Black Hole Born in Silence | Crew-12 Launches | Inside-Out Planets

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Language: en

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Good morning, good evening, and good


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whenever you're listening. Welcome to


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Astronomy Daily, your front row seat to


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the cosmos. I'm Anna.


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>> And I'm Avery. It's Friday, the 13th,


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February, 2026. And if you're


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superstitious, well, the universe


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doesn't care about your calendar. It's


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been too busy making black holes,


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breaking rockets, and building planetary


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systems that make absolutely no sense.


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>> That's right. We've got an absolutely


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packed show for you today. Astronomers


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may have just watched a star quietly


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collapse into a brand new black hole in


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our neighboring Andromeda galaxy. No


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supernova required. SpaceX's Crew 12 is


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launching to the International Space


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Station as we speak. Europe's most


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powerful rocket just flew for the very


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first time. And that's just for


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starters.


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>> We've also got a Vulcan rocket that


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apparently didn't learn its lesson the


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first time around. a planetary system


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that's been turned completely inside out


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and NASA's Swift Observatory going into


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survival mode to avoid a fiery re-entry.


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Let's get into it.


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>> We're kicking things off with what is


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quite literally happening right now.


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NASA and SpaceX have given the final go


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for Crew 12 mission to the International


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Space Station. Liftoff was scheduled for


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5:15 a.m. Eastern time this morning from


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Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape


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Canaveral. The crew is an international


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squad. We've got NASA astronauts Jessica


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Mir and Jack Hathaway, European Space


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Agency astronauts Sophie Edino from


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France, and Rosscosmos cosminaut Andre


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Fedv from Russia. They're riding aboard


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a SpaceX Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9


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rocket. And this launch was supposed to


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happen yesterday on the 12th, but


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mission teams waved off due to weather


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conditions along the flight path. They


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completed a final weather briefing last


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night and gave the all clear to proceed


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into the countdown.


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>> If everything went according to plan


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this morning, the crew should arrive at


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the station tomorrow afternoon on


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Valentine's Day at around 3:15 p.m.


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Eastern. Romantic, right? Nothing says I


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love you like docking with a space


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station at 28,000 kmh.


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>> Once they're aboard, they'll bring the


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station back up to its full complement


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of seven crew members. The ISS has been


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operating with a reduced crew, so this


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is a welcome reinforcement. They've got


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a packed science agenda waiting for them


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up there.


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>> Fun stat on this one. The Falcon 9


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booster being used, B1081,


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is flying for its 22nd time. 22 flights


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on a single rocket booster. And this is


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the 19th Falcon 9 mission of 2026 alone,


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and we're only in midFebruary. SpaceX's


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launch cadence is just relentless. We'll


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keep you updated on Crew 12's progress


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as they make their way to the station.


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You can catch the full coverage on NASA


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Plus, Amazon Prime, and NASA's YouTube


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channel.


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>> All right, Anna, this next story is the


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kind of thing that gives astrophysicists


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goosebumps. Astronomers believe they've


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witnessed something extraordinary. A


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massive star in the Andromeda galaxy


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that didn't go out by a bang, but just


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quietly vanished. And what it left


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behind appears to be a brand new black


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hole. This is genuinely remarkable. The


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star cataloged as M31204DS1


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was a yellow super giant about 13 times


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the mass of our own sun, sitting roughly


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2.5 million lighty years away in our


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neighboring Andromeda galaxy. Before it


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disappeared, it was one of the brightest


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stars in Andromeda, shining about


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100,000 times brighter than our own sun.


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>> So, here's what happened. A team led by


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Columbia University astrophysicist Kesha


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Leiday was sifting through archival data


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from NASA's Neoise mission, an infrared


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space telescope that mapped the sky from


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2009 to 2024. They were building a map


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of how millions of stars change in


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brightness over time. And buried in that


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data, they found something stunning.


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>> Starting around 2014, this star began to


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brighten in infrared light. Then it


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started fading dramatically in visible


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light. And by 2022, it had vanished


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entirely from Neoise's view. Even with


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the most sensitive telescopes available


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today, there's nothing there. As Depos


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put it, imagine if Betal Juice just


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suddenly disappeared. That's essentially


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what happened here, just in the galaxy


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next door.


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>> Now, normally when a massive star dies,


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it goes out spectacularly as a


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supernova. The core collapses, nutrinos


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erupt outward, and the resulting shock


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wave blasts the stars outer layers into


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space in an explosion that can outshine


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an entire galaxy. But this star didn't


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do any of that. It appears to be what


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astronomers call a failed supernova. The


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theory is that the core collapsed as


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expected, forming a dense neutron star,


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but the shock wave that was supposed to


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blow the star apart just wasn't strong


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enough. Instead of exploding outward,


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most of the stars material fell back


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inward, overwhelming the neutron star


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and creating a black hole. It's death by


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implosion rather than explosion.


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>> And what's really interesting is the


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role of convection. The team realized


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that previous models hadn't properly


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accounted for the churning turbulent


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motions in the stars outer layers. When


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they factored that in, they found the


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convection actually helps sap energy


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from the shock wave, making it more


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likely to fail. That's a significant new


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insight. The material that didn't fall


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straight in is now forming a rotating


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accretion disc around the newborn black


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hole, slowly spiraling inward, much like


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water circling a drain. The infrared


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glow from that debris should remain


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visible to the James Web Space Telescope


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for decades as it gradually fades.


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>> The study was published yesterday in the


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journal Science and the implications are


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huge. If relatively lightweight stars


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like this one at just 13 solar masses


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can collapse directly into black holes,


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then there could be far more black holes


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out there than we've previously


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estimated. This could be a very common


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way for stars to die, and we've just


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been missing it because there's no


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explosion to see.


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>> Not everyone's convinced yet, though.


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Some astronomers suggest this could be a


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case of merging stars whose combined


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light got obscured by dust. But as one


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researcher put it, the definitive test


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is simple. Death is forever. If it's


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truly a black hole, that star is never


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coming back. Future observations with


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JWST will help settle the debate.


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>> Sticking with the launch theme, Europe


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had a huge milestone yesterday. The most


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powerful version of the Aron 6 rocket


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flew for the first time, and it was


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carrying cargo for one of SpaceX's


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biggest competitors.


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>> That's right. Aryan Space launched the


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Arion 64, the four booster configuration


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of Europe's new flagship rocket. It


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lifted off from the Guyana Space Center


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in Kuru, French Guyana at 1645 UTC on


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February 12th. And riding on top were 32


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satellites for Amazon's Internet


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Constellation, now officially branded as


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Amazon LEO.


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>> So, let's break down the naming. The


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Aron 6 comes in two versions. the 62


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with two strap-on solid rocket boosters


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and the 64 with four. This was the first


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time the 64 has ever flown, and it's


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significantly more powerful. Those four


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P120 Seolid boosters give it the extra


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punch needed to loft heavier payloads.


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And Amazon Leo, formerly known as


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Project Kyper, is Amazon's answer to


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SpaceX's Starlink. The plan is to build


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a constellation of 3,236


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satellites providing broadband internet


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from low Earth orbit. So these 32


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satellites are an early batch to start


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building out that network. It's a big


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deal on two fronts. For Europe, the Aron


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64 flying successfully means they now


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have a heavy lift option that can


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compete for larger commercial and


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government payloads. And for Amazon,


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getting satellites up on a non-SP SpaceX


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rocket is strategically important. You


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don't want your main competitor also


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being your sole ride to orbit.


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>> The launch went smoothly with the


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satellites successfully deployed into


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low Earth orbit. It's a promising start


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for the Aron 64 configuration.


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>> Now, speaking of rockets that had a


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slightly less smooth day, we need to


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talk about the Vulcan Centaur. This is


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an update to the story we covered


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yesterday. United Launch Alliance flew


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the USSF87


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mission for the US Space Force early on


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February 12th, and there was a very


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familiar problem. About 30 seconds after


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liftoff from Cape Canaveral, observers


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noticed a bright glow and a shower of


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sparks pouring from the aft end of one


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of the four GEM 63 XL solid rocket


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boosters. Video and tracking footage


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showed what appears to be a nozzle burn


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through where hot exhaust gas


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essentially melts its way through the


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nozzle casing.


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>> And here's the thing, this has happened


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before. The exact same type of anomaly


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occurred during Vulcan's second


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certification flight back in October


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2024. ULA and booster manufacturer


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Northrup Grumman spent months


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investigating that incident, identified


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a manufacturing defect, and said they'd


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fixed it. The third flight in August


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2025 went cleanly.


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>> But now on just the fourth flight


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overall, the problem is back. ULA


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acknowledged it had quote an observation


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early during flight on one of the four


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solid rocket motors and said the team is


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reviewing the data.


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>> The silver lining is that the mission


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still succeeded. The Falcon 9, sorry,


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the Vulcan's twin BE4 main engines


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compensated and the Centaur upper stage


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completed all its planned burns. About


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eight hours after launch, ULA confirmed


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the payloads were successfully delivered


00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:24.790
to geocynchronous orbit more than 22,000


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m above Earth. The primary payload was a


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pair of GSSAP satellites for the Space


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Force. These are maneuverable spacecraft


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that serve as a sort of neighborhood


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watch for geocynchronous orbit,


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monitoring activity near US and Allied


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assets. There were also some research


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and development payloads aboard. But the


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bigger question now is what this means


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for Vulcan's future. ULA had ambitious


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plans to fly 16 to 18 missions this


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year, including launches for Amazon GPS


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satellites and more Space Force


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payloads. A recurring booster issue on a


00:11:00.880 --> 00:11:03.509
rocket that's only flown four times is a


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serious concern. The Space Force has


00:11:05.839 --> 00:11:07.430
already said it will work closely with


00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:09.670
ULA on flightw worthiness before the


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next national security mission.


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>> We'll be watching this one closely.


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Vulcan is supposed to be ULA's flagship


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for the future, replacing the venerable


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Atlas 5. It needs to prove it can fly


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reliably, and a pattern of booster


00:11:23.839 --> 00:11:26.470
issues isn't helping that case.


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All right, time for some planetary


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weirdness. Astronomers have found a star


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system that looks like someone assembled


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the planets in the wrong order. Think of


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it as a cosmic double stuffed Oreo.


00:11:38.959 --> 00:11:41.269
That's actually a great analogy. The


00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:44.949
star is called LHS1903.


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It's a red dwarf about half the mass of


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our sun, located about 116 light years


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away. It has four planets, all orbiting


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in less than 30 days. So it's a very


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compact system and from the star outward


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the arrangement goes rocky gaseous


00:12:01.760 --> 00:12:03.509
gaseous rocky


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>> which is the exact opposite of what


00:12:05.680 --> 00:12:08.069
models predict. In standard planetary


00:12:08.079 --> 00:12:10.310
formation theory rocky planets form


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closer to the star where intense


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starlight strips away atmospheres and


00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:16.629
gas giants form farther out where


00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:18.230
there's more gas available in the


00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:20.949
protolanetary disc. You'd expect rocky


00:12:20.959 --> 00:12:23.910
on the inside, gassy on the outside. But


00:12:23.920 --> 00:12:25.670
LHS1903


00:12:25.680 --> 00:12:27.590
follows the rules beautifully for the


00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:29.910
first three planets. A rocky one closest


00:12:29.920 --> 00:12:32.629
in, then two gaseous ones, and then the


00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:34.790
fourth planet, the one furthest out, is


00:12:34.800 --> 00:12:37.190
rocky again. It's like finding a


00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:39.750
Venuslike world out past Neptune's


00:12:39.760 --> 00:12:42.389
orbit. It just shouldn't be there. The


00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:44.389
system was first discovered by NASA's


00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:47.030
test mission back in 2019. And this


00:12:47.040 --> 00:12:49.350
latest study published February 12th in


00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:52.069
Science used a suite of groundbased and


00:12:52.079 --> 00:12:54.150
space-based instruments to precisely


00:12:54.160 --> 00:12:55.829
determine the planet's masses and


00:12:55.839 --> 00:12:57.670
densities. That's how they could tell


00:12:57.680 --> 00:12:59.430
which ones are rocky and which have


00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:01.590
thick gaseous envelopes.


00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:04.550
>> The leading explanation is planetary


00:13:04.560 --> 00:13:07.590
migration. Sometime early in the systems


00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:09.910
history, the inner planets may have


00:13:09.920 --> 00:13:12.150
shuffled around, similar to what


00:13:12.160 --> 00:13:14.629
happened in our own solar system during


00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:17.110
the late heavy bombardment. A


00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:19.670
gravitational reshuffle could have sent


00:13:19.680 --> 00:13:22.389
a large body crashing into the fourth


00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:25.190
planet, stripping away its atmosphere,


00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.829
or the planet may have formed late after


00:13:27.839 --> 00:13:30.230
the system had run out of gas.


00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.389
>> As astronomer Andrew Cameron from the


00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:35.190
University of St. Andrews put it, that


00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:37.350
stuff does happen in young planetary


00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:39.590
systems. This one has the look of


00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:42.069
something that's been turned inside out.


00:13:42.079 --> 00:13:44.310
It's a fantastic reminder that for all


00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:46.629
our models and theories, the universe


00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:49.110
keeps finding ways to surprise us.


00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:52.150
>> Our final story today is about a veteran


00:13:52.160 --> 00:13:54.470
space telescope that's fighting for its


00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:57.350
life and NASA's creative plan to save


00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:00.389
it. The Neil Gerald Swift Observatory


00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:02.550
has been one of NASA's workh horses for


00:14:02.560 --> 00:14:04.949
high energy astrophysics. It's been in


00:14:04.959 --> 00:14:08.389
orbit for about 21 years, rapidly sooing


00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:10.389
to observe gammaray births and other


00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:13.269
transient cosmic events. But time and


00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:15.430
physics are catching up with it.


00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:18.310
>> The problem is atmospheric drag.


00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:21.269
Enhanced solar activity, and we're right


00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:24.150
around solar maximum heats Earth's upper


00:14:24.160 --> 00:14:27.509
atmosphere and causes it to expand. That


00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:30.470
expanded atmosphere creates more drag on


00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:33.509
satellites in low orbit, slowly pulling


00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.629
them down. Swift's average altitude has


00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:39.189
been steadily declining, and it's now


00:14:39.199 --> 00:14:44.629
dropped below about 250 m or 400 km.


00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:47.670
>> So on February 11th, NASA's Swift team


00:14:47.680 --> 00:14:49.990
made a tough call. They've temporarily


00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:52.710
suspended most science operations. The


00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:54.470
burst alert telescope will keep


00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:56.470
detecting gammaray bursts, but the


00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:58.949
spacecraft will no longer slew to follow


00:14:58.959 --> 00:15:00.710
up on those detections with its other


00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:03.110
instruments. Instead, controllers are


00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.110
keeping Swift in a fixed orientation


00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:07.990
that minimizes atmospheric drag. Think


00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:10.790
of it like a swimmer turning sideways to


00:15:10.800 --> 00:15:12.949
cut through a current instead of facing


00:15:12.959 --> 00:15:15.990
it headon. By reducing how much surface


00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.949
area Swift presents to the thin wisps of


00:15:18.959 --> 00:15:21.430
atmosphere at that altitude, they can


00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:23.509
slow the orbital decay.


00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:26.150
>> And here's the creative part. NASA has


00:15:26.160 --> 00:15:28.150
contracted a company called Catalyst


00:15:28.160 --> 00:15:30.550
Space Technologies based in Flagstaff,


00:15:30.560 --> 00:15:33.430
Arizona to actually go up and give Swift


00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:35.670
a push. They're planning a servicing


00:15:35.680 --> 00:15:37.590
mission that will boost the observatory


00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:39.990
into a higher orbit, extending its


00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.310
scientific lifetime. The reboost


00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:44.629
spacecraft is expected to launch in the


00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:47.189
summer, but for that to work, Swift


00:15:47.199 --> 00:15:51.910
needs to stay above about 185 m, roughly


00:15:51.920 --> 00:15:55.110
300 km. So everything they're doing now


00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.990
is about preserving enough altitude to


00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:00.310
make the rescue mission possible.


00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:02.389
>> It's a fascinating case study in


00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:04.790
satellite servicing. If it works, it


00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:06.629
demonstrates a capability that could be


00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:08.629
applied to all sorts of aging


00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.030
spacecraft. Rather than letting valuable


00:16:11.040 --> 00:16:13.430
observatories burn up, you send a little


00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:15.749
tugboat to push them back up. The


00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:17.189
economics of that could be


00:16:17.199 --> 00:16:19.509
transformative for space science.


00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:22.150
>> We're rooting for Swift. 21 years of


00:16:22.160 --> 00:16:24.949
service and still going. Fingers crossed


00:16:24.959 --> 00:16:27.030
the reboost mission comes together in


00:16:27.040 --> 00:16:27.990
time.


00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.150
>> And that wraps up another packed edition


00:16:30.160 --> 00:16:32.870
of Astronomy Daily. What a Friday the


00:16:32.880 --> 00:16:35.269
13th it's been. From a star silently


00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:37.590
becoming a black hole to rockets that


00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:40.150
keep surprising us, the universe never


00:16:40.160 --> 00:16:42.710
takes a day off. If you enjoyed today's


00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:45.110
episode, please hit subscribe wherever


00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:47.189
you're listening and leave us a review


00:16:47.199 --> 00:16:49.509
if you can. It really does help new


00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:51.990
listeners find us. You can also follow


00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.350
us on social media at astroaily pod on


00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:57.110
all the major platforms.


00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.189
>> Head over to astronomyaily.io


00:16:59.199 --> 00:17:01.430
io for full show notes and links to all


00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:03.590
the stories we covered today. And if


00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:05.590
you've got questions, story tips, or


00:17:05.600 --> 00:17:07.510
just want to say hi, we'd love to hear


00:17:07.520 --> 00:17:08.390
from you.


00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.789
>> Until next time, keep looking up.


00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:15.270
>> Clear skies, everyone. Astronomy day.


00:17:15.280 --> 00:17:23.270
Stories be told.


00:17:23.280 --> 00:17:27.000
Stories to tell.