From Rocket Crashes to Cosmic Balances: Your Daily Space Update
In this episode, we navigate through a range of significant stories impacting the space industry today. We begin with a setback for South Korea's Innospace, as their Hanbit Nano rocket tragically crashes just 30 seconds after liftoff from Brazil's Alcantara Space Center. While the company cited a vehicle abnormality, the incident raises questions about the challenges faced by emerging private space firms. Next, we take a fascinating journey back in time to explore a period when Earth's day lasted only 19 hours. New research reveals a unique balance between lunar and solar forces that maintained this rhythm for a billion years, potentially influencing the evolution of early life on our planet. As we shift our focus to the present, we discuss an exciting and busy launch schedule for the end of 2025, featuring missions from China, India, Russia, and SpaceX, highlighting the global nature of the space industry. We also address serious safety concerns surrounding Boeing's Starliner following its first crewed test flight. A NASA advisory panel has criticized the agency for not adequately recognizing the mission's issues, which led to astronauts being stranded on the ISS for nine months. Finally, we report on a major leadership change at United Launch Alliance, with CEO Tory Brian resigning after nearly 12 years, leaving behind a legacy tied to the development of the Vulcan Centaur rocket. Join us as we unpack these stories and more in this episode of Astronomy Daily!00:00 – **Today we'll cover some unfortunate news for South Korea's burgeoning space industry
00:31 – **South Korean company Innospace's first commercial orbital rocket crashed in Brazil
02:10 – **For about a billion years Earth's day flatlined at 19 hours
04:34 – **The last full week of 2025 is shaping up to be incredibly busy for space launches
06:18 – **NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel has come out with a pretty strong statement
09:49 – **Tory Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch alliance, has resigned
11:06 – **It's been another busy day in astronomy and spaceflight### Sources & Further Reading1. NASA (https://www.nasa.gov/) 2. SpaceX (https://www.spacex.com/) 3. United Launch Alliance (https://www.ula.com/) 4. Innospace (https://www.innospace.co.kr/) 5. Space.com (https://www.space.com/) ### Follow & ContactX/Twitter: @AstroDailyPodInstagram: @astrodailypodEmail: hello@astronomydaily.ioWebsite: astronomydaily.io (http://astronomydaily.io/) Clear skies and see you next time! 🌟
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00:31 - South Korean company Innospace’s first commercial orbital rocket crashed in Brazil
02:10 - For about a billion years Earth’s day flatlined at 19 hours
04:34 - The last full week of 2025 is shaping up to be incredibly busy for space launches
06:18 - NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel has come out with a pretty strong statement
09:49 - Tory Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch alliance, has resigned
Kind: captions
Language: en
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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast
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that brings you the universe one story
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at a time. I'm Avery.
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>> And I'm Anna. Today, we'll be covering
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some unfortunate news for South Korea's
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burgeoning space industry, a look back
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billions of years to when Earth had a
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19-hour day, a very busy launch schedule
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to close out 2025, and some serious
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safety concerns over Boeing's
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Starlininer. And we'll cap things off
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with a major leadership shakeup at
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United Launch Alliance.
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>> A lot to get through. Let's start with
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that launch anomaly in Brazil. What
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happened with the Hanbit Nano rocket?
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>> It's a tough break for the South Korean
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company Inospace. Their first commercial
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orbital rocket, the Hanbit Nano,
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unfortunately crashed just 30 seconds
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after liftoff from the Alcantara Space
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Center in Brazil.
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>> Only 30 seconds. Wow. Do we know the
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cause? The company cited a vehicle
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abnormality, but they haven't released
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specific details yet. The important
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thing is that no one was hurt and there
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was no damage to the launch facility.
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>> That's certainly the silver lining. This
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was a significant launch for them,
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wasn't it? It had been delayed a few
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times already.
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>> Exactly. It was carrying five
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satellites, so this was a major
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milestone attempt. A successful first
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commercial launch would have been a huge
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step for South Korea's private space
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sector. Setbacks are part of the
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process, but this one definitely stings
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for Inospace,
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>> right? Failure is always an option in
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rocketry, especially on a debut flight.
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We'll be watching to see how they bounce
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back.
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>> Absolutely. And it highlights the
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immense challenge for smaller private
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companies trying to break into the
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orbital launch market. It's not just
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about building a rocket. It's about
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securing funding, navigating
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international regulations, and building
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a track record. the barrier to entry is
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still incredibly high.
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>> That's a great point. While companies
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like SpaceX make it look almost routine
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now, each successful launch is built on
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a mountain of data from both successes
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and failures. Hopefully, Innoace can
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analyze what went wrong and come back
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stronger. A competitive launch market is
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good for everyone.
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>> Definitely. Now, let's switch gears and
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go way, way back in time. Billions of
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years, in fact. Avery, did you know
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there was a period when Earth's day was
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stuck at just 19 hours long?
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>> Stuck? I know the day has been getting
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gradually longer as the moon moves away
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from us, but I've never heard of it just
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stopping.
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>> That's what's so fascinating. New
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research indicates that for about a
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billion years, from roughly 2 billion
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years to 1 billion years ago, the day
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length just flatlined at 19 hours.
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>> A billion years is not a short time.
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What could cause our planet's rotation
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to just pause its slowdown like that?
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>> It's a really cool celestial balancing
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act. We know the moon's gravity creates
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ocean tides that act like a break on
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Earth's rotation, slowing it down,
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>> right? The lunar tides.
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>> But the sun also creates tides not just
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in the ocean, but in the atmosphere. The
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sun heats the atmosphere, causing it to
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bulge. This atmospheric tide influenced
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by Earth's rotation actually pulls on
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the planet trying to speed it up.
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>> So you have the moon's gravity slowing
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us down and the sun's atmospheric heat
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speeding us up.
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>> Precisely. And during this specific
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billion-year period, the theory is that
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the two forces reached a perfect
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equilibrium. The atmospheric day was in
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resonance with the rotational day. The
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slowing effect from the lunar ocean
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tides was perfectly balanced by the
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speeding effect of the solar atmospheric
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tides.
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>> A tidal resonance. That's incredible.
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So, the Earth was in a state of cosmic
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tugofwar and for a billion years it was
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a perfect draw.
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>> Exactly. Eventually, other factors broke
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the resonance and the moon's influence
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won out again, continuing the slow
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lengthening of our day to the 24 hours
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we have now. It makes you think about
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all the delicate balances that have
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shaped our planet's history.
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>> Absolutely. Imagine what life might have
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been like with five extra hours of
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darkness each day.
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>> That's the big question researchers are
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exploring now. A consistent 19-hour
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dayight cycle could have provided a
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stable environment for early
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photosynthetic organisms like
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cyanobacteria to thrive. Some theories
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suggest this long period of stability
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might have been a crucial factor in the
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great oxidation event where oxygen
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levels in the atmosphere began to rise,
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paving the way for more complex life.
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>> Well, coming back to the present, things
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are anything but slow. The last full
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week of 2025 is shaping up to be
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incredibly busy for space launches.
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>> It seems like everyone is trying to get
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their last missions of the year off the
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ground. What's on the manifest?
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>> Well, we already discussed in a
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spaceac's attempt in China. CASC is
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expected to debut its brand new reusable
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Changang 12A rocket. That's a huge
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development for their reusable launch
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vehicle program.
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>> Mhm. A direct competitor to SpaceX's
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Falcon 9.
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>> Indeed. Then over in India, ISRO is
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launching a Bluebird Block 2 satellite.
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Russia has not one but two so use
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missions planned from different
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cosmodromes.
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>> A busy week for Ross Cosmos.
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>> And of course, you can't have a busy
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launch week without SpaceX. They're
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scheduled for their final Falcon 9
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mission of the year, launching the CSG3
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satellite for the Italian Space Agency.
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It's a real flurry of activity to end
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the year.
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>> It really shows how global the space
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industry has become. Launches from
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China, India, Russia, and the US, all
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within days of each other. It's an
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exciting time to be following space
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flight.
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>> That's for sure.
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>> It's worth noting the diversity of these
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missions, too. The Chinese launch is a
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technology demonstrator for reusability.
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The Indian mission is for Earth
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observation. The Russian launches are
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likely for government and commercial
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payloads. And the SpaceX mission is for
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an Italian radar reconnaissance
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satellite. It's a snapshot of the entire
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space ecosystem in action.
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>> And the logistical coordination is
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mind-boggling. You have range safety,
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air and sea traffic control, satellite
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tracking, and telemetry all happening
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concurrently across the globe. A
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fittingly chaotic end to a very busy
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year in space.
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>> Speaking of US space flight, let's turn
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to our next story on today's rundown,
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which is a bit more sobering. It's about
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Boeing Star Liner and the fallout from
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its first crude test flight.
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>> Yeah, that mission was eventful to say
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the least. What's the latest? Well,
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NASA's aerospace safety advisory panel
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has come out with a pretty strong
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statement. They've said that NASA should
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have taken the problems with Starlininer
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far more seriously as they were
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happening.
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>> Let's recap what those problems were.
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There were multiple helium leaks and
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failures with the maneuvering thrusters.
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Right.
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>> That's right. Five separate thruster
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failures during docking and multiple
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helium leaks that were discovered both
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before and during the mission. The
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panel's main point of contention is that
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NASA never officially declared an
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in-flight mishap or a high visibility
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close call.
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>> And not making that declaration has
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consequences.
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>> It does. According to the panel, this
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failure to officially recognize the
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severity of the issues led to an
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extended period of uncertainty. It put a
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lot of stress on the workforce at NASA
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and Boeing who were trying to
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troubleshoot these serious problems.
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without the formal structure and
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resources that come with a mishap
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declaration.
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>> So they were essentially trying to
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manage a crisis without being allowed to
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call it a crisis. That sounds incredibly
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difficult.
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>> Extremely. And the end result speaks for
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itself. The two astronauts, Butch
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Wilmore and Sunni Williams, ended up
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staying on the International Space
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Station for 9 months while engineers
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tried to figure out if Starlininer was
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safe to bring them home.
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>> And in the end, it wasn't. They came
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home on a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
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>> That's the crucial point. The
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Starlininer capsule had to return to
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Earth empty. Having your crew return on
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a competitor's spacecraft because your
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own was deemed unsafe is a massive blow
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to the program's credibility. The safety
00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:10.070
panel is basically saying that if NASA
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had been more forthright about the
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problems from the start, a lot of this
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prolonged uncertainty and stress could
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have been handled better. It's a tough
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lesson in transparency and risk
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management. You never want to see a
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situation where you have to rely on your
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backup transportation system for a crude
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mission. It really underscores the value
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of having redundant, reliable systems
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like SpaceX's Dragon.
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>> It absolutely does. There's a lot for
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both NASA and Boeing to learn from this
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incident before they even consider
00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.829
putting another crew on Starlininer.
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>> Absolutely. And the post-flight
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investigation is digging into the root
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causes. The helium leaks, for instance,
00:08:50.560 --> 00:08:52.710
seem to be related to seals that become
00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:55.269
brittle at extreme temperatures. But the
00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:57.910
thruster issue is more complex. It's a
00:08:57.920 --> 00:08:59.910
propulsion system that has seen numerous
00:08:59.920 --> 00:09:02.070
issues throughout its development. And
00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:03.750
the failures during this critical
00:09:03.760 --> 00:09:06.070
mission pointed to a potential systemic
00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:07.910
design flaw in the reaction control
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system.
00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:11.269
>> A systemic flaw is the last thing you
00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:13.590
want to hear about on a crude vehicle.
00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:15.829
So, what's the path forward for Boeing?
00:09:15.839 --> 00:09:18.230
Is the Starlininer program salvageable
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at this point?
00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:21.350
>> It's a tough road ahead. They will
00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:23.190
likely need a complete redesign and
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:25.430
reertification of the propulsion system,
00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:27.670
which could take years and billions more
00:09:27.680 --> 00:09:30.470
dollars. NASA is committed to having two
00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:32.949
independent crew transportation systems,
00:09:32.959 --> 00:09:35.269
so they won't give up on Boeing easily.
00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:37.350
But the pressure is immense, and
00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:40.630
confidence both within NASA and publicly
00:09:40.640 --> 00:09:43.190
has been severely shaken. They have to
00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:45.750
prove beyond any doubt that Starlininer
00:09:45.760 --> 00:09:48.150
is safe before anyone else straps in for
00:09:48.160 --> 00:09:49.190
a ride.
00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:51.990
>> And for our final story today, we've got
00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:54.310
some big news from one of the titans of
00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:57.030
the launch industry. Tori Bruno, the
00:09:57.040 --> 00:09:59.829
longtime president and CEO of United
00:09:59.839 --> 00:10:02.070
Launch Alliance has resigned.
00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:04.630
>> That is big news. Bruno has been at the
00:10:04.640 --> 00:10:07.670
helm of ULA for nearly 12 years. He
00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:09.509
really guided the company, a joint
00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:11.990
venture between Boeing and Loheed Martin
00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:13.590
through one of its most challenging
00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:16.150
periods facing intense competition from
00:10:16.160 --> 00:10:17.990
newcomers like SpaceX.
00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.949
>> Absolutely. His legacy will undoubtedly
00:10:20.959 --> 00:10:23.190
be tied to the development of the new
00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:25.750
Vulcan Centaur rocket. That was a
00:10:25.760 --> 00:10:28.470
massive undertaking designed not only to
00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:31.430
replace the legacy Atlas 5 and Delta IV
00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:34.470
rockets, but also to end ULA's reliance
00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:37.590
on the Russian RD1 180 engines.
00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:39.990
>> And he was such a public-f facing CEO,
00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:41.990
wasn't he? He was famous for his
00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.069
engaging presence on social media,
00:10:44.079 --> 00:10:45.829
always willing to answer technical
00:10:45.839 --> 00:10:48.069
questions from space fans. He really
00:10:48.079 --> 00:10:51.030
modernized ULA's public image. It truly
00:10:51.040 --> 00:10:52.710
feels like the end of an era for the
00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.190
company. Do we know who's taking over?
00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:57.590
>> For now, John Elbon has been appointed
00:10:57.600 --> 00:10:59.990
as the interim CEO while they search for
00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:01.910
a permanent replacement. It will
00:11:01.920 --> 00:11:03.670
certainly be interesting to see the
00:11:03.680 --> 00:11:06.630
direction ULA takes in this new chapter.
00:11:06.640 --> 00:11:08.310
>> And that's all the time we have for
00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:10.310
today. From rocket failures and
00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:12.550
celestial mechanics to a packed launch
00:11:12.560 --> 00:11:14.790
schedule and critical safety reviews,
00:11:14.800 --> 00:11:16.389
it's been another busy day in the world
00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:18.150
of astronomy and spaceflight.
00:11:18.160 --> 00:11:20.470
>> Thanks for tuning in to Astronomy Daily.
00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:22.389
We'll be back tomorrow with more news
00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:25.030
from across the cosmos. Until then, I'm
00:11:25.040 --> 00:11:25.829
Anna
00:11:25.839 --> 00:11:28.310
>> and I'm Avery. Keep looking up.
00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:31.350
>> Astronomy day.
00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:35.160
Stories told.