Episode Details

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Today's topics:

Webb studies ancient interstellar comet - NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS suggest it may be 10 to 12 billion years old, far older than the solar system. The findings offer rare clues about planetary building blocks formed around other stars and help ground public speculation with real data.

Starlink launch expands mega-constellation - SpaceX launched 24 new Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, continuing rapid growth of the world’s largest satellite network. The mission also highlighted reusable-rocketry maturity with a booster flying for the 25th time, as the active constellation nears 10,700 satellites.

Artemis II lessons refine Orion - New NASA communications describe how early takeaways from Artemis II are being folded back into Orion spacecraft operations and future mission planning. The updates frame Artemis II as a pivotal step toward sustained lunar missions and longer-term Mars ambitions.

ISS spacewalk to fix Canadarm2 - NASA previewed a U.S. spacewalk to replace a wrist joint on the ISS Canadarm2 robotic arm, underscoring how ongoing maintenance keeps the station’s core capabilities online. The planned EVA is part of a long-running sequence of assembly and upkeep spacewalks that enable everything else in low Earth orbit.

June skywatching: planets and meteors - NASA JPL and the Royal Observatory Greenwich spotlight June 2026 sky events, including close planet pairings, lunar occultations, and upcoming meteor activity. These guides connect professional space science to what listeners can actually see from the ground this month.

Episode Transcript

Webb studies ancient interstellar comet
First up: an interstellar visitor with a seriously deep history. New public-facing reports tied to James Webb Space Telescope observations of comet 3I/ATLAS say this object may have formed roughly 10 to 12 billion years ago—making it two to three times older than the solar system. That turns 3I/ATLAS into a kind of traveling time capsule from an era when star formation in the universe was far more intense, and its chemistry could help scientists compare how planetary ingredients assemble in other star systems versus our own. And despite the inevitable buzz that follows anything “interstellar,” coverage also emphasizes a clear point: researchers see no evidence of alien life in what Webb has measured—still fascinating science, just not science fiction.

Starlink launch expands mega-constellation
Closer to home in low Earth orbit, SpaceX added another batch to its broadband constellation with a Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The Starlink 17-45 mission lifted off late June 24 local time and deployed 24 satellites, while the first stage returned to a droneship landing in the Pacific. The standout statistic: the booster assigned to the mission flew for the 25th time, another marker of how routine—and how high-cycle—