Firefly's Setback, SpaceX's Competitive Edge, and Europe's Mini Starship Vision

WEBVTT

0
00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:02.600
Avery: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, the

1
00:00:02.600 --> 00:00:04.680
podcast that brings you the latest news from

2
00:00:04.680 --> 00:00:07.120
the final frontier. I'm your host, Avery.

3
00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:09.440
Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to have you with us.

4
00:00:09.600 --> 00:00:11.680
We have four great stories for you today,

5
00:00:11.760 --> 00:00:13.800
covering everything from engineering

6
00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.560
challenges right here on Earth to the slow

7
00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:18.560
cosmic, uh, dance of our solar system.

8
00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.040
Avery: That's right. We'll be talking about a

9
00:00:21.040 --> 00:00:24.040
significant setback for Firefly Aerospace as

10
00:00:24.040 --> 00:00:26.320
they work to get their Alpha rocket back on

11
00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:27.120
the launch pad.

12
00:00:27.520 --> 00:00:29.760
Anna: Then we'll look at an incredibly busy week

13
00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:31.680
for launches around the world, including

14
00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:34.580
SpaceX launching satellites for a major

15
00:00:34.580 --> 00:00:35.180
competitor.

16
00:00:35.420 --> 00:00:37.700
Avery: We'll also dive into Europe's ambitious new

17
00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:40.460
plans to develop a reusable rocket that's

18
00:00:40.460 --> 00:00:42.460
already being called a mini starship.

19
00:00:42.620 --> 00:00:45.180
Anna: And finally, we'll explore a new study

20
00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:47.980
that reveals our solar system's asteroid

21
00:00:47.980 --> 00:00:50.620
belt is slowly but surely disappearing.

22
00:00:50.860 --> 00:00:53.100
Avery: It's a lot to cover, so let's get started.

23
00:00:53.820 --> 00:00:56.260
Anna: Alright, Avery, let's begin with some

24
00:00:56.260 --> 00:00:59.100
challenging news for Firefly Aerospace. It

25
00:00:59.100 --> 00:01:01.380
seems their path back to flight has hit

26
00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:02.460
another obstacle.

27
00:01:02.820 --> 00:01:04.700
Avery: That's right, Anna. During a recent ground

28
00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:07.140
test in Texas, the company experienced an

29
00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:09.620
anomaly and unfortunately lost the first

30
00:01:09.620 --> 00:01:11.940
stage booster intended for its next mission,

31
00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:13.780
dubbed Alpha Flight 7.

32
00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:16.980
Anna: This is especially tough news considering it

33
00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:18.980
follows a launch hiatus for the company.

34
00:01:19.380 --> 00:01:21.860
Their last flight, Alpha Flight 6, back in

35
00:01:21.860 --> 00:01:24.660
April, also suffered an in flight anomaly.

36
00:01:24.820 --> 00:01:27.500
Avery: Exactly. The investigation into that flight

37
00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:29.620
pointed to something called plume induced

38
00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:32.380
flow separation, which is a complex

39
00:01:32.380 --> 00:01:34.960
aerodynamic issue where the roc its own

40
00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:37.640
exhaust interferes with its flight. The

41
00:01:37.640 --> 00:01:39.320
company had seemed quite optimistic about

42
00:01:39.320 --> 00:01:41.480
fixing the issue and getting back to a

43
00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:43.920
regular launch schedule. This latest incident

44
00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:45.280
is a definite setback.

45
00:01:45.520 --> 00:01:47.920
Anna: It really underscores the immense challenges

46
00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:50.719
of rocketry. Even ground testing, which is

47
00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:53.520
meant to prevent in flight failures, carries

48
00:01:53.520 --> 00:01:56.040
its own risks. How does this fit into

49
00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:57.920
Firefly's overall track record?

50
00:01:58.320 --> 00:02:00.680
Avery: Well, it's been a mixed bag. They've had

51
00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:02.600
successful missions and have secured some

52
00:02:02.600 --> 00:02:05.400
major contracts, including with NASA. But

53
00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:07.180
they've also faced their share of development

54
00:02:07.260 --> 00:02:10.140
hurdles. What this shows, though, is their

55
00:02:10.140 --> 00:02:12.460
resilience. They are investigating the cause

56
00:02:12.460 --> 00:02:14.620
and have other boosters in production.

57
00:02:15.180 --> 00:02:17.820
Anna: They do. For instance, they have a mission

58
00:02:17.820 --> 00:02:19.780
lined up for the National Reconnaissance

59
00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:22.060
Office. Launching sensitive government

60
00:02:22.140 --> 00:02:25.140
payloads requires an extremely high degree of

61
00:02:25.140 --> 00:02:27.780
reliability. So this setback will certainly

62
00:02:27.780 --> 00:02:29.820
be scrutinized closely by their government

63
00:02:29.820 --> 00:02:30.300
partners.

64
00:02:30.700 --> 00:02:33.140
Avery: I'm sure it will be. It looked like a pretty

65
00:02:33.140 --> 00:02:34.780
dramatic event in the photos published

66
00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:35.100
online.

67
00:02:35.900 --> 00:02:37.760
Anna: M and they're not just working on the Alpha

68
00:02:37.760 --> 00:02:40.000
rocket, are they? They have bigger plans.

69
00:02:40.160 --> 00:02:42.000
Avery: Correct. They're also developing a much

70
00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.600
larger rocket called Eclipse. So while this

71
00:02:44.600 --> 00:02:46.640
is a frustrating loss for the Alpha program,

72
00:02:47.040 --> 00:02:48.880
the company's still pushing forward on

73
00:02:48.880 --> 00:02:51.280
multiple fronts. We'll be watching closely to

74
00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:54.000
see how they bounce back now. While one

75
00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:56.520
company faced a setback, the rest of the

76
00:02:56.520 --> 00:02:58.480
world seemed to be racing to the launch pads.

77
00:02:58.640 --> 00:03:01.600
It's an incredibly busy week for spaceflight.

78
00:03:02.030 --> 00:03:04.750
Anna: It certainly is. And leading the charge as

79
00:03:04.750 --> 00:03:07.670
usual, is SpaceX. They have up to three

80
00:03:07.670 --> 00:03:10.030
launches scheduled in a very short span.

81
00:03:10.350 --> 00:03:12.430
Avery: Two of those are for their own Starlink

82
00:03:12.430 --> 00:03:14.830
satellite Internet Constellation, which is

83
00:03:14.830 --> 00:03:17.110
pretty standard for them now. But the third

84
00:03:17.110 --> 00:03:20.070
one really caught my eye. It's a launch for

85
00:03:20.070 --> 00:03:21.790
Amazon's Project Cooper.

86
00:03:21.790 --> 00:03:24.190
Anna: On Friday that is fascinating.

87
00:03:24.590 --> 00:03:26.950
For those who don't know, Project Cooper is

88
00:03:26.950 --> 00:03:29.550
Amazon's direct competitor to Starlink.

89
00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:32.280
So you have SpaceX, the industry leader in

90
00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:34.640
launch services, flying satellites for the

91
00:03:34.640 --> 00:03:36.760
very company trying to compete with its

92
00:03:36.760 --> 00:03:37.880
satellite Internet service.

93
00:03:38.200 --> 00:03:40.320
Avery: It's a perfect illustration of the current

94
00:03:40.320 --> 00:03:43.160
state of the launch market. SpaceX's Falcon 9

95
00:03:43.160 --> 00:03:45.600
is so reliable and available that even its

96
00:03:45.600 --> 00:03:48.240
rivals have to use it. It's a testament to

97
00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:49.560
their operational dominance.

98
00:03:49.720 --> 00:03:52.200
Anna: And the activity wasn't just in the us.

99
00:03:52.920 --> 00:03:54.920
China also hit a significant

100
00:03:55.320 --> 00:03:56.520
milestone this week.

101
00:03:57.040 --> 00:03:59.600
Avery: They did. They celebrated the 100th

102
00:03:59.600 --> 00:04:01.880
successful launch of their Changzhang 2D

103
00:04:01.880 --> 00:04:04.640
rocket, also known as the Long March 2D.

104
00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:07.160
It's a real workhorse for their space

105
00:04:07.160 --> 00:04:09.760
program, having been in service for decades.

106
00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:12.800
Reaching 100 launches is a huge achievement

107
00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:14.160
for any rocket family.

108
00:04:14.480 --> 00:04:17.200
Anna: And rounding out the busy week is Rocket Lab,

109
00:04:17.200 --> 00:04:20.000
which is scheduled to launch its second Haste

110
00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.920
mission. Haste is a modified version of

111
00:04:22.920 --> 00:04:24.640
their electron rocket, isn't it?

112
00:04:24.960 --> 00:04:27.600
Avery: That's right. HEATH stands for Hypersonic

113
00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:30.320
Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron.

114
00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:33.160
It's designed for flying hypersonic research

115
00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:35.800
payloads. So in one week you have

116
00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:38.480
commercial competition, national milestones

117
00:04:38.640 --> 00:04:41.480
and cutting edge military research all

118
00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:44.160
taking to the skies. It really shows the

119
00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:46.520
diverse and global nature of spaceflight

120
00:04:46.520 --> 00:04:46.800
today.

121
00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:49.800
Anna: Speaking of global efforts, let's turn our

122
00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:52.680
attention to Europe, where a very ambitious

123
00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:54.920
vision for the future of launch is starting

124
00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:57.300
to take shape. The European Space

125
00:04:57.300 --> 00:05:00.260
Agency, or esa, has awarded a

126
00:05:00.260 --> 00:05:02.620
significant contract to the Italian

127
00:05:02.620 --> 00:05:04.300
aerospace company Avio.

128
00:05:04.700 --> 00:05:06.380
Avery: And, um, this isn't just for another

129
00:05:06.460 --> 00:05:09.260
conventional rocket. The contract worth

130
00:05:09.260 --> 00:05:12.100
40 million euros is for Avio to design a

131
00:05:12.100 --> 00:05:14.980
reusable upper stage. This is part of

132
00:05:14.980 --> 00:05:17.700
a larger concept for a two stage rocket where

133
00:05:17.700 --> 00:05:19.900
both stages would be fully reusable.

134
00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:22.940
Anna: Naturally, the Inspiration here is

135
00:05:23.020 --> 00:05:25.940
SpaceX's Starship. In fact, this

136
00:05:25.940 --> 00:05:28.060
European concept is already being

137
00:05:28.280 --> 00:05:30.920
unofficially dubbed the Mini Starship

138
00:05:31.080 --> 00:05:33.600
because it follows the same principles Just

139
00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:34.840
on a smaller scale.

140
00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:37.000
Avery: And we really need to emphasize how

141
00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.600
technically ambitious this is. Reusing a

142
00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:41.600
first stage booster, which companies like

143
00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:44.399
SpaceX have mastered, is one thing. The

144
00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:46.320
booster separates at a lower altitude and

145
00:05:46.320 --> 00:05:49.240
velocity. Reusing an upper stage, which

146
00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.520
has to reach orbital speeds and endure the

147
00:05:51.520 --> 00:05:54.200
heat of RE entry, is an entirely different

148
00:05:54.200 --> 00:05:56.200
and much more complex challenge.

149
00:05:56.830 --> 00:05:59.470
Anna: Absolutely. So what's the timeline for this

150
00:05:59.470 --> 00:05:59.790
project?

151
00:06:00.190 --> 00:06:02.510
Avery: We should manage our expectations. This

152
00:06:02.510 --> 00:06:04.950
contract is for a preliminary design with a

153
00:06:04.950 --> 00:06:06.990
major review scheduled in a couple of years.

154
00:06:07.390 --> 00:06:09.750
If it gets the green light to proceed, a

155
00:06:09.750 --> 00:06:11.990
potential first flight would likely be in the

156
00:06:11.990 --> 00:06:14.830
early2030s. This is a long term play.

157
00:06:15.230 --> 00:06:18.070
Anna: It seems to be part of a broader European

158
00:06:18.070 --> 00:06:20.870
strategy. For years, Europe has been trying

159
00:06:20.870 --> 00:06:23.830
to develop its own autonomous and competitive

160
00:06:23.830 --> 00:06:26.670
launch capabilities to avoid relying on

161
00:06:26.670 --> 00:06:28.890
American or Russian rockets.

162
00:06:29.370 --> 00:06:31.890
This feels like a major step in that

163
00:06:31.890 --> 00:06:32.330
direction.

164
00:06:32.650 --> 00:06:35.130
Avery: It is. By aiming for full reusability,

165
00:06:35.290 --> 00:06:37.530
they're not just trying to catch up, they're

166
00:06:37.530 --> 00:06:39.810
trying to leapfrog to the next generation of

167
00:06:39.810 --> 00:06:42.370
launch technology. It's a bold vision and it

168
00:06:42.370 --> 00:06:44.730
will be fascinating to see if Avio and ESA

169
00:06:44.730 --> 00:06:45.530
can pull it off.

170
00:06:45.930 --> 00:06:48.610
Anna: It certainly will be, and we'll be sure to

171
00:06:48.610 --> 00:06:50.410
keep an eye on this story going forward.

172
00:06:50.810 --> 00:06:53.250
Avery: All right, for our final story, let's zoom

173
00:06:53.250 --> 00:06:55.650
out from our own technological endeavors and

174
00:06:55.650 --> 00:06:58.610
look at the slow, grand scale evolution of

175
00:06:58.610 --> 00:07:00.750
our solar system. A new new study from

176
00:07:00.750 --> 00:07:03.310
astronomers in Uruguay has some incredible

177
00:07:03.310 --> 00:07:05.510
insights into the asteroid belt.

178
00:07:05.830 --> 00:07:08.390
Anna: This is a really interesting one. They've

179
00:07:08.390 --> 00:07:11.270
discovered that the asteroid belt, that vast

180
00:07:11.350 --> 00:07:14.150
collection of rocks between Mars and Jupiter,

181
00:07:14.550 --> 00:07:17.350
is slowly losing mass. Over time,

182
00:07:17.830 --> 00:07:20.830
it's essentially disappearing, albeit on

183
00:07:20.830 --> 00:07:22.950
a timescale of billions of years.

184
00:07:23.510 --> 00:07:26.070
Avery: So where is all that rock and dust going?

185
00:07:26.770 --> 00:07:29.130
Anna: The study breaks it down into two main

186
00:07:29.130 --> 00:07:32.130
pathways. About 80% of the lost

187
00:07:32.210 --> 00:07:34.370
mass is being ground down into

188
00:07:34.530 --> 00:07:37.130
incredibly fine dust. Through countless

189
00:07:37.130 --> 00:07:39.970
collisions between asteroids, this dust

190
00:07:39.970 --> 00:07:42.210
then slowly spirals towards the sun.

191
00:07:42.449 --> 00:07:44.580
Avery: And that dust is actually visible to us, uh,

192
00:07:44.610 --> 00:07:45.570
here on Earth, right?

193
00:07:46.130 --> 00:07:49.010
Anna: Yes, it is. It's the primary contributor

194
00:07:49.010 --> 00:07:52.010
to what's known as the zodiacal light, a

195
00:07:52.010 --> 00:07:54.900
faint diffuse glow that you can sometimes see

196
00:07:54.900 --> 00:07:57.620
in the night sky after sunset or before

197
00:07:57.620 --> 00:08:00.500
sunrise. You're literally seeing the dust of

198
00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:02.180
the disintegrating asteroid belt.

199
00:08:02.340 --> 00:08:05.180
Avery: That's amazing. What about the other 20%

200
00:08:05.180 --> 00:08:06.660
of the mass being lost?

201
00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:09.860
Anna: That portion is ejected from the belt in the

202
00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:12.700
form of larger chunks, asteroids and

203
00:08:12.700 --> 00:08:15.540
meteoroids. Gravitational nudges

204
00:08:15.540 --> 00:08:18.380
from Jupiter can send these objects on new

205
00:08:18.380 --> 00:08:20.860
trajectories. And some of them can cross

206
00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:23.660
Earth's orbit, becoming what we call near

207
00:08:23.660 --> 00:08:24.410
Earth objects.

208
00:08:25.440 --> 00:08:27.880
Avery: So the study also gives us a glimpse into the

209
00:08:27.880 --> 00:08:30.320
past. If the belt is losing mass,

210
00:08:30.640 --> 00:08:32.560
it must have been more massive before.

211
00:08:33.040 --> 00:08:35.880
Anna: Precisely. The models suggest that

212
00:08:35.880 --> 00:08:38.560
around 3.5 billion years ago,

213
00:08:38.800 --> 00:08:41.680
the asteroid belt was about 50% more

214
00:08:41.680 --> 00:08:44.480
massive than it is today. And what's truly

215
00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:47.240
compelling is that this timeframe correlates

216
00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:50.200
perfectly with geological evidence from both

217
00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:53.160
Earth and the Moon, which shows a much higher

218
00:08:53.160 --> 00:08:55.840
rate of asteroid impacts during that early

219
00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:57.260
period of the solar system.

220
00:08:57.900 --> 00:09:00.140
Avery: So the scars on the Moon and ancient impact

221
00:09:00.140 --> 00:09:02.930
craters on Earth are direct evidence of this

222
00:09:02.930 --> 00:09:05.580
m more massive, chaotic early asteroid

223
00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:08.500
belt. It's a powerful reminder that the solar

224
00:09:08.500 --> 00:09:11.020
system isn't a static, unchanging clockwork.

225
00:09:11.260 --> 00:09:14.060
It's a dynamic, evolving system. And

226
00:09:14.060 --> 00:09:15.900
we're just seeing one snapshot in its

227
00:09:15.900 --> 00:09:17.020
incredibly long life.

228
00:09:17.500 --> 00:09:19.700
Anna: And that's a perfect place to wrap things up

229
00:09:19.700 --> 00:09:22.500
for today. From the immediate engineering

230
00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:25.180
struggles on a test stand to the billion

231
00:09:25.260 --> 00:09:27.820
year grinding down of an asteroid belt.

232
00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:29.400
Been quite a journey.

233
00:09:29.560 --> 00:09:32.400
Avery: It certainly has. It highlights the constant

234
00:09:32.400 --> 00:09:34.680
interplay between human ambition pushing

235
00:09:34.680 --> 00:09:37.600
outward and the vast ancient mechanics of the

236
00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:40.240
cosmos we inhabit. That's all the time we

237
00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:41.960
have for today on Astronomy Daily.

238
00:09:42.280 --> 00:09:45.200
Anna: Thanks for tuning in. I'm Anna, and

239
00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:47.960
please visit our website for even more space

240
00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:50.840
and astronomy news. Our news feed is

241
00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:53.120
constantly updating and there's always more

242
00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:55.740
to read there. You can find us at

243
00:09:55.740 --> 00:09:57.700
astronomydaily IO.

244
00:09:58.020 --> 00:10:00.700
Avery: And I am Avery. Join us again tomorrow as we

245
00:10:00.700 --> 00:10:03.460
continue to explore the final frontier. And

246
00:10:03.460 --> 00:10:05.060
remember, keep looking up.