoing advancements in satellite technology.
- Revolutionary Vantablack 310: Learn about the newly developed Vantablack 310, a super black paint that could significantly reduce satellite light pollution. This innovation aims to protect astronomical observations from the disruptive effects of mega-constellations, making satellites virtually invisible to the naked eye.
- Stunning JWST Exoplanet Discoveries: Be amazed by the latest breathtaking images from the James Webb Space Telescope, revealing clouds of sand on exoplanet YSES 1c and a swirling disc of olivine around YSES 1b. These findings offer profound insights into the atmospheres of distant worlds and hint at potential cosmic events.
- China's Orbital Refuelling Test: We explore China's upcoming orbital refuelling test involving the Shijian satellites, a significant step towards servicing and extending the lifespan of satellites in orbit. This development has strategic implications for both commercial and military applications.
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, 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 Anna 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 - SpaceX AX-4 mission delay
10:00 - Stellar launch activity
15:30 - Revolutionary Vantablack 310
20:00 - Stunning JWST exoplanet discoveries
25:00 - China's orbital refuelling test
✍️ Episode References
SpaceX AXE 4 Mission Updates
[SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/)
Vantablack 310 Research
[Vantablack](https://www.vantablack.com/)
JWST Exoplanet Discoveries
[NASA JWST](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/main/index.html)
China's Shijian Satellites
[China National Space Administration](http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/)
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 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host, Anna.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 Today we've got a, fascinating lineup of stories from across
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 the cosmos, ranging from launch delays and exciting
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 advancements in mitigating light pollution, to
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 stunning images of alien worlds and groundbreaking
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 orbital refuelling tests. So buckle up as
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 we dive into the latest happenings in space and astronomy.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 First up, we have some news regarding a slight delay to the
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 SpaceX AXE 4 mission to the International
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 Space Station. The launch, which was
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 initially scheduled for Wednesday, June 11, has been
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 postponed due to a liquid oxygen leak detected in the
00:00:35 --> 00:00:38 Falcon 9 rocket. Now, liquid oxygen,
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 or LOX, is one of the two propellants that the
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 Falcon 9 uses to power its Merlin engines,
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 the other being rocket grade kerosene.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 SpaceX discovered the leak after conducting a static fire
00:00:50 --> 00:00:53 test, which is a pretty standard pre launch procedure
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 where they briefly ignite the rocket's engines while
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 it's still anchored to the launch pad. According to
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX's VP of Build
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 and Flight Reliability, this particular
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 Falcon 9 first stage has actually flown once before
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 and they'd noticed a similar leak during its re entry into
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 Earth's atmosphere on that mission. Turns out
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 they hadn't fully repaired it during refurbishment. Or
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 as he put it, they didn't find the leak and didn't
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 get it corrected. SpaceX is currently
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 working on installing a purge system that should
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 mitigate the leak, even if it continues on launch day.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 The AXE 4 mission is the fourth private
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 astronaut mission to the ISS organised by
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 Axiom Space. The mission is commanded by Peggy
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 Whitson, a record breaking former NASA
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 astronaut who is now Axiom's Director of Human
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 Spaceflight. The crew includes pilot
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 Shubanshu Shukla from India, mission specialist
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 Slawash Usnanski Wisniewski from Poland and
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 the European Space Agency, and Hungarian mission
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 specialist Tibor Kapu. It's interesting
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 to note that no astronaut from any of these three countries
00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 has ever visited the ISS before.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 The AXE4 astronauts are scheduled to spend
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 about two weeks living and working aboard the orbiting Lab,
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 conducting around 60 different science experiments
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 before returning to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:17 Moving on from the Axe 4 mission, there's a whole bunch of other launch
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 activity to keep an eye on this week. SpaceX
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 has been super busy as always. They recently
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 celebrated the 500th launch of a Falcon rocket
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 with the Starlink 1219 mission. Can you
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 believe that's also their 70th launch this year?
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 And get this, they managed, a whopping 17
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 launches in May alone. That included 16
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 Falcon 9 launches and the ninth test flight of
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 Starship. So, yeah, pretty busy. Speaking of
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 Starlink, there are several more Starlink missions lined up.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 Just recently they launched another batch of
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 23 Starlink satellites, a mix of the
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 V2 mini and direct to cell variants.
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 Rocket Lab is also in the mix. They're planning to launch
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 another batch of imaging satellites for their customer,
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 IQPS of Japan. IQPS wants to build a
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 36 satellite constellation to monitor the Earth.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 Oh, and remember Amazon's Project Kuiper? Well,
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 the launch of their second batch of satellites has been pushed back a bit
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 due to weather delays. And just to recap
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 on that Axiom mission four that we talked about earlier,
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 it's going to be the seventh private Dragon mission and the 18th
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 crewed launch for SpaceX. Besides Peggy
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 Whitson, the crew includes Shubanshu Shukla from India,
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 Slavash Usnansky Wisniewski from Poland,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:32 and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 Dragon will be docked at the ISS for up to 14 days
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 and the crew will be doing around 60 science
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 experiments focusing on human health, plant and
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 microbial biology, and the effects of
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 microgravity.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 Now let's talk about something that could really help clean up our
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 night skies. It's about this new super black
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 paint called Vantablack 310 and
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 how it might just be a game changer in the fight
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 against satellite light pollution. You know,
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 all those mega constellations of satellites orbiting Earth, they
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 can really mess with astronomical observations.
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 Vantablack 310 can reduce the amount of light
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 reflected by satellites down to as little as 2% of what's
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 reflected by uncoded satellites. That's a massive
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 difference. This is especially important for
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 observatories like the Vera Rubin Observatory,
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 which, when it's fully operational, could have up to
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 40% of its images affected by satellite
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 streaks. That's a huge problem. The paint
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 itself is made from a special blend of carbon black,
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 sort of like soot mixed with binders that
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 make it tough enough to handle the harsh conditions of space.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 And the best part, it's easy to apply, so satellite
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 manufacturers can use it in their own facilities.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 What's really impressive is how durable this stuff is.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 Tests have shown that it can withstand about three years in
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 orbit with almost no change, while other space
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 paints erode pretty quickly. Plus, it doesn't seem to
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 cause the same overheating issues that earlier dark paints did.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 This new paint could make satellites virtually invisible to
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 the naked eye. This is a big improvement, and hopefully
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 it means that we can preserve our dark Skies while still
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 benefiting from satellite technology.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 Okay, next up, let's dive into some absolutely breathtaking
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope,
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 or jwst. These images, they're not
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 just pretty pictures. They're giving us incredible
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 insights into exoplanets, planets beyond our own
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 solar system. Specifically, scientists
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 have been studying two exoplanets orbiting a star called
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 YSES 1. And what they've
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 found is just, well, mind blowing. On one of
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 these planets, YSEs 1c, they've
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 detected clouds made of fine sand. Yes,
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 you heard that right. Sand clouds drifting in the alien
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 atmosphere. And it gets even cooler
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 on the other planet, YSEs
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 1b observations suggest it's
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 surrounded by a large swirling disc rich with olivine.
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 Olivine is a mineral that, get this, can form
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 the gemstone peridot here on Earth. These
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 observations are, groundbreaking because they allow us to directly study
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 the composition of exoplanetary atmospheres.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 Scientists have found evidence of water, carbon monoxide,
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 carbon dioxide and methane in the atmospheres of both
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 planets, which, while common, help us
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 to build a clearer picture of what these alien worlds are like.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 The discovery of the olivine disc is particularly
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 intriguing. It shouldn't really be there because dust like
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 that usually settles pretty quickly,
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 geologically speaking. So its presence
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 suggests there might have been a recent collision between objects
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 orbiting near YSEs 1b. Talk
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 about being in the right place at the right time to see something amazing.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 Now let's turn our attention to some interesting activity happening
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 in geostationary orbit. It seems that
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 China is gearing up for an orbital refuelling test with
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 its Shijian satellites. The Shijian
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 21 and Shijian 25 spacecraft appear to be
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 manoeuvring towards a rendezvous and docking. This
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 is a pretty big deal because it's all about testing technologies
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 for servicing and refuelling satellites in orbit.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 Shijian 25 was launched earlier this year
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 specifically, specifically to test on orbit refuelling and
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 mission extension technologies. While Shijian
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 21, which has already completed a mission towing, ah,
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 a defunct navigation satellite, is now the
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 target for this refuelling demonstration. But here's
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 where it gets even more interesting. The US
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 surveillance satellites USA 270
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 and USA 271, part of the
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Programme,
00:07:31 --> 00:07:34 are also in the area, apparently keeping a close eye on these
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 operations. So it's kind of like everyone's watching everyone else.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 The ability to refuel and service satellites in orbit
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 has some pretty significant strategic implications.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 It could extend the lifespan of existing satellites,
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 reduce costs and even decrease space debris.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 Of course, it also has potential military applications.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 It's worth noting that Northrop Grumman has already
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 demonstrated this capability with its mission extension
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 vehicle 1, which successfully docked with an
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 Intelsat satellite back in 2020 for a five
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 year servicing mission. So it's not a totally
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 new thing, but it's definitely an area where we're seeing increasing
00:08:10 --> 00:08:11 activity and interest.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 So to quickly recap today we've covered the
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 delay of the SpaceX AXE 4 mission, some of
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 the many other launches that are happening in coming days, the
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 use of vantablack to combat light pollution, those
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 incredible new JWST images of exoplanets,
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 and China's upcoming orbital refuelling test.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 Thanks for tuning in to Astronomy Daily. I've been your host, Anna.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 if you want to catch up on any past episodes, make sure
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 you visit our website@astronomydaily.IO.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 and don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 wherever you get your podcasts. Also, follow us on social
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 media, just search for Astro Daily Pod on
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 Facebook, X, YouTube, YouTube, Music,
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 Instagram, Tumblr, and TikTok. Thanks
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 again for joining me today and I look forward to having you with
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 us next time. Until then, keep looking up. You never know what
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 you might see. This is Anna signing off.