AI Transcript
[0:00] This is Space Time, series 25, episode 141, for broadcast on the 20th of December 2022. Coming up on Space Time. An independent investigation underway into a Vega C
rocket failure during launch. A violent leak threatens the space worthiness of a Soyuz capsule at the International Space Station. And the space station forced to undertake an emergency avoidance maneuver to keep out of the way of a piece of massive space junk.
All that and more coming up on Space Time.
[0:36] Music.
[0:53] The European Space Agency has suspended all Vega flights and have established an independent board of inquiry following the failure of a Vega C rocket during its ascent to orbit.
The ill-fated mission was only the second flight for the new Vega C and its first commercial launch.
The new rocket had undertaken a successful maiden flight back in July.
The mission from the European Space Agency's Kuru Spaceport in French Guiana began smoothly enough with a spectacular night time launch into the warm black tropical skies.
7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, TOP! The propulsion is nominal, the piloting is calm.
The trajectory is nominal. Acquisition of the telemetry by the Saint-Jean station.
The Bourse parameters are nominal. How fantastic to see Vegas Sea roaring across that equatorial sky. Yet again one can't take one's eyes off it. It's so impressive.
Like a boil of light grumbling across the jungle. This is of course the second launch of Vegas Sea.
[2:00] Rumbling across the jungle. This is of course the second launch of Vega-C, Europe's new launcher, and it has just successfully completed liftoff with Playaed NEO 5 and 6 on board.
These two satellites designed by Airbus Defense and Space are the 119th and 120th to liftoff on a Vega launcher.
What are the main stages of the flight we should be looking out for in the next few minutes? So in a little less than one minute.
The P-130 first stage will have finished its job and it will separate from the launcher. This is the second flight of this P-120 stage following the maiden flight and it will also be used on Ariane 6 later on.
[2:43] It's always incredible to see the lift off. There we go. There we have it.
The separation of the P120. Well, the DDO has just confirmed the separation of the first stage.
So if I've understood correctly, the P120, David, is just one of the new features of this new launcher, am I right?
Yes, so besides this first stage, the second and the fourth stages, so the Sephiroth 40 and the Avum have also been improved, increasing their propellant capacity and therefore the overall launcher performance.
And also very important, the firing volume has been increased, allowing the launcher to accommodate larger satellites.
Well, Vegas C is starting to lighten its weight and separate from its first stage, the P120. What is the next step for the European launcher?
So in a few seconds, the Sephiroth 40 stage will have finished also its job, and it will also separate from the launcher.
And the third stage, the Set 9, will ignite and continue the mission.
The Vegas C's new solid rocket first stage engine performed nominally, propelling the two-satellite payload towards orbit.
[3:54] However, following MECO, main engine cutoff, stage separation and second stage ignition, communications with the rocket were suddenly lost, and the launch vehicle began to deviate off course, rapidly losing altitude.
[4:08] At the time, the flight was already over 100 km in altitude and some 900 km downrange over the North Atlantic Ocean. We see that there's a problem with the trajectory. David, can you tell us?
Yes, so there seems to be an issue with the launcher. We stand by to get more information.
Could you tell us exactly? We can see on the graph in front of us, we can see that the trajectory seems to be going. to be going maybe, is it going off course? Can you tell me?
Yes, indeed the altitude seems to be lower than expected.
So the altitude we're at 107 kilometers. Have you got any news from us from Kourou in your earpiece?
No, not for the time being. In this type of situation, how would you interpret this? What might have happened, what could happen?
Okay, for the time being, we're waiting to get more precise information on... Sorry David, you were saying you're still waiting for news in your airpiece, is that right? That's right, yeah.
We can see the DDO, they seem very focused and still concentrated trying to work out the problem.
The French space agency CNES was forced to abort the mission and initiate a self-destruct order, blowing up the rocket at its multi-million dollar payload, a pair of Earth observation satellites built by Airbus.
[5:26] The Pleiades Neo 5 and 6 spacecraft were meant to join the Pleiades Neo constellation, undertaking high resolution imagery of the planet.
In your long career, have you already had a problem such as this? Yes, yes indeed. There have been issues before, yes.
Okay. To all of the DDO, following the accident, all means remain activated for a shutdown of the launch base. What does that mean David? What did the DDO just announce to us?
Yeah, so the DDO announced that there was indeed an issue with the launcher and so So everybody is standing by on the launch base to see what the exact situation is.
The failure appears to have involved the Italian-built Zafforo 42nd stage.
[6:17] It marks the third failure in nine launches for the Vega rocket. This launch was originally slated to fly back in November, but it was delayed due to issues with the Vegas Sea's new payload fairings.
[6:29] Arianespace chief executive Stephen Israel says the launch failure was unrelated to that issue. He says the flight data will be analyzed as part of the inquiry, which will be co-led by the European Space Agency and Arianespace.
So after the liftoff and the nominal ignition of the P120C, which is the first stage of the Vega, an under pressure has been observed on Zefiro 40 which is the second stage of the Vega and after this under pressure,
we have observed the deviation of the trajectory and very strong anomaly so,
unfortunately we can say that the mission is lost and I want to deeply apologize towards our customer Playa Neo and Airbus Defense and Space for this failure tonight and we will now have to work with all our partners to,
better understand why the Zefiro 40 has not worked properly tonight, triggering the failure of the mission.
So we are going now immediately with all the teams, with our primary view and all the partners to study what has happened tonight and I really apologize for this anomaly.
Israel further added that neither the Ariane 5 or the new Ariane 6 programs are impacted by this failure.
[7:56] But with only two Ariane 5 launch vehicles left in the manifest and the Ariane 6 not expected to undertake its maiden flight until later next year, Europe is now left without an independent means of accessing space.
The European Union won't use Russian Soyuz rockets because of the sanctions imposed on Moscow in the wake of the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine and so that leaves the United States in the box seat, at least until the Vega C is returned to flight status.
[8:24] This is Space Time. Still to come, a violent leak threatens the space worthiness of a Soyuz capsule docked to the International Space Station.
[8:34] And the space station forced to undertake emergency maneuvers to avoid a massive piece of space junk.
All that and more still to come on Space Time.
[8:43] Music.
[8:58] The Russian Federal Space Agency at OS Cosmos are trying to determine if the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft will be safe to return crew to Earth after suddenly springing a violent coolant leak.
The spacecraft, which is docked at the Razvet module of the International Space Station, suddenly started spewing what appears to be ammonia coolant into space, just as two Russian cosmonauts are about to begin a planned seven-hour spacewalk,
to relocate a radiator from one Russian module to another.
Coming out of the Soyuz MS-22 vehicle that is attached to the Rassvet module on the earth-facing side of the Russian segment of the International Space Station. We do not know what the source of this stream of particles is at the point. At this point, there is discussions that are ongoing.
First to make sure that the safety of the two spacewalkers is not compromised in any way, and then to determine what impact, if any, this might have on the integrity of that Soyuz vehicle.
Neither NASA nor Roscosmos have specified what the coolant was, but ammonia, a common spacecraft coolant, can be highly corrosive to many metals.
[10:10] Russian mission managers knew there was a problem when an alarm in the Soyuz diagnostic system suddenly went off, indicating a pressure drop in the coolant system.
They then spotted a stream of fluid and particles flowing from the Soyuz on the live video feed and quickly cancelled the spacewalk.
Dramatic NASA TV images showed white particles resembling snowflakes streaming from the aft section of the Soyuz.
The leak quickly caused the temperature in the cockpit section of the Soyuz to rise to 30 degrees Celsius, while the temperature in its equipment section section initially saw to over 40 degrees before dropping back to 30 after mission managers activated additional cooling systems.
Cosmonauts used ventilators in the Russian section of the space station to blow cold air into the capsule, reducing temperature in the cockpit back down to comfortable levels.
[11:01] An external inspection of the spacecraft using a camera on one of the space station's robotic arms helped identify the location of the coolant leak to a 0.8mm hole in the outer skin of,
an instrument and equipment casing on one of the Soyuz's external radiators.
The leak continued to flow for about three hours until the coolant supply inside was exhausted.
But as Cosmos said, tests of the ship's control systems determined that they weren't affected by the leak and no other spacecraft near the Soyuz appears to have been damaged.
Russian engineers ordered the Soyuz to fire up its main thrusters just for a short burst to ensure that all systems were nominal.
Managers at Star City just outside Moscow are now deciding whether the Soyuz MS-22 will be safe for cosmonauts to use for the return trip to Earth in March, or whether it should be discarded and a replacement saw is sent up instead.
[11:55] Roscosmos says the next spacecraft, the Soyuz MS-23, has already undergone some of its tests in preparation for its launch in March.
But those could be expedited if necessary, and the spacecraft set up early without a crew.
Russia has suffered a string of problems with leaks and equipment malfunctions aboard the International Space Station or spacecraft that are docked to it, and most of these have been put down to quality control issues.
However, Roscosmos claimed this latest leak may have been caused by a micro-meteorite impact or a tiny piece of space junk hitting the capsule.
But without a close-up inspection, we'll never know.
This is space time. Still to come, the International Space Station is forced to undertake an emergency maneuver in order to avoid space junk.
And later in the Science Report, fossils of a new species of non-avian predatory dinosaur discovered in Mongolia.
All that and more still to come on Space Time.
[12:54] Music.
[13:10] NASA have cancelled a planned spacewalk and undertaken an emergency maneuver to move the International Space Station out of the way of a piece of Russian space junk heading in their direction. The three and a half meter wide spent frigate upper stage, used on Soyuz and Proton rockets, was predicted to pass within half a kilometre of the orbiting outpost,
far too close for comfort, triggering the highest level red alert. The incident happened after two Expedition 68 crew members successfully completed the first of two EVAs or extravehicular,
activities to increase the orbiting outpost's power output. The seven hour and five minute Spacewalk successfully installed one of the new IROZA rollout solar arrays, which were,
recently transported to the space station. The team also disconnected a cable to ensure the 1B channel could be reactivated, and they released several bolts for the upcoming installation of another IROZA solar array, this one on the 4A power channel on the port truss. When.
[14:09] It's installed, it'll be the fourth of six IROZA solar panels that are being added.
Report from NASA TV.
[14:41] Instead of a rigid solar panel, ROSA was crafted from a composite carbon fiber, containing an array of solar cells that can be deployed and retracted similar to a tape measure.
[14:50] Using stored strain energy of the material. ROSA was also lightweight and generated power with more efficiency.
[14:59] Now, larger versions of ROSA technology, known as iROSA, are being installed on the station permanently through a series of launches and spacewalks. The arrays augment the existing,
power supply and restore power to previous levels when the original arrays were installed.
[15:16] ROSA technology is also an important part of future exploration. It will serve as a power source for Gateway, the planned multi-purpose outpost orbiting the Moon, ROSA, proven on the space station, and powering its way to the Moon and beyond.
[15:32] Our planet's reach.
The new panels will increase the space station's solar power capacity by 30% from 160 up to 215 kilowatts.
[15:42] However, the planned second spacewalk to install that fourth array was postponed after mission managers determined that a large section of Russian space junk which they had been tracking for several days was likely to pass dangerously close to the space station.
[15:56] Mission managers in Moscow used the thrusters on one of the docked Progress cargo ships to safely maneuver the space station out of the way of the spin rocket stage.
This is Space Time.
[16:07] Music.
[16:22] And time now to take another brief look at some of the other stories making news in science this week with a science report. Scientists have found that a common type 2 diabetes drug metformin is associated with a 30% reduction in the risk of joint replacements.
A report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal compared some 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes who took metformin with the same number of participants with type 2 diabetes who didn't take the drug.
Researchers found that those who did take the drug had a lower risk of needing knee or hip replacements.
They say more information is now needed in order to determine whether metformin can be used to treat osteoarthritis, a condition which currently has no effective medications.
[17:08] Paleontologists have discovered the fossils of a new species of non-avian predatory dinosaur that used to dive into water to find its food.
The remains were uncovered in Lake Cretaceous sandstone at a dig site in Mongolia. A report in the journal Communications Biology claims the small carnivorous theropod, named Natovenata polydontis, meaning swimming hunter with many teeth, walked on two legs and was semi-aquatic.
It had a large, streamlined body similar to that of modern-day diving birds and a noodle neck like a goose.
The authors say the unusually high number of teeth it had in relation to the size of its jaw suggests that it probably ate fish or insects.
[17:51] New findings by the University of South Australia suggest that stressed students might want to add walnuts to their daily diet in the weeks leading up to their next exam.
A clinical trial reported in the journal Nutrients showed that undergraduate students showed positive effects from walnut consumption both on self-reported measures of mental health and wider biomarkers of general health.
The study suggests that walnuts may counteract the effects of academic stress on gut and microbes during periods of stress, especially for females.
However it's also important to note that this study was funded by the California Walnut Commission.
[18:28] New Twitter owner Elon Musk's revelations, showing how deeply the FBI secretly manipulated Twitter in order to prevent free speech and control the information the general public
were getting prior to an election, has provided a unique insight into how intelligence agencies around the world control what you're allowed to know and what they don't want you to know.
[18:49] And of course the Twitter files are not an isolated case, with Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg also admitting the FBI were instructing them what to censor and who to block out as well.
[19:01] Now they're exposed, the social media giant's claim not getting the full picture was for the public good, and it would seem the general public agree.
A Pew Research study shows that in 19 countries surveyed, an average of 57% of people thought social media was good for democracy.
In Singapore the figure was as high as 76%, while in Sweden it was 66%. In most other countries, including Japan, Germany and Italy, it was in the mid-50s.
The United Kingdom saw about 50% of people say it was a good thing, while 48% said it was bad and 2% were undecided.
Canada was similar with 49% good, 47% bad and the rest sitting on the fence. But Australia went the other way, with 50% of people thinking social media was bad for democracy and 48% thinking it was a good thing.
In France, 51% said it was bad, while in the Netherlands it was 54%. But the standout was the United States, where 64% of people surveyed now believe social media was bad for democracy.
And with new revelations and the Twitter files continuing to expose the level of manipulation involved, who can blame them?
[20:17] There have been changes taking place at Facebook's paracarpany Meta, which has apparently spent millions developing clever personal devices that no one really wants or knows what to do with.
With the details, we're joined by technology editor Alex Zahara-Royt from ITY.com. In the world of Meta, which also makes the Oculus Quest Pro headset, I saw a fascinating article on Gizmodo called Meta is not giving up on the Metaverse just yet.
Now this comes hot on the heels of John Carmack, the co-creator of the famous game Doom, saying this is the end of his decade in VR.
He's quit meta. But there's also a blog post from Andrew Bosworth, the CTO and head of Reality Labs, which is the division within meta that is looking after virtual reality.
And he shows, you know, why we still believe in the future. It talks about that I've had a very tough year.
I mean, part of the problem is I've got a MetaQuest Pro headset which is technically advanced beyond belief. Very, very impressive.
[21:16] But, you know, there isn't really any super incredibly needful use case for this headset that can do elements of augmented reality and, you know, you can join people together to work.
Looks very cool. You can be handling various objects in the air in front of you. You can make them bigger and smaller. You could be looking at a room in a house. You could be drawing doorways and adding things virtually to this room.
But none of those things are really absolutely killer applications. And part of the problem is that Meta lost nearly $10 billion US dollars on this division over the past year, which is a huge amount of money to lose.
So for me, VR is one aspect of the puzzle. It's one aspect that cuts you off from the rest of the world.
Yes, it allows you to play against other people in this virtual space. But I think the real killer application is going to be what's known as augmented reality or mixed reality, which is where you've got digital objects appearing on top of real world items and the best sort of the one use case that people can really identify with and understand.
And we even saw it in the very first Terminator movie with Alan Schwarzenegger back in 84 was when you've got information appearing beside people.
So you're at a party, the camera recognizes a person and oh, that's Jill. I met her six months ago.
Or that sort of thing. That's right. And their kids names are such and such and, or, you know, just even your next door neighbor that you don't spend much time with.
[22:40] And you want to know what you want to remember. What was the last thing you spoke about them with them? You know, you've got this headset, which is put into a pair of glasses that is really unobtrusive and some obviously recording that is capturing every aspect of your life.
There's this new Mac search engine called rewind, the calling of the search engine for your life. record a lot of the interactions you do on Zoom and in other areas.
That is something that is trying to be useful to help you remember things about your life. When you have a headset that is recording everything that you're doing, at least when you want it to, you'll be able to remember where you put the keys, you'll be able to,
quickly sort out arguments over who said what, where and when.
The world has these great technological ideas, but we're still trying to figure out how to make best use of them. And for most people, I mean, I try to show them various things on their phone that they didn't know was there. but make.
[23:30] Life on the smartphone so much easier. And I see most people are still using their smartphones as though they were launched in 2007 with the iPhone, or 2008 with the very first Android smartphones.
They're not using their smartphones in a way that a digital native, a very young kid getting their first phone or iPad would be able to use their devices effortlessly.
If you've ever seen children using iPads, it's very different to the way that adults use them. So what's the difference? Kids know all the gestures.
They're happy to talk to their devices.
You know, older people are using keyboards and mice and they're sort of stuck in that mindset.
Whereas with kids, you know, they're into swipe up, swipe down, swipe left.
They know how to go between apps. They know how to do various things. Anybody can do it, but most people don't read the tips or the help or they don't follow the keynotes or they don't follow people on YouTube that are teaching this sort of stuff.
Just getting back to the Twitter files, are you surprised at how deeply in bed with Twitter the FBI was and how carefully they were manipulating the whole thing?
I mean, they had some like 88 agents working at Twitter. Sure.
I mean, absolutely. It's really a worry when you've got government so deeply entrenched into what is meant to be an app that... I mean, when Twitter first started, I remember people at Twitter talking about this was an app for the free speech wing of the free speech party.
[24:45] Then when you have government and government agencies so deeply embedded in an organization that it is sending off specific Twitter accounts to be blocked and the FBI is asking for people to be looked at simply because they made a political joke.
I mean, are we living in the free Western world or are we living in some sort of alternate black mirror reality dystopia?
[25:06] And of course, if all this is happening at Twitter, then what the heck is happening at Facebook and Google and Instagram and YouTube?
I mean, all of our conversations being listened to on, you know, WhatsApp Messenger, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, Skype, you know, you really do have to wonder what's going on.
They say these sort of things are only happening in Russia with the FSB or in China, but it shows they're not happening here in the West as well.
Yeah, we're definitely living in very unusual, very interesting times. With all of that, many questions. Alex Zahara-Royt from ITWire.com.
[25:43] Music.
[25:57] And that's the show for now. Spacetime is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts iTunes,
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[27:22] And space time is brought to you in collaboration with Australian Sky and Telescope magazine, your window on the universe.
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