Spacecrafts, Slingshots, and Satellite Power

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Language: en

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A rocket that got grounded by the


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weather. It's back on the pad and ready


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to fly tonight.


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>> And the most powerful rocket ever built


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is fueled, stacked, and just waiting for


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a green light. Flight 12 could happen


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any day now.


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>> Plus, a spacecraft is about to use Mars


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as a slingshot. And someone has figured


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out how to beam electricity to


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satellites using lasers.


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>> Big day in space. Let's get into it.


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This is Astronomy Daily.


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>> Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,


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your daily guide to the universe and


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everything in it. I'm Anna.


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


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of May, 2026, and this is season 5,


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episode 101.


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>> Episode 101. We've officially passed the


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century mark. Thank you as always to


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everyone listening from Europe to


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Australia across the southern hemisphere


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through the Americas and all of the


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northern hemisphere and around the


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world.


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>> Big program today. Six stories, some


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real science, a sky watching update, and


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a trivia question to keep your brain


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ticking.


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>> Let's start with the launch that almost


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wasn't, but very much is. If you were


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with us yesterday, you might remember we


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mentioned that the SpaceX Dragon cargo


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launch was looking a little shaky.


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Weather was a concern. And sure enough,


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NASA and SpaceX called off the Tuesday


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evening attempt.


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>> And here we are. It is back on. The


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CRS34


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mission. Dragon's 34th cargo run to the


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International Space Station is scheduled


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to lift off today, Wednesday the 13th of


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May at 6:50 in the evening Eastern time.


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That's 8:50 a.m. Thursday morning for us


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here in Australia. The Falcon 9 launches


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from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape


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Canaveral Space Force Station in


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Florida. on board about 6,500 pounds,


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roughly 2950 kg of supplies, hardware,


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and scientific experiments bound for the


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ISS. And there are some genuinely


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interesting experiments in that cargo


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hold. There's a project looking at how


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well Earth-based simulators actually


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replicate microgravity conditions, which


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matters enormously for preparing future


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astronauts.


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>> There's also a bone scaffold made from


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wood. Yes, wood. that could eventually


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lead to new treatments for conditions


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like osteoporosis and equipment to study


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how red blood cells and the spleen adapt


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to the space environment with an eye on


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protecting future long duration crews.


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>> What makes this mission particularly


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special though is the Dragon capsule


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itself. This is the sixth flight for the


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specific vehicle, setting a new record


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for a Space X cargo craft.


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>> Six flights for one capsule. That


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reusability story just keeps getting


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more impressive. If all goes to plan,


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Dragon will dock with the Harmony


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modules forward port at around 7:35 in


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the morning EDT on Thursday the 14th.


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>> We'll keep an eye on that one, RCS 34,


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the comeback launch.


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>> While one rocket is heading to the ISS


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today, another one is sitting on the pad


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in South Texas, generating enormous


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anticipation. SpaceX's Starship V3


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flight 12 could launch as soon as May


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19th. And the milestone from this week


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that has engineers buzzing, the fully


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stacked V3 vehicle successfully


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completed its wet dress rehearsal. That


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means it was fueled up for the first


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time ever. More than 5,000 metric tons


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of propellant. That's a number so large


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it barely sounds real. Standing 124 m


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tall, that's taller than a 40story


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building, the V3 is a complete redesign


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of the Starship system. It features


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upgraded Raptor 3 engines, a new lattice


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structure for hot staging, and massively


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increased payload capacity. We're


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talking 100 metric tons to low Earth


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orbit in a fully reusable configuration.


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The previous version managed around 35.


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>> Flight 12 will be a suborbital test.


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SpaceX is deliberately taking a step


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back in ambition to validate the new V3


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architecture before pushing for the


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booster catch milestones we saw in


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flight 11. Both the booster and the ship


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are targeting splashdown on this one.


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>> What's at stake? Quite a lot. SpaceX's


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has a reported IPO on the horizon.


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NASA's Aremis program needs a


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functioning Starship lunar lander, and


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the company's banking on this vehicle to


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grow Starlink and eventually launch AI


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data centers into orbit.


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>> The wet dress rehearsal is done. The


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static fires are done. All they need now


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is an FAA launch license. And that


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apparently is close. Watch this space.


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Quite literally.


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>> If you want a front row seat to some


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incredible orbital mechanics, this


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Friday, May 15th, is your moment. NASA's


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Psyche spacecraft is about to use Mars


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as a gravitational slingshot.


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>> Psyche launched back in October 2023 and


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has been on a long fuelefficient journey


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toward the asteroid belt where it's


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heading for a metalrich asteroid, also


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named Psyche, arriving in 2029. But to


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get there, it needs a speed boost. And


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Mars is about to provide one.


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>> At about 12,333


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mph, that's nearly 20,000 kmh. The


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spacecraft will pass just 2,800 miles or


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about 4,500 kilometers from the Martian


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surface. The planet's gravity will


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effectively grab Psyche, swing it


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around, accelerate it, and redirect its


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trajectory towards the asteroid belt.


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>> This is called a gravity assist, and


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it's one of the most elegant techniques


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in all of space exploration. Instead of


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burning precious fuel, you borrow energy


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from a planet's orbital motion. It's


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been used on missions dating back to


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Voyager. But this byllight isn't just


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about speed. It's a rare opportunity to


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calibrate Psyche science instruments


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while there's something large enough to


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actually observe. The imager will get


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its first proper workout. The


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magnetometer may detect Mars's magnetic


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field. And scientists are intrigued by


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the possibility that the spacecraft


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might catch glimpses of a faint dust


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ring or Taurus surrounding Mars, created


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by micrometeorites striking the surfaces


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of its two moons, Phobos and Deemos.


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>> Several existing Mars missions,


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including the Curiosity and Perseverance


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rovers and NASA's orbiters, will also be


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watching and contributing data during


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the encounter.


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>> Friday the 15th, mark it in your


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calendar. Psyche and Mars, an encounter


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2.8 8 billion km in the making.


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>> Just before I take us into our next


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story, a quick reminder to check out the


00:06:44.080 --> 00:06:46.550
great deal our sponsor NordVPN has put


00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:48.950
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security for a fraction of the price.


00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:52.790
You can check the details out via the


00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:54.629
link in the show notes. All right,


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moving on. Here's a story that sounds


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almost like science fiction, but it is


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very much real and very much happening


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right now. A Florida based startup


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called Starcatcher Industries has just


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raised $65 million to build what it


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describes as the world's first power


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grid in space.


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>> The concept is called optical power


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beaming. Starcatcher plans to launch a


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constellation of satellites that will


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focus sunlight in the form of laser


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light onto other solar panels of other


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satellites that need more power. No


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hardware modifications to the receiving


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satellite required, just extra


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electricity on demand. The company says


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its system can deliver up to 10 times


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more power to client satellites than


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they could generate on their own. And


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its CEO, Andrew Rush, made an analogy


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that I think really captures why this


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matters. He said, and I'm paraphrasing,


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that every satellite is essentially on


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camping trip. It carries its own power


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and at some point it runs low.


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>> Starcatcher wants to change that. The


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same way the terrestrial power grid


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enabled revolutions in communications,


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computing, and industry here on Earth,


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an orbital power grid could unlock the


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next generation of capabilities in


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space. Things like persistent Earth


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observation, real-time data processing,


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and advanced communications


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infrastructure. The series A round was


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overs subscribed, meaning more investors


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wanted in than there were shares


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available and was led by B Capital with


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Shield Capital and Cberus Ventures also


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co-leading. Notably, General Jay


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Raymond, the first chief of space


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operations of the US Space Force, is


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joining the board. Darcatcher already


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holds the world record for optical power


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beaming on the ground and has completed


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an onorbit subsystem demonstration. Now


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it's moving from validated technology to


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scalable infrastructure. An inspace


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demonstration is planned for later this


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year.


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>> Lasers in space charging your


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satellites. The future is something


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else.


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>> All right, now we're going deep. This


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one is for everyone who's ever stared at


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the night sky and thought, "Why is any


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of this here? And why does it work the


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way it does?" Physicists at Brown


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University in Rhode Island have


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published a paper in Physical Review


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Letters proposing a potential solution


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to one of the most vexing problems in


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all of science, the cosmological


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constant problem. Let's unpack that. The


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cosmological constant is the


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mathematical term that describes the


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energy driving the accelerating


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expansion of the universe. Einstein


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introduced it, famously called it his


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greatest blunder, and then died not


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knowing he'd actually been right about


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it. Observations in the 1990s confirmed


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the universe's expansion is indeed


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accelerating. Here's the problem.


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Quantum field theory, one of the most


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successful and rigorously tested


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frameworks in physics, predicts that


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vacuum energy, the energy inherent in


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empty space, should make the


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cosmological constant enormous,


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practically infinite. But what we


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actually observe, a tiny tiny fraction


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of that prediction. The discrepancy is


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around 120 orders of magnitude. That's a


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one followed by 120 zeros. It is without


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exaggeration the worst prediction in the


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history of physics. And the Brown


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University team thinks they may have


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found a way to explain it. Their insight


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draws an analogy with something called


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the quantum hall effect. an exotic


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phenomenon in condensed matter physics


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where electrical conductance in certain


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materials is held perfectly steady


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regardless of imperfections because of


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the topology the mathematical shape of


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the quantum state. The researchers found


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that the simplest formulation of quantum


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gravity has a mathematically analogous


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structure something called the churn


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Simon's kodama state and in that


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framework the cosmological constant


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becomes essentially locked in place.


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It's protected by topology. The quantum


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fluctuations that should be


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destabilizing it are simply too small or


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improbable to shift it.


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>> Which if it holds up would explain why


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the constant has the value it does. Not


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because of some extraordinary


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fine-tuning, but because the universe's


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geometry protects it.


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>> The authors are the first to acknowledge


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this is a beginning, not an ending.


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There's a lot of detailed work still to


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do, but it's a genuinely new idea in one


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of the oldest unsolved problems in


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physics, and that deserves a moment.


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>> We end today in the Jovian system, and


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with an image that has had planetary


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scientists genuinely excited. On the 1st


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of May, NASA's Juno spacecraft completed


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a close flyby of Theeb, the second


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largest of Jupiter's inner moons. And


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when we say close, we mean it. Juno


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passed within just 3,100 m or 5,000 km


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of thieves surface. The resulting image


00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:01.829
captures detail at a resolution of about


00:12:01.839 --> 00:12:05.350
1.9 m per pixel, the sharpest view we


00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:07.509
have ever had of this world.


00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:09.509
Theeb sits at the outer edge of


00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:12.069
Jupiter's faint ring system. And that


00:12:12.079 --> 00:12:14.870
position is no coincidence. Scientists


00:12:14.880 --> 00:12:17.430
believe Theeb plays an active role in


00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:19.829
shaping one of Jupiter's most delicate


00:12:19.839 --> 00:12:22.949
structures, the so-called Gossamer ring.


00:12:22.959 --> 00:12:25.269
Dust shed from Theeb's surface gets


00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:27.430
swept into the ring, helping maintain


00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.389
it. The image was captured using Juno's


00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:32.310
stellar reference unit, an instrument


00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:35.190
whose primary job is navigation, imaging


00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:37.030
starfields to keep the spacecraft


00:12:37.040 --> 00:12:39.030
oriented. But its exceptional


00:12:39.040 --> 00:12:41.509
sensitivity in low light conditions has


00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:43.430
made it a surprisingly powerful


00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:45.670
secondary science instrument. It's


00:12:45.680 --> 00:12:47.509
previously discovered shallow lightning


00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.670
in Jupiter's atmosphere and revealed the


00:12:49.680 --> 00:12:51.990
structure of Jupiter's ring system. And


00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:54.790
now it's given us thieve up close. A


00:12:54.800 --> 00:12:56.949
small, irregular world, heavily


00:12:56.959 --> 00:12:59.910
cratered, ancient, playing a quiet but


00:12:59.920 --> 00:13:01.829
essential role in the dynamics of the


00:13:01.839 --> 00:13:03.829
solar system's largest planet.


00:13:03.839 --> 00:13:06.069
>> Juno continues to surprise us even this


00:13:06.079 --> 00:13:08.150
deep into its extended mission. What a


00:13:08.160 --> 00:13:09.110
spacecraft.


00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:11.190
>> Before we go, let's take a look at the


00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:13.030
sky above you this week, Southern


00:13:13.040 --> 00:13:15.190
Hemisphere listeners. This morning, if


00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:16.870
you were up early enough, you may have


00:13:16.880 --> 00:13:19.030
caught Saturn in a slender crescent moon


00:13:19.040 --> 00:13:21.110
sharing the sky in the east, just a few


00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:23.829
degrees apart in Pisces. Saturn's ring


00:13:23.839 --> 00:13:25.750
system is tilted towards us again after


00:13:25.760 --> 00:13:28.310
years at stherly declinations, so


00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.310
conditions are improving every month.


00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.710
>> Also, in the pre-dawn sky, Neptune is in


00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:34.949
the area, though you'll need binoculars


00:13:34.959 --> 00:13:36.710
or a telescope for that one.


00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:38.870
>> Tomorrow morning, Thursday the 14th,


00:13:38.880 --> 00:13:40.550
Mars makes its own crescent moon


00:13:40.560 --> 00:13:43.269
pairing. a thin sliver of moon sitting


00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:45.990
about 4° from the red planet. Both


00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:47.670
visible to the naked eye under a


00:13:47.680 --> 00:13:49.269
reasonably dark sky.


00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:51.590
>> And looking ahead, the flower moon,


00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:54.629
May's full moon, arrives on May 31st,


00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:57.030
and it will be a blue moon. That's the


00:13:57.040 --> 00:13:59.110
second full moon in a single calendar


00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:01.829
month. It won't actually look blue, but


00:14:01.839 --> 00:14:03.430
it's a lovely thing to know.


00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:05.590
>> Clear skies to all of you out there.


00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:07.110
Now, trivia time.


00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:09.350
>> Today's trivia question ties into our


00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:11.990
Psyche mission story. The asteroid 16


00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:13.829
psyche is thought to be the exposed


00:14:13.839 --> 00:14:16.790
metallic core of an ancient protolanet.


00:14:16.800 --> 00:14:18.550
Scientists believe it may be composed


00:14:18.560 --> 00:14:20.470
primarily of two elements. What are


00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:20.870
they?


00:14:20.880 --> 00:14:23.750
>> Oh, I know that one. The answer, nickel


00:14:23.760 --> 00:14:26.230
and iron. Dyke is thought to be a


00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:28.550
remnant planetary core. The building


00:14:28.560 --> 00:14:31.189
blocks of rocky worlds stripped bare


00:14:31.199 --> 00:14:33.269
billions of years of collisions.


00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:35.350
Studying it from orbit could give us the


00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:37.590
closest thing we'll ever have to a look


00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:39.269
inside the Earth itself,


00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:40.790
>> which is remarkable when you think about


00:14:40.800 --> 00:14:43.189
it. We can't drill to our own planet's


00:14:43.199 --> 00:14:45.269
core, but we might be able to fly around


00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:45.990
one.


00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:47.990
>> That is everything for today's episode


00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:51.110
of Astronomy Daily, episode 101. Thank


00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:52.790
you for spending part of your day with


00:14:52.800 --> 00:14:53.269
us.


00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:54.710
>> If you enjoyed the show, please


00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:56.710
subscribe, leave a review, and tell a


00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.189
space curious friend. Every listener


00:14:59.199 --> 00:14:59.990
matters.


00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.629
>> You can find us at astronomydaily.io.


00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:05.189
io and across all major podcast


00:15:05.199 --> 00:15:07.509
platforms. And you can follow us on


00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.150
social media at Astro Daily Pod.


00:15:10.160 --> 00:15:11.910
>> We'll be back tomorrow with the latest


00:15:11.920 --> 00:15:14.389
from the universe. Until then, keep


00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:15.110
looking up


00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:15.990
>> from Anna


00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:21.269
>> and Avery. Clear skies. Astronomy Day.


00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:29.269
Stories to tell.


00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:33.000
Stories told.