Stellar Strides: SpaceX's Starship Trials, Blue Origin's Mars Mission

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily your go to source

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for the latest happenings in space and astronomy. I'm

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Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. We're excited to bring you more

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cosmic insights and groundbreaking discoveries from across the

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universe.

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Anna: Today we've got some fascinating stories lined

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up covering everything from the latest

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updates on um, SpaceX's ambitious

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Starship programme to Blue Origin's

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plans for a uh, second new Glenn launch heading

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to Mars.

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Avery: We'll also dive into the mysterious world of

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intermediate black holes which are truly the

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universe's most elusive objects. And talk

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about NASA's new initiative to develop

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orbital transfer vehicles for more efficient space

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travel.

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Anna: It's going to be a captivating journey through the

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cosmos, filled with news that's both

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professional and easy to understand. So

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buckle up and get ready for Astronomy Daily.

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Avery: Alright, let's dive into some of the latest news from

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SpaceX specifically regarding their colossal

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Starship rocket. It's been quite a journey for them

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this year with a few bumps along the way.

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Anna: That's right Avery. SpaceX is gearing up for

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the 10th full scale test flight of Starship

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and they just received launch approval from the Federal

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Aviation Administration, which is a big step.

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Avery: Absolutely. They also completed a final

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propulsion system test known as a spin prime

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test earlier this week at their Starbase site

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in South Texas. After that the ship was rolled

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back to a hangar for engine inspections,

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heat shield touch ups and other final preparations.

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Anna: The target launch date is set for no earlier

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than next Sunday, August 24th at

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6:30pm local Texas time. This

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flight is crucial as SpaceX aims to move

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past a challenging period. Last year,

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2024 was quite successful for Starship

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with four flights and significant achievements

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including the first CA patch of uh, a super heavy

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booster back at the launch pad.

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Avery: But 2025 has been a different story.

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We've seen four disappointing test flights from January

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through May and even a ground test explosion in

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June. These setbacks have pushed back

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major programme milestones like the recovery

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and reuse of the upper stage and in orbit

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refuelling demonstrations which are both critical for

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their long term goals of Mars settlement and

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supporting NASA's Artemis programme.

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Anna: Let's talk about those setbacks because SpaceX

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has been quite transparent about the causes. The

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FAA recently closed its investigation into

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the most recent in flight failure. In May,

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the rocket started leaking propellant after reaching

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space, preventing it from completing its test flight.

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Avery: The FAA confirmed that the probable root cause was

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a failure of a fuel component. SpaceX's

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investigation pinpointed a faulty main fuel

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tank pressurisation diffuser on the forward

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dome of Starship' primary methane tank.

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This diffuser failed just a few minutes after launch,

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leading to a pressure drop and a worsening fuel

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leak that overwhelmed the attitude control

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system.

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Anna: SpaceX actually recreated this diffuser

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failure on the ground during their investigation, and

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has since redesigned the part to better direct

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pressurised gas and reduce strain on the

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structure. The FAA has signed off on these

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findings, giving them the green light for flight 10.

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Now for the ground explosion on June

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18th. This accident destroyed the vehicle

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ship 36 and damaged the test site,

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pushing back the programme by another couple of months.

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SpaceX attributed this to likely damage

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to a high pressure nitrogen storage tank

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inside Starship's payload bay,

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specifically a composite overwrapped

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pressure vessel, or COPV.

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Avery: That's right, the COPV violently

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ruptured as corrective actions, SpaceX

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plans to operate COPVs on upcoming

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flights ah at lower pressures, conduct

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additional inspections for damage, implement more

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stringent acceptance criteria, and make

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a hardware change to address the issue. It

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shows their commitment to learning from every test,

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whether it's in the air or on the ground.

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Anna: It's all part of the iterative design process that

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SpaceX is known for. The previous flights

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this year, including those in January and March,

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also faced propulsion failures and lost

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control, scattering debris. The May

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flight made it, further completing its engine burn,

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but then spun out of control, hindering heat

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shield data collection.

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Avery: Mastering the heat shield design is

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absolutely critical as it's vital for

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Starship's reusability. For Flight

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10, SpaceX will be testing several

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different ceramic and metallic tile

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designs to gather crucial data during

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reentry. They want this data as soon as possible

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to inform the design of version three,

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or Block three of Starship, which will

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be the first to actually fly.

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Anna: Into orbit beyond the heat shield. There

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are other ambitious objectives for Flight 10.

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They plan to deploy spacecraft simulators

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mimicking their next generation Starlink

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Internet satellites, an objective that hasn't been

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met in the last three flights.

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Avery: And for the Super Heavy Booster, instead of attempting

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a catch at the launch pad, which they've done

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successfully three times, this flight will

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aim for a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of

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Mexico. This will allow them to experiment with

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new landing methods, such as controlling the

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final descent with a different mix of engines.

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And to avoid issues like the structural

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failure of the field transfer tube seen in the

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last booster test, which occurred due to a high

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angle of attack during descent.

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Anna: It's clear that SpaceX is using every

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flight, successful or not, to gather

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data and refine their designs. They've

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stated that every Lesson learned from both flight

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and ground testing features feeds directly into

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the next generation of Starship and super

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heavy. They have just two more version

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2 vehicles before moving to the taller

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version 3 which will feature improved

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Raptor engines. It's a true try, try

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again approach to rocketry.

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Avery: Speaking of ambitious endeavours, let's shift our focus

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to Blue Origin which is also making significant

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strides. They are gearing up for the second

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ever launch of their powerful New Glenn rocket launch.

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Anna: That's right Avery. This launch, dubbed

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NG2 is particularly exciting

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because it will loft NASA's escapade

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mission to Mars. Blue Origin is

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targeting no earlier than September 29th for

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this liftoff.

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Avery: The twin Escapade probes, which stand for

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escape and plasma acceleration and

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Dynamics explorers have actually been waiting

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for this ride. They were originally slated for New

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Glenn's maiden launch back in January, but

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NASA decided not to risk a costly mission

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delay on a debut flight.

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Anna: A wise decision I think. Now that the

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mission has a target date, Blue Origin has been

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buzzing on social media promising some exciting

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things around New Glenn's pad at space

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Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral,

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Florida.

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Avery: So what exactly will Escapade be

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doing at Mars? It's an interplanetary

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mission which is quite ambitious for a uh, relatively new

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launch vehicle. The twin orbiters will

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study the magnetosphere around the Red Planet

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and analyse how energetic solar wind

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particles interact with the Martian atmosphere.

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This kind of data is crucial for understanding Mars

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atmospheric loss over time.

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Anna: Absolutely fascinating. The satellites

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themselves were built by California based rocket

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Lab and once in space their operation

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will be handed over to the University of

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California's Space Sciences Laboratory

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managing the $80 million mission.

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Avery: And um, in addition to this crucial NASA payload,

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Blue Origin will also carry a secondary

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payload as part of the NG2 launch.

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It's a technology demonstration from satellite

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communications company ViaSat supporting

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NASA's Communication Services Project for in

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space networking.

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Anna: One more thing to look out for with this launch.

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Blue Origin will once again attempt to land and

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Recover New Glenn's

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188.5-foot tall Fort First

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Stage Booster on a drone ship in the Atlantic

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Ocean. These successfully launched a test

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version of their Blue Ring satellite bus on the first

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flight earlier this year. But the landing attempt

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failed. So this will be a big moment for them

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as they continue to work towards reusability.

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Now from the Red Planet, let's turn our gaze

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even further out into one of the

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universe's most enigmatic phenomena. Black

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holes. Specifically we're talking about the

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mysterious intermediate black holes.

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Avery: That's right, Anna we know about supermassive black

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holes at the centres of galaxies and we understand

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how smaller stellar mass black holes form from

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dying stars. But there's always been this

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missing link, a size range in between

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from a few hundred to a few hundred

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thousand times the mass of our sun that has

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remained incredibly elusive.

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Anna: These in between black holes, often called

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intermediate black holes or

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imphs, are much harder to find.

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But a team of astronomers, including Crystal and

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Karan from the conversation, along with

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postdoctoral researcher Anjali Yelikar,

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have been making significant strides. They're

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using ripples in spacetime known as gravitational

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waves to spot some of these elusive black

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holes merging.

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Avery: It's a bit like being at a baseball game, but you're sitting

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behind a concrete column and the crowd is

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deafening. You can't see or hear the game

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directly. So what do you do? You use a

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high quality microphone and a computer

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algorithm to separate the crowd noise from the

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distinct thunk of, uh, a bat hitting a ball.

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Anna: And with enough practise, you can start to follow

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the game, figuring out when the ball is hit,

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where it goes and even where the runners are.

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This is a challenging way to watch a game, but

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it's similar to how astronomers use specialised

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observatories like the Laser Interferometer

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Gravitational Wave Observatory, or ligo,

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to listen to the universe.

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Avery: LIGO is designed to detect the faint

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gravitational waves produced by two black holes

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merging into a single more massive black hole.

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By analysing these waves, scientists can

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deduce incredible details where the

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merger happened, how far away it was, the

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masses of the parent and resultant black holes and

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um, even the direction in the sky.

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Anna: Most of the parent black holes observed in these merger

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events are stellar mass black holes

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originating from collapsed stars. But

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here's where the mass gap comes in. Stars

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between about 20 to 100 solar

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masses can form black holes. However, due to

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complex nuclear physics, really massive

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stars explode differently and don't leave behind a

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black hole.

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Avery: This creates a mass gap where black holes

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larger than about 60 solar masses are too

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big to have been formed directly from a sing single dying

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star. These are what the researchers call light

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intermediate mass black holes or light

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imbhs. They're special because their

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formation isn't fully understood and they

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bridge that critical knowledge gap in how the universe

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grows and evolves.

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Anna: In their recent research, the team analysed 11

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black hole merger candidates from Ligo's third

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observing run. Their analysis showed that 5

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of the post merger black holes were confidently in

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the light intermediate black hole range.

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Avery: And here's the kicker. They found that One of the

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merger events had a parent black hole that was already

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in the mass gap range, and two had black

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holes above the mass gap. This

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strongly suggests that there are other currently

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unknown ways for the universe to create such

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massive black holes, possibly through earlier

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black hole mergers.

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Anna: It's an exciting finding because it helps us understand

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how often black holes find each other and

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merge. As LIGO continues its fourth observing

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run, astronomers are eager to apply these

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analytical techniques to new data, hoping to

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hear even more signals from these elusive,

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more massive black holes and shed more light on their

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formation.

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Avery: That's truly fascinating, Anna.

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From the fundamental building blocks of the

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universe, let's now pivot to a more practical

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aspect of space exploration. How we actually

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get things where they need to go in the vastness

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of space.

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Anna: Absolutely, Avery. NASA has just announced

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a significant new initiative asking six

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companies to help the agency move spacecraft

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between those notoriously difficult to reach

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orbits. They've awarded a total of

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$1.4 million to a

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group that includes some big names like Blue

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Origin, United Launch alliance and

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Rocket Lab.

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Avery: This is all about what are called Orbital

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Transfer vehicles, or OTVs. These

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vehicles launch on top of rockets, essentially

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carrying other spacecraft and then

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delivering them to very specific, often

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hard to access orbits. It's a game

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changer because spacecraft usually have limited

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fuel on board, making it tough for them to change orbits

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on their own. And rockets, well, most

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of their fuel is burned just getting off the ground.

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Anna: Exactly. So OTV's are designed to

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take a, uh, satellite or even a series of

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satellites away from the main rocket and

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transport them to another orbit or even further

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afield into deep space. The initial studies

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for NASA are due by mid September and the

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agency's long term goal is to send more

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missions to the Moon and Mars in a more cost

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efficient way.

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Avery: It's a multi orbit approach that NASA sees as

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essential, especially with the increasing pace of

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commercial space deliveries. Joe Dant,

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an Orbital Transfer Vehicle Strategic Initiative

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owner at Kennedy Space Centre, stated that these new

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awards will increase unique science

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capability and lower the agency's overall

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mission costs.

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Anna: And they've got some interesting proposals on the table.

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For instance, Aeroscience and Technology is

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partnering with Quantum Space to look at

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Quantum's Ranger for delivering payloads

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from low Earth orbit to lunar orbit.

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Avery: Blue Origin has two studies, one for their Blue

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Ring platform, which can use hybrid propulsion

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for orbits ranging from geostationary to

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cislunar, Mars and even

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interplanetary locations. Their second

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study is for an upper stage of their new Glenn

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rocket.

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Anna: Firefly Aerospace is looking at using its

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Elytra orbital vehicles for lunar

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orbit operations and CIS lunar space

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applications like imaging or payload delivery.

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Impulse Space has two vehicles, MIRA and

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Helios, designed for payload hosting and

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deployment, with Helios specifically able

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to move from low Earth orbit to medium

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or geostationary orbits or even further.

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Avery: Rocket Lab is conducting two studies, one for

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their neutron rocket and another for an OTV

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based on their Explorer spacecraft capable of

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reaching various orbits including medium Earth orbit,

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geosynchronous and even destinations like the Moon,

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Mars or asteroids. And United Launch

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alliance is studying their Centaur 5 upper stage

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for rideshare missions to cislunar Space really

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highlights the push.

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Anna: Towards more efficient, flexible space

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logistics. With these OTV's, we could see

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a future where getting to any orbit, no matter how

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remote, becomes far more achievable and

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affordable. It really does. From the

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ambitious next steps for SpaceX's

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Starship to despite its recent challenges to

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Blue Origin's exciting second new Glenn launch

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carrying NASA's Escapade mission to Mars,

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and the ongoing quest to understand

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intermediate black holes using gravitational

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waves, it's been a packed episode. And of

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course, the promising developments in orbital transfer

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vehicles showing how companies are innovating to

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make space travel more efficient and accessible.

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It's clear that the universe continues to offer

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endless discoveries and technological

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advancements.

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Avery: That's all the time we have for today's Astronomy Daily.

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Thank you for joining us for these cosmic discussions.

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Anna: We hope you enjoyed diving into the latest space and

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astronomy news with us. Be sure to tune in next time

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for more interstellar updates. In the meantime,

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keep looking up. Bye