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From VLEO Satellites to Black Hole Breakthroughs: Your Daily Space Update · Space News Today

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  Hello and welcome to [music] Astronomy
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  Daily. Give us 10 minutes and we'll give
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  you the universe. I'm Anna [music] and
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  with me as always is my co-host Avery.
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  Hey Avery, it's January 5th, [music]
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  2026. Hope everyone's having a fantastic
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  start to the year. We've already seen
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  some [music] exciting launches and sky
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  events kicking off and I'm pumped for
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  what's ahead.
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  >> Hi Anna, and a big hello to all our
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  listeners out there exploring [music]
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  the cosmos with us. Absolutely. 2026 is
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  buzzing right from the get- go. Today,
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  we've lined up six intriguing [music]
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  stories. From cuttingedge tech for
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  satellites hugging Earth closer than
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  ever before, [music] to a mission
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  finally orbiting the scorched world of
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  Mercury, black holes confirming
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  Einstein's [music] wild predictions, a
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  speedy SpaceX launch, NASA's clever
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  waiting game for Mars probes, and the
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  sharpest [music] X-ray peak yet at a
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  spinning black hole beast. We'll dive
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  deep, discuss the science, and share our
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  thoughts. Let's jump in.
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  >> First story of the day is all about
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  pushing the boundaries of satellite
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  orbits. We're talking about very low
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  Earth orbit or VLEO satellites, which
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  zip around at altitudes between 100 and
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  400 km above Earth. That's a lot closer
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  than the usual low Earth orbit stuff,
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  which can go up to 2,000 km. Avery, why
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  go so low? And what makes this the next
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  frontier?
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  >> Great question, Anna. The advantages are
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  pretty compelling. At these lower
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  heights, satellites can capture much
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  sharper images for Earth observation.
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  Imagine superdetailed views that boost
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  agriculture by spotting crop health
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  issues early. Enhance climate monitoring
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  with precise data on deforestation or
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  ice melt. Aid in disaster response like
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  tracking wildfires or floods in real
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  time, and even support military
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  reconnaissance with crystalclear intel.
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  On the communication side, the lower
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  altitude means reduced signal latency.
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  Think faster internet and more
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  responsive networks. Weather forecasting
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  gets an upgrade, too, with better
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  resolution on cloud formations and
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  atmospheric layers.
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  >> Sounds revolutionary, but I bet there
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  are challenges. The atmosphere doesn't
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  just vanish at 100 km. There's still
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  enough air to cause serious drag, right?
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  Satellites could spiral down and burn up
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  in mere days without some kind of
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  constant boost.
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  >> Spot atmospheric drag is the big hurdle
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  along with corrosion from atomic oxygen.
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  That's highly reactive stuff that eats
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  away at materials and intense heating
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  from friction pushing temperatures
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  beyond 1,500° C. To combat this,
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  engineers are developing innovative
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  propulsion systems like air breathing
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  electric thrusters. These scoop up
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  sparse atmospheric molecules and ionize
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  them for thrust. For example,
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  researchers at Penn State are
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  experimenting with microwave plasma
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  technology, while DARPA's Otter program,
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  partnered with Redwire, is testing
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  similar concepts. It's like giving
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  satellites a way to breathe the air
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  they're flying through. And with orbits
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  like LEO getting increasingly congested,
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  Starlink has over 6,000 satellites
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  alone, plus competitors, VLEO could open
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  up new real estate in space, reducing
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  collision risks up higher. Investments
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  are skyrocketing with projections in the
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  hundreds of billions over the coming
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  decade. Right now, it's mostly
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  prototypes and demos, but companies like
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  Earth Observant and Albido are leading
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  the charge. This could really change how
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  we monitor our planet and connect
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  globally.
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  >> No doubt. It's exciting to think about
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  the applications. Closer orbits mean
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  better data, and who knows what
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  breakthrough that'll lead to in
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  environmental science or urban planning.
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  >> Moving on to our second story. After a
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  long journey, the Bey Columbo mission is
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  poised to enter orbit around Mercury
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  later this year in the second half of
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  2026. This is a collaborative effort
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  between the European Space Agency, ESA,
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  and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency,
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  JAXA, launched way back in October 2018.
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  It features two orbiters. USA's Mercury
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  Planetary Orbiter focused on the
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  planet's surface, composition, and
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  interior structure, and JAXA's MEO,
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  which will study the magnetic field,
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  magnetosphere, and thin exosphere.
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  >> Mercury is one of the trickiest planets
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  to reach because of its proximity to the
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  sun. The gravity pole is immense, so you
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  need a lot of energy to slow down and
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  get captured into orbit. Bey Columbo has
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  been using a series of gravity assist
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  flybys. Earth once, Venus twice, and
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  Mercury itself six times to bleed off
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  speed without guzzling fuel. The
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  planet's extreme environment adds to the
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  challenge. Surface temperature swings
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  from -173°
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  C at night to 427°
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  C during the day. It has an eccentric
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  orbit, a massive iron core making up 60%
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  of its mass, and a surprisingly active
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  magnetic field despite its small size.
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  >> Once in orbit, it'll provide
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  groundbreaking data like the first ever
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  X-ray fluoresence maps of another
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  planet's surface. that'll reveal
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  elemental compositions, things like
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  magnesium, aluminum, silicon in
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  unprecedented detail, helping us
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  understand Mercury's volcanic history
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  and custal evolution. We'll also get
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  better insights into its tenuous
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  atmosphere and how solar wind interacts
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  with the magnetosphere.
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  >> Comparing this to data from Earth, Mars,
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  and the moon will refine our models of
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  inner solar system planet formation. The
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  instruments are state-of-the-art, but
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  after eight years in space, the teams
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  will be holding their breath during
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  activation. If all goes well, it'll
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  operate for at least a year with
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  possible extensions.
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  >> I'm eager for those close-up views and
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  what they tell us about the sun's
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  closest companion. It's been a patient
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  wait, but science like this is worth it.
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  >> Absolutely. Now for something that bends
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  the mind and spaceime itself,
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  astronomers have caught a black hole in
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  the act of twisting the fabric of
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  reality, exactly as Albert Einstein
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  predicted back in 1918 with his general
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  theory of relativity. This is the lens
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  theoring effect, also known as frame
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  dragging, where a spinning massive
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  object warps spaceime around it. The
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  observation comes from a title
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  disruption event dubbed AT2020 AFHD
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  where a super massive black hole
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  shredded a passing star creating a
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  swirling accretion disc of hot gas and
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  launching powerful jets. Using X-ray
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  data from NASA's Neil Gerald Swift
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  Observatory and radio observations from
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  the Very Large Array in New Mexico, the
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  team detected the disc and one jet
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  precessing or wobbling in unison every
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  20 days. That wobble is the direct
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  result of the black hole spin dragging
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  spaceime like a vortex.
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  >> These events are rare. Tidal disruptions
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  happen maybe once in every 10,000 to a
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  100,000 years per galaxy. And catching
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  the repeating signals needed for this
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  measurement is even tougher. It not only
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  confirms general relativity in one of
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  the most extreme environments, but also
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  gives us a new tool to precisely measure
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  black hole spins. Understanding spin
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  helps explain how these monsters power
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  jets that can stretch across galaxies
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  and influence star formation.
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  >> It's incredible. Einstein's equations
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  scribbled over a century ago still hold
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  up under scrutiny from modern
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  telescopes. This could lead to more
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  detections as we get better at spotting
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  these quasi periodic eruptions.
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  >> On to launches. SpaceX is keeping the
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  momentum from 2025. Just yesterday on
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  January 4th at 1:48 a.m. Eastern time,
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  they sent up a fresh Falcon 9 from Space
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  Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral
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  Space Force Station for the Starlink
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  Group 688 mission.
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  >> The rocket carried 29 nextG Starlink
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  satellites into low Earth orbit,
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  deploying them successfully about an
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  hour after liftoff. This was the debut
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  for booster B1081,
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  which nailed its landing on the drone
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  ship, Just Read the Instructions in the
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  Atlantic. These satellites are part of
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  the expanding constellation aimed at
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  global broadband coverage with
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  improvements in speed and coverage.
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  >> This marks SpaceX's second launch of
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  2026 already, following closely after
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  their first one earlier in the week.
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  With over 165 launches last year,
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  they're on track to beat that record.
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  The reliability of Falcon 9 continues to
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  impress, enabling more frequent and
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  affordable access to space.
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  >> Indeed, it's democratizing orbit in ways
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  we couldn't imagine a decade ago.
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  >> Our fifth story involves a bit of cosmic
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  patience. NASA's escapade mission to
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  Mars. The twin probes named Blue and
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  Gold for Escape and Plasma Acceleration
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  and Dynamics Explorers blasted off
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  aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket in
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  November 2025.
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  >> Their goal is to investigate how the
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  solar wind erodess Mars' atmosphere, a
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  process that stripped away much of the
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  planet's air over 4 billion years,
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  turning it from potentially habitable to
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  the barren world we see today. By
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  measuring plasma flows, magnetic fields,
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  and ion escape rates from two vantage
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  points, they'll provide a 3D view of
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  this interaction. But here's the twist.
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  They're not rushing straight to Mars.
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  Due to planetary alignment at launch,
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  they're spending about a year in a halo
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  orbit around Earth's Lrangee point 2,
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  roughly a million miles away on the far
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  side from the sun. This stable kidney
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  bean-shaped path conserves fuel while
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  waiting for the optimal window.
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  >> In fall 2026, they'll ignite their
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  thrusters for a trajectory adjustment,
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  using Earth's gravity for a slingshot to
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  Mars, arriving in September 2027.
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  Science operations kick off shortly
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  after, lasting at least a year. The dual
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  probe setup adds redundancy. If one
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  fails, the other can still deliver key
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  data.
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  This flexible design expands launch
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  opportunities beyond the every 26 months
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  home and transfer windows, making Mars
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  missions more feasible. It's a smart
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  blend of orbital mechanics and
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  engineering.
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  >> Patience in space pays dividends.
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  Reminds me of how Voyager probes are
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  still going strong after decades.
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  Last but not least, the X-ray imaging
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  and spectroscopy mission or XRISM
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  has given us the clearest X-ray spectrum
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  yet of a fast spinning super massive
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  black hole in the active galaxy
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  MCG-6-30-15.
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  Located 121 million light-years away in
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  the constellation Aquarius,
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  >> this black hole weighing in at about 2
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  million solar masses is accreing
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  material at a furious pace. XRISM's
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  resolve spectrometer captured a broad
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  asymmetric iron K alpha emission line
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  distorted by relativistic effects near
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  the event horizon where gas orbits at
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  nearly light speed. By combining this
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  with archival data from ISSA's XMM
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  Newton and NASA's New Star, astronomers
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  dissected the spectrum into components
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  from the inner accretion disc and outer
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  regions.
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  >> They identified five distinct zones in
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  an outflowing wind, plus a hot corona
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  above the disc. Remarkably, the
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  reflection signal from gas perilously
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  close to the black hole is 50 times
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  brighter than from distant material,
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  confirming the hole's high spin rate,
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  likely close to the maximum allowed by
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  physics. This spin influences how
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  efficiently black holes accrete mass and
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  eject jets. These insights help unravel
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  how super massive black holes co-evolve
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  with their host galaxies. Whether
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  through steady accretion or violent
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  gorggers XM
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  a Jaxa NASA collaboration with ISSA
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  input is setting new standards in high
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  energy astrophysics with its microc
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  calarimeter technology.
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  >> It's transforming our view of the hot
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  and energetic universe one spectrum at a
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  time. Wow, what an episode packed with
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  innovation, discovery, and cosmic
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  wonders. From VLEO sats redefining Earth
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  observation to XRISM's
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  black hole revelations, it's a thrilling
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  time to be following space news.
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  >> Couldn't agree more. Thanks for tuning
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  in to Astronomy Daily. We love sharing
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  these stories with you. If you're
• 13:11
  enjoying the show, please subscribe,
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  leave a review, or tell a friend. It
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  helps us grow and reach more stargazers.
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  >> We'll catch you tomorrow with the latest
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  updates. Until then, keep wondering
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  about the universe. Clear skies,
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  everyone.
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  >> Astronomy [music and singing]
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  stories.
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  Stories. [music]
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  Story told.