*Dream Chaser space plane could be used as a rapid response military transport
Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser space plane will now begin flying cargo to the International Space Station for NASA in February 2023 instead of the 2022 launch date originally planned.
*Ariane 6 launchpad testing
Development and testing of the European Space Agency’s new Ariane 6 launch vehicle is now underway at the Kourou Space Port in French Guyana.
*Ariane 5 undertakes one of its final launches
The European Space Agency has witnessed one of the final launches of its Ariane 5 workhorse rocket taking telecommunications satellite into geostationary orbit.
*Rocket Lab begins preparations for reusable launch vehicles
Rocket Lab has begun preparations for reusable launch vehicles by successfully testing a used but refurbished Electron Rutherford core stage engine for the first time.
*The Science Report
The Lancet Commission says an estimated 17.9 million people have died from COVID-19.
A new study confirms taking aspirin has an overall positive effect on survival for people with cancer.
Scientists uncover fossils from an ancient Giant Panda the roamed Europe 6 million years ago.
Alex on Tech iOS 16 update released
Listen to SpaceTime on your favorite podcast app with our universal listen link: https://spacetimewithstuartgary.com/listen
For more SpaceTime and show links: https://linktr.ee/biteszHQ
If you love this podcast, please get someone else to listen to. Thank you…
To become a SpaceTime supporter and unlock commercial free editions of the show, gain early access and bonus content, please visit https://bitesz.supercast.com/ . Premium version now available via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://biteszhq.com
Your support is needed...
SpaceTime is an independently produced podcast (we are not funded by any government grants, big organisations or companies), and we’re working towards becoming a completely listener supported show...meaning we can do away with the commercials and sponsors. We figure the time can be much better spent on researching and producing stories for you, rather than having to chase sponsors to help us pay the bills.
That's where you come in....help us reach our first 1,000 subscribers...at that level the show becomes financially viable and bills can be paid without us breaking into a sweat every month. Every little bit helps...even if you could contribute just $1 per month. It all adds up.
By signing up and becoming a supporter at the $5 or more level, you get immediate access to over 280 commercial-free, double, and triple episode editions of SpaceTime plus extended interview bonus content. You also receive all new episodes on a Monday rather than having to wait the week out. Subscribe via Supercast (you get a month’s free trial to see if it’s really for you or not) ... and share in the rewards. Details at Supercast - https://bitesznetwork.supercast.tech/
Details at https://spacetimewithstuartgary.com or www.bitesz.com
Stuart: This is Spacetime Series 25, Episode 99 for broadcast on the 21st September, 2022. Coming up on Space Time and the Dream Chaser spaceplane being looked at as a possible rapid response military transport port, the Ariane Six begins launchpad testing as it counts down to its maiden flight. And Rocket Lab begins preparations for turning its highly successful electron into a reusable launch vehicle. All that and more coming up on, um, space Time. Welcome to space time with Stuart Gary. Sierra Nevada's dream Chaser space plane will now begin flying cargo to the International Space Station for NASA, uh, in February next year instead of this year as originally planned. The delays have been put down to ongoing development issues and the covert pandemic. But the news of the latest in a long string of delays for Dream Chaser comes as the United States Department of Defense announces plans to examine using Dream Chaser to provide a three hour, point to point logistical transport capability to any place on the planet. This would allow the United States to deploy troops and equipment anywhere, anytime. Dream Chaser is designed to launch vertically into low Earth orbit aboard a Vulcan or Ariane Six rocket. It then lands horizontally on a conventional runway, needing no more room than a Boeing 737. Although current development is focusing on transporting up to five tons of cargo per flight for NASA, uh, Dream Chaser was originally developed to transport up to seven people on crew transfer missions to the International Space Station. In its current guise, each Dream Chaser spacecraft will include a ten meter long wing spaceplane as well as a five meter long pressurized cargo module called Shooting Star, which will be attached behind the spaceplane carrying an additional four and a half tons of supplies. Although very futuristic in appearance, the Dream Chaser liftingbody design actually goes back well over 60 years with its origin in the United States Air Force 1000 1957 X 20 Dinosaur spacecraft, which would have been launched on top of a modified Titan Three rocket. NASA continued its development in the 1960s and early 70s with a range of experimental spacecraft including the Northrop M M Two, the Martin X 23 prime, the Martin Marietta X 24 and the Northrop HL Ten. Then, during the 1990s, NASA used the same basic design that developed the HL 20 experimental space Plane, which eventually evolved into the X 38 Emergency Crew Return Vehicle, which would have been an emergency escape uh, pod transported to the International Space Station in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle. It then would have remained permanently docked to the orbiting outpost until needed. However, the project was canceled in 2002 following budget cuts. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is looking at using the Shooting Star cargo module as the basis for an autonomous unmanned military space station for research and development, training and operational missions in low Earth orbit. Sarah, Nevada says it will redesign the module to include guidance, navigation and control systems for sustained free flight operations. It will host specialized payloads, uh, undertake experimental testing, manufacturing and assembly in microgravity, and carry a range of logistics. Longer term plans could include higher elliptical and geosynchronous Earth orbits, as well as more distant lunar orbits. This is space time still to come. Round Six undertakes launchpad testing, and Rocket Lab begins preparations for turning its highly successful electron launch vehicle into a reusable rocket. All that and more still to come on um. Spacetime development and testing of the European Space Agency's new Ren six launch vehicle is now underway at the Kuru Spaceport in French Guiana. A test model of the 63 meters torque launch vehicle's central core has now been assembled for the first time. Ariane Six is the first Ariane rocket to be assembled horizontally, which is simpler and less costly than the more traditional vertical assembly. After assembly, the rockets moved to the launch pad and then placed upright in the massive mobile gantry in order to validate the compatibility between all the components of the complete launch system. Rear six is designed with two core stages, both powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engines. The first stage has an improved version of the current Vulcan engine used on the Ariane Five, while the second stage has a newly designed Vince engine. But most of the initial launch thrust isn't provided by the liquid fuel engines, but by massive solid rocket boosters attached to the first stage. Either two or four of these massive P 120 SRBs will be attached to the core first stage, creating the Ariane 62 and 64 variants of the launch vehicle. These are the same solid rocket boosters which act as the core stage of the new Vegas Sea Launch vehicle. Soon, more testing will be done on Ariane Six's upper stage at a purposebuilt DLR facility in Germany. Once in service next year, ariane Six will be capable of launching similar payload masses to the current Ariane Five, but at, uh, lower cost and more frequently, the heavy lift ECA version of the current Ariane Five can haul 10,865 geosynchronous transfer orbit and 20,000 kg into low Earth orbit. By comparison, the Ram 62 will launch 4500 geosynchronous transfer orbit and 10,350 kg into low Earth orbit, while the heavy lift Ariane 64 version will carry 11,500 kg into geosynchronous transfer orbit at 21,500 kg into low Earth orbit. This report from Isa TV exciting times.
Speaker B: For the European space industry as the combined tests for the Ariane Six launcher have begun. The objective of these tests is to verify and validate the compatibility between Ariane Six and its dedicated launchpad at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. It's an essential dress rehearsal to prepare and train the teams before the rocket's inaugural flight. An industrial and human adventure with thousands of people spread across many European companies and institutions working together. The Ariane Six program is managed and funded by the European Space Agency ESA, with Ariane group being responsible for the design and development of the launcher itself. The French space agency Kanez took responsibility for the construction of the new Ariane Six launch base at Europe Spaceport, and Ariane Space will be the launch service provider for Ariane Six. With the combined tests at Europe's Spaceport, a number of milestones have been achieved over the course of the summer in the new launcher assembly building, teams from Ariane group Kness and ESA uh completed an important step of the process the horizontal mechanical and electrical assembly of Ariane Six s central core. A few weeks later, the rendezvous. For the first time since its conception, ariane Six was able to meet its launch pad. The doors at the launcher assembly building opened to let Ariane Six's uh central core through. It took about 20 minutes at 3 km/hour for the launcher to cover the 800 meters separating the assembly building from the launch pad. The rocket was then, um, lifted from its horizontal assembly position to its vertical position. Ariane Six is the first launcher in the Ariane series to be assembled horizontally. It makes it easier for the technicians and helps save time and money on every launch. Another element contributing to the competitiveness of Ariane Six is its P 120 C solid rocket boosters. The P 120 C solid propellant motor is also used by Europe's other new launcher, Vegas C. Sharing this key component means cost savings for both rockets. The P 120 C demonstrated its performance on 13 July with the successful inaugural flight of Vegas Sea. But it's not only in French Guiana that testing of Ariane Six continues in the Purposebuilt test facility in Lampole's House in Germany. Crucial firing tests of the upper stage engine will soon begin. Then the upper stage will undergo further testing at Issa's St Technology Center in the Netherlands. Now, only a few steps remain before the teams at Europe's Spaceport can switch from the test models they're using for the combined tests to the flight hardware that will be used for the inaugural flight of Ariane Six, a first which will be followed by many launches continuing Europe's heritage of independent access to space.
Stuart: This is spacetime. Still to come, rocket lab begins preparations designed to turn its highly successful electron launch vehicle into a reusable rocket. And later in the science report, the Lancet Commission says an estimated 17.9 million people have now died from Covt 19. All that and more still to come on uh, space Time. The European Space Agency has witnessed one of the final launches of its Ariane Five workhorse rocket carrying a new telecommunications satellite into geostationary orbit. The launch from the European Space Agency's kura Space Point in French Guiana carry the Uterusat Connect VHTS telecommunications satellite booked by Thaluspace. The 662 tons satellite uses the world's most powerful digital processor and will provide high speed Internet access across Europe. The eight nine meter spacecraft is equipped with new antenna deployment and positioning mechanisms. Within the antenna tracking system, it also features new generation batteries and innovative new structural panels. Ariane Space Flight VA 528 was the 114th and fourth last launch of the Ariane Five rocket, which has had a 96% success rate. Only three launches are left one in December and two next year, the last being the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice mission, which is bound for the Jordan system and is slated to launch on April 5. Rocket Lab has successfully test fired a uh used but refurbished electron Rutherford core stage engine for the first time. The test was a significant step in the company's efforts to turn the electron into a fully reusable launch system. The full duration full frost test fire involved an engine that had previously flown on the There and Back Again mission, which launched back on May 2. This year. That flight was the first time Rocket Lab attempted amidair capture of an electron first stage. The electron deployed parachutes to slow its descent from space before a helicopter plucked the rocket from the sky. As it approached the Earth's uh surface, however, high winds saw the electron stage ultimately released for a soft ocean splashdown by the chopper pilot. It was later recovered by a Rocket Lab vessel and returned for detailed examination and ultimately refurbishment. The refurbished engine has passed all the same rigorous acceptance tests which Rocket Lab performs on its new engines. This is space time and time now to take another brief look at some of the other stories making using science this week with the Science Report, the Lancet Commission, a panel of world leading experts in policy and disease management, says an estimated 17 9 million people have died from COVID-19 around the world and this could have been prevented by better pandemic responses. The Commission says a lack of preparation, fast action, transparency and international cooperation has all contributed to the death toll, which is believed to be nearly three times the official count of 6.9 million since the first case was detected near China's Wuhan um Institute of Bird logy back in September 2019. Reporting in the Lancet Medical Journal, the Commission has outlined a series of steps needed to be taken now in order to end the pandemic and prepare for future pandemics to come. These include significant boosts in healthcare access, education research and in supply chains. A new study has confirmed that despite some side effects, taking an aspirin every day has an overall positive effect on survival for people with cancer. The finding is reported in the journal Open Biology, based, uh, on reviews of past research on aspirin showing that it can reduce cancerrelated inflammation, abnormal clotting, abnormal blood vessel growth and enhanced cellular repair processes. Additionally, scientists found an association between cancer and reductions in cancerrelated deaths, as well as the spread and the vascular complications of cancer. They say that even though aspirin does cause a number of bleeds, the severity of these is low, suggesting that the drug could be used to benefit a wide range of cancers. Paleontologists have determined that fossilized teeth found in the 1970s were from a newly discovered species that is the last known giant panda to Rome, Europe. A report in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology claims that teeth found in northwestern Bulgaria belonged to a close relative of the modern panda, uh, that roamed around that area 6 million years ago. The authors believe it was the same size or slightly smaller than today's pandas, and ate a vegetarian diet likely made up of plants somewhat softer than bamboo. Apple has released their iOS 16 software update, which provides a range of new upgrades including video, photo editing and messaging tricks, as well as a revamp of Apple Maps and the biggest update ever to the facial recognition lock screen system. With the details, his technology editor, Alexaarovrey From. Ity.com the new iOS 16 for your iPhone.
Speaker C: Uh TV OS 16 for Apple TV Watch. OS nine for Apple Watches and macOS 12.6 have arrived today. Now the new iPad OS 16 and the new Mac OS 13 Ventura are not due until October when Apple launches its new iPad Pros with the M Two chip and more M Two max. But iOS 16 is here and I've uh, been using it for the past uh, several weeks and uh, obviously you have a brand new lock screen that is there for iPhones uh, all the way back to the iPhone eight and uh, that allows you to modify the lock screen, put on widgets. It's very cool. You have an always on display with the new iPhone 14 and 14 Pros. We discussed previously, having the widgets on the front screen, it's very cool. And there's features like being able to put your finger onto uh. An image. A uh. Person. A dog. Whatever it might be in some of your photos. As you tap and hold the image. You see this little sheen go over the image and then with another thing you want to tap into the image. You can swipe up. Open up notes. Messages. Some other app and just drag and drop that image directly and it sort of cuts it out for you. You've got live activities and new places for notifications. I mean in one sense it's a polishing of iOS 15. There's actually different features. There's always features that don't quite make it into the first version, but things like editing a message and undoing a message. There available new pass key so that if you go into a particular website, they can send your phone a uh, message and you can login using your phone. You don't have to actually remember your password anymore. Even things like being able to get the live text out of video, something you can do now in Photos you could do that since I was 15, but in iOS 16, if you've got a good enough iPhone, you can pause the video and then copy and paste the text if you have an iPhone 13, you uh, can actually hold your iPhone in any direction. To unlock it with your face, you used to have to hold it vertically and it would look at your face and would unlock. Unlike on an iPad, we could hold it in any orientation. But now iPhone 13 and 13 Pro can do that as well, which is uh, long awaited. Also the interface on the um, Apple Watch has been updated. I noticed that uh, when messages come through, they just pop at the top a little bit, like they do on an iPhone. Doesn't take up the whole screen anymore if you are going on exercises. I went for a walk every day. My watch gave me a report afterwards telling me that I'm fit, telling me that I'm unfit. Uh, my Vo two max levels are low, so it's much more of a health watch than before. And, uh, things like tvOS six. And I haven't downloaded to my Apple TVs yet, but I have installed macOS 12.6 because it does fit certain bugs. But I'm looking forward to when Mac OS FeaturA arrives in October with the new stage Manager. So uh, definitely it's time to update. And if you're somebody who likes to wait until 16.1 or even 16.1 or even 16.2, apple did launch 15.7, iOS 15.7, and that in fact, is the version of iOS or iPadOS S for iPad. iPadOS S 15.7 is available today, but you don't have to go straight to 16. You might want to wait and see if there's any bugs that have been fixed. There's always a little problems with apps here and there whenever you go to a new version, and Apple knows that not everybody wants to do that. And so they have made it possible for you to uh, update just to a newer version of iPad 15 so you can get the security updates. And one other cool thing is that you cannot dictate and use the keyboard together. Previously, when you spoke, you saw the waveform would appear on the screen. Now the keyboard remains. And so you can speak in a little icon as they're showing you that you can still talk. You can actually go and edit things, but uh, that's only for English. I tried it in French and French. The waveform was still there, but that's something Apple will roll out. Normally they introduce features in some languages and then roll it out. But always nice to see new features from Apple and whether new features from Android, Microsoft. But this week it's, uh, all about iPhones and Apple devices.
Stuart: And that's alexaharafroit from ity.com. And that's the show for now. Space time is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts, itunes, Stitcher, uh, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Acast, Amazon Music, Bytes.com SoundCloud, YouTube, your favorite Podcast download Provider, and From Spacetime with Stewart Gary.com. Spacetime is also broadcasts through the National Science Foundation on science owned radio and on both iHeartRadio and Tune in radio, and you can help to support our show by visiting the Spacetime Store for a range of promotional merchandising goodies. Or by becoming a spacetime patron, which gives you access to triple episode, commercial free versions of the show, as well as lots of bonus audio content which doesn't go to Air, access to our exclusive Facebook group and other rewards. Just go to Spacetime with Stewartgary.com for full details. And if you want more space time, please check out our blog, where you'll find all the stuff we couldn't fit in the show, as well as heaps of images, news stories, loads of videos and things on the web I find interesting or amusing. Just go to spacetime with Stuartgarry Tumblr.com. That's all one word and that's Tumblr without the e. You can also follow us through at stuartgary, on Twitter, uh, at Spacetime with Stuart Gary on Instagram, through our, uh, Spacetime YouTube channel and on, um, Facebook. Just go to Facebook.com spacetime with Stuart gary and Spacetime is brought to you in collaboration with Australian Sky and Telescope magazine. Your window on the Universe. You've been listening to spaced. This time with Stuart. Gary. This has been another quality podcast production from Bitesz.com.