April 04, 2025

This Week in Space 155: Space News You Can Use

1 hour 15 minutes

This week, it's cool space news you can use (if you're not stuck on the ISS!). We look at the recent flight of Fram 2, the first spacecraft to fly a polar orbit; recent revelations about the flight of Starliner from commander Butch Wilmore; a mysterious Russian satellite behaving strangely; and carnivorous Martian dust devils. We also update you on SpaceX's next test of Starship, SpinLaunch's mighty "space cannon," recent experiments on abating lunar dust, and much more. Join us!

Fram 2 Mission - SpaceX's private orbital mission financed by cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang completed a four-day flight, making history as the first mission to send astronauts over Earth's poles.

Amazon's Kuiper Satellites - Amazon launched its first batch of 27 Kuiper internet satellites on an Atlas 5 rocket, beginning its planned 3,200-satellite constellation to compete with SpaceX's Starlink.

Blue Origin's All-Female Flight Controversy? - Actress Olivia Munn is blasting the all-female crew for Blue Origin's next suborbital flight for its costly, gluttonous mission.

Tariffs Impact on Space Industry - The hosts discussed how new tariffs could affect aerospace companies that rely on international partnerships and imported components for spacecraft manufacturing.

US Military Cargo Delivery with SpaceX - The US military's Rocket Cargo Vanguard program plans to test using SpaceX's Starship to deliver 100 tons of cargo anywhere in the world in under 90 minutes.

Starliner's Harrowing Mission - New details revealed that Boeing's Starliner mission was more dangerous than initially reported, with multiple thruster failures creating serious maneuvering issues, threatening to leave them adrift in space.

Mysterious Russian Satellites - Three Russian satellites (Cosmos 2581-2583) were observed performing proximity operations and possibly deploying another object in orbit, raising concerns about their purpose.

Starship Test 9 Preparations - SpaceX is preparing to refly a Starship booster with 29 reused engines, marking progress toward their fully reusable rocket system.

Japan's Mars Plans - JAXA is planning to send multiple mini rovers to Mars using an inflatable heat shield technology to enable larger payload deliveries, and add a lander to Phobos.

Cannibal Dust Devils on Mars - The Perseverance rover captured images of two dust devils on Mars merging, with the larger one (210 feet wide) absorbing a smaller one (16 feet wide).

Lunar Dust Mitigation Technology - NASA successfully tested an electrodynamic dust shield on Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander that could help manage the highly problematic lunar dust on future missions.

Asteroid 2024 YR4 Update - James Webb Space Telescope observations determined the asteroid is about 200 feet wide with a slightly increased 3.8% chance of hitting the moon in 2032, up from 1.7%.

SpinLaunch's Satellite Plans - SpinLaunch received $12 million in funding to develop an enhanced system using centrifugal force to launch up to 250 satellites at once, potentially offering a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly launch alternative.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

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