SpaceX Starship Lost at Sea? Plus China’s Landing Attempt & Uranus “Breathing”

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Picture a rocket the height of a 15story


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[music] building lying on its side in


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the Indian Ocean, 800 km off Western


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Australia and [music] a rope running


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from its nose to a tug trying to drag it


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home through a rising swell.


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>> That's not a thought experiment. That's


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where the [music] top half of a SpaceX


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Starship has spent the last 2 weeks.


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>> And whether it ever reaches [music] an


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Australian port is right now genuinely


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up in the air. Good day and welcome to


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Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna.


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>> And I'm Avery. It's Monday, the 10th of


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August, 2026.


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>> There's a thread running through today's


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show. Things taking the long way home. A


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Starship under tow. A Chinese booster


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trying to fly itself back to the pad


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tonight. 40-year-old Voyager 2 data


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still turning up surprises at Uranus.


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And eclipse chasers heading to the top


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of the world for 2 minutes of darkness 3


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days from now. and plus the best meteor


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shower of the year peaking under a new


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moon. It's a big week. Let's get into


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it. So, let's go back to the 24th of


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July. Starship's 13th full test flight


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lifts off from Starbase in South Texas.


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And this one goes well, really well. The


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upper stage, the part SpaceX just calls


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ship, flies its suborbital arc and comes


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down for a splashdown in the Indian


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Ocean off the coast of Western


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Australia, exactly where it was aimed.


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And here's the first ever bit. Every


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previous ship that came down over the


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ocean broke up or was deliberately


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destroyed. This one, ship 40, made what


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observers called the softest Starship


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water landing yet. tipped over as it hit


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the waves and then just stayed in one


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piece.


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>> It floated airtight, bobbing in the


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swell. Onboard cameras showed all six


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Raptor engines with no visible external


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damage. Water lapping at the lens. A


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SpaceX spokesperson called it on the


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live webcast a dream scenario,


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>> which it was because SpaceX genuinely


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did not expect to get this vehicle back.


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The whole point of the flight was the


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data. The heat shield is the thing that


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kept Elon Musk up at night for years.


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The tiles that protect ship on the way


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back through the atmosphere. And on this


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flight, it held.


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>> In fact, on the 4th of August, on the


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company's first ever quarterly earnings


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call, its first since going public, Mus


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said, and I'm paraphrasing only


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slightly, that he doesn't want to jinx


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it, but he'd consider the heat shield


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problem solved. That's a big claim. For


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a rocket meant to be fully and rapidly


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reusable, the heat shield was the last


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great unknown. So, a ship that survives


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re-entry, survives the water, and floats


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there intact, is suddenly a floating


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laboratory.


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>> And that changed the maths. On the 28th


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of July, Musk posted simply, "We're


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sending a ship out to recover Starship."


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The SpaceX vessel Go Arrales had been


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shadowing it since splashdown. Two


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Norwegian Tugs, a Normand Ranger and


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Skimmer Tide steamed out to join. By


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early August, satellite imagery showed


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all three working the vehicle with a tow


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line already made fast to the nose


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section.


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>> For context, this thing had already


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drifted more than 400 km. The whole


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convoy is over 1,300 km off the


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Australian coast, aiming, according to


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imagery based reporting, for a western


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Australian port. Vampier and Port


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Headland have both been floated as the


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likely destination.


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>> And then on the 7th of August, the tone


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shifted. Musk posted an update.


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Unfortunately, ship recovery is not


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looking good right now. The team's been


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fighting increasingly rough seas, but


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and this is the important part, he added


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that they were still able to get


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close-up photos of critical regions of


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the heat shield and the engines for


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future upgrades.


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>> Though read that carefully, even if the


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tow fails, even if ship 40 never reaches


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a jetty, SpaceX has already banked most


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of what it wanted, the inspection


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imagery. Honestly, a ship soaked in salt


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water for two weeks was never going to


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be refurbished and flown again anyway.


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>> All right. The prize was never the


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hardware. It was the look at the


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hardware. Which is why as of our


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recording, the story is beautifully


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unresolved. A giant rocket still afloat,


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still under tow in a race against the


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weather off Western Australia.


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>> Worth remembering how big Giant is here.


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Stacked, Starship stands about 124 m


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tall. The biggest, most powerful rocket


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ever built. The ship on its own is 52 m.


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That's what's on the end of that rope.


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>> And the flight did its day job, too.


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During the mission, ship deployed 20


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next generation Starlink V3 satellites,


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the bigger broadband birds SpaceX wants


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to fly by the 100,000.


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Those particular 20 came straight back


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down by design, but it was a dress


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rehearsal for the future. The booster,


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meanwhile, the superheavy had a rougher


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day. Engine trouble on descent and it


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came down hard in the Gulf of Mexico and


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exploded. So, a triumphant ship, a lost


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booster, and a twoe sea drama that may


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or may not have a tidy ending.


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>> And the look ahead is quick. Mus says


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the next one, flight 14, is targeted for


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late August, and it's meant to be


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Starship's first crack at reaching


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operational orbit while carrying


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production Starling satellites. So, the


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pace isn't slowing, but for our part of


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the world, this is the rare week the


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Starship story washed up on an


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Australian shore. Almost literally.


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>> Almost literally. Let's bring it home


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from the other direction now because


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someone else is trying to land a booster


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tonight. Because reusability isn't just


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a SpaceX story anymore. Tonight, our


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tonight, a Chinese company called


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Landspace is going to try something only


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SpaceX has truly mastered. flying an


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orbital class booster back down and


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landing it on its legs.


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>> And Landspace is a private outfit


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founded in Beijing back in 2015. Their


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rocket is the Zukay 3, stainless steel,


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methane, and liquid oxygen engines about


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66 m tall. In capability, it's broadly a


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Falcon 9 rival.


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>> And the timing for local listeners,


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liftoff is targeted to a quarter 8 on


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Monday evening, US Eastern time, which


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is a/4 to midnight UTC. And for us in


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Sydney, it's about a quarter to 10 on


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Tuesday morning. It goes from Juan in


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China's northwest.


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>> Now, here's what we need to be precise


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because the headlines get this slightly


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wrong. This isn't China's first booster


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landing. It's China's fourth orbital


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class recovery attempt. And one of those


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already worked. Back on the 10th of


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July, a long March 10B was caught using


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a net capture system, which made China


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the second nation ever to land an


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orbital booster. So, what makes tonight


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different is the method. Landspace isn't


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going for a net. It's going for the full


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Falcon 9 move, a powered descent, a


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powered landing burn, and legs, setting


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itself down on a pad down range in Gansu


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Province. If it works, Landspace becomes


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the first Chinese company to pull off


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that kind of propulsive booster landing.


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>> And they've been close before. The Zuko


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3's maiden flight last December actually


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did its main job. The second stage


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reached orbit. It was the first stage


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that let them down. The landing burn


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faltered a few kilome up and the booster


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came down in a fireball. By some


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accounts, they were within about 17


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seconds of a landing.


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>> 17 seconds. That's the margin they're


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trying to close tonight. A clean static


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fire test at the end of June set it up.


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And airspace closure notices point to


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this evening.


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>> Why does it matter to the rest of us?


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Because landing and reflying boosters is


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what dragged the cost of getting to


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orbit down in the first place. A second


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company doing it on a different


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continent with a methane rocket is how a


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one company capability becomes an


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industry.


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>> We'll be recording before the window


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opens, so we're calling it forward. If


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you're listening later in the day, check


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astronomyaily.io.


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We'll have the result.


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>> Now, from rocket recoveries to a planet


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lying on its side, there's a lovely


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result doing the rounds this week about


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Uranus, and it comes with an old friend


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attached. Set the scene first because


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Uranus is the oddball of the solar


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system. It doesn't spin upright like


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Earth. It's tipped right over, rolling


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around the sun on its side, and its


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magnetic field is stranger still, tilted


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about 60° from its spin axis and offset


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from the planet's center. Nothing about


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it is neat,


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>> which matters for something called the


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bow shock. That's the boundary out in


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front of a planet where the solar wind,


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the constant stream of particles off the


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sun, slams into the planet's magnetic


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field and abruptly slows down. At Earth,


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that boundary sits there fairly


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steadily. It only really moves when the


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sun kicks up. But at Uranus, this new


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modeling shows the bow shock is anything


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but steady. It swells and shrinks. It


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breathes over the course of a single


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uranian day, which is about 17 hours.


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And here's the clever bit. Because


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Uranus is so tilted and lopsided, every


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few hours, a different part of that


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wonky magnetic field is turned to face


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the wind. So, the shape of the shield


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keeps changing. The team ran simulations


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where they held the solar wind perfectly


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steady, and the breathing still


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happened, which means it's driven by the


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planet's own rotation, not by the sun.


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The studies in the journal AGU advances


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led by Sinco and colleagues. And this is


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where our old friend comes in because to


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anchor the model, they leaned on the


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only direct measurements humanity has


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ever taken inside the uranian system.


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>> Voyager 2, which regular listeners will


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remember from last week. It's the same


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spacecraft whose team just pulled off


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that big bang power maneuver to keep it


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alive. Voyager 2 swept past Uranus back


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in January 1986. caught a single


00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.470
crossing of that bow shock and moved on.


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40 years later, that one data set is


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still the ground truth every Uranus


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model has to match.


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>> I love that. A 40 decade old flyby,


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still doing frontline science. And it's


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not just trivia about one weird planet.


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A lot of the exoplanets we're finding


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out there are ice giants like Uranus.


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Though understanding how a tilted


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off-kilter world handles the stellar


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wind gives us a template for worlds


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around other stars entirely.


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>> Fair to say too, this is a modeling


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result that's been quietly out for a


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little while and only got its moment in


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the spotlight this week. But it's a


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genuinely new way of seeing an old


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planet and a reminder that the next


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mission to Uranus can't come soon


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enough. Right. 3 days from now on


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Wednesday the 12th, the moon's shadow


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sweeps across the Earth for the only


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total solar eclipse of 2026. And this


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one is strange in the best way.


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>> Strange how?


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>> Most eclipse paths race west to east


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across the planet. This one goes up and


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over the top of the world. It begins in


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the Arctic over remote Siberian Russia,


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arcs across the north pole and comes


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down over eastern Greenland, then the


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west coast of Iceland, then northern


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Spain, clipping a tiny corner of


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Portugal and finishes out over the


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Balearic Islands right at sunset.


00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:27.750
>> And because it's so far north, totality


00:11:27.760 --> 00:11:30.790
is short and the sun sits low. Greatest


00:11:30.800 --> 00:11:32.949
eclipse is about a/4 to 6 in the


00:11:32.959 --> 00:11:35.910
evening, UTC, just off Iceland's west


00:11:35.920 --> 00:11:38.389
coast. And even there, totality lasts


00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:40.870
only 2 minutes and 18 seconds with the


00:11:40.880 --> 00:11:43.430
sun barely 26° above the horizon.


00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:44.870
>> For the places in the path, it's


00:11:44.880 --> 00:11:46.870
history. Iceland hasn't seen a total


00:11:46.880 --> 00:11:49.670
eclipse since 1954. And for Riguvic,


00:11:49.680 --> 00:11:52.870
it's the first in 593 years. Totality


00:11:52.880 --> 00:11:55.110
there lands around a/4 to 6:00 in the


00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:57.509
evening local time. Spain hasn't had one


00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:00.870
since 1905. From Oedo and Jon, it's


00:12:00.880 --> 00:12:03.590
about 8 in the evening, low in a sunset


00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:04.069
sky.


00:12:04.079 --> 00:12:05.910
>> Audience question. What about North


00:12:05.920 --> 00:12:07.030
America?


00:12:07.040 --> 00:12:09.190
>> North America gets a partial, no


00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:11.430
totality, but a real bite out of the


00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:14.150
sun. NASA has it visible right across


00:12:14.160 --> 00:12:16.710
the northern tier from Alaska all the


00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:19.269
way to North Carolina and over most of


00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:21.910
Canada. The deepest coverage is up in


00:12:21.920 --> 00:12:24.310
the far north in Alaska. By the time


00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:26.629
you're down on the US East Coast, it's a


00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:29.350
shallower bite under 10% for somewhere


00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:31.670
like New York. And the timing for the


00:12:31.680 --> 00:12:32.470
US,


00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:34.870
>> it's a late morning into early afternoon


00:12:34.880 --> 00:12:36.949
event, depending on how far west you


00:12:36.959 --> 00:12:39.670
are. The simplest anchor, NASA begins


00:12:39.680 --> 00:12:42.870
its live broadcast at a quarter 1 in the


00:12:42.880 --> 00:12:47.350
afternoon Eastern time at nasa.gov/live.


00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:49.750
So even if you're nowhere near the path,


00:12:49.760 --> 00:12:51.910
you can watch totality from Greenland


00:12:51.920 --> 00:12:54.069
and Spain in real time.


00:12:54.079 --> 00:12:55.670
>> Which is exactly what our southern


00:12:55.680 --> 00:12:57.509
hemisphere listeners will be doing.


00:12:57.519 --> 00:12:59.750
Because from Australia, this eclipse


00:12:59.760 --> 00:13:02.230
simply isn't visible at all. Nothing


00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:04.389
from Sydney. But don't worry, your night


00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:06.389
sky this week has plenty going on. And


00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:08.310
we're getting to that right now.


00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:10.949
>> We are because the eclipse is only half


00:13:10.959 --> 00:13:13.910
of a genuine skywatch double feature.


00:13:13.920 --> 00:13:15.670
Avery, take us home.


00:13:15.680 --> 00:13:17.910
>> Here's the gift of this week. The 12th


00:13:17.920 --> 00:13:20.150
of August gives you an eclipse by day.


00:13:20.160 --> 00:13:22.550
And that same night into the 13th, the


00:13:22.560 --> 00:13:25.190
Perciads at their peak under a brand new


00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:28.150
moon. No moonlight to wash them out. It


00:13:28.160 --> 00:13:30.069
doesn't line up like this often.


00:13:30.079 --> 00:13:32.310
>> Let's do the north first because that's


00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:34.629
where both events favor. Northern


00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:36.790
hemisphere listeners, this is your year


00:13:36.800 --> 00:13:39.910
for the Perciads. Dark skies, no moon,


00:13:39.920 --> 00:13:42.629
the radiant climbing high. Best viewing


00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:44.949
is after midnight into the pre-dawn


00:13:44.959 --> 00:13:47.590
hours of the 12th and 13th. From a


00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:50.389
properly dark site, you could see 50 to


00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.190
100 an hour. For North America, the


00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:55.829
small hours before dawn on the 13th are


00:13:55.839 --> 00:13:57.030
the sweet spot.


00:13:57.040 --> 00:13:59.350
>> And the bonus for northern watchers, the


00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:02.069
sun's been active. A geomagnetic storm


00:14:02.079 --> 00:14:04.389
lit up auroras across high latitudes


00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:06.310
over the weekend, and there's a chance


00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:08.949
of more around the 11th and 12th. So, if


00:14:08.959 --> 00:14:11.030
you're up north chasing meteors, keep


00:14:11.040 --> 00:14:13.269
one eye on the horizon for the lights.


00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:15.430
>> Then, the eclipse recap for our North


00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:17.590
American listeners. A partial on


00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:19.590
Wednesday, late morning to early


00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.150
afternoon your time, deepest in the far


00:14:22.160 --> 00:14:24.470
north, and NASA's stream starts a


00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:27.189
quarter past 1 Eastern if the sky won't


00:14:27.199 --> 00:14:28.310
cooperate.


00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:30.870
>> Now, south of the equator, Australia,


00:14:30.880 --> 00:14:33.189
New Zealand, the eclipse passes you by,


00:14:33.199 --> 00:14:35.269
and the Perciads barely clear your


00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:37.990
northern horizon, so rates are modest at


00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:41.269
best. But your sky is far from empty.


00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:43.910
>> Not at all. Step out before dawn and


00:14:43.920 --> 00:14:46.150
there's a spread of planets strung


00:14:46.160 --> 00:14:48.790
across the sky. Look west after sunset


00:14:48.800 --> 00:14:51.829
and Venus is unmistakable. Brilliance


00:14:51.839 --> 00:14:54.069
climbing higher each evening, heading


00:14:54.079 --> 00:14:56.310
for its brightest around the 22nd of


00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:58.870
September. And low in the pre-dawn


00:14:58.880 --> 00:15:02.550
south, comet 10ple 2 is still within


00:15:02.560 --> 00:15:04.550
reach of a small telescope or good


00:15:04.560 --> 00:15:06.790
binoculars from a dark sight. from


00:15:06.800 --> 00:15:09.269
Sydney. Give yourself that clear eastern


00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.069
to southern horizon before first light.


00:15:12.079 --> 00:15:15.030
>> So, wherever you are, north or south,


00:15:15.040 --> 00:15:16.710
there's something to look up at this


00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:19.509
week. But before anyone points anything


00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:22.069
at the sun, only during the brief


00:15:22.079 --> 00:15:24.470
moments of totality, and only if you are


00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:26.790
standing inside the narrow path can you


00:15:26.800 --> 00:15:29.430
ever look at the sun without protection.


00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:31.509
Everywhere else, and that includes all


00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:33.670
of North America, all of the sun's


00:15:33.680 --> 00:15:36.629
partial phases, you must keep certified


00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:40.069
ISO 12,312-2


00:15:40.079 --> 00:15:43.269
eclipse glasses on the entire time.


00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:45.509
Never look through an unfiltered camera,


00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:47.829
binoculars, or telescope. The


00:15:47.839 --> 00:15:50.069
concentrated light causes instant


00:15:50.079 --> 00:15:52.870
permanent eye damage. If in doubt, watch


00:15:52.880 --> 00:15:53.829
the light stream.


00:15:53.839 --> 00:15:55.509
>> And that's the show for today.


00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:58.069
Everything we covered, the starship tow,


00:15:58.079 --> 00:16:00.310
tonight's land space landing attempt,


00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:02.870
the Urenus study, and full eclipse and


00:16:02.880 --> 00:16:05.509
percied timings for both hemispheres is


00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:08.150
written up at astronomyaily.io


00:16:08.160 --> 00:16:09.509
with sources.


00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:11.030
>> While you're there, sign up for the


00:16:11.040 --> 00:16:13.189
daily newsletter, leave us a review, and


00:16:13.199 --> 00:16:15.269
send us your Percied and Eclipse photos


00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:16.949
through the contact page. We love


00:16:16.959 --> 00:16:18.150
featuring them.


00:16:18.160 --> 00:16:21.030
>> We're at Astronomy Daily Pod everywhere.


00:16:21.040 --> 00:16:22.230
I'm Anna


00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:24.629
>> and I'm Avery. Whether the skies are


00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:27.030
dark for meteors or the sun goes out for


00:16:27.040 --> 00:16:29.030
2 minutes over Iceland.


00:16:29.040 --> 00:16:32.069
>> We hope yours are clear until tomorrow.


00:16:32.079 --> 00:16:39.531
>> Clear skies. [music]


00:16:39.541 --> 00:16:44.310
[music]


00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:52.631
Stories told.


00:16:52.641 --> 00:16:54.661
[singing]