NASA's SLS Anomaly, Daytime Fireball Mysteries, and the Astronaut Imposter Saga

WEBVTT

0
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.800
Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your go to podcast

1
00:00:02.800 --> 00:00:05.200
for everything happening above our heads and beyond.

2
00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:08.200
I'm Anna and I'm thrilled to be your host as we

3
00:00:08.200 --> 00:00:11.160
explore the universe together. Today we've got a fascinating

4
00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:14.040
lineup of stories from the forefront of space exploration and

5
00:00:14.040 --> 00:00:16.760
astronomy. We'll be diving into some recent

6
00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.720
incidents, including a significant test anomaly

7
00:00:19.720 --> 00:00:22.320
for a key component of NASA's Space Launch System

8
00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.160
and the surprising legal challenges facing

9
00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:27.520
SpaceX over a Starship explosion.

10
00:00:28.350 --> 00:00:31.150
But it's not all about the dramatic events. We

11
00:00:31.150 --> 00:00:33.790
also have some truly captivating science to share,

12
00:00:34.270 --> 00:00:37.190
like the rare daytime fireball that may have impacted a

13
00:00:37.190 --> 00:00:40.110
home in Georgia and groundbreaking new research

14
00:00:40.270 --> 00:00:43.070
that might finally explain the mysterious differences

15
00:00:43.390 --> 00:00:46.030
between the near and far sides of our own

16
00:00:46.030 --> 00:00:48.430
moon. And for something a little different,

17
00:00:48.670 --> 00:00:51.430
we'll journey back in time to uncover the incredible

18
00:00:51.430 --> 00:00:54.350
true story of a con man who managed to fool

19
00:00:54.350 --> 00:00:55.710
the world as an astronaut.

20
00:00:55.870 --> 00:00:58.870
So settle in and let's get started on another exciting episode

21
00:00:58.870 --> 00:00:59.950
of Astronomy Daily.

22
00:01:01.690 --> 00:01:04.650
Delve into some significant news from the world of space exploration,

23
00:01:05.130 --> 00:01:07.610
specifically regarding NASA's Space Launch System,

24
00:01:07.930 --> 00:01:10.810
or SLS. On June 26,

25
00:01:10.810 --> 00:01:13.570
during a test firing in Utah, a new version of the

26
00:01:13.570 --> 00:01:16.090
solid rocket booster being developed for the SLS

27
00:01:16.170 --> 00:01:18.890
experienced an anomaly. This test was for

28
00:01:18.890 --> 00:01:21.810
Northrop Grumman's Booster Obsolescence and Life

29
00:01:21.810 --> 00:01:24.610
Extension, or bol, version of the five

30
00:01:24.610 --> 00:01:27.430
segment solid rocket booster. The booster,

31
00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:30.270
fixed horizontally, was undergoing a, uh, two minute

32
00:01:30.270 --> 00:01:33.190
firing simulating a real launch. A little over

33
00:01:33.190 --> 00:01:36.030
100 seconds into the test, observers noted exhaust

34
00:01:36.030 --> 00:01:38.990
appearing from the side of the nozzle, followed by debris

35
00:01:38.990 --> 00:01:41.670
scattering from that same area. Despite

36
00:01:41.670 --> 00:01:44.630
this, the motor continued to burn for the rest of

37
00:01:44.630 --> 00:01:47.310
the test. Initially, NASA and

38
00:01:47.310 --> 00:01:50.190
Northrop Grumman officials didn't publicly address the

39
00:01:50.190 --> 00:01:52.640
incident during their webcast. However,

40
00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:55.760
a few hours later, Jim Calborer,

41
00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:58.560
vice president of Propulsion systems at Northrop

42
00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:00.920
Grumman, released a statement confirming the

43
00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:03.840
anomaly. He noted that while the motor seemed

44
00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:06.720
to perform well through a harsh burn environment, the

45
00:02:06.720 --> 00:02:09.680
issue occurred near the end of the burn. Kalberer

46
00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:12.440
added that the company was pushing the boundaries of

47
00:02:12.440 --> 00:02:15.400
large solid rocket motor design and

48
00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:18.240
that this new, largest ever segmented

49
00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:21.090
solid rocket booster test provides valuable

50
00:02:21.090 --> 00:02:23.810
data for future developments. The

51
00:02:23.810 --> 00:02:26.570
bowl design is intended to be used for SLS

52
00:02:26.570 --> 00:02:29.530
missions starting with Artemis 9, projected for the

53
00:02:29.530 --> 00:02:32.530
2000-30s. Its key improvements include replacing

54
00:02:32.530 --> 00:02:35.410
the shuttle era steel casings with new carbon

55
00:02:35.410 --> 00:02:38.410
fibre composite designs using a uh, new propellant

56
00:02:38.410 --> 00:02:41.210
formulation and incorporating other advancements that

57
00:02:41.210 --> 00:02:44.130
boost its performance by over 10%. This

58
00:02:44.130 --> 00:02:46.770
would allow an additional 5 metric tonnes of payload for

59
00:02:46.770 --> 00:02:48.730
SLS missions heading to the moon.

60
00:02:49.730 --> 00:02:52.450
However, there's a degree of uncertainty about whether the bowl design

61
00:02:52.450 --> 00:02:55.450
will actually fly. NASA's fiscal year

62
00:02:55.450 --> 00:02:58.090
2026 budget proposal aims to cancel the

63
00:02:58.090 --> 00:03:00.370
SLS after the Artemis 3 mission.

64
00:03:01.090 --> 00:03:03.890
While a provision in the Senate's budget reconciliation bill

65
00:03:03.890 --> 00:03:06.610
could add funding for two more SLS missions

66
00:03:06.850 --> 00:03:09.850
through Artemis V, it doesn't clarify the vehicle's

67
00:03:09.850 --> 00:03:12.370
future beyond that. Interestingly,

68
00:03:12.770 --> 00:03:15.530
this isn't the first time a Northrop Grumman solid

69
00:03:15.530 --> 00:03:18.490
rocket booster has faced a nozzle issue in less than a

70
00:03:18.490 --> 00:03:21.050
year. Back in October 2024,

71
00:03:21.370 --> 00:03:23.850
a nozzle detached from one of the much smaller

72
00:03:23.850 --> 00:03:26.730
GEM3.6XL solid rocket boosters

73
00:03:26.970 --> 00:03:29.770
on the second launch of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan

74
00:03:29.770 --> 00:03:32.730
rocket. While that issue did degrade the booster's performance

75
00:03:32.810 --> 00:03:35.210
somewhat, it didn't prevent Vulcan from

76
00:03:35.210 --> 00:03:37.970
successfully completing its mission. ULA

77
00:03:37.970 --> 00:03:40.930
later confirmed in March that a manufacturing defect in

78
00:03:40.930 --> 00:03:43.890
one of the internal parts of the nozzle caused it to

79
00:03:43.890 --> 00:03:46.610
come off, and fixes to correct this problem

80
00:03:47.010 --> 00:03:49.570
were successfully confirmed in a test

81
00:03:49.570 --> 00:03:52.530
firing in February. These

82
00:03:52.530 --> 00:03:55.450
incidents highlight the complex and challenging

83
00:03:55.450 --> 00:03:57.850
nature of developing such powerful

84
00:03:57.850 --> 00:03:59.170
propulsion systems.

85
00:04:00.609 --> 00:04:03.290
Now let's turn our gaze from man made rockets to a natural

86
00:04:03.290 --> 00:04:06.250
phenomenon that recently put on quite a show. A large

87
00:04:06.250 --> 00:04:09.130
meteor created a spectacular, rare daytime fireball

88
00:04:09.130 --> 00:04:11.860
over the southeastern United States on a Friday at

89
00:04:11.860 --> 00:04:14.660
12:25pm Eastern Daylight Time. This

90
00:04:14.660 --> 00:04:17.460
wasn't just any meteor. It was so bright that it was

91
00:04:17.460 --> 00:04:20.260
even seen by the National oceanic and Atmospheric

92
00:04:20.260 --> 00:04:22.820
Administration's GOES 19 Earth observation

93
00:04:22.820 --> 00:04:25.420
satellite, using an instrument designed to map

94
00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:28.020
flashes of lightning from orbit. Daylight

95
00:04:28.020 --> 00:04:30.940
fireballs are truly uncommon, according to Robert

96
00:04:30.940 --> 00:04:33.700
Lunsford of the American Meteor Association. It

97
00:04:33.700 --> 00:04:36.660
takes a significantly large object, much bigger

98
00:04:36.660 --> 00:04:39.530
than your average pea sized meteor, to be bright enough to

99
00:04:39.530 --> 00:04:42.530
be visible during the day. He notes that we probably only

100
00:04:42.530 --> 00:04:45.450
see about one per month worldwide, meaning only about

101
00:04:45.450 --> 00:04:48.410
one in every 3,000 meteor reports occurs during

102
00:04:48.410 --> 00:04:51.370
daylight hours. This particular meteor was

103
00:04:51.370 --> 00:04:54.050
first spotted approximately 48 miles above Oxford,

104
00:04:54.050 --> 00:04:56.730
Georgia, hurtling through the atmosphere at around

105
00:04:56.730 --> 00:04:59.730
30,000 miles per hour. Experts

106
00:04:59.730 --> 00:05:02.370
suggest it might have been associated with the daytime

107
00:05:02.370 --> 00:05:05.290
Beta Taurid shower, which peaks in late June as

108
00:05:05.290 --> 00:05:08.130
Earth passes through debris from the ancient comet 2P

109
00:05:08.370 --> 00:05:11.170
Enker. What makes this event even more

110
00:05:11.170 --> 00:05:14.090
intriguing is the strong possibility that fragments of

111
00:05:14.090 --> 00:05:17.050
the meteor survived its fiery descent and

112
00:05:17.130 --> 00:05:20.010
impacted the ground. In the hours following

113
00:05:20.010 --> 00:05:22.650
the fireball, photos began circulating online,

114
00:05:23.210 --> 00:05:26.010
purportedly showing a hole punched through the roof of a home

115
00:05:26.010 --> 00:05:28.730
in Henry County, Georgia. The size of this

116
00:05:28.730 --> 00:05:31.610
meteor meant it had a better chance of producing fragments.

117
00:05:32.090 --> 00:05:34.770
Scientists look for reports of sounds like thunder

118
00:05:34.770 --> 00:05:37.700
or something, sonic booms, which indicate that parts of

119
00:05:37.700 --> 00:05:40.580
the fireball made it down to the lower atmosphere

120
00:05:40.740 --> 00:05:43.060
and potentially all the way to the ground.

121
00:05:43.940 --> 00:05:46.900
This strongly suggests the photograph of the hole in the roof

122
00:05:47.060 --> 00:05:49.460
is indeed connected to this celestial

123
00:05:49.460 --> 00:05:52.420
visitor. And if verified, it wouldn't

124
00:05:52.420 --> 00:05:55.140
be the first time a daytime Beta Taurid left its mark.

125
00:05:55.940 --> 00:05:58.580
Lunsford mentioned a particularly large meteor

126
00:05:58.820 --> 00:06:01.650
believed to be linked to this annual shower that

127
00:06:01.650 --> 00:06:04.610
detonated in a powerful air burst just six miles

128
00:06:04.610 --> 00:06:07.570
over Russian Siberia in June 1908.

129
00:06:07.890 --> 00:06:10.610
That explosion, known as the Tunguska Event,

130
00:06:10.930 --> 00:06:13.610
ignited massive forest fires and flattened an

131
00:06:13.610 --> 00:06:16.330
estimated 80 million trees. It's a

132
00:06:16.330 --> 00:06:19.210
powerful reminder of the impact these space rocks can

133
00:06:19.210 --> 00:06:22.010
have even when they don't directly hit the

134
00:06:22.010 --> 00:06:24.610
surface from natural

135
00:06:24.610 --> 00:06:25.170
impacts.

136
00:06:25.330 --> 00:06:27.970
We now shift our focus to human made space endeavours.

137
00:06:28.490 --> 00:06:31.130
Specifically, the latest legal challenges faced by

138
00:06:31.130 --> 00:06:33.690
SpaceX. The Mexican president,

139
00:06:33.690 --> 00:06:36.610
Claudia Sheinbaum, has recently threatened to file

140
00:06:36.610 --> 00:06:39.370
a lawsuit against SpaceX, citing alleged

141
00:06:39.370 --> 00:06:42.290
contamination resulting from a starship explosion that

142
00:06:42.290 --> 00:06:45.290
occurred earlier this month. On June 18,

143
00:06:45.530 --> 00:06:48.450
SpaceX was conducting a test of the upper stage of

144
00:06:48.450 --> 00:06:51.330
its starship vehicle at its Starbase facility near

145
00:06:51.330 --> 00:06:54.300
Boca Chica beach in Texas. This test

146
00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:56.900
culminated in a dramatic fireball. While

147
00:06:56.900 --> 00:06:59.820
SpaceX stated on social media that there were no hazards to

148
00:06:59.820 --> 00:07:02.540
the surrounding communities, President Sheinbaum is

149
00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:05.140
contesting that claim. During a press

150
00:07:05.140 --> 00:07:08.020
conference, she indicated that a general review

151
00:07:08.020 --> 00:07:10.860
is underway of the international laws that are

152
00:07:10.860 --> 00:07:13.500
being violated. Specifically due to this

153
00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:16.380
perceived contamination, the Mexican

154
00:07:16.380 --> 00:07:19.140
government is looking to file the necessary lawsuits.

155
00:07:19.870 --> 00:07:22.270
It's worth noting the geographical context here.

156
00:07:22.910 --> 00:07:25.830
SpaceX's Starbase facility is located at the

157
00:07:25.830 --> 00:07:28.710
very southeastern tip of Texas, right along the

158
00:07:28.710 --> 00:07:31.670
Rio Grande river, which acts as the border between the

159
00:07:31.670 --> 00:07:34.630
United States and Mexico. Just across this border

160
00:07:34.630 --> 00:07:37.590
from Boca Chica and nearby Brownsville, Texas, lies the

161
00:07:37.590 --> 00:07:39.710
Mexican city of Heroica Matamoros.

162
00:07:40.590 --> 00:07:43.590
This isn't the first time SpaceX has faced environmental

163
00:07:43.590 --> 00:07:46.230
lawsuits or other legal challenges. In

164
00:07:46.230 --> 00:07:48.990
2023, a coalition of environmental

165
00:07:48.990 --> 00:07:51.830
groups sued the US Federal Aviation Administration,

166
00:07:52.390 --> 00:07:55.310
alleging that the agency hadn't properly analysed

167
00:07:55.310 --> 00:07:58.310
the potential damage Starship could inflict on the surrounding areas,

168
00:07:58.550 --> 00:08:00.870
which are, uh, home to protected bird species.

169
00:08:01.589 --> 00:08:04.190
More recently, in 2024, the

170
00:08:04.190 --> 00:08:07.030
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reported that

171
00:08:07.030 --> 00:08:09.670
SpaceX had violated the Clean Water act by

172
00:08:09.670 --> 00:08:12.070
releasing pollutants into nearby bodies of water.

173
00:08:12.590 --> 00:08:14.830
Though SpaceX refuted these claims as

174
00:08:14.990 --> 00:08:17.590
factually inaccurate, past

175
00:08:17.590 --> 00:08:20.110
starship launches, and particularly explosions,

176
00:08:20.430 --> 00:08:23.430
have indeed left significant amounts of debris scattered across

177
00:08:23.430 --> 00:08:26.150
Boca Chica beach and its environs. The

178
00:08:26.150 --> 00:08:29.150
debut flight of Starship on April 20, 2023,

179
00:08:29.310 --> 00:08:32.030
saw the rocket's 33 first stage Raptor

180
00:08:32.030 --> 00:08:34.990
engines propel chunks of cement and other debris for

181
00:08:34.990 --> 00:08:37.750
miles. Local residents describe that launch

182
00:08:37.750 --> 00:08:40.540
as terrifying and likened it to an earthquake,

183
00:08:40.620 --> 00:08:42.940
with debris even crushing a nearby car.

184
00:08:43.500 --> 00:08:46.060
That flight also ended dramatically when SpaceX

185
00:08:46.060 --> 00:08:48.700
initiated its onboard flight termination system,

186
00:08:49.100 --> 00:08:52.060
causing the vehicle to explode about three minutes after

187
00:08:52.060 --> 00:08:55.019
liftoff, with fragments found along the shores.

188
00:08:55.019 --> 00:08:57.540
In the days that followed. To date,

189
00:08:57.540 --> 00:09:00.540
Starship's upper stage has exploded or crashed into

190
00:09:00.540 --> 00:09:02.940
the sea on eight of its nine test flights.

191
00:09:03.260 --> 00:09:05.900
Underscoring the experimental nature of these ambitious

192
00:09:05.900 --> 00:09:08.460
endeavours, these incidents highlight the

193
00:09:08.460 --> 00:09:10.940
ongoing environmental considerations as, uh, space

194
00:09:10.940 --> 00:09:13.380
exploration continues to push boundaries

195
00:09:14.660 --> 00:09:17.460
from the complexities of earthly legal battles in space.

196
00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:20.740
We now pivot to the ancient mysteries of our Moon,

197
00:09:21.140 --> 00:09:23.900
specifically the enduring puzzle of why its near

198
00:09:23.900 --> 00:09:26.860
side looks so different from its far side. For

199
00:09:26.860 --> 00:09:29.740
a long time, this was one of the Moon's most intriguing

200
00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:32.260
secrets. Until 1959,

201
00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:35.520
when the USSR's Luna 3 spacecraft first

202
00:09:35.520 --> 00:09:38.120
circled the Moon and sent back grainy black and white

203
00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:40.920
images, humans had never actually seen the lunar

204
00:09:40.920 --> 00:09:43.800
far side. What those images revealed was a stark

205
00:09:43.800 --> 00:09:46.800
contrast. The far side was heavily cratered, with

206
00:09:46.800 --> 00:09:49.600
far fewer of the dark volcanic plains known as

207
00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:52.480
maria that so distinctly mark the near side.

208
00:09:53.280 --> 00:09:56.200
This immediate visual difference prompted many questions

209
00:09:56.200 --> 00:09:58.930
about the Moon's formation and evolution. Was

210
00:09:58.930 --> 00:10:01.890
Earth's gravitational pull responsible? Or perhaps

211
00:10:01.890 --> 00:10:04.690
a difference in crustal thickness? Scientists

212
00:10:04.690 --> 00:10:07.610
realised the Moon wasn't a uniform body and the search

213
00:10:07.610 --> 00:10:09.570
for answers has continued ever since.

214
00:10:10.530 --> 00:10:12.970
Now, new research published in Nature

215
00:10:12.970 --> 00:10:15.450
Communications, led by Ji Jun Jing from

216
00:10:15.450 --> 00:10:18.170
Ihime University in Japan, offers a

217
00:10:18.170 --> 00:10:21.130
compelling explanation that points to trace amounts of certain

218
00:10:21.130 --> 00:10:24.010
minerals. The study focuses on chlorine and

219
00:10:24.010 --> 00:10:26.850
fluorine and their presence in lunar minerals and melts.

220
00:10:27.650 --> 00:10:30.130
It highlights that most near side lunar crust

221
00:10:30.130 --> 00:10:32.570
materials show an unusual enrichment in

222
00:10:32.570 --> 00:10:35.570
chlorine, a ah finding that doesn't quite fit with traditional

223
00:10:35.570 --> 00:10:38.490
models of primary crust formation. This anomaly,

224
00:10:38.490 --> 00:10:41.370
the researchers suggest, is likely due to a process

225
00:10:41.370 --> 00:10:42.770
called metasomatism.

226
00:10:43.490 --> 00:10:46.250
Metasomatism is a geological process where a

227
00:10:46.250 --> 00:10:48.930
rock's chemical composition is altered when new

228
00:10:48.930 --> 00:10:51.690
chemical elements are introduced, often by water or

229
00:10:51.690 --> 00:10:54.680
magma. M In the lunar context, the research

230
00:10:54.760 --> 00:10:57.320
indicates that gaseous chlorine compounds

231
00:10:57.480 --> 00:11:00.360
found their way into near side lunar rocks through this

232
00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:03.240
process, while farside samples don't show the same

233
00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:05.920
enrichment. Another key piece of this

234
00:11:05.920 --> 00:11:08.360
lunar puzzle is what's known as the Moon's creep

235
00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:11.200
terrain. This is a large region exclusively

236
00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:14.040
found on the Moon's near side, characterised by high

237
00:11:14.040 --> 00:11:17.000
concentrations of potassium, rare earth elements

238
00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:19.970
and phosphorus, hence the acronym

239
00:11:19.970 --> 00:11:22.450
creep. It's also known for its significant

240
00:11:22.610 --> 00:11:25.410
thorium concentrations. Creep is

241
00:11:25.410 --> 00:11:28.130
crucial to Understanding the moon's early evolution after its

242
00:11:28.130 --> 00:11:31.130
global magma ocean phase. While creep was

243
00:11:31.130 --> 00:11:34.050
likely widespread initially, it's now confined to this

244
00:11:34.050 --> 00:11:36.850
one region, possibly due to the massive impact

245
00:11:37.010 --> 00:11:40.010
that created the south pole Aitken Basin on the

246
00:11:40.010 --> 00:11:42.970
opposite side of the Moon. That impact might

247
00:11:42.970 --> 00:11:45.720
have generated a thermal anomaly and that drove the

248
00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:48.640
creep towards the near side. The new

249
00:11:48.640 --> 00:11:51.240
research suggests a strong connection between widespread

250
00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:54.160
chlorine vapour on the lunar near side and

251
00:11:54.160 --> 00:11:57.040
this lunar dichotomy. They hypothesise that

252
00:11:57.040 --> 00:11:59.960
this chlorine metasomatism is likely related to

253
00:11:59.960 --> 00:12:02.840
degassing caused by impacts or eruptions from the creep

254
00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:05.360
terrain. Chlorine is highly volatile and

255
00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:08.240
incompatible, meaning it doesn't easily fit into the

256
00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:10.640
crystal structure of minerals. As magma cools,

257
00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:14.140
so chlorine rich vapours released during volcanic eruptions or

258
00:12:14.140 --> 00:12:16.940
impact induced evaporation likely played a key role in

259
00:12:16.940 --> 00:12:19.700
transforming the moon's near side, the side we see most

260
00:12:19.700 --> 00:12:22.660
clearly. Conversely, the far side, untouched

261
00:12:22.660 --> 00:12:25.620
by these vapour related volcanic activities, may be more

262
00:12:25.620 --> 00:12:28.540
pristine, preserving information from the moon's very early

263
00:12:28.540 --> 00:12:31.460
magma ocean phase. While this research

264
00:12:31.540 --> 00:12:33.820
provides a strong hypothesis for the lunar

265
00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:36.700
dichotomy, the authors emphasise that more

266
00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:39.640
evidence is needed. This is where future missions

267
00:12:39.640 --> 00:12:42.320
come in. China has already landed two

268
00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:45.080
missions on the lunar far side, including the Chang'

269
00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:47.800
E6 mission, which successfully gathered

270
00:12:47.800 --> 00:12:50.400
samples. The authors believe that

271
00:12:50.400 --> 00:12:53.160
measurements of halogens in these Farside Chang'

272
00:12:53.160 --> 00:12:55.960
E6 samples could provide the crucial evidence

273
00:12:55.960 --> 00:12:58.080
needed to strengthen their explanation.

274
00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:01.680
It's a truly exciting prospect for lunar science

275
00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:05.960
from deep space. We now turn our attention back to

276
00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:08.440
Earth, specifically to a captivating,

277
00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:11.280
unbelievable but true story of a con man

278
00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:14.200
who for a time managed to fool the world into

279
00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:15.760
believing he was an astronaut.

280
00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.320
A cold January evening in 1989.

281
00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:23.880
Members of the Experimental Aircraft association of

282
00:13:23.880 --> 00:13:26.400
Boston are eagerly awaiting a special guest.

283
00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:29.560
The President introduces him as a master of the

284
00:13:29.560 --> 00:13:32.320
skies and space. Onto the stage

285
00:13:32.400 --> 00:13:34.960
strides US Marine Captain Robert J. Hunt,

286
00:13:35.280 --> 00:13:38.040
27 years old, handsome, with a confident

287
00:13:38.040 --> 00:13:41.040
air and dressed in a powder blue NASA flight suit

288
00:13:41.040 --> 00:13:43.920
complete with shining space patches. Hunt

289
00:13:43.920 --> 00:13:46.920
captivated the amateur pilots with fantastic tales of

290
00:13:46.920 --> 00:13:49.400
his life as a Marine fighter pilot bombing

291
00:13:49.400 --> 00:13:52.000
Gaddafi's Libya from his F A18 jet.

292
00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:55.000
But his most astonishing claims involved

293
00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:58.000
soaring above Earth aboard the space shuttle Atlantis

294
00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:00.720
on top secret missions for the Department of Defence.

295
00:14:01.520 --> 00:14:04.360
He even presented two blackened tiles which he

296
00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:07.120
claimed were scorched during his re entry. Despite

297
00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:10.080
some members suspicions like Joy Alexander, who found

298
00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:12.760
his thick New England accent and rude attitude

299
00:14:12.760 --> 00:14:15.480
unsettling for a NASA astronaut, most were

300
00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:18.400
spellbound. Hunt shook hands, scribbled autographs

301
00:14:18.400 --> 00:14:21.080
and left the aviation enthusiasts believing they had met a

302
00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:24.000
legend. But Robert J Hunt had never been

303
00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:27.000
to space. He didn't even have a pilot's licence, let

304
00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.750
alone a driver's licence. He was an imposter,

305
00:14:29.750 --> 00:14:32.110
and his incredible scam would soon make national

306
00:14:32.110 --> 00:14:35.030
headlines, leading to his arrest in less than a

307
00:14:35.030 --> 00:14:37.990
week. Hunt had been leading law enforcement on a cat

308
00:14:37.990 --> 00:14:40.910
and mouse chase for years, posing as a Marine,

309
00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:43.910
a baseball star, a senator and other prominent

310
00:14:43.910 --> 00:14:46.870
figures often escaping prosecution. It was

311
00:14:46.870 --> 00:14:49.390
only when he became an astronaut that he triggered a security

312
00:14:49.470 --> 00:14:51.790
panic, embarrassed politicians and

313
00:14:51.790 --> 00:14:54.720
captivated the nation. Hunt's obsession

314
00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:57.600
with space began at age 7. Watching the

315
00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:00.240
Apollo 11 moon landing. He felt a deep

316
00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.880
connection to astronauts like Neil Armstrong and Alan

317
00:15:02.880 --> 00:15:05.600
Shepard. As a teenager, he would sneak into

318
00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:08.600
Chelsea Naval Hospital, slip on discarded uniforms

319
00:15:08.760 --> 00:15:11.440
and salute himself in the mirror, dreaming of

320
00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:14.160
exploring distant planets. His

321
00:15:14.160 --> 00:15:16.840
father, Leo Hunt, a plumber who also

322
00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:19.600
pretended to be a military colonel, unknowingly

323
00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.460
influenced him and even writing a book about his alleged

324
00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:24.940
life in the military titled Colonel Chameleon.

325
00:15:25.420 --> 00:15:28.300
Robert Hunt claims his father taught him the art of deception,

326
00:15:28.300 --> 00:15:30.900
like when he sold sparrows painted yellow as

327
00:15:30.900 --> 00:15:33.660
canaries. Robert's first steps into

328
00:15:33.660 --> 00:15:36.659
grander deceptions came early. He claimed to join

329
00:15:36.659 --> 00:15:38.700
the Marine Corps on a delayed entry programme,

330
00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:41.700
was supposedly honourably discharged due to an

331
00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:44.700
administrative error, and then simply bluffed his way back into

332
00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:47.340
barracks, knowing the commands and structure.

333
00:15:47.820 --> 00:15:50.740
He even snuck onto Pease Air Force Base dressed as a

334
00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:53.460
second lieutenant, and was caught poking around Air Force

335
00:15:53.460 --> 00:15:56.460
Two, the Vice President's plane. This

336
00:15:56.460 --> 00:15:59.380
incident triggered an FBI investigation and ended his

337
00:15:59.380 --> 00:16:01.660
first marriage. His cons

338
00:16:01.740 --> 00:16:04.740
escalated. He married again, claiming to be

339
00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:07.580
a college graduate with a baseball contract. He

340
00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:10.580
even invented a spray on diaper cream called Love My

341
00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:13.220
Baby, falsely claiming a multi million dollar

342
00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:16.090
buyout was imminent. Using his wife's credit

343
00:16:16.090 --> 00:16:18.730
card, he rented limos and posed as a TV

344
00:16:18.730 --> 00:16:21.730
producer to cast a Super bowl commercial, only to be

345
00:16:21.730 --> 00:16:24.650
busted by police, who described him as a smooth talker.

346
00:16:25.370 --> 00:16:28.010
After these setbacks, Hunt fled back to the

347
00:16:28.010 --> 00:16:30.770
military, using fake credentials to acquire flight

348
00:16:30.770 --> 00:16:33.730
uniforms and promoting himself from marine pilot to Captain

349
00:16:33.730 --> 00:16:36.410
Hunt, America's youngest Marine astronaut,

350
00:16:36.570 --> 00:16:39.130
complete with $20 Navy astronaut wings.

351
00:16:39.370 --> 00:16:42.250
He claimed to have bluffed his way into NASA astronaut

352
00:16:42.250 --> 00:16:44.830
training, undergoing physical evaluations at

353
00:16:44.830 --> 00:16:47.710
Johnson Space Centre and studying in Rocket City,

354
00:16:47.710 --> 00:16:50.630
Huntsville, Alabama. He even said he spent

355
00:16:50.710 --> 00:16:53.590
nine weeks with Morton Thiokol, the company that

356
00:16:53.590 --> 00:16:56.470
built solid rocket boosters. While none of

357
00:16:56.470 --> 00:16:59.150
these claims are verified, Hunt's narrative was

358
00:16:59.150 --> 00:17:01.990
detailed enough to convince many, including his fourth

359
00:17:01.990 --> 00:17:04.710
wife, Ann Sweeney, an optical engineer.

360
00:17:05.030 --> 00:17:07.790
He whisked her away on private jets and exotic

361
00:17:07.790 --> 00:17:10.619
vacations, paying with her corporate credit card.

362
00:17:11.179 --> 00:17:14.019
The pinnacle of his astronaut hoax came in December

363
00:17:14.019 --> 00:17:16.899
1988 when he travelled to Ireland to visit

364
00:17:16.899 --> 00:17:19.899
his brother in law on the Aer Lingus flight.

365
00:17:19.899 --> 00:17:22.539
He charmed the crew and was invited into the cockpit.

366
00:17:22.699 --> 00:17:25.339
Upon landing in Dublin, he was shocked to be greeted by

367
00:17:25.339 --> 00:17:27.979
smiling Irish government officials and a small

368
00:17:27.979 --> 00:17:30.819
band playing the national anthem. He didn't even go

369
00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:33.259
through customs. Hunt played along,

370
00:17:33.499 --> 00:17:36.130
giving speeches, accepting awards and

371
00:17:36.130 --> 00:17:39.050
sipping tea with Dublin's Lord Mayor, Ben Briscoe,

372
00:17:39.210 --> 00:17:41.930
who, despite his suspicions, politely let the spectacle

373
00:17:41.930 --> 00:17:44.850
continue. Hunt left Ireland with souvenirs

374
00:17:44.850 --> 00:17:47.810
and honorary Irish citizenship, claiming it

375
00:17:47.810 --> 00:17:50.529
all just got out of control. Back in the

376
00:17:50.529 --> 00:17:52.650
US his scheme began to unravel.

377
00:17:53.450 --> 00:17:56.450
American Express rejected a $5,000 charge for the

378
00:17:56.450 --> 00:17:58.970
private jet trip, alerting his wife's employer,

379
00:17:58.970 --> 00:18:01.700
Polaroid. Massachusetts State Trooper

380
00:18:01.700 --> 00:18:04.180
Andrew Palombo began investigating Hunt

381
00:18:04.420 --> 00:18:07.260
after a woman complained he had convinced her son to

382
00:18:07.260 --> 00:18:10.140
enlist, then demanded $4,000

383
00:18:10.140 --> 00:18:13.060
to use his Pentagon connections for a discharge.

384
00:18:13.620 --> 00:18:16.620
Palombo, a diligent and tough investigator,

385
00:18:16.620 --> 00:18:19.420
quickly discovered Hunt's military records showed only

386
00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:21.820
two months in the Marine Reserve, ending with a

387
00:18:21.820 --> 00:18:24.740
psychological evaluation. On January

388
00:18:24.820 --> 00:18:27.750
28, 1989, Palambo knocked on

389
00:18:27.750 --> 00:18:30.750
Hunt's door. A search of his home revealed military

390
00:18:30.750 --> 00:18:33.430
paraphernalia, flight jumpsuits, a NASA

391
00:18:33.430 --> 00:18:36.350
helmet, police badges and photos of Hunt wearing Korean War

392
00:18:36.350 --> 00:18:39.150
medals. His wife, Ann Sweeney, surrendered two

393
00:18:39.150 --> 00:18:42.150
scorched space shuttle tiles, which Palambo identified

394
00:18:42.150 --> 00:18:45.110
as ordinary floor tiles. Hunt was arrested for

395
00:18:45.110 --> 00:18:47.910
larceny. Palambo was relentless, discovering a

396
00:18:47.910 --> 00:18:50.670
fake doctor's ID and confirming that Hunt's military

397
00:18:50.670 --> 00:18:52.590
uniforms were acquired fraudulently.

398
00:18:53.510 --> 00:18:56.150
NASA and FBI determined that impersonating an

399
00:18:56.150 --> 00:18:59.030
astronaut wasn't illegal unless other crimes were involved.

400
00:18:59.110 --> 00:19:02.110
But Palambo logged Hunt's astronaut gear as evidence of

401
00:19:02.110 --> 00:19:04.990
his fraud. Ann Sweeney was devastated to

402
00:19:04.990 --> 00:19:07.990
learn her husband was a con man. It was almost like watching

403
00:19:07.990 --> 00:19:10.950
someone die, she told the Herald. Here was this

404
00:19:10.950 --> 00:19:13.750
person I thought I knew. And bit by bit, in the course of an

405
00:19:13.750 --> 00:19:16.550
hour, he just dissolved, just disappeared.

406
00:19:17.270 --> 00:19:20.070
She realised she had fallen victim to the ostrich effect,

407
00:19:20.560 --> 00:19:23.240
a psychological phenomenon where people bury their heads in the

408
00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:25.840
sand, operating under a truth bias,

409
00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:29.240
assuming others are honest. Hunt pleaded

410
00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:32.240
guilty to larceny and received a two year suspended sentence.

411
00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:35.720
After his release. In May 1989, he announced his

412
00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:38.480
candidacy for mayor of Revere, Massachusetts. But

413
00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:40.800
Trooper Palambo continued to pursue him.

414
00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:44.000
Hunt failed to pay restitution and skipped town, becoming a

415
00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:47.000
fugitive. Television crews interviewed his former wives who

416
00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:49.950
compared notes on set. His cons continued, leading him

417
00:19:49.950 --> 00:19:52.830
to pose as the head of Seal Team 6 at a US military

418
00:19:52.830 --> 00:19:55.470
base in San Francisco. There, he even

419
00:19:55.470 --> 00:19:57.950
berated an elderly man who questioned his authority,

420
00:19:58.350 --> 00:20:01.270
only to later realise it was Apollo astronaut Eugene

421
00:20:01.270 --> 00:20:03.590
cernan. Finally, in July

422
00:20:03.590 --> 00:20:06.590
1994, he was charged with false impersonation,

423
00:20:06.670 --> 00:20:09.150
pleaded guilty and served a year in prison.

424
00:20:10.030 --> 00:20:12.910
After his release, Hunt's cons persisted, with

425
00:20:12.910 --> 00:20:15.770
Palambo doggedly pursuing him until the trooper's death. And

426
00:20:15.840 --> 00:20:18.800
in 1998, with stricter security after

427
00:20:18.800 --> 00:20:21.760
911 and the Stolen Valour act of 2005

428
00:20:21.760 --> 00:20:24.640
making it illegal to falsely claim military decorations,

429
00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:27.960
Hunt's schemes became impossible. He finally

430
00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:30.640
hung up his fake uniforms and tried to rebuild his life,

431
00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:33.920
expressing regret for the hurt he caused his ex wives.

432
00:20:34.560 --> 00:20:37.280
While he maintained some incredible claims about flying real

433
00:20:37.280 --> 00:20:39.960
fighter jets, investigations by NASA and

434
00:20:39.960 --> 00:20:42.960
military records confirmed that Robert Hunt had no

435
00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:45.040
legitimate military or astronaut service.

436
00:20:46.230 --> 00:20:49.110
Today, Robert J. Hunt lives alone in New Hampshire, working

437
00:20:49.110 --> 00:20:52.110
in Construction. At 63, he reflects on

438
00:20:52.110 --> 00:20:54.910
his past. He once said, when I'm wearing a

439
00:20:54.910 --> 00:20:57.670
blue flight suit and everybody else is wearing a grey or green

440
00:20:57.670 --> 00:21:00.430
one, you stand out. Like, this guy is the super

441
00:21:00.430 --> 00:21:03.030
guru of pilots, so they all want to be your friend

442
00:21:03.910 --> 00:21:06.790
for a brief, extraordinary moment. Like the

443
00:21:06.790 --> 00:21:09.390
sparrows he once painted yellow, Hunt's

444
00:21:09.390 --> 00:21:12.210
deceptions allowed him to truly believe he could

445
00:21:12.210 --> 00:21:13.130
touch the stars.

446
00:21:15.130 --> 00:21:18.090
And with that incredible story, we're calling time

447
00:21:18.090 --> 00:21:20.690
on today's episode of Astronomy Daily. A final

448
00:21:20.690 --> 00:21:23.570
reminder before I head off, if you'd like to catch up on

449
00:21:23.570 --> 00:21:26.330
all the latest in space news, please visit our website at

450
00:21:26.330 --> 00:21:29.330
astronomydaily IO. Um, while there, you

451
00:21:29.330 --> 00:21:32.170
can listen to all our back episodes and sign up for our free daily

452
00:21:32.170 --> 00:21:35.090
newsletter. Until next time, this is Anna

453
00:21:35.090 --> 00:21:37.990
signing off and reminding you to keep looking up. You

454
00:21:37.990 --> 00:21:40.910
just never know what you might see or discover.

455
00:21:41.790 --> 00:21:42.270
Bye.