Galactic Collision Reconsidered

WEBVTT

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Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for

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the latest developments in space science and astronomy.

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I'm your host, Anna. And today we've got a fascinating

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lineup of cosmic news to share with you. We'll start with a

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surprising revelation about our galactic neighbourhood.

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Then we'll look at how robots could revolutionise space

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based solar power with breakthrough technology that might

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soon beam, constant clean energy back to Earth.

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We'll also examine why June's upcoming Full Moon

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will be sitting unusually low in the northern sky,

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a rare celestial event. And finally,

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we'll catch up on the Latest launches from SpaceX and Rocket Lab,

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including historic milestones for human spaceflight.

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So stay with us as we journey through today's cosmic headlines

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on Astronomy Daily. Let's

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kick things off today with a story that might help you sleep easier

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at night.

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For what seems like billions of years, astronomers have been telling

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us that our Milky Way galaxy is on an inevitable collision

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course with our nearest large galactic

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neighbourhood, Andromeda. This cosmic

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crash was thought to be about 4 to 5 billion years in

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our future, with the merger eventually creating

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what scientists had already named Milcomeda.

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But now this long held belief is being challenged

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by new research. A paper published in Nature

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Astronomy suggests that this galactic collision might not

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be as certain as we once thought. Scientists have

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analysed the latest and most accurate observations from both

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the Gaia and Hubble space telescopes, combined

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with recent mass estimates to recalculate the possible

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future scenarios for our Local Group of galaxies

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over the next 10 billion years.

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The Milky Way's path through the universe isn't just

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influenced by Andromeda. It's actually affected

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by the gravitational pull of several objects in our

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cosmic neighbourhood, including the smaller

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Triangulum Galaxy, also known as

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Messier33, along with the Large and

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Small Magellanic Clouds and various

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superclusters. What's particularly interesting is how

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these other cosmic bodies play a significant role in

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determining whether the Milky Way and Andromeda will

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actually collide. The research shows that while

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the Triangulum Galaxy increases the merger probability,

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the Large Magellanic Cloud's orbit runs

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perpendicular to the Milky Way Andromeda path,

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which actually makes their merger less likely.

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The most striking finding from these new simulations

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is that there's nearly a 50% chance that the Milky Way

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and Andromeda won't collide at all within the

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next 10 billion years. That's a dramatic

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shift from what was previously considered almost inevitable.

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The researchers do acknowledge some uncertainties in their

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model. They assumed, for example, that the mass

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distributions within the galaxies remain constant

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over the next 10 billion years, which may not be

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entirely accurate, but their updated simulations

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using the latest observational data and physics

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cast considerable doubt on whether this cosmic collision

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will ever occur. Interestingly, the

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study suggests there's a higher chance that the Milky Way will actually

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collide with the Large Magellanic cloud in about 2

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billion years. Of course, none of us will be

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around to witness any of these potential cosmic crashes,

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but it's fascinating how our understanding of even the

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largest scale events in our cosmic neighbourhood

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continues to evolve.

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Next today, and I assure this is real and not some fancy sci fi

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dream. In a breakthrough that could revolutionise

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clean energy production, the UK Atomic Energy

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Agency has demonstrated that remotely operated

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robots can successfully build gigawatt scale

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solar power satellites without human intervention.

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This development, part of the Albatross project in

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collaboration with clean tech firm Space Solar,

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marks a significant step toward achieving round the clock

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renewable energy from space. The project,

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based at the UKEAEA's Cullam campus in

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Oxfordshire, utilised dual arm robotic

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manipulators to construct satellite components designed to be

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several kilometres long and about 20 metres

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wide. This robotic approach offers both

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cost advantages and safety benefits by

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reducing the need for astronaut involvement in the

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assembly, maintenance and eventual

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decommissioning of these massive structures.

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What makes this concept particularly promising

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is the intensity of solar energy available in

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space. According to the European Space

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Agency, sunlight at the top of Earth's

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atmosphere is more than 10 times stronger than at

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ground level. These orbital solar

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collectors would capture this uninterrupted energy source

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and beam it back to Earth as microwaves, which could

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then be converted into electricity by ground based

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antennas. The robotic technology being

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developed at UKEAEA's remote applications in

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Challenging Environment Centre isn't just for space

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applications. These same innovations support

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fusion energy production on Earth, highlighting the

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synergy between terrestrial and space based energy

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solutions. Space solar is moving

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quickly with this technology, expecting to Commission its

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first 30 megawatt demonstrator system by

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2029 and reach full gigawatt

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scale capac within the following decade,

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potentially providing a continuous stream of clean energy

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from the limitless solar resources available in orbit.

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If you've been watching the night sky, you might notice

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something unusual happening this June. The

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Full Moon on June 11, 2025 will

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appear remarkably low in the sky for Northern

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Hemisphere observers. In fact, it

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will be the lowest full moon we've seen in decades.

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This isn't random chance or an astronomical anomaly. It's

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actually part of a fascinating 18.6

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year cycle that affects how we see our lunar companion

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Unlike what many people assume, the Moon's

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orbit isn't aligned with Earth's equator or even with

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Earth's path around the Sun. The Moon's

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orbit is actually tilted by about 5.15

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degrees relative to the ecliptic. That's the plane

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of Earth's orbit around the Sun. This

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tilt, combined with Earth's own 23.5

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degree axial tilt, creates some interesting

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effects that play out over long time periods.

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Because of these combined tilts, the Moon can appear

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anywhere from 28.65 degrees south

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to 28.65 degrees north in our sky.

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This means that over time, the Moon seems to wander north

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and south against the background stars.

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Astronomers call the extreme points in this cycle lunar

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standstills. The last major lunar

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standstill occurred in 2006, and now

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we're approaching another one. During this period,

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the Moon's path swings to its maximum extremes,

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making it appear exceptionally high in winter and

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exceptionally low in summer for Northern Hemisphere

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observers. That's why this June's Full Moon

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will barely skim the treetops for many North

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American and European viewers. And if you're

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in places like Alaska or Iceland, the

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Moon might not rise at all.

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Meanwhile, observers in the Southern hemisphere will experience

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the opposite effect. They'll see what's essentially their

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own long night's Moon riding remarkably high

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in their June skies. This

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gradual shifting of the Moon's path

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happens because the Moon's orbital plane is

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slowly being dragged around once every 18.6

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years, primarily due to the gravitational

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pull of the Sun. Astronomers call

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this the nodal precession. What's

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particularly fascinating is that ancient peoples recognised and

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tracked these lunar cycles at the

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Callanish stones in Scotland, erected during the

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bronze age over 4000 years ago.

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Archaeoastronomers have discovered alignments that mark the

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rising and setting positions of the Moon

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at its extreme standstills.

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These ancient stone circles served as astronomical

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calendars, helping people track longer periods

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of time than the regular monthly lunar cycle. So

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when you look at this unusually low full Moon in June,

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remember you're witnessing the same celestial mechanics

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that our ancestors observed and celebrated thousands of

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years ago. A living connection to humanity's

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earliest attempts to understand the rhythms of the cosmos.

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Let's switch gears now and look at what's happening in space. Launches this

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week. SpaceX continues to dominate the launch

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schedule, with an impressive five missions packed into just

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one week. Rocket Lab kicked things off with

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their 65th Electron launch, nicknamed

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Full Stream, ahead just before June 3rd ended in

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New Zealand time. They successfully deployed a

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BlackSky Generation 3 satellite into orbit.

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This marks Rocket Lab's 10th launch for BlackSky technology,

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making them the most frequent launch provider for this

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constellation. The Gen 3 satellites are quite

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impressive, capable of producing images with 50

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centimetre resolution and equipped with shortwave

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infrared sensors. SpaceX has been even

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busier with multiple Starlink deployments across

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different launch sites. From Cape Canaveral in

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Florida, they launched Starlink Group 1219,

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carrying 23 Starlink V2 mini

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satellites, 13 of which feature the new

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direct to cell capabilities. This mission

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used booster B1077, making

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its remarkable 21st flight. The

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very same day, SpaceX conducted another

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Starlink launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in

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California, delivering 27 more

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satellites to, a different orbital inclination.

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And if that wasn't enough, they scheduled yet another

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StarLink mission for June 8 from Vandenberg,

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adding 26 more satellites to their rapidly growing

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constellation. Beyond Starlink, SpaceX

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is launching the SXM10 satellite for SiriusXM

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on June 7. This third generation satellite weighs

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over 6,000 kilogrammes and will replace older

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satellites in the constellation that have been in service since

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2005 and 2006.

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SiriusXM currently serves over 33 million

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subscribers, highlighting how space technology directly

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impacts everyday services many of us use.

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Perhaps most exciting is the Axiom 4 crewed

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mission launching June 9th. Commander Peggy Whitson

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will lead a diverse international crew, including

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Shubanshu Shukla from India, Slavosh

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Usnanski from Poland and Tibor

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Kapu from Hungary, each representing only

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the second astronaut from their respective countries to reach

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space. They'll spend up to two weeks

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aboard the International Space Station, conducting 60

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scientific experiments, setting a record for

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the most research activities during an Axiom mission.

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The Dragon capsule for this mission is brand new,

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making its first flight, While the Falcon 9 booster

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is flying for just its second time, having been used

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only 41 days earlier for a Starlink mission.

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These milestones highlight how commercial space missions are

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now creating opportunities for nations that don't have their own

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human spaceflight programmes to send their citizens

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to orbit. It's democratising access to

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space in ways we couldn't have imagined even a decade

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ago. Well,

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what an incredible journey through space we've taken today.

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From reconsidering the collision course of galaxies to

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robots building solar satellites in orbit.

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From the moon's fascinating dance across our skies

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to the remarkable diversity of launches carrying

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humans and technology beyond our atmosphere.

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I'm Anna and I want to thank you for joining me on this episode of

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Astronomy Daily. If you enjoyed today's Cosmic

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Update, please visit astronomydaily IO where

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you can sign up for our free daily newsletter delivering the

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latest space news right to your inbox.

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Don't miss future episodes by subscribing to the podcast

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wherever you get your podcasts. Your support helps

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us continue bringing the wonders of the universe down to

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Earth. Until next time, keep looking

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up. There's always something fascinating happening in our

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cosmic neighbourhood.