Episode Details

Today's topics:

US weapons now in orbit - The U.S. Air Force secretary has confirmed for the first time that America has deployed on-orbit space control weapons, marking a major shift in space security policy and raising questions about militarization and deterrence in space. Keywords: on-orbit weapons, space control, Troy Meink, U.S. military, deterrence.[11][12][13][2]

Space Force launch and buildup - SpaceX is preparing to launch the classified USSF-259 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg after a scrubbed attempt, underscoring the growing tempo of national security launches and the service’s broader expansion plans. Keywords: USSF-259, Space Force, Falcon 9, national security, NSSL.[8][2][7]

Russian cargo flight to ISS - Russia’s Soyuz-2.1b rocket with the Progress MS-35 cargo ship has been rolled out again to Baikonur’s launch pad after fixing a third-stage issue, with liftoff set to send supplies to the International Space Station. Keywords: Progress MS-35, Soyuz-2.1b, Baikonur, ISS cargo, Roscosmos.[16][6][7]

Artemis III lunar mission prep - The Artemis III astronaut crew has visited the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center to inspect booster integration, a visible step toward the first planned lunar landing of the Artemis era. Keywords: Artemis III, NASA, lunar mission, Kennedy Space Center, Vehicle Assembly Building.[14][2]

Starship first orbital attempt - SpaceX’s Starship is targeting its first orbital flight attempt next week, a pivotal milestone for fully reusable heavy-lift launch systems that could reshape how payloads and crews reach space. Keywords: Starship, orbital test, SpaceX, reusable rocket, launch schedule.[6][2]

Webb’s changing Chariklo rings - New James Webb Space Telescope observations show that the rings around the small body Chariklo have changed opacity over just a few years, revealing unexpectedly dynamic ring behavior around minor Solar System objects. Keywords: Chariklo, JWST, changing rings, stellar occultation, Science Advances.[15][5]

Venus may have lost its moon - A new study suggests Venus may once have had a moon that slowly spiraled inward and crashed into the planet because of Venus’s sluggish rotation, offering a fresh angle on the planet’s evolution. Keywords: Venus moon, slow rotation, orbital decay, planetary formation, Astrophysical Journal.[18][5]

Webb’s new view of galaxy M64 - Webb’s latest view of the Black Eye Galaxy, M64, combines infrared and optical data to reveal dust, star formation, and evidence of a past merger, sharpening our picture of how spiral galaxies evolve. Keywords: M64, Black Eye Galaxy, JWST, Hubble, galaxy merger.[17][4][19]