Lost Wanderer Podcast: 4/20/25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
I'm talking of my best leaving Earth behind and to
the stock to op per century a per centaury t
on the space ship Night to now with the starter

(00:32):
and the school is long, but I'm not Friends and
family on the stars Streme rule story a per centaury

(00:58):
my t.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Time for this nation to take a clearly leading role
in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the
key to our future on Earth.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
H M Allgram on Bio.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Today is a day from morning and remember Nancy and
I are gained the cores, but the tragedy of the
Shuttle challenge.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
The following program may contain faus language, adult.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Teens, and bad attempts as human listener discretion.

Speaker 4 (02:39):
Is it vibe?

Speaker 2 (02:54):
What is President Trump's goal?

Speaker 4 (02:57):
What is his vision?

Speaker 2 (02:58):
He wants to put an American flag on marked.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
Lady Baser, do you cahire Lander?

Speaker 2 (03:22):
I am your host J. E. Double f also known
as a cosmic bard over on X and this is
the Lost Wonder Podcast for April twentieth, twenty twenty five.
Happy Sunday evening, Happy Eastern those that celebrate and welcome
aboard the ACS serenade as we are wont on this

(03:45):
show to do from time to time, we always start
to show out with artemous Chord Accords updates. Now this
one well kind of kind of came out of no where.
Bangladesh has official will become the fifty fourth nation to

(04:06):
sign the NASA's Artemis Accords committing to peaceful and cooperative
exploration of space. The signing ceremony took place on April
eighth and Dhaka, with Bangladesh's Secretary of Defense Ashraf Udin
representing the nation. NASA's Acting Administrator Janet Petro, Welcome to
Bangladesh's participation highlighting its roles and shaping the future of space. Now,

(04:35):
now that that is out of the way, because I
had always promised unless something incredibly major happened, I would
always lead with anything Artemis Accords related as often as
humanly possible. That said, we all know what you really

(04:57):
want me to talk about, and that's what we're gonna do.
And for those of you who heard me Tuesday night,
as I stepped away from my producer Norm and actually
talked during a show I produced, you got a little
bit of taste of it. Now, before I start this segment,

(05:19):
I apologize to those that only listen to this podcast
because I am about to throw something up on the
screen that will catch a lot more meaning as I
cover this next subject. Let us cut through the glitter
and hype the idea that Katie Perry, Lauren and Sanchez,

(05:42):
Gael King and their posse of assstronauts because they happen
to take an eleven minute jewelry ride to the edge
of space on Jeff Bezos's Blue Ball Origin rocket, which
is an insult to every scientist, every engineer, and trailblazer

(06:04):
who has earned that title. For those not watching, I
am putting up on the screen of every human astronaut
that is female who has orbited the Earth at least once. Now,
the article I'm going to reference here is from Ours
Technica from April eighteenth, twenty twenty five, and it lays

(06:27):
bare the absurdity of the NS thirty one mission, a
publicity stunt dressed up as a feminist milestone, complete with
oh my God, designer flight suits and a photo spread
in l This was in space exploration. It was a

(06:47):
billionaire and millionaire's ego trip, and the fact that it
is being pushed and sold as progress for women in
space makes my skin crawl and I'm gonna know that
that scrolled a little bit fast, so I'm going to
restart that for you in case you missed any of
the names. Now imagine this scene. Six women, Katie Perry,

(07:10):
Lauren Sanchez, Gael King, Ayeshaboe, Amanda Nowin, and Carrie an
Flynn all climbed the board Blue Origins New Shepherd rocket
in West Texas. That said, they're not there to run
experiments or even pilots the craft. They're passengers on a
fully automated ride that requires less skill than a Tesla

(07:30):
on autopilot. You had the rocket blast off, crossed the
Karmen line at one hundred kilometers and gave them four
minutes of weightlessness to flip around Gaulcket Earth and snap
a few selfies. Dinnutt floating back down to Earth where Perry, ever,
the performer drops to her knees and kisses the ground

(07:53):
like she survived a lunar landing. Once again. The whole
thing takes eleven minutes, barely enough time to brew a
decent pot of coffee. Get Blue Origin, and the media
hype it out as something historical, with Hooprah shedding tears

(08:15):
and Chloe Kardashian tweeting fire emojis. Give me a break.

Speaker 4 (08:25):
Now.

Speaker 2 (08:26):
The ARS Tech, in a piece penned by Eric Berger,
didn't mint words about why this is such a sham.
Berger points out that suborbital flights like NS thirty one
contribute approximately zero to the arc of human spaceflight, unlike
orbit emissions, which requires days or weeks circling Earth that

(08:48):
often involve complex scientific work. This was a quick hop
to sixty five miles up, just scratching the edge of space. Now.
The article notes the FAA's decision in twenty twenty one
to stop issuing commercial space astronaut wings because the bar
for astronaut status had become a freaking joke. Back when

(09:10):
the FAA handed out these wings, you had to perform
duties essential to public safety or contribute to human spaceflight safety.
Singing what a wonderful world? Why floating as Perry did
doesn't cut it. Neither does posing for her magazine cover,
which seems to be Sanchez's main qualification for curating this crew. Now,

(09:34):
let's talk about the crew for second, shall we. Sanchez
Bezos's partner hand picked, of course, for the you know,
hand picked the group, and it's clear, this was more
about clout than credentials, now. That said Aisha bo, a
former NASA rocket scientist, and Amanda in the Win, a
former NASA intern. I don't mean to insult you because

(09:57):
at least you have some space related backgrounds. Any hate
I have is not necessarily meant to you. But the
fact is you were still just passengers on this now.
Gail King, a talk show host who is best known
for being Oprah's friend, carry Inn Flynn, a blue origin executive.

(10:19):
Katy Perry, a pop star who want sang about kissing
girls and liking it. This wasn't a team of astronauts.
It is a guest list for a met gala in space,
and the article by Eric Berger quotes Sanchez calling them
storytellers who will inspire the next generation. Inspiring, how exactly?

(10:44):
Once again, I'm going to put up the list, and
by me putting up this list of the females who
have actually freaking orbited Earth is more inspiring than anything
they did. That's okay. By showing kids that if you're
rich and or famous, you can too buy a ticket

(11:05):
to space and call it a career pivot. That said,
the political mudslinging has only made this where Sean Duffy,
Trump's Transportation secretary, took the X kind of dunk on
the mission, arguing that none of these women met the
FAA's astronaut criteria since they didn't perform critical duties. He's right,

(11:26):
I'm sure, let's face it, Duffy has a little bit
bit of episode agenda. Perry is and was a very
vocal Biden Harris supporter, and there's no love loss between
Trump's crew and Bezos's empire. That said, you have Elon
Musk Space X out out here launching real orbital missions
while Blue Origin still playing in the kiddie pool of

(11:48):
suborbital tourism. That said, Duffy is not wrong. The new
Shepherd rocket flies itself. The crew had about as much
control as I do when I'm riding a roller coaster
at six Flags. Now, that said, what really chaffs my

(12:10):
hide is to claim that this is a win for
women in space. The article mentions Valentina Tarashikova, the Soviet
cosmonaut who in nineteen sixty three orbited Earth forty eight
times over three days by herself. That's an astronaut or

(12:31):
cosmonaut if you want to be correct. She trained for
years based Cold War era risk and proved women could
hack it in space before most of the NS thirty
one crew was even born. Comparing her to Perry, who
spent more time on her makeup for the l shoot

(12:51):
than she did an actual quote unquote space is like
comparing a Nobel laureate to a TikTok influencer. Since Tarashkova,
dozens and dozens and dozens of women, as I've demonstrated
three times now on screen, have orbited Earth conducting experiments

(13:11):
for forming space walks and commanding missions, they didn't need
rhinestone encrusted flight suits to prove their worth. Now, the
backlash one X was actually glorious and well deserved. Users
tore into Perry for her ground kissing theatrics putting out
the star contrast with real astronauts like Sunita Williams and

(13:35):
Butch Woomer, who were stuck on the ISS for nine
months due to a Boeing star Liner glitch. One user
post rage eleven minutes is a joke. Harry kissing the
ground is just over acting. She's acting like astronaut Sunita
Williams and her team who were stuck in space. For
nine months. Even celebrities piled on two. Olivia Munn called

(13:59):
the missions gluttonous, well, Emily Radoschaikowski dubbed it at basically
beyond parody, and even Blue Origins Own fangirls on XP split,
with some praising the inclusivity and others just rolling their
eyes at the blatant pr grab. So let's zoom out

(14:21):
and put this into a little bit better context. Face
exploration used to mean something, and to start large degree,
it still does. When Sally Ryde became the first American
woman in space in nineteen eighty three, she wasn't just
breaking barrier. She was conducting experiments on the Space Shuttle
Challenger and paving the way for women in STEM. When

(14:45):
Peggy Whitson set records for the most time in space
by a woman six hundred and seventy five days across
multiple missions, she was running the iss, not posing for
a camera. These women and the dozens like I listed,
trained for years, mastered complex systems, risk their lives. Even
inspiration four with the amazing, wonderful and kind of cute

(15:07):
Haley Arsono trained a very long time the NS thirty
one crew. They showed up buckled in and let Bezos's
rocket through the rest. Calling them astronauts is like calling
a cruise ship passenger a naval officer, I said. The

(15:27):
broader issue here is the commodification of space. Blue Origin
and its low ILK are turning the final frontier into
a playground for the ultra rich, and the Arts Technica
article hints at this, noting that private space flight is
blurring the line between astronauts and the tourists. Let's not
forget in the sixties, astronauts were heroes, test pilots, and

(15:49):
scientists pushing humanity's limits. Now anyone with a fat fallet
and a pr team can buy a seat and claim
the title. It's not just Blue Origin, you got Virginia
Galactic that has been doing the same damn thing. But
this NS threety one flight to me takes it to
a new low with it's curated oh my god, all

(16:12):
female cast, designed to maximum headlines rather than really any knowledge.
And then, of course the media circus that followed, and
the article does a good job describing how CBS Mornings
aired a segment with King gutching about her astronaut status,

(16:35):
Oprah's tears, and Chloe's tweets fuel the hype. It's all
so calculated. Blue Origin knew it, and all female crew
with spark buzz, especially with the likes of Parry and
King and Volved. But let's face it, to many, it's
a hollow gesture. If they wanted to advance women in space,

(16:56):
why not fund scholarships her female aerospace engineers or sponsor
a real mission with trained astronauts. Instead, we get a
glorified reality show, complete with Sanchez's self congratulatory speech about storytelling.
The only story here, from what I can see, is
how far you can stretch a dollar and a dream.

(17:22):
But the real tragedy is the shadow I think this
cast on the women who've actually earned their place in
space history. During the segment three times, I've displayed every
famble astronaut whose orbit at Earth, women who've circled our planet,
conducted groundbreaking research and sometimes even paid the ultimate price.

(17:45):
They're the ones who deserve the spotlight, not a pop
star who thinks eleven minutes of weightless this makes her
freaking Neil Armstrong. Now, this whole FIASCAR reminds me of
a quote from Karl sag And somewhere something incredible is
waiting to be known, but we're not going to find
it by launching celebrities on a suborbital ego trip. If

(18:09):
you want to honor women in space, and we should,
let's celebrate the ones who've logged months on the ISS,
the ones who've walked in space or commanded missions under pressure,
and those that have unfortunately lost their lives. Let's invest
in the next generation of scientists, not influencers. And for

(18:31):
the love of all that's holy, let's stop calling people
astronauts just because they can afford the ticket to kiss
the Carmen line. The stars deserve better, and so do we. Okay,

(18:52):
sorry about that, rant, I needed to go there, and
I hope hoping Aggie will eventually listen to this because
she was the one who convinced me to do this.
So that Aggie, that was for you. But now to
the regular portion of the Lost Wonder podcast. Space Forest

(19:14):
has finalized the contracts called what's called the National Security
Space Launch Phase three Lane two, which is a fancy
way of saying the stuff that absolutely cannot blow up.
These are the launches carrying the critical military payloads let's say,
spy satellites, missile detection, arrays, command and control network stuff
that you know, watchers and whispers and if needs rains

(19:37):
down the hell that said. The timeline is twenty twenty
seven to twenty thirty two for this, and the budget
is thirteen point seven billion with a B dollars. Han said,
here's how the cosmic cookie is crumbling out with this.
SpaceX is getting five point nine billion with a B
for twenty eight launches, United Launch Alliance five point four

(20:00):
billion with a B for nineteen launches, and Blue Origin
two point four billion for seven launches. Hopefully no celebrities
will be on that flight. And in case you're wondering, yes,
Blue Origin just cashed their biggest government check yet and
New Glen hasn't even been certified for these missions yet.

(20:21):
More on that in a second. Now, this is the
latest evolution in the Pentagon's attempt to create a launch marketplace.
Phase one and two awards from the past decade mostly
went to ULA and SpaceX, who approved that they can't
actually handle the heat, but they Phase three is split
in the two different lanes. Lane one open to commercial

(20:42):
payloads and emerging players. Lane two, well, at your big guns,
must be certified, must deliver, must survive war zone level scrutiny.
I'll let said Blue Origin is a newcomer to this
lane two. Their new Glen rocket hasn't flown in any
of these missions yet. It's still waiting on the full
certification for this high stakes category, but based on its

(21:05):
first launch, they'll probably get it. So yes, they got
billions for launches they're technically not ready yet, but for
showing actually pretty good now, because this isn't about launching
junk in orbit. This is kind of like a bit
of a more chessboard like National security space missions control,
early warning for nuclear launches, military GPS and communications, reconnaissance

(21:29):
and surveillance, and even cyber defense nodes. This stuff isn't
really optional. Losing one of these birds, that's not a lopsy,
that's more of a what the fuck dude. And of
course the government they've decided that multiple providers equals more redundancy.
If one rocket fleet fails, another can fill the gap,

(21:52):
and that's actually pretty smart coming from government. But it
also means trussing players like Blue Origin to get their
act together and do so fast. And I'm not against
competition in space, but let's be honest. Two point four
billion for a rocket that's flown once and not yet
certified for these high risk missions, it's a bit of
a gamble. Meanwhile, we have space Ax that has been

(22:13):
hauling national security cargo up for years now. Falcon nine
is basically the Toyota Camray of rockets, reliable, boring, and everywhere.
Falcon heavy, well, that's kind of your beefed up muscle
car for you know, a little bit larger payloads. Ula.
Well they got some legacy credibility. Their new Vulkan Centaur
is certified and recently proved it can deliver the goods.

(22:34):
So yeah, money basically well spent. But you go back
to Blue Origin there, his outfit is still basically in
that trust me bro phase of defense contracting. They're the
guy who says he can DJ your wedding but shows
up with an ox cord and a dream. That said here,

(22:57):
So here's to the forecast for twenty seven to thirty.
We're gonna have a whole lot of rockets, a whole
lot of money spent, and hopefully not a whole lot
of explosions. Just remember this isn't just a space race anymore.
This is kind of a launch arms race with admittedly
billionaires now on the front seat of your tax dollars

(23:18):
being placed in the trunk of their car. So buckle up.
And while we're on the subject of yeating national security
into the stratosphere, let's talk about those what those rockets
might soon also be carrying weapons. Now this isn't hypothetical.

(23:41):
No defense sensors, not maybe if we need it. We're
talking about orbital interceptors, kill vehicles, objects whose entire job
is to chase down and destroy other things in orbit.
That's not science fiction anymore. That's now on the official

(24:05):
US Space Command wish list. General Stephen Winning, the man
in charge of US Based Command, stood in front of
lawmakers and said, quite plainly, if we want to win
a war in space, we need the ability to physically
intercept and neutralize enemy objects in orbit. No more hiding
behind peaceful intent or quote spaces just for exploration unquote

(24:26):
talking points. And the single strike can blind, silence, or
paralyze a nation's battlefield communication within seconds. Said, The logic
is clear. China has kinetic anti satellite missiles. Russia has
been deploying spy satellites that stalk and follow other satellites
like creeps out of space bar We've seen the simulated attacks,

(24:49):
we've seen satellites that explode, and now the US is
finally saying, okay, then let's do this. And what's being
floated and sorry, probably bad pun is a system that
could intercept threats in low Earth orbit and possibly beyond
That means fast, responsive, maybe even autonomous spacecraft capable of detecting, approaching,

(25:12):
and eliminating targets in real time. Think robotic space cops
with knives instead of warrants. And here here's where it
might even get a little spicier. This lines up almost
suspiciously well with another ongoing defense project, the so called
Golden Dome Missile Defense Network. Yes they're calling it the

(25:36):
Golden Dome. The plan up to one thousand satellites detecting
threats and two hundred arm satellites ready to engage them,
and there are reports suggesting SpaceX may be involved as well,
Pound Tier two and Durall, the dark horse of autonomous weaponry,
also as a seat at the table. So now we're

(25:59):
looking at a constellation of government and private interests assembling
a sky fortress while calling it a quote unquote defensive shield,
which of course is historically the pr phrase you can
use right before you pull out a rail gun in orbit.
Let's be honest, Once you do have something in space
that can take out another satellite, it doesn't matter what

(26:22):
you call it, it's a weapon. And if forever reaches orbit,
and it will, the line between the fence platform and
preampro strate capability will blur in the starlight. We really
are entering a new phase of the space race, one

(26:43):
where the prize is in a flag on the Moon
or even the first steps on Mars. It is turning
into who can control the high ground when the next
war breaks out. And let me tell you, the skies
are getting crowded, the budgets are getting bloated, and the
justifications are getting weirder, because no matter how high we

(27:09):
launch ourselves into the heavens, someone is always trying to
bring the whole damn constellation down.

Speaker 4 (27:20):
And now assholes in space.

Speaker 2 (27:31):
China, Russia in China are taking aim at one thing.
Elon Musk did that actually works amazingly?

Speaker 3 (27:53):
Well?

Speaker 2 (27:53):
I know, some testas are great, some cyber trucks are great.
The flamethrower's probably amazing. I haven't seen one in that
in real life. So that is Russia and China are
taking the web of low Earth orbit satellites and has
quietly become the unsung MVP of modern warfare, especially in
places like Ukraine. We have communications, drone, targeting, field logistics.

(28:16):
All of it rides on starlink, which naturally makes it
a high priority target for anyone still stuck in the
Cold War sandbox with a box of jammers and a
vengeance complex. We have Russia who's actively been jamming starlink
in eastern Ukraine using something called the Tobo system, originally
built to protect their own satellites from interference, but I

(28:38):
guess someone figured, hey, if it works defensively, let's point
that bastard out word and start frying SpaceX's signal footprint,
because why innovate when you can sabotage. But wait, they're
not stopping there. Russia is now building a system they're
calling Kalinka, which, no lie sounds a little bit more
like a bond villain's karaoke machine than satellite stuff. And

(29:01):
Kalinka's goal is clear detect, disrupt and disabled starlink terminals
and satellite links. It's a starlink killer, they're calling it,
which is both a threat and kind of a poetic
commission that Muscus. You know, space Bros. Did something amazingly right.
But then there's China, never to be outdone in the category.

(29:21):
What the actual hell Their military researchers are now proposing
kind of an unhinged concept. Yet get this laser submarines
with pop up mass that can fire into space. So
not quite laser sharks with lasers. Submarines with lasers underwater

(29:44):
shooting up. Okay, okay, now that's not science fiction. That's
a deep sea fever dream. Imagine have you happen to
own a stealth sub and it suffers surfaces enough just
to go pew pew and fry a starlink satellite mid orbit.
Either someone is watching a little bit too much anime

(30:06):
or China's Weapon division is run by a League of
Legends team on meth. That said, the bigger picture here,
this isn't just cyber warfare, this is orbital warfare. Nation
states are actively working to cripple private infrastructure in space
because they know it's now embedded in modern warfighting. Thurlink

(30:28):
is now more than just a tool. It's kind of
become the battlefield, and anyone who tells you otherwise is
probably lying or selling satellite insurance. So yeah, we blue origin.
We have still struggling to get certified. We have the
US Space Force that is loading up on interceptors. But

(30:48):
these guys, they're already testing the fences, hitting comms, making plans,
training the lasers. Russia and China don't want to win
the space race. They want to cut the legs out
from under the guys who's already up top the ladder.
Now that said, China has just made a bit of

(31:09):
a a quieter move, a bit of a diplomatic move,
for they've signed an agreement with Pakistan to send the
country's first astronaut to the Tee and Young Space Station.
And this will be the first time ever a non
Chinese citizen flies aboard their orbital platform. First foreign national,
first outsider, first plus one to the party. And while

(31:33):
it might not sound like much next to the missile
hunting satellites and laser fighting submarines making a mistake, this
is a major geopolitical signal. China's not flexing its tech,
It's flexing its soft power.

Speaker 3 (31:49):
Here.

Speaker 2 (31:49):
This isn't about beating the West with rockets. It's about
replacing it with the iss aging out teen Young is
stepping up as the future space hub, and this deal
with Pakistan is the first brick in that decision. And
let's be honest once again, it's a bit of a
smart move. While the US and its allies are forming
space and military coalitions and debating whether billionaires should be

(32:13):
allowed to weaponize low Earth orbit, China is now building
its own space guest list. And let's face it, it's
also a little bit about branding. Come fly with us.
They're saying, we've got room and we don't lecture you
about human rights while you're in orbit. And Pakistan, for

(32:33):
its part, is all in. This is a bit of
a huge prestige play for them, especially with India launching
their own rockets. Pakistan, you now have national pride, international visibility,
and a bit of that big old middle finger to India,
who's been pulling off moon landing as a mar probe
while Pakistan has been mostly watching from the sidelines. And

(32:56):
for China, well, this opens the door to other not
aligned or developing nations who can't afford their own space programs,
but sure as hell would like a flag floating in orbit.
You have Africa, South America, parts of Southeast Asia, and
NASA won't let them in the club. China's ready with
a boarding past and a branded spacesuit that doesn't have rhinestones.

(33:24):
And with that, let's take a brief interlude of about
four minutes to refoil our drinks, our snacks and whatever,
and let's celebrate those rhinestone encrusted ass astronauts during the intermission.

Speaker 5 (34:04):
Up the face with a star, don't carefu thing for
sell season, zero gravity hair.

Speaker 1 (34:09):
Golden tickets for the vpe clouds freaking i wanter chasing clouds.
They beat a mint for a five minute rice cream.

Speaker 2 (34:16):
A cosmic with nowhere to hide.

Speaker 1 (34:19):
Looks a mess, but the food is so high sweating
their triumph to the Wi Fi skuy cloud chases.

Speaker 2 (34:24):
In the cosmos page.

Speaker 1 (34:28):
Let you look at it's for the Grand Kiddy ray.
Their stars fall second than that to the ground.

Speaker 2 (34:38):
The height so loud, it's the only sound.

Speaker 1 (34:46):
Lower and sleek like a billionaire's pois for the glitterati
who craze.

Speaker 5 (34:50):
Their choice the safe in the planet with a pires
fin while the cameras flashing the castles in you know
science here, they're just the flash for the feet A
quick can gole trip that a little bit mistage.

Speaker 1 (35:01):
They cry on you for the vial effects that, but
it's all because I'll say, osbal signed the faces, whole
crown gamsted up the small.

Speaker 2 (35:20):
Crown, so loud it's the only sound. Attention, passengers, this
is your captain speaking. We've reached peak absurdity.

Speaker 5 (35:33):
Please fasten your seat belts for the guitar solo where
we shred the ego of space Touris and into a
million shiny pieces.

Speaker 2 (35:41):
Also no refunds for my sustential crisis.

Speaker 4 (35:45):
And.

Speaker 1 (36:36):
Gon nerve for still milk in the globe, hosting profound
quotes from.

Speaker 2 (36:39):
Ten minutes ago. I saw the void and it changed
my soul.

Speaker 5 (36:43):
Up the next gig, shilling some crypto over ahead my space.

Speaker 1 (36:47):
The world moves on your Dirk, are still fishing for life?
Still go on space safetyeth when your heart so shallow,
Just another stage for the fame hungry the lover sesons
cos shiny slake riding rockets for clam Gary way. He says,

(37:08):
start a four second, then back two clouds.

Speaker 2 (37:13):
But the hype soul loud is the only sound.

Speaker 4 (37:21):
So here's to the dreamers who.

Speaker 1 (37:22):
Paid to pretend they're cosmics to ways not no, and
when the stars they sun it and the cameras quid
and just say sing cloud in a rocket lid skits.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
And welcome back. We're fresh off of a musical tribute
to space's most overfunded tourist Trap and the crew of
the High Altitude Hype that roade news Shepherd Lake. It
was a party bus to Apagee. We returned out to
a different kind of orbit. Now this said, this is
also one where billionaires junkie for actual power, because while

(38:32):
the amateurs were floating around for clout, Jared Eisenman was
busy trying to snag the real gig, that of the
next administrator of NASA. And where was he doing that? Well?
I had a Senate confirmation here and getting the full

(38:53):
belt fed sarcasm treatment from lawmakers who for once seemed
to notice that handling America Space program to a SpaceX
superfan might raise a red flagger too. Admittedly, oh, I
said Isaacman, for those who don't mainline rocket gossip is
the billionaire behind Shift for Payments and commander of two

(39:14):
previous private space action missions, inspiration form Polaris Dawn. He's
flown higher than most people who have ever lived, and
now he's aiming for the top floor of the space bureaucracy. Now,
Senator Ed Marky led the charge, asking not once, not twice,
but five times whether Elon Musk was president when Isaacman

(39:40):
met with President Trump about the NASA job. Was Elon
Musk in the room? If he was he in the
room with you? Now? Was he on the call? Did
he send a carrier pigeon? That was the basic line
of questioning. And admittedly, Isaacman kind of deadpanned I was

(40:00):
being interviewed by the President of the United States. I
gotta admit I do think it was kind of funny
with that deadpan. Now, admittedly it was also not a denial,
but really, who cares? Is there any person alive right

(40:23):
now who has done more for space than Musk? But
we can easily see the contradiction, and you know, controversy
here since he's bought his rides on you know, space X,
which is owned by or funded by Elon and all that.
So I understand some of the questions, but Isaac commit

(40:47):
insistent he would hold an arms in its relationship with
any of the commercial providers. But the hearing wasn't just
all thankfully musk drama. I commit actually had some ideas.
He wants NAST to pursue the Moon in Mars at
the same time, calling for parallel programs, not just the

(41:07):
lunar tunnel vision they currently have. He even took a
jab at Artemis, asking why is it taking us so
long and why is it costing us so much to
go to the moon again for the first time, Deniers,
I got you, which also is quite fair. Last person
to ask, that's with actual power shut down the Science

(41:31):
Division and handed contracts to their golf buddies. So if
Isaacman is confirmed, which is still yet to be seen,
he would be the youngest NASA administrator ever and one
of the only ones with actual spaceflight experience. Now, whether
that turns them into a bold reformer or maybe just

(41:52):
a glorified launch promoter, that's the billion dollar question here.
And the Senate Committee is expected to vote some time,
with a full or vote likely late spring. And look,
maybe maybe it's fitting and a world where celebrities get
seats on rockets, maybe it makes perfect sense that billionaires

(42:14):
now compete for the right to run the launch schedule.
That said, at least Isaacman has been the space on
multiple occasions. He has done a space walk. That's okay,

(42:35):
because well, you know, we're still busy lading off Cold
War era hardware to throw sur violence payloads in the orbit.
We have this next wonderful story because nothing says modern
security like a duct tape missile from the nineteen eighties.

(42:56):
We thankfully have some far more tantalizing news that was
unfolding one hundred and twenty four light years away in
the constellation. Leo, Ladies and gentlemen, travelers of time and space,
we may have just sniffed a fart from an alien ocean.

(43:18):
The worst part is, I'm not even joking. So let
me explain. Astronomers using the Jame Webb's Face telescope has
been studying a planet called K two eighteen B. Now
it's not new. We've known about this exoplanet since twenty fifteen.
But what's new is what we're now able to see
or in this instance, smell, if you count light analysis

(43:43):
as kind of an interstellar nose, which probably is the
best way to look at it. In some regards. This
planet is part of a rare class called a hacion world.
A turn coined from hydrogen and ocean. These are planets
that may be covered in deep global oceans, surround it
by a hydrogen rich atmosphere, and sit comfortably in their
habitable zones of their parent stars. Not too hot, not

(44:08):
too cold, just right for cooking up something weird and wigley.
And that brings us to the headline. Scientists think they
may have detected dimethyl softfide DMS in the atmosphere of
K two eighteen B. Now DMS. If you've ever made beer,

(44:30):
you know that's a no go. But you know exactly
what it is now on Earth. This molecule is exclusively
produced by life. Yes, DMS and beer is produced by
life because technically yeast now sort of now in this case,

(44:51):
specifically phytoplankton, tiny ocean dwelling microbes that burp DMS into
the air. It's what gives the sea its distinct sense.
So when you all the oceans and say, ah, smells
like a vacation, what you're actually inhaling is the metabolical
output of invisible aquatic orgasms. Sorry, we're ruining that. So

(45:15):
why is this male molecule showing up in a planetary
atmosphere one hundred and twenty four light years away. Well,
that's the big question and the reason the scientific community
is currently vibrating like a tuning fork on a caffeine drip.
The team behind this discovery is led by doctor Nico
Metahusaddan from the University at Cambridge. You might actually recognize

(45:36):
the name. He's a respected figure in exoplanet atmosphere and modeling.
His group used transmission spectroscopy via the James Webspace Telescope
to analyze star like filtering through a planet's atmosphere as
it passed in front of its host star. What they
found was a cocktail of chemical signatures including methane, carbon dioxide,
and yes, the possible presence of DMS. And here's where

(46:02):
we shift from what we saw to kind of what
it might mean. According to the study, the data suggests
a ninety nine point seven percent probability that DMS is present.
Not ironclad, not proof, but damn that's close still. Matt
Husadan urges caution, saying, quote, if confirmed, it would be

(46:26):
the first time we have detected a gas in the
atmosphere of a planet beyond Earth that is uniquely associated
with life. Unquote. Let's let that line breathe for a second.
It confirmed. This would be the first legitimate biosignature ever
detected on an exoplanet. Not a maybe, not a molecule

(46:52):
that could come from volcanism, not a fluke, a molecule
we only know from living things.

Speaker 3 (47:01):
Now.

Speaker 2 (47:02):
Critics, because of course they exist, are quick to point
out that unknown geophysical processes could produce dms and environments
we don't fully understand. After all, this is an alien world.
We can't assume biology works exactly like it does here. Okay,
air point again, but the other signatures like methane and

(47:24):
carbon dioxide reinforce the possibility as something biological could be happening.
These are molecules you'd expect in a planet with active chemistry,
and their ratios match what you'd expect from a liquid
water rich environment. Oh and did I mention this thing
is two point six times the size of Earth, with

(47:45):
a possible ocean hundreds of kilometers deep, So it's not
exactly a tide pool. That's a pressure cooked abyss of
alien potential. Well, admittedly, this isn't the first time K
two eighteen B has raised eyebrows. Back in twenty nineteen,
Hubble detected water vapor in its atmosphere, a first brainy

(48:06):
exit planet and the habitable zone as well, but at
the time we didn't know much else but the Jane
Webbs face telescopes much sharper instruments. Well, that has kind
of blown the door wide open. Still there's a catch,
because they're always a catch. K two eighteen b orbits
a red dwarf star and red dwarfs have a habit

(48:29):
of unleashing solar players like Toddler's hurling tantrums. Any potential
biosphere would have to survive some pretty nasty radiation unless
it's hiding under the ocean, shielded from the chaos above, which, honestly,
that's exactly where we expect life to be on our
own Planet's earliest organisms thrived in hydrothermal vents and deep

(48:52):
sea crevices, so why not there. More observations are coming.
The team plans to watch future to see if the
DMS signature holds up and maybe even spot more complex molecules.
It's a long game and JWST is just warming up,
But for now, let's step back and kind of appreciate

(49:16):
the entirety of this. For thousands of years we've stared
at the night sky in day sky and asked if
we were alone. In ninety five we called we found
what was be our first exoplanet. In twenty fifteen we
found K two eighteen B, And in twenty twenty five

(49:37):
we may have just caught a chemical whisper from something alive.
We haven't found aliens because no one still has found
me yet. But if this pans out, we've kind of
found the next best thing, a hint that maybe, just
maybe life isn't special to just Earth. That biology is

(50:00):
a cosmic accident that's somewhere out there, and the black
between stars the universe is breathing. And if that doesn't
give you chills, check your atmosphere. Now. That said, while

(50:22):
K two eighteen B might be dropping chemical love letters
from one hundred and twenty four light years away, back
here in our own solar system, Saturn's biggest moon is
giving off a bit of a different vibe, more of
a lonely swamp herbit than galactic course. Yes, we're talking
about Titan, that foggy, methane rich world that's been on

(50:45):
scientists radars for decades as one of the best spots
to search for alien life, and now a new study
is adding a bittersweet twist. Might life might exist there
order in any way we're likely to find it. So
let's tipe into this weirdness a little bit. Titan is unique.

(51:08):
It's the only moon in the Solar System with a
thick atmosphere mostly nitrogen. It's got liquid livers, rivers, lakes,
and seas not of water but a methane and ethane.
The surface temperature hovers around a boat snapping negative two
hundred and eighty degrees fahrenheit. And under that frozen crust
a suspected subsurface ocean made of liquid water and ammonia

(51:31):
that could, in the theory, support life. And that's where
some new research is coming in to help us understand.
Led by Antonin Appholder at the University of Arizona, the
study takes a hard look at whether life could survive
in that subterranean soup. The result technically yes, practically, don't

(51:56):
hold your breath, but maybe.

Speaker 3 (51:58):
Now.

Speaker 2 (51:59):
Using biophysical mind to simulate what kind of microbial life
Titans ocean could support, the researchers estimated to total massive
potential life at a few kilograms, not for cubic mile
and totality, we're talking one cat's worth of microbes sped
across an entire global ocean. To put that in perspective,

(52:20):
Earth's oceans have ten million, trillion trillion microbes, tightens might
have less than your compost bin. Even worse, those hypothetical
Titan microbes would be probably so thinly distributed scientists estimate
we'd find less than one cell per liter. That's like
trying to find a single needle in a city sized

(52:42):
haystack where the haystack is toxic and frozen, and flying
eight hundred and eighty six million miles from Earth, which,
let's face it, brings us to the bit of the
real kicker. How do we even look for this? Well, actually,
we have something planned for this. Dragonfly NASA's upcoming mission

(53:03):
to Titan. It's a nuclear powered rohtocraft, basically a space
drone with science instruments. It is scheduled to launch in
twenty twenty seven and land sometime around twenty thirty four.
It'll hop around the surface, analyze complex organic molecules, and
search science for prebiotic chemistry. That said dragonfly is not
digging through the ice to scoop up samples from the

(53:24):
deep ocean. It's mostly surface level work, and if the
life is truly hidden into the dark ammonia spiked sea
and are miles a crust, we probably won't even get
close to an answer. Still, this study won't close the door.
Titan is rich in carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, all

(53:45):
the ingredients for life as we know it. It's just
that the environmental conditions and the energy budget probably don't
support big booming biospheres. If life's there, it's hanging on
by its biochemical fingernails. So while some scientists are chasing
gas signature's indentmit distant atmospheres, others are quietly preparing to

(54:06):
roll the dice on a moon where life may exist
and ghostly traces scattered across what is a methane coded world.
But even that I believe is worth it, because the
silence of Titan might be as revealing as the whisper
from K two eighteen B. While we have Titan's potential

(54:30):
alien microbes that are ghosting us under a crust of
methane ice, we know now turn to a planet, a
planet that's been, let's face it, the butt of bad
puns since the Voyager's day and no, I'm I myself

(54:54):
am not above it because as of this week, science
has officially confirmed that a day on your INET is
longer than we thought. And if that didn't just activate

(55:20):
your enterprise snickering in the background, you're lying, I'm calling
you out. According to a new study led by Eryl
Campbell and the team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, researchers
used over ten years of Hubble space telescope observations to
more precisely measure Uranus's rotational period. That means tracking the

(55:45):
planet's auroras. There's brief glowing magnetic clays that pulse around
the poles to figure out how fast the planet is
actually spinning. Turns out, Uranus spins a day at seventeen hours,
fourteen minutes, and fifty two seconds, which is about twenty
eight seconds longer than what we've believed for the last

(56:07):
forty years, ever since Voyager two gave us its best
guess in eighty six. Now you might say twenty eight seconds,
who cares. But when it comes to modeling gas giants
and understanding how their interiors turn and twist under all
that stormy haze, every second actually does count, especially on Uranus,
where everything about the planet screens. I dare you to

(56:29):
model me accurately. Go ahead, Okay, let's rewind a second.
Uranus isn't just another gas giant. It's that weird uncle
of the Solar System. It rotates sideways in ninety degree
ninety eight degree axle tilt, which means its poles basically
face the Sun during parts of its orbit. Up tilt

(56:51):
causes extreme seasonal shifts that last decades and completely distort
its atmospheric dynamics. So when we say a day on Urinus,
where trying to measure rotation on a planet that's literally
spinning on its side like it's napping through the Solar System. Now,
how do you clock a planet with no solid surface,
no fixed features, and cloud tops that look the same

(57:13):
from every angle. Well that's where Hubble comes in to
save the day. Oh yes, I'm going to do it.
Hubble here, I come to save the day. Now, over
the past decade, it's been tracking these auroral flashes magnetic
fingerprints tied to its rotation. By mapping those against the
planet's orientation over time, the team of JPL could finally

(57:35):
correct the old estimates from voyager, and what they found
isn't just a more accurate day lens, it's actual proof
that Urinus is more dynamic than we actually ever thought.
In fact, the study also showed a growing, small gy
polar cap in its planet's northern hemisphere, a thickening haze
likely caused by sunlight interacting with methane and other hydrocarbons

(57:56):
in the upper atmosphere. It appears to come and go
with the seasons, which on Urness lasts about twenty one
earth years each. So yes, while we've been making some
jokes about Uraness, you know, since Futurana taught us that
nobody respects Uranus, science has quietly been peeling back the

(58:18):
mystery of that planet. And now we know that under
the side spinning strangeness is a planet with complex chemistry,
magnetic weather, and the day that just got half a
minute longer. And guys, we know half a minute longer
is never a bad thing. So well, we've been busy

(58:40):
extending the workday on Uranus by twenty eight seconds. Damn you.
A group of physicists decided to shoot their shot at
the ultimate sci fi fantasy, using black holes as batteries. Yeah, seriously,
not a dicent sphere, not solar panels. On the un

(59:01):
black holes the most dangerous objects in the known universe,
and the new idea is now on the table. Don't
run away from them, plug into them. Okay, let's talk
about this now. This isn't the first time scientists have

(59:21):
asked if we could siphon off the raw, ridiculous energy
of a spinning black hole. In fact, a guy named
Roger Penrose, yes, that Penrose process guy, came up with
one of the earliest concepts back in the nineteen seventies.
He theorized that if you could drop something into that ergosphere,
that weird limbo zone just outside a rotating black hole
where space time gets twisted like a wet spaghetti, you

(59:42):
might be able to split the object, toss part of
it into the black hole, and let the other part
fly away with more energy than it started with. It's
kind of like a co cosmic judo, using the black
hole's own spin to steal some of its juice. Forward
to now, and physicists are back at it, proposing a

(01:00:04):
process called magnetic reconnection inside the ergosphere. Think of it
like cracking apart magnetic field line so violently that particle
shootoff energized escaping the black hole's gravity with excess power,
like lightning lighting a fire in the tornado, and somehow,
somehow catching a spark. Now, according to these theorists, if

(01:00:24):
you could set up the right magnetic fields, you might
strong emphasis and italus on mite be able to pull
usable energy from a black hole's rotation. And we're not
talking about black hole mining with a shovel. This is
more plasma physics, relativistic frame dragging, and quantum chaos kind
of all rolled into one. But yes, it's wildly theoretical. Admittedly,

(01:00:52):
it also requires technology we don't have and probably won't
per centuries. And it's also involved getting close to a
black hole without getting stretched into interstellar pastas you can
see some problems in the system here. But the point
is isn't to build it, say next week. It's that

(01:01:12):
black holes aren't just necessary one hundred percent death machines.
They're also, weirdly, perhaps the most efficient potential power plants
in the universe. A spitting stellar mass black hole contains
more than enough energy to run entire civilizations for millennia
if you could just figure out how to tap it

(01:01:32):
without becoming part of its accretion disk. Compared to nuclear fusion,
it's absurdly more efficient compared to solar forget about it.
This is basic god teer engineering. We're talking type two,
probably type three on the Kardashchev scale. So we're still

(01:01:53):
trying to figure out how to power a lunar base.
Somewhere out there, someone is probably scribbling equations about turning
the end of all matter into a cosmic supercharger, and honestly,
good dream big. We're not going to escape the cradle
of Earth with led bulbs and half charged teslas. We're
going to need crazy ideas like this, dangerous, beautiful, potentially

(01:02:16):
high concept physics that stretches our minds further than our
probes have gone to date, because, let's face it, when
the lights start to dim back home, wouldn't it be
something be able to somehow plug in to that black home.
Now we come to our final segment of the night

(01:02:39):
your stargazing forecast. Two weeks of twilight treasures, planetary parings,
and one lunar event that you'll probably enjoy. Now, dear travelers,
as you drift beyond the spy satellites whispering exit planet sideways,
gas giants, and battery powered black holes. We arrive at
the last top of tonight's broadcast, so if you've got skies,

(01:03:03):
you now will have plans. April twenty first and twenty second.
The Larid meteor shower, which is active from April sixteenth
to twenty five, will reach its peak on the night
of April twenty first into the early hours of April
twenty second. Expect up to eighteen meteors per hour under
optimal conditions. With the waning crescent moon rising after midnight,

(01:03:25):
it will actually end up providing dark skies ideal for
the viewing. Coming soon, we'll have the new moon in Taurus,
offering an opportunity for fresh starts centering on values, finances,
and self worth. This valuse invites introspection and the setting
of intentions aligned with personal growth and stability, and with

(01:03:50):
the moon's brightness dimishing, late April is an excellent time
for deep sky observations. Consolations like Virgo and Leo are
prominent housting galaxies such eighty seven and one four and
the Leo triplett A telescope in dark skies will enhance
your viewing experience. Of course, so as you step outside
in the coming nights, take that moment to look up

(01:04:13):
and ponder that vastness above. Whether it's just that fleeting
streak of a meteor three, the crescent moon, or the
distant globe of galaxies. The universe does offer endless wonders
to those who seek them. And for rocket launches, we
have a very special event coming up April twenty first.

(01:04:39):
We have a doubleheader at Cape Canaveral, Florida. And not
for those that don't know, April twenty first is also
the executive producer of this show's birthday, so happy Birthday EP.
At four fifteen am, we have a Falcon nine with
CRS thirty two, a pre don launch that'll see SpaceX's
Falcon nine send the CRS thirty two mission to the
ISS delivering some applies in scientific experiments. Then later that

(01:05:03):
night eight forty eight pm Eastern Falcon nine and Bandwagon three,
and the evening another Falcon nine will launch the Bandwagon
three ride share mission to playing multiple small satellites in
the orbit and hopefully, hopefully the news we've all been
waiting for now they're not a new starship launch. April

(01:05:27):
twenty seventh, message and the booster from Vandenburg, California. Firefly
Aerospace is set to launch its Alpha rocket on Sunday,
April twenty seventh, at one thirty seven pm Universal Time
or six thirty seven Pacific from Vandenberg. This mission will
aim to demonstrate the LM four hundred satellites bus technology.

(01:05:49):
And you know what that means. There is a stronger
than zero percent chance we may get to see one
of the greatest celestial bodies we've ever seen. Yes, I'm
talking Morgan. So until next time, from all of us
on board the serenade, keep looking up. And that's it

(01:06:09):
for tonight's show. Thank you for tuning in when and
however you do. Special thanks NASA, SpaceX, Space dot Com,
Ars Technica, NASA Space Flight, Popular Mechanics and more for
a lot of the great information on the stories tonight.

(01:06:29):
Thanks to my executive producer as always for his help
and inspiration. And I cannot believe he turned seventeen tomorrow.
Love you, Bud. I hope you enjoyed the show, learned
a little bit, and maybe had a laugh or two
as well. The universe is a pretty big place. It's

(01:06:51):
bigger than anything anyone who's ever dreamed of before? So
if it's just us, it seems like an awful waste
of space.

Speaker 4 (01:07:05):
Right when I was young, it seemed that life was
so wonderful, a miracle. Oh it was beautiful, magical, And
there the burt in the trees. Would they'd be singing
so happily, oh joyfully, oh playfully, watching me with the

(01:07:32):
missabi late, the teachery, how to be sensible, logical, oh, responsible, practical,
And then they show me a world where recogny so
deep andlable or clinical, intellectual, cynical. There are times when

(01:07:56):
no cry stongs rid pty