This Week in Space 125: Back to Space School 2024

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It's the end of summer, and that means it's time to go back to school—in our case, space school! There's a lot going on, a lot coming up, and a whole lot to know about the next 9 months in space. What can we expect from SpaceX? How are the outer solar system missions proceeding? What about the new rocket engines for the Artemis program? What are we doing about orbital debris? Are we really in a new space race with China? And much more, including that most vexing of questions: what's up with Starliner? Join us for the fun.

Headlines:

• Polaris Dawn mission: Set to launch soon, this private SpaceX flight aims to conduct the first private spacewalk and raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
• JUICE spacecraft flyby: The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer successfully completed its Earth flyby, capturing stunning images of Earth and the Moon.
• Fram 2 mission: A private SpaceX flight planning the first-ever crewed polar orbit mission, aiming to study aurora-like emissions called STEVE.
• Astroscale's space debris removal: The company secured an $82 million contract for its second test flight to remove an old Japanese H-2 rocket stage from orbit.
• RS-25 engine development: Discussion on the high costs of manufacturing new RS-25 engines for NASA's SLS rocket compared to SpaceX's more cost-effective Raptor engines.
• Upcoming celestial events: A partial lunar eclipse in September and an annular solar eclipse in October, with tips on how to safely view these events.
• World Space Week: Announcement of the upcoming event in October, focusing on space and climate change.
• Indian space program: Updates on India's plans to launch its first uncrewed test flight of the Gaganyaan space capsule by the end of the year.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

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