**Full show notes:**
Today's episode — S05E169, Monday August 17, 2026:
**Main story: NASA funds spherical "Aerobots" to explore Titan's caves.** A NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase 1 grant is backing SPARK (Solid-state Propulsion for Autonomous Reconnaissance of Karst) — small, propeller-free spherical robots using electrohydrodynamic (EHD) thrusters, led by Daniel Drew (University of Hawaii) with JPL's Ethan Schaler and Jacob Izraelevitz and Michael Malaska (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science). The concept targets Titan's karst terrain — sinkholes and caves carved by liquid methane and ethane rather than water — as a candidate site for astrobiology research. Phase 1 covers nine months; a Phase 2 award could follow. No confirmed mission link yet, though NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft is headed to Titan around 2028.
**SpaceX sets a new launch-turnaround record.** Two Falcon 9 missions launched 38 minutes apart on August 15 — a Globalstar satellite mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9:12 p.m. ET, and the classified USSF-366 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:50 p.m. ET — beating SpaceX's previous 65-minute record from August 2024. Both boosters landed successfully (14th and 18th flights respectively). 2026 tally: 96 Falcon 9 launches so far.
**Rocket Lab wins $397 million Space Force contract for "Flatellites."** The flat-panel satellites will support the SB-AMTI (Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator) program and launch stacked aboard Rocket Lab's still-undebuted Neutron rocket. It's Rocket Lab's largest defense contract to date, bringing 2026 government contract funding to $943 million.
**Geomagnetic storm expected today.** A double CME plus a high-speed solar wind stream is forecast to bring G1–G2 level geomagnetic storming, with the main impact expected later today. Aurora is possible at high latitudes — potentially Scotland, northern England, Northern Ireland, Alaska, Canada, and the northern US, plus southern New Zealand and Tasmania in the Southern Hemisphere. Comes amid an active stretch for the Sun, including 14 C-class flares from sunspot region AR4507 over August 15–16.
**Links & sources:**
- [Space.com — NASA funds spherical 'Aerobots' for Titan's caves](https://www.space.com/technology/nasa-funds-spherical-aerobots-that-could-explore-the-caves-of-saturns-moon-titan)
- [JPL Robotics — Titan Aerobots](https://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/what-we-do/research-tasks/titan-aerobots/)
- [JPL — Shapeshifter concept for Saturn's moons (background)](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-designing-shapeshifting-robots-for-saturns-moons/)
- [Space.com — SpaceX breaks launch doubleheader record](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-breaks-record-launch-doubleheader-ussf-366-globalstar-2r)
- [Spaceflight Now — Globalstar/USSF-366 launch coverage](https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/08/15/live-coverage-spacex-to-launch-satellite-replenishment-mission-for-globalstar-from-cape-canaveral/)
- [Space.com — Rocket Lab's $397M Flatellites contract](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/us-space-force-gives-rocket-lab-usd397-million-to-build-threat-tracking-flatellites)
- [Rocket Lab — Flatellites contract announcement](https://rocketlabcorp.com/updates/rocket-lab-awarded-397-million-contract-to-build-and-launch-flatellites-for-u-s-space-forces-space-based-airborne-moving-target-indicator-program/)
- [ummid.com — Geomagnetic storm set to hit Earth Monday Aug 17](https://www.ummid.com/news/2026/8/16/what-is-geomagnetic-storm-set-to-hit-earth-monday-aug-17.html)
- [EarthSky — Sun news / solar flare, CME, aurora updates](https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-news-activity-solar-flare-cme-aurora-updates/)
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to Astronomy
00:00:03 --> 00:00:04 AstroDailyPod. I'm Anna.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 Avery: And I'm Avery. And Anna, uh, I feel like we
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 need to issue a weather warning today. A
00:00:10 --> 00:00:11 space weather warning.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 Anna: Very on brand for us. It's Monday,
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 August 17th, series five, episode
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 169. And yes, there is genuinely
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 a solar storm rolling in as we speak, though.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:24 Uh, we'll get to that.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 Avery: We will. But first, our main storey today
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 is one of my favourites in a while. NASA just
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 funded a concept for little spherical robots
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 to go exploring the caves
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 Anna: of Titan, which sounds like science fiction
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 and is, in fact, just science.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 Avery: Just science. Then we've got SpaceX
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 quietly breaking its own launch record twice
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 in one night, 38 minutes apart.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 Rocket Lab picking up its biggest defence
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 contract yet for something called flat
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 alights, which is a genuinely fun word to
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 say. And then we'll close out with that solar
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 storm, because depending on where you live,
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 you might want to look up
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 Anna: tonight, a very Monday lineup. Let's get
00:01:03 --> 00:01:03 into it.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 Avery: Okay, so start us off. What exactly did
00:01:06 --> 00:01:07 NASA fund here?
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 Anna: So this is a, uh, NASA Innovative Advanced
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 Concepts Grant, NIAC for short. That's
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 NASA's Programme for Funding the genuinely
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 weird early stage. This might not work, but
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 if it does, it's a game changer. Ideas. And
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 the one that just got a phase one grant is
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 called sparc, which stands for Solid State
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 Propulsion for Autonomous Reconnaissance of
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 Karst. Karst being
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 Karst is the geology term for terrain
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 shaped by dissolving rock on Earth. That's
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 usually limestone, and it's what gives you
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 sinkholes, underground rivers, cave systems,
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 all of that. Titan, Saturn's biggest
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 moon, has its own version, except instead of
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 water carving through limestone, it's liquid
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 methane and ethane carving through water ice,
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 which behaves like rock at Titan's
00:01:56 --> 00:01:56 temperatures.
00:01:57 --> 00:01:59 Avery: Right, because it's what, minus
00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 179 degrees Celsius out there?
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 Anna: Roughly, yeah. Properly cryogenic.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 So Titan's got these liquid methane lakes and
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 rivers on the surface, and scientists think
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 underneath there's a whole hidden landscape
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 of sinkholes and caves, the same way you'd
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 get in, say, Kentucky or Slovenia, just
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 running on an entirely different chemistry.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 Avery: Um, and that's the terrain a normal rover
00:02:23 --> 00:02:24 just can't deal with.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 Anna: Exactly. You can't drive a wheeled rover into
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 a cave mouth or over a sinkhole edge. And
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 flying a fixed rotorcraft in there is its own
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 nightmare of collision risk. So the team
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 behind sparc, led by Daniel Drew, an
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 assistant professor at the University of
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 Hawaii, working with Ethan Schaller and Jacob
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 Israelovitz at JPL and Michael
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 Molaska at the Blue Marble Space Institute of
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 Science came up with something different.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 Small spherical robots that basically fly
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 themselves through the terrain using electric
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 propulsion. No propellers, no moving parts to
00:02:59 --> 00:02:59 break.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 Avery: No moving parts. So how do they actually
00:03:02 --> 00:03:02 move?
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 Anna: This is the clever bit. It's called
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 electrohydrodynamic propulsion, or
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 ehd. It's a solid state electric
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 thruster, similar in principle to the ion
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 windlifters people have been experimenting
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 with here on Earth for years. Except this
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 team is adapting it for Titan's specific
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 atmosphere. Drew's own description of the
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 advantage is basically the whole pitch. He
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 says the design gives you persistence,
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 manoeuvrability, robustness to the
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 challenging near cryogenic conditions, and
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 minimises downwash disturbance of, uh,
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 scientifically important hydrocarbon
00:03:38 --> 00:03:39 layering.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 Avery: Break that last bit down for me. Downwash
00:03:42 --> 00:03:43 disturbance.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 Anna: So if you fly a normal propeller drone into
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 one of these caves, the propwash, the air
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 it's pushing down and around would stir up
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 and disturb the very hydrocarbon layers on
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 the ground that scientists want to study
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 undisturbed. A solid state thruster
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 barely moves the surrounding atmosphere in
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 the same way, so it can hover and inspect a
00:04:04 --> 00:04:05 site without messing up the science.
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 Avery: That's such a specific, very tightened
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 problem to have to design around.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 Anna: It really is. And it's a good reminder that
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 Titan is nothing like Mars M with the Moon.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 In terms of engineering constraints, it
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 actually works in the aerobots favour in one
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 big way, though. Titan's atmosphere is denser
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 than Earth's at the surface and gravity is
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 only about a seventh of Earth's. So flying
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 there is weirdly easier than flying
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 here. You get more lift for less power.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 Avery: So it's almost the perfect place to fly a
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 fleet of tiny spherical drones. Other than
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 the fact that it's over a billion kilometres
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 kilometres away and colder than anywhere on
00:04:45 --> 00:04:46 Earth has ever been.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 Anna: Just a few small logistical issues.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 But it's not the first time JPL's circled
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 this exact problem either. There was an
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 earlier concept called shapeshifter
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 cobots that could roll as a sphere, fly
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 independently, link into daisy chains to
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 descend into caves, or reconfigure into
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 a swimming probe for the lakes. That one
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 dates back to around 2019, led by
00:05:11 --> 00:05:14 JPL's Ali Aga, and it never
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 fl but it shows. This has been a recurring
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 puzzle for mission planners. How do you
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 actually get eyes into Titan's caves
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 and under its lake surfaces?
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 Avery: So SPARC is sort of the next generation
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 attempt at solving the same problem, right?
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 Anna: A ah, more focused, more mature approach to a
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 piece of that puzzle. And in terms of where
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 this sits right now, this is a NIAC Phase
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 1 award, which is nine months of funding to
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 mature the concept and prove out the physics.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 If it clears that bar, it can apply for a two
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 year phase two grant. This is very early
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 stage. We're talking design studies and lab
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 testing, not hardware headed to the launch
00:05:53 --> 00:05:53 pad.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 Avery: Is there any actual mission this could hook
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 into or is it purely conceptual?
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 Anna: For now, the obvious one people are asking
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 about is Dragonfly. That's NASA's
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 rotorcraft lander that's actually built and
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 funded targeting a Titan launch around
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 2028. Drew's been fairly
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 upfront that integration with Dragonfly
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 specifically isn't confirmed. This is really
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 a technology maturation project first
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 looking for a ride on whatever future Titan
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 mission makes sense, which could be an add on
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 to Dragonfly or something entirely separate
00:06:26 --> 00:06:27 down the line.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 Avery: Why does any of this matter? Beyond tiny
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 robot spheres are cool though, like
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 scientifically. What's actually at stake in
00:06:34 --> 00:06:35 those caves?
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 Anna: A few things. One basic geology.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 Understanding how karst terrain forms in an
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 entirely different chemical system tells us a
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 lot about how erosion and landscape evolution
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 work in general, not just on Titan
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 2. And this is the bigger one. Titan's
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 subsurface, especially anywhere liquid
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 water might mix with those organic
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 hydrocarbons, is one of the more interesting
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 astrobiology targets in the solar system.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 It's not Europa or Enceladus with their
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 subsurface oceans, but Titan has its
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 own complex organic chemistry happening on
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 the surface and possibly just beneath it.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 And caves are exactly the kind of sheltered,
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 chemically rich environment where you'd want
00:07:19 --> 00:07:19 to look closely.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 Avery: Tiny spherical robots floating into
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 alien sinkholes, hunting for the building
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 blocks of life. When you put it that way,
00:07:27 --> 00:07:28 it's, uh, a pretty great pitch for nine
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 months of NIAC funding.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 Anna: It really is. And this is exactly the kind of
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 storey I love bringing you because 90%
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 of these NIAC Phase 1 concepts never
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 fly. But the ones that do reshape
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 entire mission architectures years later.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 Worth keeping an eye on SPARC as it moves
00:07:46 --> 00:07:46 through a view.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 Avery: Okay, moving on from tiny robots on
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 Titan to something happening a lot closer to
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 home. SpaceX broke its own turnaround record
00:07:55 --> 00:07:56 this weekend.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 Anna: Twice in one night, and not by a little.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 Avery: So Saturday night, August 15th, SpaceX
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 launched two separate Falcon 9 missions from
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 opposite coasts just 38 minutes apart.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 First one lifted off at 9:12pm, um, eastern
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 from Cape Canaveral's Space Force Station in
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 Florida, carrying eight Global Star
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 telecommunications satellites deployed over
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 about a six minute span. Then at
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 9:50pm Eastern. So barely more than half
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 an hour later, A second Falcon 9 went up from
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 Vandenberg Space Force Base in California,
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 carrying a classified U.S. space Force
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 mission called USSF 366.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 Anna: Classified as in we don't fully know what's
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 on it.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 Avery: Right. Though the reporting suggests it's
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 likely built on the Starshield platform.
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 That's SpaceX's national security variant of
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 Starlink. But the headline here isn't really
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 the payloads, it's the timing. 38
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 minutes between liftoffs from two different
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 coasts beat SpaceX's own previous record
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 of 65 minutes, which was set back in August
00:08:59 --> 00:08:59 2024.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 Anna: So they shaved 27 minutes off their
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 Avery: own record, which doesn't sound like much
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 until you think about what has to happen in
00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 that window. Different pads, different
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 states, different mission control teams,
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 weather, range, safety clearances, all of
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 it lining up almost simultaneously.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 Anna: And both boosters landed successfully too,
00:09:20 --> 00:09:20 right?
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 Avery: Both stuck the landing. The Global Star
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 Booster completed its 14th flight and the
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 USSF 366 booster landed on the drone
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 ship. Of Course I Still Love youe Out in the
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 Pacific. That one was on its 18th flight.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 Anna: 18 flights on a single booster is
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 wild to say out loud. And now it's just
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 Tuesday. Well, Saturday.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 Avery: Just another day at the office for Falcon 9.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 And that's really the bigger storey
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 underneath the record. This pushes SpaceX's
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 2026 tally to 96 Falcon
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 9 launches so far this year, with
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 roughly three quarters of those dedicated to
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 building out the Starlink constellation.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 Anna: 96 launches and we're not even through
00:10:02 --> 00:10:02 August.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 Avery: At, uh, that pace, they're on track to
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 comfortably beat last year's total. It's
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 honestly gone to the point where a single
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 Falcon 9 launch barely makes news anymore.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 It takes something like 2 and 38 minutes from
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 opposite coasts to actually stand
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 Anna: out, which says a lot about how normalised
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 orbital class rocket launches have become in
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 the space of about a decade.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 Avery: It really does. We'll keep watching to see
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 how long that 38 minute record holds, because
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 at, uh, this cadence, I wouldn't bet on it
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 lasting past the end of the year.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 Anna: Speaking of defence contracts and companies
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 racing to build out Constellations, Rocket
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 Lab just landed its biggest one yet.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 Avery: I need everyone to appreciate that name for a
00:10:43 --> 00:10:43 second.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 Anna: It's a great name. So this is a
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 $397 million contract from
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 the US Space Force awarded earlier this month
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 for Rocket Lab to build and launch a batch of
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 satellites called Flat Alights. Flat
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 Panel Satellites, hence the name for a
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 programme called SBAMTI M
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 Space based Airborne Moving Target
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 Indicator.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 Avery: Which is exactly what it sounds like tracking
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 moving airborne threats from space.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 Anna: Right. It's about building a space based
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 sensing layer that can watch contested
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 airspace in near real time. Rocket Lab
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 CEO Peter Beck put it this way. He said
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 we are proud to contribute to the deployment
00:11:23 --> 00:11:26 of a resilient space based sensing layer
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 that will enhance the Joint Force's ability
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 to operate in contested airspace.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 Avery: And um, the flat design is the interesting
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 engineering choice here is flat
00:11:36 --> 00:11:36 panel
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 Anna: satellites stack far more efficiently inside
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 a rocket fairing than traditional boxy
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 satellite designs. So you can pack a lot more
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 of them per launch. It's the same basic logic
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 SpaceX used when it redesigned Starlink into
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 a flat pack form factor. Each flat
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 alight is also fitted with low latency high
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 bandwidth communications alongside its threat
00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 detection sensors. So the whole constellation
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 can talk to itself and to the ground quickly.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:06 Avery: Um, and these are flying on Neutron Rocket
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 Lab's new rocket, the one we were just
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 talking about on Thursday's episode that's
00:12:10 --> 00:12:13 still hedging on a 2026 debut.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:16 Anna: Exactly the same Neutron. So there's a
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 nice bit of continuity here. The rocket
00:12:18 --> 00:12:21 itself still doesn't have a confirmed first
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 flight date, but customers keep signing up to
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 fly on it anyway, stacked in a Starlink
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 style configuration once it does get off the
00:12:29 --> 00:12:29 ground.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 Avery: That's either a huge vote of confidence or a
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 slightly nerve wracking amount of manifests
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 riding on a rocket that hasn't flown yet.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 Anna: A bit of both, honestly. But it does make
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 sense in context. This is Rocket Lab's
00:12:42 --> 00:12:45 largest defence contract to date, and it's
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 not their only one this year. Add up the
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 other government contracts they've announced
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 in 2026. 190 million,
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 90 million and $266
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 million. And combined with this deal of
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 397 million, that's
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 $943 million in defence
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 funding secured this year alone.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 Avery: Just shy of a billion dollars all in
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 2026.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 Anna: Which tells you Rocket Lab's strategy of
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 leaning hard into national security work
00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 alongside Electron's commercial track record
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 is really paying off. It's positioning them
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 as a legitimate second option to the primes
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 in this space, not just a smaller player
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 nipping at SpaceX's heels.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 Avery: Reputation and revenue building up nicely
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 while Neutron itself is still on the ground.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 We'll see if that first flight finally
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 happens before the manifest gets too long to
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 wait for.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 Okay, last storey for today and this one's
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 genuinely live. As we're recording, there's a
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 geomagnetic Storm expected to hit Earth
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 today, August 17th.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 Anna: This is the space weather warning I teased at
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 the top.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 Avery: It is. So the setup is a double coronal
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 mass ejection, 2 CMEs combined with the high
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 speed solar windstream all heading our way.
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 Forecasters including the British Geological
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 survey are predicting G1 to G2 level
00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 geomagnetic storming. So minor to
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 moderate on the scale that runs up to G5.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 Anna: And the timing, when's this actually supposed
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 to arrive?
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 Avery: The geomagnetic background's already been a
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 bit unsettled since yesterday the 16th. But
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 the main impact is expected in the second
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 half of today as the bulk of that solar
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 material reaches Earth.
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 Anna: So basically tonight, depending on your time
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 Avery: zone, basically tonight, and the fun part for
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 listeners is the aurora. Potential
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 forecasters are calling for possible displays
00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 at high latitudes based on similar recent
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 storms this season. Uh, that's put places
00:14:38 --> 00:14:41 like Scotland, Northern England, Northern
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 Ireland, Alaska, Canada and the
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 northern tier of the U.S. from Washington
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 state to Maine in the potential viewing zone.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 And in the Southern hemisphere, keep an eye
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 out if you're in southern New Zealand or
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 Tasmania.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 Anna: Solid excuse to step outside tonight if
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 you're anywhere in that band.
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 Avery: Definitely worth a look. This is coming off a
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 pretty active stretch from the sun generally
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 one active region in particular. Sunspot
00:15:05 --> 00:15:08 AR4507 fired off
00:15:08 --> 00:15:11 at least 10 C class flares in a single
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 24 hour window between the 15th and
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 16th including the strongest one, a uh,
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 C3.7 right around
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 3:31 UTC on the 16th.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 Anna: O M, M or X class flares in that batch.
00:15:24 --> 00:15:27 So nothing extreme but a genuinely busy sun
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 which tracks.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 Avery: We're in an active phase of the current 11
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 year solar cycle and there's been a steady
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 run of filament eruptions, flares and Earth
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 directed CMEs over the past few months. This
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 is very much part of that pattern, not uh, a
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 one off.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 Anna: I did see one slightly funny detail
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 in the coverage Space weather experts
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 advising that people who are sensitive to
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 weather changes or who have cardiovascular
00:15:51 --> 00:15:54 conditions might want to keep stress low,
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 stay hydrated and go easy on caffeine and
00:15:57 --> 00:15:57 alcohol
00:15:57 --> 00:16:00 Avery: during the storm, which is genuinely sound
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 advice regardless of what the sun's doing.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 But sure, blame uh, it on the cme.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 Anna: Also worth flagging. Forecast models don't
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 fully agree yet on exact timing, so
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 this could still arrive a little later or
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 even end up being more of a glancing blow
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 than a direct hit. Space weather forecasting
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 is still much fuzzier than the terrestrial
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 kind, so no guarantees,
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 Avery: but if you're in the right latitude band and
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 the sky's clear tonight. It's worth stepping
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 outside and looking up,
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 Anna: which is basically our whole show in one
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 sentence.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 Alright, that's our four storeys for today.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 Quick recap. NASA's funded an early stage
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 concept called Sparc. Spherical propeller
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 free aerobots that one day fly into the
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 methane carved caves of Titan.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 SpaceX broke its own launch turnaround record
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 with two Falcon 9 missions just 38
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 minutes apart from opposite coasts, Rocket
00:16:54 --> 00:16:57 Lab landed a $397 million
00:16:57 --> 00:17:00 Space Force contract to build flat satellites
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 for airborne threat tracking. And there's a
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 geomagnetic storm arriving today that could
00:17:05 --> 00:17:08 bring Aurora to parts of the northern and
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 southern high latitudes tonight.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 Avery: If you enjoyed today's episode, the best
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 thing you can do for us is leave a rating or
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 review wherever you're listening and share
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 the episode with a fellow space nerd. You can
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 find full show notes, sources and links for
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 every storey we covered today at
00:17:22 --> 00:17:25 astronomydaily IO and find us on social
00:17:25 --> 00:17:28 media. We're AstroDaily Pod pretty
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 much everywhere.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 Anna: We'll be back tomorrow with another episode.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 Until then, keep looking up. Tonight
00:17:34 --> 00:17:34 especially.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 Avery: See you next then. Um, clear skies.