Podcasts about starbase

Max checks in from a musty Missouri hotel while earning his Light Sport Repairman certificate, and the guys detour through GA maintenance, Starbase, RTA wizardry, and the ongoing decline of 123.45 as a social network. Mailbag covers Sugar Alpha, Qantas' ultra-long-haul A350 plans, where Spirit's pilots and traffic may have landed, and whether 21.Five needs a Discord server. In Flight Advice, Dylan and Max tackle the stereotype that pilots are destined to cheat—and how couples can build trust, recognize real red flags, and keep the hotel-bar lifestyle from becoming a relationship MEL. Mentioned in this episode: Land or Go Around: https://www.instagram.com/land_or_go_around/ Temu-style quadcopter video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUkvDe0x47A&t=15s Husk.irl AI troll account: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577492686970 Show Notes 0:00 Intro & AMP Training 12:16 Networking In The Sky 17:22 Max's Musings: Overnights in Harlingen 21:53 News: Allegiant Contracts & Ebola 24:11 Listener Reviews & Comments 28:29 Mailbag 43:03 Flight Advice: Cheating Stigma 57:36 Temu Quadcopter?!? Our Sponsors Tim Pope, CFP® — Tim is both a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and a pilot. His practice specializes in aviation professionals and aviation 401k plans, helping clients pursue their financial goals by defining them, optimizing resources, and monitoring progress. Click here to learn more. Also check out The Pilot's Portfolio Podcast. Advanced Aircrew Academy — Enables flight operations to fulfill their training needs in the most efficient and affordable way—anywhere, at any time. They provide high-quality training for professional pilots, flight attendants, flight coordinators, maintenance, and line service teams, all delivered via a world-class online system. Click here to learn more. Raven Careers — Helping your career take flight. Raven Careers supports professional pilots with resume prep, interview strategy, and long-term career planning. Whether you're a CFI eyeing your first regional, a captain debating your upgrade path, or a legacy hopeful refining your application, their one-on-one coaching and insider knowledge give you a real advantage. Click here to learn more. The AirComp Calculator™ is business aviation's only online compensation analysis system. It can provide precise compensation ranges for 14 business aviation positions in six aircraft classes at over 50 locations throughout the United States in seconds. Click here to learn more. Vaerus Jet Sales — Vaerus means right, true, and real. Buy or sell an aircraft the right way, with a true partner to make your dream of flight real. Connect with Brooks at Vaerus Jet Sales or learn more about their DC-3 Referral Program. Harvey Watt — Offers the only true Loss of Medical License Insurance available to individuals and small groups. Because Harvey Watt manages most airlines' plans, they can assist you in identifying the right coverage to supplement your airline's plan. Many buy coverage to supplement the loss of retirement benefits while grounded. Click here to learn more. VSL ACE Guide — Your all-in-one pilot training resource. Includes the most up-to-date Airman Certification Standards (ACS) and Practical Test Standards (PTS) for Private, Instrument, Commercial, ATP, CFI, and CFII. 21.Five listeners get a discount on the guide—click here to learn more. ProPilotWorld.com — The premier information and networking resource for professional pilots. Click here to learn more.   Feedback & Contact Have feedback, suggestions, or a great aviation story to share? Email us at info@21fivepodcast.com. Check out our Instagram feed @21FivePodcast for more great content (and our collection of aviation license plates). The statements made in this show are our own opinions and do not reflect, nor were they under any direction of any of our employers.

SpaceX officially announced Starbase Louisiana, and I break down why the site fits Starship's launch, landing, and orbital architecture so perfectly. I also look at the transition from Falcon to Starship, and the new launch vehicles on the verge of debut. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Warren, Matt from Built, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Natasha Tsakos, Lee, Donald, David, Matt, Joonas, Russell, Steve, Frank, Will and Lars from Agile, The Astrogators at SEE, Josh from Impulse, Fred, Joel, Kris, Pat, Joakim, Miles O'Brien, Stealth Julian, Jan, Ryan, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters. Topics SpaceX Launches New Era of Commercial Spaceflight with $100 Billion Louisiana Campus - Louisiana Economic Development SpaceX intends to invest up to $100 billion in massive Louisiana spaceport - Ars Technica Episode 245 - Polar Bears and Penguins (with Jonathan Goff and Mike Loucks) - Off-Nominal AAS Paper Review: RAAN Agnostic 3-Burn Departure Methodology for Deep Space Missions from LEO Depots (Part 1 of 2) | Selenian Boondocks AAS Paper Review: Practical Methodologies For Low Delta-V Penalty, On-Time Departures To Arbitrary Interplanetary Destinations From A Medium-Inclination Low-Earth Orbit Depot | Selenian Boondocks An Updated Propellant Depot Taxonomy Part V: Human Spaceflight Fixed Depots (Low-Orbit) | Selenian Boondocks SpaceX on X: Ship 40 Reaches Christmas Island Ship 40 arrives at Christmas Island, Plans Return to Starbase - NASASpaceflight SpaceX on X: Ship 41 Single-Engine Static Fire Ship 41 Completes Engine Testing Ahead of Flight 14 - NASASpaceflight Satellite operators are in panic mode due to a worsening launch crisis - Ars Technica Nova payload module, second stage, and Andromeda engine fit check - Stoke Space First three flight-one Zenith engines ready for acceptance testing - Stoke Space Rocket Lab Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results: Posts Record Revenue and Record Backlog, Guides To Another Record Revenue Quarter in Q3 2026 - Rocket Lab Rocket Lab Unveils GHOST Deployable Launch System to Enable Responsive Space Missions Worldwide - Rocket Lab Firefly Aerospace Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results With Record Revenue Of $117.7 Million, Up 659% Year-Over-Year - Firefly Aerospace Tank problem delays first RFA launch - SpaceNews Relativity Space engine integration milestone for Terran R first stage - NASASpaceflight The Show Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack! Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Follow @meco@spacey.space on Mastodon Listen to MECO Headlines Listen to Off-Nominal Join the Off-Nominal Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Artwork photo by Zhou Quan Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

Doug Messier details SpaceX's plans to build "Starbase Louisiana," a massive $100 billion, 125,000-acre spaceport designed as the world's largest launch facility. Scheduled for construction in 2027 and launches by 2029, the facility will feature ten launch pads supporting thousands of annual, airline-style Starship flights. While bringing thousands of jobs, the coastal development raises environmental concerns regarding wetland habitats, which SpaceX has pledged to help restore. Messier also highlights Space Force's startup funding arm, SpaceWERX, which is fostering new aerospace innovators like Antares Nuclear and Muon Space. (9)

Astronomy Daily · S05E163 · “The Long Way Home” · Monday 10 August 2026. Sources verified against primary / institutional outlets. Starship “lost at sea” (Flight 13) •    Flight 13 launched 24 July 2026 from Starbase, South Texas; the upper stage (“Ship,” Ship 40, ~52 m) made the softest Starship water landing yet in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia — and, in a program first, survived intact and afloat. •    SpaceX had not planned to recover it. Musk confirmed the salvage attempt on 28 July (“We're sending a ship out to recover Starship”); recovery ship Go Australis was joined by Norwegian tugs Normand Ranger and Skimmer Tide, with a tow line to the nose. •    On 7 August, Musk said recovery is “not looking good right now” in rough seas — but the team had already obtained close-up photos of critical heat-shield and engine regions for future upgrades. A saltwater-soaked Ship was never going to be reflown. •    Heat shield: on SpaceX's first quarterly earnings call (4 August) Musk said he'd “consider the heat-shield problem solved,” long the biggest hurdle to full reuse. •    The flight also deployed 20 next-gen Starlink V3 satellites; the Super Heavy booster had engine trouble and was lost in the Gulf of Mexico. Stacked, Starship stands ~124 m. Flight 14 is targeted for late August — its first attempt at operational orbit with production Starlink. •    Sources: SpaceX / @elonmusk on X (7 Aug); Space.com (Mike Wall, 7 Aug); CNN (3 Aug). Landspace Zhuque-3, second landing attempt •    Landspace (private, Beijing, founded 2015) targets liftoff ~7:45 p.m. EDT Mon 10 Aug (23:45 UTC / ≈9:45 a.m. AEST Tue 11 Aug) from Jiuquan, aiming for a propulsive first-stage recovery on legs (Falcon 9-style), landing downrange in Gansu. •    The methalox, stainless-steel Zhuque-3 (~66 m) is broadly a Falcon 9 rival. Its Dec 2025 maiden flight reached orbit but the first stage failed its landing burn and crashed. •    Accuracy note: this is China's fourth orbital-class recovery attempt. A Long March 10B already landed via net-capture on 10 July (China became the 2nd nation to land an orbital booster) — so tonight would make Landspace the first Chinese company to attempt a propulsive/landing-legs recovery, not “China's first.” •    Sources: Space.com (7 Aug); Yahoo/Space (7 Aug); launch trackers (NOTAM-based). Uranus's “breathing” bow shock •    New multifluid-MHD modelling shows Uranus's bow shock expands and contracts over a single ~17-hour Uranian day — driven by the planet's own extreme rotation and tilted, offset magnetic field, not by changes in the solar wind. •    The model is constrained by Voyager 2's 1986 flyby — still the only direct measurements ever taken inside the Uranian system (a nice callback to E159's Voyager 2 “Big Bang” lead). •    Implications for future ice-giant missions and for the many ice-giant exoplanets now being found. Cao et al., AGU Advances; surfaced via an Eos research spotlight this week. (Framed as newly-spotlighted rather than newly-published.) •    Sources: AGU Advances (Cao et al.); Eos research spotlight; phys.org (7 Aug). Total solar eclipse — 12 August 2026 •    The only total solar eclipse of 2026. Unusual over-the-pole path: Arctic Siberia → eastern Greenland → western Iceland → northern Spain (clipping NE Portugal) → the Balearics at sunset. •    Greatest eclipse ≈17:46 UTC; max totality 2 min 18 s just off Iceland's west coast, with the Sun only ~26° high. Iceland's first total eclipse since 1954 (Reykjavik's first in 593 years); Spain's first since 1905. •    North America sees a partial across the northern tier (Alaska to North Carolina) and most of Canada — deepest in the far north, a shallow bite (

Today Chris sits down with Justin Lopas, Co-founder & COO of Base Power Company. On Monday Base announced a $1B Series D at a $13B post money valuation. Justin spent his early career at SpaceX, where he helped lead the Brownsville site that became Starbase, then ran manufacturing at Anduril. Base puts large batteries on homes, owns and operates them, and uses the fleet to support the grid. This is a conversation about speed, and about how much of it turns out to be a decision rather than an effort level. They discuss:• Why he wanted their first battery installed fast instead of right• Why he thinks good manufacturing is decided during design, not on the factory floor• Why he does not push his suppliers as hard on price as he could• Why SpaceX put him in charge of building the Starship factory two and a half years into his career• The question he asks to find out why a job is really taking so long• How a battery company ended up training its own electricians• Why he calls Base an infrastructure company and not a product company Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(00:48) From Late-Night Research to an Office in Austin(07:55) The First Battery Install Was an Epic Failure(09:15) Finding a Battery Supplier Who Would Let Them In(15:47) Killing Gen Two and Skipping Straight to Gen Three(22:52) From a Hundred Requirements to Cardboard Cutouts(26:02) Good Manufacturing Is Won or Lost at the Design Stage(32:48) How to Build a Supply Chain From Nothing(40:51) Negotiating With Suppliers and Deciding What to Build Yourself(44:58) The Turtle That Marks the Slowest Team(47:39) The SpaceX Lessons on Talent and Speed(54:09) Building a Regulatory Team and Choosing the Next State(58:19) Managing Complexity Is the Whole Job(1:03:20) Tesla Sells Products, Base Owns Infrastructure(1:05:24) Training Electricians and Staying Out of Commercial === Presented by Airshare: Trusted across the country for fractional ownership, jet cards, charter, and aircraft management, Airshare gives you a smarter way to fly private - over 25 years of experience, operating their own fleet, with the top safety ratings in the industry. Drive up to the FBO, walk on, and go. Go to flyairshare.com to learn more. === Sponsored by: True North Advisors is a multi-family office and private wealth advisory firm serving business owners, entrepreneurs, and families since 2000. With over $5.6 billion under management, they're real investors offering conflict-free counsel and portfolios built around your life. Learn more at https://truenorthadvisors.com Collateral Partners builds institutional-grade investor materials for private credit, private equity, real estate, and family office firms, the kind of marketing collateral that helps you close capital. Learn more at https://collateral.com/powers Relay Human Cloud gives you pre-vetted, fully managed global talent for up to 75% less than hiring locally. Your best people stop doing repetitive work and get back to the work that moves your company forward. Learn more at https://www.relayhumancloud.com/powers === Chris on Social Media:X: https://x.com/fortworthchrisInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepowerspodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ === Visit our website: https://www.powerspod.com/Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO

27. Oktober 1997: Teil 5 des großen Staffel-6-Handlungsbogens. Nur widerwillig besucht Morn den Geburtstag seiner Mutter und verbindet bisher separate Handlungsorte: Auf Terok Nor drängt die Zeit, denn bald kann das Dominion Verstärkung durchs Wurmloch holen – folgerichtig sammeln Admiral Ross und Ben Sisko bei Starbase 375 alle verfügbaren Schiffe zum Großangriff. Fortsetzung folgt übernächste Woche. In Deutschland: Ein kühner Plan, ausgestrahlt am 6. Juni 1998.

This episode is about the developmental progression and mission outcomes of SpaceX's Starship program, specifically focusing on Flight 12 and Flight 13. Documentation for the twelfth test flight highlights the introduction of Block 3 hardware and the activation of a second launch pad at Starbase, though the mission ended with the grounding of the fleet following a booster mishap. The subsequent coverage of the thirteenth mission describes a more successful iteration where the upper stage achieved several milestones, including the deployment of Starlink satellites and a controlled soft splashdown in the ocean. Together, these sources outline the iterative process of testing the world's most powerful rocket to meet future NASA Artemis lunar goals. The texts also catalog the rigorous technical testing and vehicle histories of the specific boosters and ships used in these high-altitude trials. Overall, the information illustrates the shift from experimental prototypes toward an operational vehicle capable of rapid reusability.

Viral Starship Video, New Bledsoe Orb, Flight 14 and Giza Secret #Podcast #Alien #News    ROSS COULTHART: TRUMP FEARS HE COULD BE KILLED via @UAPWatchers on X Link: https://x.com/UAPWatchers/status/2082232327053144126?s=20 New orb video Chris Bledsoe via @The_Astral_ on X Link: https://x.com/The_Astral_/status/2082248843274367238?s=20 Splashdown of Starship Flight 13 via @SpaceX on X Link: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2082186658162626898?s=20 NEWS: SpaceX is seeking FAA approval for a new Starship reentry route from the Northern Pacific to Starbase, Texas, along with expanded emergency landing zones across the Pacific. Giza Images: https://x.com/emerito_cotto/status/2033520211521941574?s=20 Jessie Michaels: https://x.com/AlchemyAmerican/status/2033246120147615924?s=20 ‼️FAIR USE NOTICE: This video MAY contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Tempest Universe Podcast distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment, and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107.‼️  

Viral Starship Video, New Bledsoe Orb, Flight 14 and Giza Secret #Podcast #Alien #News    ROSS COULTHART: TRUMP FEARS HE COULD BE KILLED via @UAPWatchers on X Link: https://x.com/UAPWatchers/status/2082232327053144126?s=20 New orb video Chris Bledsoe via @The_Astral_ on X Link: https://x.com/The_Astral_/status/2082248843274367238?s=20 Splashdown of Starship Flight 13 via @SpaceX on X Link: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2082186658162626898?s=20 NEWS: SpaceX is seeking FAA approval for a new Starship reentry route from the Northern Pacific to Starbase, Texas, along with expanded emergency landing zones across the Pacific. Giza Images: https://x.com/emerito_cotto/status/2033520211521941574?s=20 Jessie Michaels: https://x.com/AlchemyAmerican/status/2033246120147615924?s=20 ‼️FAIR USE NOTICE: This video MAY contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Tempest Universe Podcast distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment, and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107.‼️  

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick released additional Senate interim committee study charges today. One item has the Leftist press in a heightened tizzy; like this: Dan Patrick directs Texas Senate to study ways to further ingrain religion into public life. That is NOT what the study charges say at all. In fact, on it's alternate headline for RSS, the Tribune tells the truth with this: “Dan Patrick directs Texas Senate to expand religious liberty.” That's a BIG difference between the two headlines for the same story!Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.RIP: Tom Luce. A great Texan with more influence on the Texas turnaround and Texas Miracle than most will ever know.13th Starship/Superheavy launch goes almost perfectly from Starbase, Texas on Friday evening. ‘I was speechless': Thousands cheer as SpaceX's Starship Flight 13 finally launches after delays.Texas manufacturing output growth accelerated in July.IRS migration data show Texas gained $5B as NY, CA lost billion. The key part of this story that has the most positive meaning is the part about productivity increasing in Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

This week, we cover how Starship Flight 13 finally prepares to launch amid a legal battle over SpaceX's proposed land swap at Starbase, plus a Chinese Long March 3B rocket gets struck by lightning during liftoff, yet still delivers its satellite safely. Then, guests Dr. Pascal Lee and astrobiologist Dr. Penny Boston join the show to mark the 50th anniversary of Viking 1's landing on Mars and revisit the mission's groundbreaking life-detection experiments and the decades-long controversy over what they actually found. The conversation traces Mars exploration from the earliest Mariner flybys through Viking's ambiguous, still-debated results—later explained by perchlorates in the Martian soil—and the fierce scientific rivalry the findings sparked. Join us! Headlines: SpaceX Starship Flight 13 faces engine and weather delays ahead of launch SpaceX land swap proposal sparks conservation group lawsuit over Rio Grande Valley wildlife preserve Chinese Long March rocket survives dramatic lightning strike during launch Main Topic: 50th Anniversary of Viking Mars Landers—Search for Life on Mars The evolution of Mars exploration from telescopes to Viking lander Early Mars missions: Mariner flybys, Soviet attempts, and breakthroughs in orbital imaging Viking 1 and 2: Ambitious design, life-detection experiments, and landing impact Mixed public and scientific reactions to Viking's first iconic Mars surface images Technical overview of the Viking biology experiments and their controversial results The unresolved debate: Did Viking detect life or chemical reactions on Mars? Personal accounts of key scientists, scientific disputes, and the "Wolf Trap" experiment that never flew Lessons from Viking: Limitations of technology, extremophile discoveries, and shifting strategies for detecting life The scientific case for seeking life in Martian caves and subsurface environments Critique of current and future Mars missions: Perseverance rover findings and value of Mars Sample Return Exploring planetary protection, contamination risks, and the challenges of certifying Martian samples= Key takeaways for future missions—bold searches, new technologies, and the ongoing quest for answers Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guests: Pascal Lee and Dr. Penelope Boston Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: rippling.ai/twis

This week, we cover how Starship Flight 13 finally prepares to launch amid a legal battle over SpaceX's proposed land swap at Starbase, plus a Chinese Long March 3B rocket gets struck by lightning during liftoff, yet still delivers its satellite safely. Then, guests Dr. Pascal Lee and astrobiologist Dr. Penny Boston join the show to mark the 50th anniversary of Viking 1's landing on Mars and revisit the mission's groundbreaking life-detection experiments and the decades-long controversy over what they actually found. The conversation traces Mars exploration from the earliest Mariner flybys through Viking's ambiguous, still-debated results—later explained by perchlorates in the Martian soil—and the fierce scientific rivalry the findings sparked. Join us! Headlines: SpaceX Starship Flight 13 faces engine and weather delays ahead of launch SpaceX land swap proposal sparks conservation group lawsuit over Rio Grande Valley wildlife preserve Chinese Long March rocket survives dramatic lightning strike during launch Main Topic: 50th Anniversary of Viking Mars Landers—Search for Life on Mars The evolution of Mars exploration from telescopes to Viking lander Early Mars missions: Mariner flybys, Soviet attempts, and breakthroughs in orbital imaging Viking 1 and 2: Ambitious design, life-detection experiments, and landing impact Mixed public and scientific reactions to Viking's first iconic Mars surface images Technical overview of the Viking biology experiments and their controversial results The unresolved debate: Did Viking detect life or chemical reactions on Mars? Personal accounts of key scientists, scientific disputes, and the "Wolf Trap" experiment that never flew Lessons from Viking: Limitations of technology, extremophile discoveries, and shifting strategies for detecting life The scientific case for seeking life in Martian caves and subsurface environments Critique of current and future Mars missions: Perseverance rover findings and value of Mars Sample Return Exploring planetary protection, contamination risks, and the challenges of certifying Martian samples= Key takeaways for future missions—bold searches, new technologies, and the ongoing quest for answers Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guests: Pascal Lee and Dr. Penelope Boston Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: rippling.ai/twis

This week, we cover how Starship Flight 13 finally prepares to launch amid a legal battle over SpaceX's proposed land swap at Starbase, plus a Chinese Long March 3B rocket gets struck by lightning during liftoff, yet still delivers its satellite safely. Then, guests Dr. Pascal Lee and astrobiologist Dr. Penny Boston join the show to mark the 50th anniversary of Viking 1's landing on Mars and revisit the mission's groundbreaking life-detection experiments and the decades-long controversy over what they actually found. The conversation traces Mars exploration from the earliest Mariner flybys through Viking's ambiguous, still-debated results—later explained by perchlorates in the Martian soil—and the fierce scientific rivalry the findings sparked. Join us! Headlines: SpaceX Starship Flight 13 faces engine and weather delays ahead of launch SpaceX land swap proposal sparks conservation group lawsuit over Rio Grande Valley wildlife preserve Chinese Long March rocket survives dramatic lightning strike during launch Main Topic: 50th Anniversary of Viking Mars Landers—Search for Life on Mars The evolution of Mars exploration from telescopes to Viking lander Early Mars missions: Mariner flybys, Soviet attempts, and breakthroughs in orbital imaging Viking 1 and 2: Ambitious design, life-detection experiments, and landing impact Mixed public and scientific reactions to Viking's first iconic Mars surface images Technical overview of the Viking biology experiments and their controversial results The unresolved debate: Did Viking detect life or chemical reactions on Mars? Personal accounts of key scientists, scientific disputes, and the "Wolf Trap" experiment that never flew Lessons from Viking: Limitations of technology, extremophile discoveries, and shifting strategies for detecting life The scientific case for seeking life in Martian caves and subsurface environments Critique of current and future Mars missions: Perseverance rover findings and value of Mars Sample Return Exploring planetary protection, contamination risks, and the challenges of certifying Martian samples= Key takeaways for future missions—bold searches, new technologies, and the ongoing quest for answers Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guests: Pascal Lee and Dr. Penelope Boston Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: rippling.ai/twis

This week, we cover how Starship Flight 13 finally prepares to launch amid a legal battle over SpaceX's proposed land swap at Starbase, plus a Chinese Long March 3B rocket gets struck by lightning during liftoff, yet still delivers its satellite safely. Then, guests Dr. Pascal Lee and astrobiologist Dr. Penny Boston join the show to mark the 50th anniversary of Viking 1's landing on Mars and revisit the mission's groundbreaking life-detection experiments and the decades-long controversy over what they actually found. The conversation traces Mars exploration from the earliest Mariner flybys through Viking's ambiguous, still-debated results—later explained by perchlorates in the Martian soil—and the fierce scientific rivalry the findings sparked. Join us! Headlines: SpaceX Starship Flight 13 faces engine and weather delays ahead of launch SpaceX land swap proposal sparks conservation group lawsuit over Rio Grande Valley wildlife preserve Chinese Long March rocket survives dramatic lightning strike during launch Main Topic: 50th Anniversary of Viking Mars Landers—Search for Life on Mars The evolution of Mars exploration from telescopes to Viking lander Early Mars missions: Mariner flybys, Soviet attempts, and breakthroughs in orbital imaging Viking 1 and 2: Ambitious design, life-detection experiments, and landing impact Mixed public and scientific reactions to Viking's first iconic Mars surface images Technical overview of the Viking biology experiments and their controversial results The unresolved debate: Did Viking detect life or chemical reactions on Mars? Personal accounts of key scientists, scientific disputes, and the "Wolf Trap" experiment that never flew Lessons from Viking: Limitations of technology, extremophile discoveries, and shifting strategies for detecting life The scientific case for seeking life in Martian caves and subsurface environments Critique of current and future Mars missions: Perseverance rover findings and value of Mars Sample Return Exploring planetary protection, contamination risks, and the challenges of certifying Martian samples= Key takeaways for future missions—bold searches, new technologies, and the ongoing quest for answers Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guests: Pascal Lee and Dr. Penelope Boston Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: rippling.ai/twis

Astronomy Daily S05E148 — "Far Side" Thursday 23 July 2026 Starship gets a second shot at Flight 13 — with a schedule caveat worth knowing about. The first far-side lunar samples reveal that Earth has been quietly shielding the side of the Moon that faces us. Astronomers debate whether the lunar far side should be closed to industry. The Milky Way's only helium nova finally steps out from behind twenty-five years of dust. And the case that our entire galaxy once turned over. Plus a skywatch closer with a straightforward piece of advice about the Delta Aquariids: do not wait for the peak.In this episode Starship Flight 13 ●        Window opens 6:45pm EDT / 2245 GMT Thursday 23 July — 8:45am AEST and 10:45am NZST Friday 24 July. ●        Schedule is not locked: Starbase road and beach closure notices point to further Pad 2 testing. ●        The 16 July attempt aborted at T-0 when four of 33 Raptors missed start parameters; the limit is three. ●        Two Raptors were removed and replaced before this attempt. ●        First-ever Starship deployment of V3 Starlink satellites — 20 of them. ●        Super Heavy splashes down in the Gulf at ~7 minutes; Ship targets the Indian Ocean off Western Australia at ~65 minutes. No catch attempts. Chang'e-6 and the solar wind ●        Published in Nature Geoscience by a team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Geology and Geophysics. ●        Based on 1,935 grams of regolith returned from the South Pole–Aitken basin on the lunar far side. ●        First direct laboratory comparison of solar wind implantation between the near and far sides. ●        Far-side soil records faster, deeper-penetrating particles; the neon isotope ratio sits below every near-side sample measured. ●        About a quarter of the solar wind exposure at the Chang'e-5 near-side site involved wind decelerated by Earth's magnetosphere. The far-side site shows none. ●        Opens the possibility of using lunar noble gases as a fossil record of Earth's magnetic field over deep time. The far side debate — NAM 2026 ●        Held Tuesday 21 July at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting, University of Birmingham. Convened by Prof Martin Ward. ●        For the motion: Prof Joe Silk (Johns Hopkins) and Dr Jonathan McDowell (Durham Space Research Centre). ●        Against: Dr Nikita Chiu (Durham) and Dr Manuel Salvoldi (aerospace engineer and educator). ●        For: the far side is the only radio-quiet site near Earth — critical for detecting the cosmic dark ages, and an exceptional platform for gravitational wave detection. ●        Against: commercial investment is what makes lunar exploration sustainable, and governance can let science and industry coexist. ●        Audience support for the motion rose from 68% to 76% across the debate. V445 Puppis ●        Presented at NAM 2026 by John Mills, University of Warwick. ●        The only confirmed helium nova in the Milky Way. Erupted in late 2000, then vanished behind its own dust for over twenty years. ●        Now confirmed as a white dwarf accreting from a rare stripped helium star — only a few thousand such stars are thought to exist in the entire galaxy. ●        Orbital period of 3.7 days, roughly double previous estimates. Mass transfer has resumed. ●        Unexplained high-speed "bullets" of possibly oxygen-rich gas travelling up to 20 million mph (~9,000 km/s) — never seen in any other nova. ●        Data from ESO's Very Large Telescope, Hubble, the Southern African Large Telescope and TESS. ●        Helium novae may be one pathway to Type Ia supernovae, the standard candles used to measure cosmic expansion. The Milky Way disc flip ●        Presented at NAM 2026 by Kirill Batrakov, Durham University. ●        Based on 25 Milky Way-like galaxies in the Auriga simulation suite, followed across roughly 11 billion years. ●        Galaxies with the most slowly rotating stellar haloes shared a major head-on merger and a disc reorientation greater than 90 degrees. ●        Our stellar halo rotates at only 10–20 km/s; the disc moves at around 220 km/s. ●        The Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus collision roughly 10 billion years ago is the candidate trigger. ●        Batrakov describes a disc flip as likely rather than confirmed, and is looking for independent signatures. ●        Separate 2026 work led by Ling Zhu, using 600,000+ giant stars from Gaia and LAMOST, found the outer dark matter halo oriented almost vertically to the stellar disc — consistent with the disc having tilted. Skywatch ●        Southern Delta Aquariids are active now, running into late August, with maximum around 30 July. ●        Full Moon on 29 July means peak night is close to 98% illuminated — the worst conditions of the run. ●        Best window: the pre-dawn mornings from now until roughly 27 July, after moonset. ●        Radiant near Skat in Aquarius. Use Fomalhaut and the Great Square of Pegasus to locate it. ●        Australia and New Zealand: radiant climbs near overhead. Best from around 2am to first light. ●        North America: radiant sits low in the south — fewer meteors, but a better chance of long-trailed earthgrazers. Same 2am-to-dawn window, local time. ●        Sunspot region AR4493 has grown rapidly to beta-gamma-delta complexity — the highest classification — and has already fired three M-class flares in a day. Worth watching aurora alerts. Sources ●        SpaceX / Space.com — Starship Flight 13 mission details and timing ●        Nature Geoscience — noble gas analysis of Chang'e-6 regolith (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geology and Geophysics) ●        Royal Astronomical Society — NAM 2026 far side governance debate ●        Royal Astronomical Society — NAM 2026, V445 Puppis (John Mills, University of Warwick) ●        Royal Astronomical Society — NAM 2026, Milky Way disc flip (Kirill Batrakov, Durham University) ●        EarthSky and the American Meteor Society — Delta Aquariid observing guidance ●        NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center / EarthSky Sun News — AR4493 activityBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-latest-space-news--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.astronomydaily.io/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Get the best secure and private email on the planet. Stop your Government, google and who knows who else spying on every email you write. Do what we did and use ProtonMail. They beleive in privacy and there are no ads in their business model...yet they still provide a free forever service. Check them out and get out special deal at www.astronomydaily.io/protonmailBecome a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

SpaceX's Starship V3 development, highlighting a recent launch abort during its 13th test flight. The mission was halted at the Starbase facility in Texas when four Raptor engines failed to ignite, causing a delay of several days for repairs. This technical setback follows a previous Flight 12 mishap where engine failures led to the loss of a booster and triggered a federal investigation. These recurring mechanical issues have significantly impacted investor sentiment, driving SpaceX's stock price below its initial public offering value. Despite these challenges, the company has rescheduled the next launch attempt for July 23, 2026. Ultimately, the articles illustrate the ongoing struggle to achieve engine reliability for a rocket system intended to transport cargo and humans to the Moon and Mars.

Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.On today's podcast:1) President Donald Trump accused China of interfering with US elections in 2020, threatening to upend ties with the world’s second-biggest economy as he focuses on securing a victory in the midterms in November.2) Concerns are growing that the US and Iran will intensify hostilities, with the sides clashing for a sixth straight day and Tehran refusing to back down over the Strait of Hormuz. The US hit southern Iran overnight, widening the scope of its targets by striking six road bridges, according to Iranian state media. There were separate reports of attacks on the southern town of Bushehr, which houses the country’s only nuclear power plant, and the western province of Lorestan.3) SpaceX said it will aim to launch its Starship rocket again in a few days after aborting Thursday’s mission when some of its engines didn’t fire up, sending shares lower.Starship was slated to take off on its 13th major mission from SpaceX’s South Texas launch facility, called Starbase, at 5:45 p.m. local time. But right at the planned liftoff time, plumes of smoke erupted from the launch tower, and the rocket remained in place.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Starship system is a fully reusable, two-stage-to-orbit super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by SpaceX. The system is composed of a booster stage named Super Heavy and a second stage, also called Starship.Track everything happening ahead of SpaceX Starship Flight 13 in one place. This live Starship Tracker follows the real-world milestones from Starbase as they happen, including vehicle status, test campaign progress, schedule signals, and any official updates that move the launch closer.Flight 13 is one of the most anticipated tests yet. After the Version 3 hardware debuted on Flight 12 and the program worked through booster recovery objectives, Flight 13 is widely expected to attempt the first catch of a Super Heavy booster at the launch tower, a milestone that would mark a major step toward full rapid reusability.What you will see on this tracker:Current readiness status and major pre-flight milestonesStarbase activity updates and test operations timelineShip and Booster progress checkpoints (as reported by credible sources)Launch window signals, delays, and what they likely meanFlight 13 news recaps when meaningful updates breakSources referenced may include: SpaceX statements, FAA notices, public filings, on-site reporting, and reputable spaceflight outlets. This is an independent tracker and is not affiliated with SpaceX.If you want more Starship coverage, subscribe and turn on notifications so you do not miss key Flight 14 developments.#SpaceX #Starship #Starbase #Flight14 #SpaceNews

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Railcar company TTX wants to build out a large maintenance facility in Slaton. Lubbock County Commissioner Jason Corley explains and gives his side to why a property tax break should be given.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Thursday is the target date for the next test flight of SpaceX's SuperHeavy booster topped with Starship from Starbase in South Texas.They're coming for you next!: Democrat running for Texas attorney general wants to investigate Musk if elected. Good on Bob to pickup on what a liar Nathan Johnson, and other media outlets, is on this issue.UNT Appoints Critical Race Theory Scholar as Interim Provost. Why after many years, way before the DEI scandal, has Governor Greg Abbott not done anything effective with regents at University of North Texas to stop its wallowing in the far-Leftist abyss?TX19 Democratic Party executive committeewoman, Kim Gonzalez of Lubbock, publicly celebrated death of Senator Lindsey Graham. Not a far stretch from already supporting the mass murder of babies.TX13's Ronny Jackson running for top GOP spot on Armed Services pane.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

The Starship system is a fully reusable, two-stage-to-orbit super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by SpaceX. The system is composed of a booster stage named Super Heavy and a second stage, also called Starship.Track everything happening ahead of SpaceX Starship Flight 13 in one place. This live Starship Tracker follows the real-world milestones from Starbase as they happen, including vehicle status, test campaign progress, schedule signals, and any official updates that move the launch closer.Flight 13 is one of the most anticipated tests yet. After the Version 3 hardware debuted on Flight 12 and the program worked through booster recovery objectives, Flight 13 is widely expected to attempt the first catch of a Super Heavy booster at the launch tower, a milestone that would mark a major step toward full rapid reusability.What you will see on this tracker:Current readiness status and major pre-flight milestonesStarbase activity updates and test operations timelineShip and Booster progress checkpoints (as reported by credible sources)Launch window signals, delays, and what they likely meanFlight 13 news recaps when meaningful updates breakSources referenced may include: SpaceX statements, FAA notices, public filings, on-site reporting, and reputable spaceflight outlets. This is an independent tracker and is not affiliated with SpaceX.If you want more Starship coverage, subscribe and turn on notifications so you do not miss key Flight 14 developments.#SpaceX #Starship #Starbase #Flight14 #SpaceNews

The legal, environmental, and logistical challenges surrounding SpaceX's expansion in South Texas. Conservation groups and indigenous organizations have filed multiple lawsuits to block a land exchange with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and to challenge frequent beach closures that restrict public access. While the Texas Supreme Court recently upheld the state's authority to close beaches for launches, federal litigation remains active regarding the protection of endangered species and sacred lands. Simultaneously, SpaceX is advancing its "Starpipe" project, an eight-mile natural gas pipeline designed to replace truck convoys and support a significantly higher launch cadence. This infrastructure push coincides with the company's record-breaking initial public offering, signaling a strategic move toward total vertical integration of its fuel supply chain. However, local opposition persists over concerns regarding industrial wastewater discharge and the long-term ecological health of the South Bay estuarine environment.

Amy Gamerman, contributor to The New York Times, offers her insights into what it's really like to live in Elon Musk's town Starbase.

How do you inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, innovators, and leaders? In this episode of Voices of Montana, Tom Schultz visits with Kara Bates Tangedal, director of Montana STARBASE, along with former campers who now serve as mentors. […] The post STARBASE – A Great Place to Launch Into STEM, STEAM Space first appeared on Voices of Montana.

Carl Quintanilla, Jim Cramer and David Faber kicked off wall-to-wall coverage of SpaceX's public debut day. Elon Musk's company was valued at nearly $1.8 trillion after pricing its record-setting IPO at $135 per share. The anchors explored what's at stake for the markets and investors. You'll hear Musk's speech to SpaceX employees at the company's headquarters in Starbase, Texas. Also in the mix: Cramer's message on SpaceX's opening trade, a live report from the trading floor of Morgan Stanley — one of the lead underwriters of the SpaceX IPO, a flashback to the first trading days for companies including Tesla, Facebook (now Meta) and Alibaba.  Squawk on the Street Disclaimer Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This Day in Legal History: Wallace Stands in the Schoolhouse DoorOn this day in 1963, Alabama Governor George Wallace physically stood in the doorway of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama to block the registration of Vivian Malone and James Hood, the two Black students whose enrollment had been ordered by a federal district court. Wallace's “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” was the culmination of a long campaign of state defiance of federal desegregation orders that ran from Brown v. Board in 1954 through Cooper v. Aaron in 1958 — the case in which a unanimous Supreme Court told the Little Rock school district, and by extension every state actor, that federal constitutional rulings are the supreme law of the land and that state officials may not nullify them.President Kennedy responded to Wallace's stand by issuing Executive Order 11111, which federalized the Alabama National Guard, and ordering Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach down to Tuscaloosa to confront the governor. Wallace gave a long speech invoking states' rights and Tenth Amendment sovereignty, then stepped aside, and Malone and Hood walked in and registered. That night, Kennedy went on national television and delivered the civil rights address that put the Civil Rights Act of 1964 onto the national agenda. The legal and political throughline matters: the schoolhouse door, the executive order federalizing the Guard, the televised address, and the omnibus civil rights legislation that followed were a single coordinated federal response to massive resistance, and the institutional habit they built — the willingness of the federal political branches to back federal court orders with whatever force is necessary — is the substrate on which the modern enforcement of civil rights law sits. Whether that habit holds up under contemporary pressure is one of the live constitutional questions of our moment.The “Anti-Weaponization Fund” saga we have been following all week reached at least a partial resolution on Wednesday when Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia declined to extend her temporary restraining order against the program into a preliminary injunction. The reason, in essence, is that the Justice Department has now formally represented to the court, in writing and through acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, that the $1.8 billion fund is “not going forward.” Brinkema took DOJ at its word for present purposes and dissolved the TRO, which under standard mootness doctrine is the right call when a defendant credibly commits to abandoning the challenged program. But she also did something practical: she warned the government in plain terms not to “play possum with this court,” language that gives the plaintiffs a built-in mechanism to come back fast if the fund quietly re-emerges under a different name.The substantive theory the plaintiffs were pressing — that the fund is an unappropriated expenditure of public money, that the underlying Trump-IRS settlement was a litigation in which the United States was never really adverse to the President in his personal capacity, and that the program's payout criteria are based on political characterizations of past prosecutions rather than any neutral standard — is now preserved for another day rather than litigated to judgment. The practical lesson is the durability of voluntary-cessation doctrine: a government defendant who is willing to abandon a program in court usually wins on mootness, but the cost is real, because future revivals get scrutinized against the prior representation. Watch the Federal Register and the DOJ component-level budget submissions for the next six months — if there is a successor program coming, those are where the first signal appears.Judge declines to halt “anti-weaponization fund” since Blanche says it's dead, but warns DOJ not to “play possum” | CBS NewsA coalition of environmental and tribal-nation plaintiffs filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday seeking to block a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-approved land exchange that would transfer 715 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge to SpaceX, in return for 683 acres of privately owned land elsewhere. The plaintiffs are the Center for Biological Diversity, Save RGV, the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, and the South Texas Environmental Justice Network.The legal theory of the case is unusually multi-statute: the complaint alleges violations of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act, with the central administrative-law argument being that the Fish and Wildlife Service's environmental analysis failed to grapple seriously with impacts on endangered ocelots, aplomado falcons, and a long list of migratory species whose habitat the refuge was designed to protect when Congress created it in 1979. The plaintiffs describe this as one of the largest national-wildlife-refuge land exchanges outside Alaska, and the suit asks for vacatur of the exchange decision rather than damages — the standard APA remedy.The political and infrastructural backdrop is hard to miss: SpaceX's Starbase facility at Boca Chica has been expanding into the Lower Rio Grande Valley for years now, and the exchange would consolidate the company's footprint on land previously held for the protection of one of the last remaining ocelot ranges in the country. The merits of the case will turn on the rigor of the FWS environmental analysis. Expect a request for a preliminary injunction within weeks.Lawsuit challenges Trump administration's land swap with SpaceX in Texas | The Washington PostA Los Angeles County jury on Wednesday added $22 million in punitive damages to the $176 million compensatory verdict already entered against socialite and former philanthropist Rebecca Grossman and former Major League Baseball pitcher Scott Erickson, bringing the total civil award to the Iskander family to roughly $198 million.The underlying facts of the case are stark: in September 2020, Grossman and Erickson left a Westlake Village restaurant after drinking and street-raced separate Mercedes SUVs through a residential neighborhood, with Grossman striking and killing two young brothers, Mark and Jacob Iskander, then 11 and 8, as they crossed a marked crosswalk with their parents.Grossman was convicted of two counts of murder in 2024 and is serving 15 years to life. The civil case the family brought is the wrongful-death companion, and the punitive damages award the jury added on Wednesday is the part that does the most policy work: the jury split the punitive award $21 million against Grossman, $1.17 million against Erickson, which under California's reprehensibility-and-net-worth framework reflects both the much greater direct culpability of Grossman as the driver and the substantial disparity in their respective financial positions.The case is notable beyond the parties involved because of how clean it is on the standard punitive-damages analysis the Supreme Court laid out in BMW v. Gore and State Farm v. Campbell: high reprehensibility, a relatively modest single-digit ratio of punitive-to-compensatory damages, and an underlying compensatory award that itself was supported by the gravity of the loss. Watch for an appeal that focuses on the compensatory rather than the punitive number — that is where the appellate leverage actually is.Jury Ups Philanthropist, Ex-Pitcher Crash Verdict To $198M | Law360 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Iran hits U.S. bases in Jordan and the Gulf after American retaliation for a downed Apache helicopter. Tehran says its World Cup ticket allocation has been pulled. SpaceX's Starbase divides a Texas community.  The USDA ramps up the production of sterile male flies, in a bid to wipe out screwworm. Anti-immigrant riots erupt in Belfast. And Bad Bunny gets a private audience with the Pope.  Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific. Asian stocks fell alongside US equity-index futures as the AI-fueled rally that powered global equities to record highs lost momentum after a weak forecast from Broadcom. Asian losses followed a pullback on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 snapped a nine-day winning streak as renewed US-Iran clashes damped risk appetite. Some relief emerged early Thursday after the US announced a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, helping Brent crude halt a three-day rally. For more on the markets, we speak to Paul Dobson, Bloomberg's Executive Editor for Asia Markets. Plus - SpaceX is seeking to raise $75 billion in an initial public offering that would be the biggest of all time, as Elon Musk's rocket, satellite and artificial intelligence company targets a historic debut that could clear a path for more mega-listings. The Starbase, Texas-based company plans to market about 555.6 million shares for $135 each, according to its filing Wednesday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. At that price, SpaceX would have a market value of almost $1.77 trillion based on the outstanding shares in the filing. Bloomberg TV hosts Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn spoke to Sylvia Jablonski, CIO at Defiance ETF's.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some of the richest companies on Earth want your money. OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX are racing to raise as much of it as possible by going public. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by David Tatasciore, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. SpaceX's Starship 39 rocket launching from Starbase during the 12th test flight. Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CALLBACKS AND COMEBACKS. TV critic Diana Keng reviewed Star Trek: Lower Decks through its first four seasons and jumps back in to reviewing season five right here on this week's Trek Marry Kill. The two episodes being judged embody some classic TV tropes: the backdoor pilot episode and the new young character inserted late in a show's run to show how far our characters have come. But are these TREKs, MARRYs, or KILLs? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode: S05E112 — Tuesday, 26 May 2026 Hosts: Anna & Avery Network: Bitesz.com Podcast Network Website: astronomydaily.io  |  Social: @AstroDailyPod   Story Summaries 1. NASA Unveils Ambitious Moon Base Plan As this episode was recorded, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman was preparing to announce a landmark plan for a permanent human outpost at the lunar south pole by 2036. The programme carries a price tag of approximately $30 billion across a seven-year foundational phase, relies on nuclear power systems, leverages lunar water ice for fuel and life support, and effectively retires the Gateway orbital station concept. Commercial partners will supply rovers and habitat modules. Phase one targets around two dozen lunar launches, including Artemis IV, by 2028. Full details will be covered in tomorrow's episode. 2. Starship V3 Flight 12 — Engine Drama, Historic Debut SpaceX launched the first Starship V3 rocket on Friday, 22 May 2026, from brand-new Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas. Ship 39 reached space and completed a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean despite losing one of its six vacuum Raptor engines during ascent. The flight computer compensated by extending burns on the remaining five. The Super Heavy booster was lost in the Gulf of Mexico after a failed boostback burn. The FAA has opened a review. SpaceX declared most pre-planned test objectives met. 3. JWST Maps First Daily Weather Cycle on a Distant World Published in Science on 21 May 2026. Researchers from Johns Hopkins and Arizona State Universities used Webb's NIRISS instrument to observe WASP-94Ab — a hot Jupiter 690 light-years away — and detected the first daily cloud cycle ever recorded on another planet. Thick magnesium silicate clouds form each morning, then completely clear by evening. The finding also corrected a decade of skewed atmospheric composition data. 4. NASA's Fermi Telescope Solves 20-Year Supernova Mystery An international team led by Fabio Acero used NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to confirm the first definitive gamma-ray detection from a superluminous supernova — SN 2017egm. The data confirms a newly formed magnetar as the power source behind these extraordinarily bright explosions. Published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2026. 5. Most Rocky Exoplanets May Lack Earth-Like Metallic Cores A new paper submitted to the Astrophysical Journal challenges the long-held assumption that dense metallic cores are standard features of rocky planets. Researchers argue that most rocky exoplanets may have formed without Earth-style metallic cores — meaning no global magnetic field, with significant implications for atmospheric retention and habitability. 6. The Soviet Rover That Went Silent — and Came Back Lunokhod 1 was the world's first remote-controlled rover on another world (1970). After traversing 10.5 km of Mare Imbrium, contact was lost in 1971. For nearly 40 years its exact position was unknown — until NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter identified it in 2010. The APOLLO project then fired laser pulses and received ~2,000 photons back from its French-built retroreflector — four times stronger than expected. It remains an active contributor to lunar science today.   Sources & Further Reading •       NASA Moon Base announcement: nasa.gov/2026-news-releases •       Starship Flight 12 updates: space.com •       WASP-94Ab paper: Science, 21 May 2026 — DOI via Johns Hopkins Hub •       Fermi supernova paper: Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2026 — DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202558547 •       Exoplanet cores paper: submitted to Astrophysical Journal, May 2026Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

Natürlich geht es heute um die SpaceX-S1-IPO-Filings, aber vorher sprechen wir über die Google I/O (Universal Cart, Gemini Spark, Gemini 3.5 Flash und viele mehr). Wir vergleichen Umsatz und Verlust (Gewinn) von OpenAI und Anthropic. Andrej Karpathy wechselt zu Anthropic, Cursor erreicht $3 Mrd. Annual Sales Rate. Starlink ist die SpaceXs Cashcow ($11 Mrd. Umsatz, $4,4 Mrd. Profit) und subventioniert die mit 12,5% wachsende KI-Sparte. OpenAI kündigt am Tag des S1-Filings überraschend frühen IPO an. Binance launcht SpaceX Pre-IPO Perpetuals. Bezos hat sich diese Woche auch zu Wort gemeldet. Zudem sprechen wir über Forum-AI-Studie: Falsche News-Antworten von KI, Google holt Contextual-AI-Team für $100 Mio, Airbnb erweitert auf Hotels und Mietwagen. Earnings von Nvidia und Workday. SAP, Mistral und unser Digitalminister Wildberger lässt offenbar Texte/Reden von schreiben. Unterstütze unseren Podcast und entdecke die Angebote unserer Werbepartner auf ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠doppelgaenger.io/werbung⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Vielen Dank!  Philipp Glöckler und Philipp Klöckner sprechen heute über: (00:04:00) Google I/O Recap (00:25:44) OpenAI Q1 Earnings: $5,7 Mrd. (00:34:33) Anthropic Q1 & profitable im Juni (00:41:21) Karpathy zu Anthropic (00:42:40) Cursor bei $3 Mrd. Runrate (00:44:39) SpaceX S1 Filing Deep Dive (01:19:30) SpaceX kauft Cybertrucks für $140 Mio. (01:24:30) OpenAI IPO-Filing kommt früher (01:28:29) SpaceX Pre-IPO Perpetuals (01:32:37) Arbeiter stirbt in Starbase (01:33:28) Bezos: Space-Datacenter & Steuer-Debatte (01:38:34) Forum AI: GROK unzuverlässig bei News (01:41:19) Google holt Contextual-AI-Team für $100 Mio. (01:41:51) Airbnb: Hotels, Mietwagen, Everything-Travel (01:43:39) Nvidia Earnings +85% (01:46:51) Workday Earnings +14% (01:47:22) Zuckerberg-Audio: Mitarbeiter-Spionage (01:47:44) Enhanced Games (Steroid-Olympics) (01:52:21) Reuters: GROK 3 von 400 US-Behörden-Fällen (01:53:12) WaPo: DOGE-Datenzugriffe geheim (01:54:04) Trump schützt sich vor IRS (01:54:46) Cohere übernimmt Reliant AI Shownotes Google I/O 2026: Größte AI-Ankündigungen - theverge.com OpenAI behält $1 Mrd. Umsatz-Vorsprung vor Anthropic in Q1 - theinformation.com OpenAI Action-Figur-Werbung auf Instagram - instagram.com Anthropic wird erstmals profitabel - wsj.com Andrej Karpathy wechselt zu Anthropic - bloomberg.com Cursor erreicht $3 Mrd. Annual Sales Rate - bloomberg.com SpaceX-IPO: Founders Fund vor $60 Mrd. Return - theinformation.com OpenAI IPO-Filing kommt früh - wsj.com OpenAI klaut SpaceX die Show mit IPO-Ankündigung - marketwatch.com Binance launcht Pre-IPO Perpetuals für SpaceX - prnewswire.com SpaceX: Arbeiter stirbt in Starbase - futurism.com Bezos / Blue Origin: Data Center im All - cnbc.com WOLF Financial Tweet (bitte manuell prüfen) - xcancel.com Studie: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok bei News unzuverlässig - bloomberg.com Google: $100 Mio. Acqui-License von Bezos' Contextual AI - bloomberg.com Airbnb fügt Hotels und Mietwagen hinzu - cnbc.com Nvidia-Earnings: +85% durch AI Boom - theguardian.com Workday Q1 Earnings: Aktie +14% - cnbc.com LayoffAI Tweet - xcancel.com Steroid Olympics - ft.com Christian Angermayer und die Enhanced Games - theguardian.com Grok fällt in Washington durch: Nur 3 von 400 Behörden-Fällen - reuters.com Behörden verweigern Auskunft über DOGE-Datenzugriffe - washingtonpost.com Trump schützt eigene Steuererklärungen vor IRS-Prüfung - spiegel.de Cohere übernimmt deutsches KI-Startup Reliant AI - manager-magazin.de Reliant-AI-Gründer Karl-Moritz Hermann verkündet Cohere-Deal - linkedin.com Schreibt ChatGPT die Reden des Digitalministers? - de.linkedin.com

LIVE: SpaceX Starship Launch & UFO NewsStarship Flight 12 (IFT-12) is the maiden flight of Starship Version 3 (Block 3), using Booster 19 (B19) and Ship 39 (S39). It marks the first launch from Starbase's new Orbital Launch Pad 2 (Pad B) and debuts major redesigns for full rapid reusability.The flight is a suborbital test (transatmospheric trajectory), with the booster splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico and the ship in the Indian Ocean. Launch targeted for May 21, 2026, around 5:30–7:00 PM CDT (window shifted to ~6:00 PM CT).Key Highlights and Special FeaturesFirst V3 Vehicles: Significant upgrades to Starship, Super Heavy, and Raptor 3 engines (clean-sheet propulsion changes, increased tank volume, new startup methods, larger grid fins on booster). These incorporate lessons from prior flights for higher performance, reliability, and eventual 100+ ton payloads to orbit.New Launch Pad (Pad 2): First use of the redesigned pad with upgraded propellant farms (more capacity and faster pumps) and improved tower chopsticks (electromechanical actuators for speed/reliability).Heavy Payload Demo: Deploys 22 Starlink simulators (~44 tonnes total mass, a record for Starship tests). Includes 20 standard simulators + 2 specially modified ones to scan Starship's heat shield during flight and transmit imagery (testing future tile inspection for return-to-launch-site missions). Some tiles were painted white to simulate damage.In-Space and Reentry Tests:Single Raptor engine relight in space.Controlled reentry with banking maneuver (simulating future Starbase return trajectory).Intentional stress test on rear flaps.One heat shield tile was intentionally removed to measure the effects on adjacent tiles.Booster Objectives: Full launch, ascent, hot-staging separation, boostback burn, and landing burn — but no tower catch attempt (conservative water landing as it's the first V3 flight).Raptor 3 Power: 33 engines on the booster delivering massive thrust (over 9,000 metric tons), with improved reliability shown in static fires.This flight focuses on proving the redesigned architecture in real conditions rather than attempting catches or full orbits yet. It's a big iterative step toward operational reusability, orbital refueling, and missions like Artemis or Mars.AttributionSpielberg on The Late Show via UAP James@UAPJames on Xhttps://x.com/UAPJames/status/2057061621818683797?s=20Avi Loeb on Neil DeGrasse Tyson via Red Panda Koala @RedPandaKoala on Xhttps://x.com/RedPandaKoala/status/2056986929795871046?s=20Starship Flight 12 Launch via SpaceX Broadcasthttps://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-12Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tempest-universe--4712510/support.Please follow the #podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTempestUniversePodcast?sub_confirmation=1

LIVE: SpaceX Starship Launch & UFO News Starship Flight 12 (IFT-12) is the maiden flight of Starship Version 3 (Block 3), using Booster 19 (B19) and Ship 39 (S39). It marks the first launch from Starbase's new Orbital Launch Pad 2 (Pad B) and debuts major redesigns for full rapid reusability. The flight is a suborbital test (transatmospheric trajectory), with the booster splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico and the ship in the Indian Ocean. Launch targeted for May 21, 2026, around 5:30–7:00 PM CDT (window shifted to ~6:00 PM CT).Key Highlights and Special Features First V3 Vehicles: Significant upgrades to Starship, Super Heavy, and Raptor 3 engines (clean-sheet propulsion changes, increased tank volume, new startup methods, larger grid fins on booster). These incorporate lessons from prior flights for higher performance, reliability, and eventual 100+ ton payloads to orbit. New Launch Pad (Pad 2): First use of the redesigned pad with upgraded propellant farms (more capacity and faster pumps) and improved tower chopsticks (electromechanical actuators for speed/reliability). Heavy Payload Demo: Deploys 22 Starlink simulators (~44 tonnes total mass, a record for Starship tests). Includes 20 standard simulators + 2 specially modified ones to scan Starship's heat shield during flight and transmit imagery (testing future tile inspection for return-to-launch-site missions). Some tiles were painted white to simulate damage.In-Space and Reentry Tests: Single Raptor engine relight in space.Controlled reentry with banking maneuver (simulating future Starbase return trajectory).Intentional stress test on rear flaps. One heat shield tile was intentionally removed to measure the effects on adjacent tiles. Booster Objectives: Full launch, ascent, hot-staging separation, boostback burn, and landing burn — but no tower catch attempt (conservative water landing as it's the first V3 flight).Raptor 3 Power: 33 engines on the booster delivering massive thrust (over 9,000 metric tons), with improved reliability shown in static fires. This flight focuses on proving the redesigned architecture in real conditions rather than attempting catches or full orbits yet. It's a big iterative step toward operational reusability, orbital refueling, and missions like Artemis or Mars. Attribution Spielberg on The Late Show via UAP James@UAPJames on X https://x.com/UAPJames/status/2057061621818683797?s=20 Avi Loeb on Neil DeGrasse Tyson via Red Panda Koala @RedPandaKoala on X https://x.com/RedPandaKoala/status/2056986929795871046?s=20 Starship Flight 12 Launch via SpaceX Broadcast https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-12 Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tempest-universe--4712510/support. Please follow the #podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTempestUniversePodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Sponsor Link:To check out our great NordVPN money saving deal - Click HereAstronomy Daily • S05E107 • Wednesday 21 May 2026 Starship V3 is on the pad and counting down for Thursday's debut launch — we bring you the full update including technical objectives, the Artemis stakes, and a sober note about a worker fatality at Starbase. Plus: a NIST proposal to build GPS for the Moon using lasers inside permanently frozen polar craters; space station startup Vast enters the satellite market; JWST finally has an explanation for the universe's impossibly large early black holes; the Roman Space Telescope locks in a September 2026 launch; and interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS gives up two remarkable new secrets — alien water thirty times richer in heavy hydrogen than anything in our solar system, and pre-discovery images that show it was spotted before anyone knew it was there.   Stories This Episode •       STORY 1 — Starship V3 Flight 12: Launch window opens Thursday 21 May at 6:30 PM EDT (8:30 AM AEST Friday 22 May). Splashdown of upper stage in Indian Ocean off Western Australia ~65 min after liftoff. First flight of Starship V3, first use of Starbase Pad 2. Key objectives: Raptor 3 engines, heat shield imaging by modified Starlink sats, 22 dummy Starlink deployments, Raptor relight in space. Worker fatality at Starbase 15 May under OSHA investigation. •       STORY 2 — Lunar GPS via NIST: Proposal to place ultrastable silicon optical cavity lasers in permanently shadowed craters near lunar south pole (~16K, near-perfect vacuum). Could enable lunar GPS network, atomic timekeeping on Moon, precise satellite ranging, gravitational wave detection. •       STORY 3 — Vast Corporation: Space station builder announces new line of high-power satellites, expanding beyond Haven-1 into commercial satellite manufacturing. Announced 19 May 2026. •       STORY 4 — JWST Black Holes: New arXiv paper proposes 'episodic super-Eddington accretion' in gas-rich dark matter-dominated early galaxies explains overmassive black holes found by JWST. Identifies them as 'missing link' between heavy seeds and luminous quasars. •       STORY 5 — Roman Space Telescope: Launch now confirmed as early as September 2026 — 8 months ahead of schedule, under budget. 100x Hubble's field of view, 1,000x survey speed. Targets dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets. Coronagraph for direct exoplanet imaging. •       STORY 6 — 3I/ATLAS: Pre-discovery images found in Rubin Observatory data from 21 June–2 July 2025, over a week before official ATLAS discovery. Water deuterium ratio at least 30x higher than any solar system comet (ALMA/U of Michigan/Nature Astronomy). Comet estimated ~12 billion years old.   Key Links •       SpaceX Starship Flight 12 livestream: spacex.com •       Flight 12 timeline (Space.com): space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/what-time-is-spacex-starship-v3-launch-starship-flight-12-timeline •       Starbase worker death (Space.com): space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/worker-dies-at-spacexs-starbase-in-leadup-to-starship-v3-megarocket-launch •       Lunar laser GPS (NIST): nist.gov/news-events/news/2026/05/shooting-moon-ultrastable-lasers-dark-craters-could-enable-lunar-navigation •       Vast satellite announcement: space.com (19 May 2026) •       Roman Space Telescope launch update: nasa.gov •       3I/ATLAS pre-discovery images: space.com/astronomy/comets •       3I/ATLAS water chemistry (ALMA): almaobservatory.orgBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

Sponsor Link:To grab our special money saving NordVPN deal - Click HereIn today's episode, Anna and Avery cover a blue whale-sized asteroid making a close pass of Earth today, the imminent debut of SpaceX's most powerful rocket yet, NASA's Psyche spacecraft successfully completing its Mars gravity assist, fresh science arriving at the ISS, a new physics paper challenging the simulation hypothesis at its foundations, and Congress pushing back hard against proposed cuts to NASA's science budget.   Story 1 — Asteroid 2026 JH2 Newly discovered asteroid 2026 JH2 (first spotted 10 May 2026) makes a close Earth flyby today at ~90,000 km — within the orbital radius of many satellites. Estimated size: up to ~35 metres (blue whale-sized). Zero impact risk confirmed. Observable with binoculars at peak magnitude ~11.5. Live stream available via the Virtual Telescope Project. Orbital period: 3.7 years between Earth and Jupiter.   Story 2 — Starship V3 / Flight 12 SpaceX targets May 19, 2026 for the debut of Starship Version 3 (Flight 12) from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas. Launch window opens 6:30 PM EDT. Key upgrades: Raptor 3 engines (250 tf SL thrust, up from 230 tf), three larger grid fins, new integrated hot-stage design, updated propellant systems. No tower catch on this flight; booster splashes in Gulf of Mexico. Upper stage (Ship 39) targets Indian Ocean after 65 minutes. Payload: 22 Starlink simulator satellites. Critical step toward Artemis lunar landings.   Story 3 — NASA Psyche Mars Flyby On 15 May 2026 at 3:28 PM EDT, Psyche completed its Mars gravity assist at 4,500 km altitude travelling at 12,333 mph. Passed inside the orbits of both Martian moons. Confirmed by Doppler shift monitoring. Mission: en route to metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche (arrival July 2029). Thousands of Mars observations gathered for science calibration.   Story 4 — SpaceX CRS-34 SpaceX's 34th Dragon cargo mission docked at ISS at 6:37 AM EDT on 17 May 2026, delivering ~6,500 lb of cargo for Expedition 74. Science payloads include: microgravity simulator validation study, wood-based bone scaffold (osteoporosis research), red blood cell/spleen spaceflight study. Dragon will return to Earth mid-June splashing down off California coast.   Story 5 — Simulation Hypothesis Paper Paper: ‘Non-algorithmic physics and the limits of the simulation hypothesis', published in the Journal of Holography Applications in Physics. Authors: Mir Faizal (UBC Okanagan), Lawrence Krauss, Arshid Shabir, Francesco Marino. Core argument: using Gödel's incompleteness theorems, the team argues any theory of quantum gravity would be non-algorithmic — containing truths no computation can capture. Since any simulation requires algorithms, reality cannot be fully simulated. Note: this is a theoretical paper, not an experimental result. The authors acknowledge no complete quantum gravity theory currently exists.   Story 6 — NASA FY2027 Budget House Appropriations Committee approved $24.438 billion for NASA in FY2027 — matching FY2026 and rejecting the White House's proposed $18.8 billion (a 23% cut). The proposal would have cut the Science Mission Directorate by 46%, terminating 50+ missions. Committee protects science, Habitable Worlds Observatory, and STEM education funding. Bill still needs Senate passage and reconciliation.   Skywatching TONIGHT — Moon-Venus conjunction: look west after sunset for the crescent Moon close to brilliant Venus. Earthshine visible on dark lunar limb. Southern Hemisphere: look west-northwest, best in first hour after sunset. Blue Moon on 31 May (second full Moon of the month).  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

Sponsor Link:To get the deatils of our money saving NordVPN deal - Click HereIt's the Astronomy Daily Weekend Space and Astronomy News Wrap — your Saturday deep dive into the biggest stories from across the week, plus two brand-new headlines and a bonus story we just couldn't leave out.   This week on Astronomy Daily: •      NASA's Psyche spacecraft executed its Mars gravity assist flyby yesterday — slingshotting past the Red Planet at 12,000 mph on its way to a $10 quadrillion metal-rich asteroid •      SpaceX launched the record-breaking CRS-34 Dragon mission to the ISS Friday night — with docking happening TODAY (Sunday May 17) •      James Webb Space Telescope maps the cosmic web in unprecedented detail — 164,000 galaxies, 13.7 billion years of history •      Hubble reveals 'Dracula's Chivito' — the largest, most chaotic planet nursery ever seen, 1,000 light-years from Earth •      Starship Version 3 is on the pad — debut launch targeting Tuesday May 19 from the new Launch Pad 2 at Starbase •      Comet R3 PanSTARRS is in Southern Hemisphere skies NOW — and tonight is New Moon. Your last chance for 170,000 years •      WEEKEND BONUS: NASA's Curiosity rover drilled into a rock on Mars — and the rock wouldn't let go   Find us at astronomydaily.io | Follow @AstroDailyPod | Part of the Bitesz.com Podcast Network   YouTube Show Notes Title: Mars Slingshot! Cosmic Web Mapped! Starship V3 Launch SOON! Weekend Space News Wrap | Today's Space News   In this weekend edition of Astronomy Daily, Anna and Avery cover seven stories — two fresh headlines, four of the biggest stories from the past week, and a bonus story that's pure gold. It's been one of the best weeks in space in 2026.   CHAPTERS: 1.    00:00 — Cold Open & Weekend Wrap Introduction 2.    01:30 — FRESH: NASA Psyche Spacecraft's Mars Gravity Assist 3.    04:00 — FRESH: SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon Launch to the ISS 4.    06:00 — WEEKLY WRAP: JWST Maps the Cosmic Web 5.    08:30 — WEEKLY WRAP: Hubble's 'Dracula's Chivito' Planet Nursery 6.    11:00 — WEEKLY WRAP: Starship V3 — Launch This Tuesday! 7.    13:00 — WEEKLY WRAP: Comet R3 PanSTARRS — Skywatching Now 8.    15:00 — WEEKEND BONUS: Curiosity Rover's Sticky Rock 9.    16:30 — Outro & Credits   Subscribe for daily space and astronomy news | astronomydaily.io | @AstroDailyPod | Bitesz.com Podcast NetworkBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

Sponsor Link:To get our secial NordVPN offer and save a heap of money, Click HereIn this milestone episode — one away from our 100th — Anna and Avery cover six extraordinary stories: the Pentagon's unprecedented release of 162 declassified UFO/UAP files; SpaceX firing all 33 Raptor V3 engines on the Super Heavy booster ahead of Starship Flight 12; tomorrow's CRS-34 cargo launch to the ISS; JWST's breathtaking new portrait of cosmic buckyballs inside a dying star; never-before-seen mineral maps of the Moon's far side created from Artemis 2 mission photographs; and the American Meteor Society's growing alarm over an unexplained spike in large fireball events across the globe.   Stories Covered 1. Pentagon Releases 162 Declassified UAP Files (May 8, 2026) •       The Pentagon launched a public portal at war.gov/UFO on Friday 8 May, releasing 162 declassified files on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. •       Files include 120 PDF documents, 28 videos, and 14 images — spanning sightings from the 1940s to 2025. •       The PURSUE program (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters) will release additional files on a rolling basis every few weeks. •       The files show no evidence of extraterrestrial contact or government cover-up; they are classified as 'unresolved cases.' •       Notable items include footage of a football-shaped UAP near Japan, a white orb over Syria, and Apollo 17 lunar imagery showing unexplained lights.   2. SpaceX Starship V3 Super Heavy — Full 33-Engine Static Fire (May 7, 2026) •       SpaceX completed the first successful full-duration, full-thrust static fire of the Super Heavy V3 booster at Starbase, Texas, on 7 May. •       All 33 Raptor V3 engines fired simultaneously — the most powerful ground test of any rocket first stage in history. •       Previous tests on 15 April ended early due to ground equipment issues; the 7 May test went the full duration. •       The Starship V3 Ship upper stage also completed its static fire in April — both vehicle halves now cleared for flight. •       SpaceX is targeting 15 May for Starship Flight 12, a suborbital test mission. Starship is central to NASA's Artemis lunar landing system.   3. SpaceX CRS-34 — ISS Resupply Launch (12 May 2026) •       Launch: 7:16 PM EDT, Tuesday 12 May from SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. •       Cargo: approximately 6,500 pounds, including scientific experiments, food, equipment, and crew supplies. •       Autonomous docking scheduled: ~9:50 AM EDT, Thursday 14 May, at Harmony module's forward port. •       Key payloads: Laplace (planet formation dust study), STORIE (space weather / ring current monitoring), wooden bone scaffold (osteoporosis research), and red blood cell / spleen change investigation. •       Watch live on NASA+, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and NASA's website from 7:00 PM EDT on 12 May.   4. JWST Reveals the Birthplace of Cosmic Buckyballs — Planetary Nebula Tc 1 •       Western University astronomers returned to planetary nebula Tc 1 (10,000+ light-years away, constellation Ara) using JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). •       First detected buckyballs (buckminsterfullerene / C60 molecules) in space here in 2010 using Spitzer; now JWST reveals the full structure for the first time. •       Buckyballs are concentrated in a thin spherical shell around the central white dwarf — arranged like 'one giant buckyball.' •       JWST imagery also reveals an unexplained upside-down question mark feature at the nebula's heart. •       Current theoretical models don't fully explain the buckyballs' observed infrared emissions — multiple new papers are in preparation. •       Buckyballs found in meteorites on Earth; understanding their space origins provides clues about organic chemistry and possibly life's building blocks.   5. Artemis 2 — Far-Side Moon Images (Published May 2026) •       Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy collaborated pre-mission with Commander Reid Wiseman to plan detailed lunar photography during the Artemis 2 flyby. •       McCarthy's image-stacking technique — applied to Wiseman's far-side photographs taken during the 6 April lunar flyby — has produced unprecedented colour mineral maps of the far side. •       Colours reveal mineral composition variations (browns, blues, reds) not visible to the naked eye — described as 'cyborg vision' for the Moon. •       NASA has released the full Artemis 2 photo archive: 12,217 images now publicly available. •       Full archive: NASA astronaut photography public archive (link in episode resources).   6. The 2026 Fireball Surge — AMS Analysis (Published May 2026) •       The American Meteor Society reports an anomalous spike in large fireball events in Q1 2026 that 'warrants serious investigation.' •       Total Q1 event count (2,046) is only marginally above historical norms; the anomaly is in the SIZE of events — the largest fireballs are happening at roughly double the historical rate. •       March 2026: 40+ major events, including a 3,229-witness fireball over Europe (8 Mar), an Ohio sonic boom explosion (17 Mar), and a meteorite through a Houston roof (21 Mar). •       79% of Q1's high-witness fireball events produced confirmed sonic booms — a strong physical indicator of large, dense incoming objects. •       Anthelion sporadic source (opposite the Sun) is producing roughly double its normal activity; activity concentrated in a single 1,000-square-degree patch. •       Ruling out explanations: not a new shower, not seasonal variation alone, not reporting bias. •       AMS calling for expanded automated all-sky camera networks and better cross-referencing with radar, infrasound, and satellite data.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

Starbase. Prospera. California Forever. Mars. From private cities to interstellar colonies, tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel have backed experiments designed to operate beyond the borders — and laws — most of us live by. So we wondered: has this happened before? In this episode, we visit an Arctic archipelago, homesteads floating in the ocean, and a startup city in Honduras to explore where places built with the ultra-rich in mind leave all the rest of us.Guests:Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, author of The Cosmopolites and The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Hacks the WorldWayne Gramlich, retired computer engineerDan Girma, producer on NPR's Embedded podcastJacob Silverman, author of Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon ValleyTo access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

SpaceX just hit the brakes. Flight 12, the first launch of the Starship V3, is officially pushed to May. While Elon claims it is a 4 to 6 week tweak, there is more going on with the V3 hardware than just a schedule shift. We are breaking down the specific bottlenecks holding up the most powerful rocket ever built.The Raptor 3 Risk: The new shroudless engines are supposed to be more efficient, but rumors of cooling issues during static fires are heating up.The Stretch Problem: V3 is significantly taller than its predecessors. We look at whether the structural welds can actually handle the increased propellant mass.Heat Shield 3.0: After the near-misses of Flight 11, did SpaceX finally solve the tile-loss issue, or is that what is causing the May delay?The $2 Trillion Pressure: With the SpaceX IPO rumors swirling, a failure on the maiden V3 flight is not an option. Is this a technical delay or a strategic one?The transition from V2 to V3 is the biggest hardware jump in Starship history. If they do not get this right in May, the entire moon manifest slides. Listen to find out what is actually happening at Starbase.

8. Starbase and the Era of the Starship In Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX built Starbase, a massive rocket factory and launch site, from modest beginnings in a swamp. The focus here is on Starship and the Super Heavy booster, a fully reusable system more powerful than the Saturn V. Innovative "chopstick" arms on the launch tower are designed to catch returning boosters to eliminate landing legs and speed up relaunching. The ultimate vision involves a fleet of starships refueling in low Earth orbit before departing for Mars every two years, establishing a permanent human presence on the Red Planet. (8)1897 WAR OF THE WORLDS

Preview for later. Bob Zimmerman explains why the town of Starbase, Texas, may cancel its upcoming elections. With no challengers appearing for the incumbent SpaceX-affiliated officials, Texas law allows for the cancellation of uncontested races. (12)1938

Philip Johnston, founder and CEO of Starcloud, explains why space will become the primary location for AI compute infrastructure within the next decade. After witnessing SpaceX's massive manufacturing scale at Starbase, Philip realized that declining launch costs would make space-based data centers cheaper than terrestrial ones. He breaks down the physics of heat dissipation in vacuum, the economics of solar power without atmosphere, and why the marginal cost of space infrastructure decreases while Earth-based costs increase. Philip previews a future where close to a trillion dollars per year in CapEx flows to space compute. And, yes, we get his take on aliens. Hosted by: Sonya Huang and Pat Grady, Sequoia Capital.

In this episode, Chris Cochrane dives into Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo – the cheapest Mac laptop ever made – and whether it spells trouble for Chromebook makers. He also covers Samsung’s CEO blaming AI for rising phone prices, Framework raising RAM prices for the third time in three months, Meta unveiling four custom AI chips, NVIDIA’s GTC 2026 conference preview, a billion-dollar bet against large language models, Microsoft’s game-changing Project Helix Xbox with native Steam support, Windows 11’s new Xbox Mode, and SpaceX gearing up for a critical Starship Flight 12 test. – Want to start a podcast? Its easy to get started! Sign-up at Blubrry – Thinking of buying a Starlink? Use my link to support the show. Subscribe to the Newsletter. Email Chris if you want to get in touch! Like and Follow Geek News Central’s Facebook Page. Support my Show Sponsor: Best Godaddy Promo Codes Get 1Password Apple MacBook Neo The lead story covers Apple’s MacBook Neo. It launched at $599 and marks the cheapest Mac laptop ever made. The device runs on the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone 16 Pro. Cochrane notes a solid market for students, casual users, and anyone who needs a reliable home laptop. However, he advises photographers and videographers to invest in a MacBook Air or Pro instead. The real question remains whether this kills Chromebook sales in education. Samsung CEO Blames AI for Price Hikes Cochrane tackles Samsung’s Galaxy S26 price increases. CEO TM Roh blamed AI infrastructure demand for the hikes. Meanwhile, DDR4 DRAM prices surged sevenfold in a single year. Cochrane points out the irony. Samsung manufactures memory chips, shifted production toward AI data centers, and now cites that same shortage to justify higher consumer prices. He calls the situation “a little shady” but appreciates the transparency. Framework RAM Prices Up Again The RAM crisis extends beyond phones. Framework raised RAM prices for the third consecutive time in three months. Cochrane reinforces advice from a recent episode. He urges listeners to buy now before prices climb further. Analysts project peak prices by mid-2026. The shortage could last through late 2027. Sponsor: GoDaddy Economy hosting $6.99/month, WordPress hosting $12.99/month, domains $11.99. Website builder trial available. Use codes at geeknewscentral.com/godaddy to support the show. Meta Unveils Four Custom AI Chips Cochrane reports on Meta’s four new MTIA chip generations. The company aims to reduce its dependence on NVIDIA by building custom silicon. The MTIA 300 is already in production. New generations will ship every six months through 2027. The chips are built on open-source RISC-V architecture and manufactured by TSMC. NVIDIA GTC 2026 Preview NVIDIA’s GTC conference starts Monday in San Jose. Jensen Huang promises “chips the world has never seen.” Rumored architectures include Rubin Ultra and Feynman. The keynote streams free at nvidia.com on Monday at 11am Pacific. Cochrane notes that while companies like Meta are building chips to escape NVIDIA, competition will eventually catch up. Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs Raises $1.03 Billion Former Meta AI chief Yann LeCun raised $1.03 billion for AMI Labs at a $3.5 billion valuation. It marks the largest European seed round in history for a company just four months old. LeCun is building “world models” that learn from physical reality rather than text. Backers include Jeff Bezos, NVIDIA, and Samsung. Cochrane notes both approaches to AI can coexist. Microsoft Project Helix Microsoft revealed Project Helix at GDC 2026. For the first time, an Xbox will natively support Steam and GOG. Cochrane sees it as both desperate and inevitable. The only reason to buy from the Xbox store would be exclusives. He notes this is a breath of fresh air after months of talk that the Xbox era was ending. Dev kits ship in 2027 with a consumer launch likely late 2027 or 2028. Windows 11 Xbox Mode Microsoft is rolling out Xbox Mode to all Windows 11 PCs in April. The full-screen controller-optimized interface works with Steam, Epic, and Battle.net. Cochrane sees it as the first half of Microsoft’s two-phase gaming strategy. Xbox Mode trains users now. Project Helix delivers dedicated hardware later. He asks whether Sony and Nintendo will follow in Xbox’s footsteps. SpaceX Starship Flight 12 SpaceX announced stacking complete for the next Super Heavy booster at Starbase. Flight 12 targets April and debuts V3 hardware with Raptor 3 engines. Orbital refueling remains the critical unknown for NASA’s Artemis III moon landing. SpaceX has a track record of delivering eventually, just never on Elon’s original timeline. The post Is the MacBook Neo a Chromebook Killer? #1860 appeared first on Geek News Central.

SpaceX is currently preparing for the highly anticipated Flight 12 mission, which will feature the debut of the Starship Version 3 hardware. CEO Elon Musk has projected a launch date for early April 2026, marking a slight delay from earlier estimates as the company finalizes testing on the new Booster 19 and Ship 39 vehicles. Significant infrastructure milestones are also underway at the Starbase facility in Texas, including the commissioning of a second orbital launch pad designed to support these upgraded rockets. Beyond technical development, SpaceX is reportedly exploring a Nasdaq stock market listing with a valuation that could reach $1.75 trillion. Meanwhile, other Musk-led ventures like The Boring Company and xAI continue to hit growth benchmarks, such as completing record-breaking tunnels in Las Vegas and expanding massive AI supercomputing clusters. Together, these sources highlight a period of intensive scaling and transition across Musk's various aerospace and technology enterprises.

STARBASE AND THE MECHAZILLA CATCH Colleague Eric Berger. The final segment centers on Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, where SpaceX built a modern rocket factory on swampland to construct the massive Starship. Berger details the "Chopstick" system, a tower designed to catch returning Super Heavy boosters to eliminate landing legs and enable rapid reuse. This fully reusable system, larger than the Saturn V, is the "endgame" for Musk's vision. Berger describes the operational concept: fleets of Starships refueling in orbit via tankers, then departing for Mars in waves every two years to establish a permanent human presence. NUMBER 81920 THE WARLORD OF MARS

STARSHIP: THE FULLY REUSABLE ARCHITECTURE FOR MARS Colleague Eric Berger. At Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX transformed a swamp into "Starbase," a modern rocket factory for the Starship and Super Heavy launch system. Starship represents the endgame of Musk's vision: a fully reusable rocket larger than the Saturn V, designed to be caught by "chopstick" arms on the launch tower to eliminate landing legs and speed up reuse. The plan involves orbital refueling and launching fleets of ships every two years to transport massive amounts of cargo, serving as a "Grand Central Station" for deep space colonization. NUMBER 8 1921 FRANCE