Space Stories: Spirals in the Oort Cloud, Killer Asteroid Heading Towards Moon, and Starlink Messes Up Astronomy

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Halley’s Comet. (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology)

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—NDTV: “Visual Glitch Leads To Accidental Discovery Of Spiral In Mysterious Oort Cloud“

Scientists have long assumed the Oort Cloud, one of the most mysterious structures in our solar system, to be spherical. But during the pre-production of their new space show, “Encounters in the Milky Way,” they noticed a strange spiral pattern in the middle of the cloud. The show, which premiered on Monday at New York City’s Hayden Planetarium, featured a computer-generated visualisation of the Oort Cloud on the dome. The team was reviewing the animation when they noticed what appeared to be a spiral structure inside the typically spherical cloud shape.

—Daily Mail: “NASA Issues Urgent Update on ‘City Killer’ Asteroid Heading Towards the Moon in 2032“

The ‘city killer’ asteroid 2024 YR4 may not be on a collision course with Earth anymore. But NASA has raised the odds of it hitting the moon in just seven years’ time. According to the space agency, there’s now a 4.3 per cent chance that 2024 YR4 will smash into the moon on December 22, 2032…The impact event would be the first time scientists could watch a known asteroid create a lunar crater in real-time.

—New Scientist: “Starlink Satellites are Leaking Radio Signals that May Ruin Astronomy“

SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are leaking radio waves to such an extent that it could threaten our ability to study and understand the early universe, say astronomers. Interference from the thousands of Starlink satellites in orbit, where they provide a global internet service, has been a continuing concern for astronomers, who say that the radio emissions from the craft could affect sensitive telescopes that observe distant, and faint, radio sources. SpaceX has worked with astronomers to try to prevent this interference, by switching off their internet-transmitting beams when they fly over key telescopes, but it turns out that this isn’t enough.

What are NASA’s Plans for Starliner?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Boeing’s Starliner safely on the ground last September after returning from the ISS without its crew. (Boeing)

It was this time last year – June 5th to be exact – that Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket towards the International Space Station (ISS). Hopes were high, but then things started to unravel.

So where do things stand now, particularly with the new concerns about SpaceX?

NASA is saying very little. A USA Today story from last week stated the newspaper was told that NASA

…is assessing the earliest potential for a Starliner flight to the International Space Station in early 2026.

Boeing is staying pretty quiet on its Starliner mission update website. It has not posted anything on this page since September 7, 2024.

NASA was a little more open about events back in March, posting that the crew certification of the Starliner system was still underway, and stating:

Our investment in commercial crew transportation capabilities is providing the needed flexibility to operate in space as safely as possible and respond to changes quickly when they arise. NASA is seeing the commitment from Boeing to adding the Starliner system to the nation’s crew transportation base.

We may need a few more statements from NASA addressing this “needed flexibility,” while also offering up alternatives to the SpaceX monopoly. That is, an alternative that does not include the Russians saving us, though it could come to that in an emergency.

Giving Everything to SpaceX is Risky? Who Knew?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by David Stephanus from Pixabay.

According to the Washington Post, the leaders at NASA and the Department of Defense (DOD) have finally figured out that Mr. Musk is a potential threat to our space program and national security. Now where did they get that idea?

The newspaper stated:

NASA and Pentagon officials moved swiftly this past week to urge competitors to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to more quickly develop alternative rockets and spacecraft after President Donald Trump threatened to cancel Space X’s contracts and Musk’s defiant response.

Why did it take so long? And maybe instead of nagging SpaceX’s competitors, NASA and the DOD need to do more.

Boeing’s Starliner may need some propping up at the moment as an alternative to getting humans to the International Space Station (ISS), and other parties that can assist with the ISS and military satellite launches may need help as well.

Such careful planning should have been done long ago. Compromising NASA is one thing, but putting our nation’s defense in the hands of one unreliable man was foolish from the start. David killed the Goliath represented by the large aerospace companies, but now David has gone mad. Great plan, everyone.

It may be time to consider nationalizing SpaceX if it become an Achilles heel to our nation, particularly if Mr. Musk decides to take all of his marbles and go home (or simply loses all of his marbles).

This reminds me of Russia where President Putin put so much power into the hands of one of his warlords only to see that warlord turn his weapons on Moscow.

I expect things will settle down, but the risk remains. It is time for NASA and DOD to make some clear plans to expand the procurement base and rapidly fund alternatives to SpaceX.

As far as the future of NASA, which is the focus of this website, this is another wrench in the machinery. The White House budget already guts much of NASA’s programs, leaving most of the focus on Artemis, which needs a SpaceX Human Landing System, and Mars, which has been pushed to the front of the line only because of Musk’s influence at the White House.

So now what?

It seems Mr. Musk is not the only party undergoing a rapid unscheduled disassembly.

Pic of the Week: The Last SpaceX Dragon Approaching the ISS?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft, nosecone open, preparing to dock with the ISS on April 22, 2025. (NASA)

This week’s image shows the latest, but hopefully not last, docking of the SpaceX Dragon with the International Space Station (ISS) back in April.

Future flights of the Dragon to the ISS are now in question due to an ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, presumably over a bloated House budget bill. However, the issues also involve budget bill cuts to EV programs, the dropping of Musk’s friend as NASA administrator, and Musk’s departure from Washington after a less than sensational attempt to cut government programs.

In a tweet earlier today, Musk stated:

In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.

Oh yeah, Trump also threatened to end all SpaceX contracts, so I guess the Dragon would go anyway.

This is serious stuff, particularly after Musk and Trump attached Boeing earlier this year for “abandoning NASA astronauts on the ISS,” which was not true. Who is doing the abandoning now?

It appears Musk is already backing down, but the damage is done. He is demonstrating how NASA’s programs are under the control of this one, erratic man. Can things really go back to normal?

Stay tuned for more. I really just wanted to post a pic, but I had to say more today.

The Ninth Starship Test Launch Had a Few Problems

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Side-by-side illustrations of the SpaceX Starship lunar lander and the Blue Origin Blue Moon lunar lander. (SpaceX/Blue Origin)

Elon Musk may be in a rush to get to Mars, if only to escape all of the chaos he is causing here on Earth, but he is going nowhere fast with his Starship. Today’s ninth test launch of the rocket ended with the explosion of its first-stage booster as well as the rocket itself during re-entry. While this is better than the last two launches, it still demonstrates that the rocket has a ways to go before it can be used for Moon missions, leaving aside any talk about Mars.

SpaceX loves to play with language (particularly when regulators are around), so it called this a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” once again. That said, the humor is getting thin.

Mr. Musk said he is back to his jobs at Tesla and SpaceX, so let’s hope he can get a handle on this rocket. I don’t really care about the cars – Tesla has already been superseded by other car companies – but SpaceX is important to the US space industry.

It is also time for Mr. Musk to stop over-promising on everything (though I am glad he was dead wrong about DOGE savings). The focus needs to be the Moon. Forget Mars for now.

By the way, DOGE has also done damage to future Mars missions by cutting funding and staffing at the Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Center would be critical to finding a safe landing site on Mars for one of Musk’s rockets.

You don’t poke out your eyes and then hope to make progress, but that is what is happening these days.

Note: It seems the term “rapid unscheduled disassembly” precedes Mr. Musk, as this link explains.