Latest / Space News Today / Van Allen Probe’s Fiery Farewell and NASA’s Mobile Launcher Setback

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Van Allen Probe’s Fiery Farewell and NASA’s Mobile Launcher Setback · Space News Today

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This is Spaceime Series 29, episode 34
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for broadcast on the 20th of March 2026.
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Coming up on Spaceime, NASA's Van Allen
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Probay comes to a fiery end. The AY's
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mobile launcher 2 project put on hold
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and a spectacular failure for a Japanese
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rocket. All that and more coming up on
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Spaceime.
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>> Welcome to Spaceime with Stuart Garry.
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After a mission lasting some 14 years,
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NASA's Ven Allen Probase spacecraft has
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entered Earth's atmosphere in a fiery
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death plunge, burning up over the
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Pacific Ocean. Between 2012 and 2019,
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the spacecraft together with its twin
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Van Allen probe B flew through the Van
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Allen radiation belts, rings of charged
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particles trapped by its magnetic field
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to understand how the ionized particles
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were gained and lost. The belt shield
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Earth and its inhabitants from cosmic
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radiation, from solar storms, and the
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constantly streaming solar wind, all of
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which can be harmful to humans and
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damage technology. So, understanding
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these belts is important. Last week, the
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United States Space Force predicted the
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600 kg probe was experiencing enough
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orbital decay to re-enter the Earth's
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atmosphere within a few days. As
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expected, most of the spacecraft burnt
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up as it passed through the atmosphere,
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but some components made out of titanium
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and stainless steel were expected to
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survive the heat of re-entry, splashing
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down in the ocean. Originally designed
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for just a 2-year mission, the Van Allen
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probes A and B were launched back on the
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30th of August 2012 and gathered
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unprecedented data for almost 7 years on
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Earth's two permanent radiation belts,
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named in honor of the scientist James
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Van Allen. NASA ended the mission after
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the two spacecraft finally ran out of
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fuel and were no longer able to orient
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themselves towards the sun. The Van
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Allen probes were the first spacecraft
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specifically designed to operate and
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gather scientific data for many years
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inside the radiation belts. It's a
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region around our planet where most
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spacecraft and astronaut missions try to
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minimize their time there in order to
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avoid damaging radiation. The NASA
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mission, managed and operated by John's
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Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab,
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made several major discoveries about how
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the belts operate, including the first
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data showing the existence of a
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transient third radiation belt, which
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forms during times of intense solar
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activity.
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>> We're learning much more about the
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dynamics and the evolution of the
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radiation belts, why they're changing,
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how they're changing. We've seen them
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almost disappear completely. We've seen
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new belts that we didn't even know exist
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appear. Traditionally, we've always
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thought of an inner and an outer belt.
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What we found now is that the outer belt
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has much more structure in it. And there
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is a storage ring, a separate ring,
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almost a permanent third belt that's
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there that we think is actually the home
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to the particles that are filling the
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outer belt.
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>> This 2-year mission didn't quite get off
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the ground as originally expected. It
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was first delayed for 24 hours for a
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technical issue and then it was followed
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up by some bad weather which eventually
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led to another delay.
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>> Then Hurricane Isaac rolled in to the
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Cape that really put us back almost a
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full week. We actually had to roll the
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rocket back into the integration
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facility and shut the doors and protect
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it. But a few days later, we were back
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out again, ready to go. And it was worth
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every second of the stress of waiting
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for it. We launched at the end of August
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and it was almost like the sun knew we'd
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launched and immediately switched on. We
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hadn't seen really any space weather
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events for really quite a long period of
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time. And yet within the first couple of
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days of the mission being up there, the
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sun threw a beautiful event our way. We
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were able to see a lot of very very
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interesting science that we wouldn't
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have seen if we hadn't had this large
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event. And we certainly would never have
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seen it without the tremendous
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instrumentation on the two spacecraft.
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We've always known that there are waves
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and magnetic and electric fluctuations
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that go on in these belts. But with the
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more traditional one spacecraft, um we
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could just see see the wave and it would
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disappear. With the two spacecraft and
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also the most sophisticated instruments
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that we've flown in the belts, we're
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actually able to look at how these waves
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evolve, how they change, and how long
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they last. These waves are very
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important because they actually carry
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the particles that are in the belts.
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It's almost like the particles surf on
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these waves.
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>> That's Ven Allen Prob's deputy project
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scientist Nikki Fox from the John's
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Hopkins University Applied Physics
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Laboratory. When the mission finally
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came to an end in 2019 and was suggested
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the spacecraft would reenter Earth
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atmosphere sometime around 2034.
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However, those calculations were made
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before the current solar cycle reached
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its climax, which has proven to be far
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more active than expected. The increased
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stream of particles flowing out from the
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sun causes the Earth's atmosphere to
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wobble like a jellyfish, contracting in
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some places and expanding in others. In
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2024, scientists confirmed the sun had
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reached its solar maximum, triggering
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intense space weather events, and these
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conditions increased atmospheric drag on
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the spacecraft beyond the initial
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estimates, resulting in an earlier
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thanex expected re-entry. While Van
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Allen probe A is now down, its twin
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still not expected to re-enter before
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2030. Data from NASA's Van Allen probes
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mission still plays an important role in
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understanding space weather and its
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effects. By reviewing the archived data
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from this mission, astronomers can study
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the radiation belt surrounding the
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Earth, which are key to predicting how
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solar storm activity impacts satellites,
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affects astronauts, and interferes with
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communication systems, navigation
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signals, and even power grids on the
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ground. By observing these dynamic
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regions, the Van Allen probes contribute
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to improving forecasts for space weather
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events and their potential consequences.
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This is spaceime. Still to come, mobile
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launcher 2 project put on hold and a
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spectacular failure for a Japanese
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rocket. All that and more still to come
6:27
on Spaceime.
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Last week's announcement of changes in
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the Artemis moon launch schedule has now
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resulted in NASA pulling the plug on
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further work on its mobile launcher 2
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project which had been under
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construction at the Kennedy Space Center
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in Florida over the past 2 years. While
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the current mobile launcher one was
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built for Artemus 1, 2, and three block
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one configurations of the SLS space
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launch system rockets, mobile launcher 2
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was intended for the taller rockets
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planned for block 1b and block two
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configurations, which would appear in
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the guise of Arteimus 4 onwards. As well
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as changing the Artemis 3 mission from a
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manned lunar landing to a low Earth
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orbit practice and test flight, the
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changes also see an increased cadence in
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flights to the moon with launches now
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expected to take place roughly once
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every 10 months and importantly the
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scrapping of the new exploration upper
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stage intended for use on Artemis 4
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onwards. The existing intram cryogenic
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propulsion upper stage which was used on
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Artemus 1 and will also be used on
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Artemises 2 and three is based on the
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upper stage of the Delta II and Delta IV
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launch vehicles built by the United
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Launch Alliance. It features a single
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aerjet rocket RL10 engine and was meant
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to simply be a temporary solution until
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the new bigger purpose-built exploration
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upper stage was available. The
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exploration upper stage was designed for
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use in Artemis 4 onwards and was to be
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taller and more powerful, designed to
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carry far larger payloads into trans
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lunar orbit. To do this, instead of
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having just one, it was to be fitted
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with four RL10 C3 engines, and it would
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have become standard for blocks 1B and
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block 2 versions of the SLS. In order to
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accommodate the new larger rocket, NASA
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decided to rebuild one of its existing
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spare mobile launches, Mobile Launcher
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2, to mate with the SLS equipped with
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this new taller upper stage. But now,
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with the new purpose-built exploration
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upper stage scrapped, NASA will instead
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use an upper stage based around the
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United Launch Alliance's Centaur second
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stage, which is used on the Atlas 5 and
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Vulcan launch vehicles known as the
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Centaur 5. This upper stage will be
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equipped with two RL10 engines and will
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be able to be accommodated on the
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existing mobile launcher one structure.
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So what happens to mobile launcher 2?
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The problem is it's already 90%
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complete. Primary contractor Becktel
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added the last modular block to the
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tower in the middle of last year
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bringing its total height to some 65 m
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and construction on the entire project
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was expected to be complete before the
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end of this year. As to what happens
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now, well, that remains to be explained.
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This is spaceime. Still to come, a
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spectacular failure for a new Japanese
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rocket. And later in the science report,
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why some domestic house cats are prone
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to chronic kidney disease. All that and
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more still to come on Spaceime.
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Space 1 have failed in their third
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attempt to become the first private
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Japanese company to put a satellite into
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orbit. The 18 m tall solidfueled
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carriers rocket fell just 29 seconds
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after launch from the Wakama launch site
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in western Japan spiraling back into the
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ground. The cause of the failure is
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still being investigated. The company
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says no major anomalies were identified
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within the vehicle during the flight and
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it remained on course, suggesting the
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fault must have been with a flight
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termination self-destruct system. The
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mission was carrying a number of small
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satellites, including one for a Tokyo
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high school project. The company's first
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launch attempt back in 2024 ended in
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failure following an explosion seconds
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after launch. Then a second launch
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attempt ended when mission managers were
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forced to issue a self-destruct order
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following a technical problem aboard the
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vehicle. This is spacetime
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and time out of tech. Another brief look
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at some of the other stories making news
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in science this week with the science
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report. There are new warnings today
11:00
that the rate of climate change has
11:02
surged since 2015.
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The findings reported in the journals
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Geoysical Research Letters and Nature
11:09
showed that the rate has now nearly
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doubled to what it was back in the 1970s
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and much faster than many estimates. The
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authors say their new analysis captures
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a more accurate picture because it
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accounts for the effects of natural
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factors such as the El Nino weather
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pattern. Most climate scientists agree
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that warming is accelerating partly due
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to a reduction in sun reflecting air
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pollution.
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A 56-year-old man with liver failure has
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become the first patient to be
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surgically connected to a genetically
11:37
modified pig liver. A report in the
11:40
journal Nature claims the procedure
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known as an excaporal profusion involved
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surgeons connecting the man to a pig
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liver outside his body so that it could
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filter harmful waste products from his
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bloodstream. The man was disconnected
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from the system after 3 days to reduce
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the risk of infection. But there were no
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signs of rejection while he was
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connected. He later received a human
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liver transplant and is now recovering.
12:05
Scientists from the University of
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Nottingham have uncovered a surprising
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biological quirk in domestic house cats,
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which may help explain why some of them
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are so prone to chronic kidney disease.
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Unlike dogs and most other mammals, cats
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appear to accumulate unusual fats inside
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the cells of their kidneys, sometimes
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from a very young age. The new study
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reported in the journal Frontiers of
12:25
Veterary Science discovered that cats
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accumulate a rare group of modified
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triglycerides, the most common type of
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fat in the body, essential for storing
12:33
excess energy from food. And some of
12:36
these triglycerides are showing unusual
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chemical bonds and branch structures,
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which are very rarely observed in other
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mammals. Many of these fats have special
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ether linkages and behave differently
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from typical dietary fats. The authors
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proposed that this distinctive lipid
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buildup inside kidney cells could be an
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early sign of long-term stress within
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the kidney, potentially contributing to
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tissue damage over time. The hope now is
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to develop a supplement or modified diet
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to help prevent these unusual lipid
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structures from accumulating.
13:07
Time for another Bigfoot story. And the
13:09
one that's doing the rounds at the
13:10
moment are claims that the FBI are
13:13
investigating possible existence of
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Sasquatch.
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But as the skeptics Tim Mendum points
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out, that's not what's really happening.
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>> People are talking about in news stories
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that recently declassified documents
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revealed that the US FBI had
13:26
correspondence with a Bigfoot hunter in
13:28
7677 who offered up some hair and skin
13:32
that he had collected to be tested by
13:34
the FBI in labs. This actually story has
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been around for a while. I mean, I I
13:37
heard about this story years and years
13:39
ago. It tends to stop there. story and
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that FBI have tested quote Bigfoot close
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quote hair, you know, material, etc. And
13:47
people say, "Well, that's fantastic. If
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the FBI treats it seriously, it must be
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true." Well, they didn't treat it
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seriously for a long, long time. They
13:53
were finally persuaded by this rather
13:54
annoying person who kept insisting that
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they tested it. They tested it and they
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came back and said, "It's deer hair,
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right? It's not a Bigfoot, it's deer."
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They say nothing there. So, this hidden
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documentation that's been recently
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declassified, but not recently
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declassified, proves nothing. In fact,
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it proves the opposite of what this guy
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was saying. the declassified documents,
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the pro people will say, "It's been
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tested by FBI. It must be true." People
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will look at it and say, "It's tested by
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FBI and they found out it was a deer."
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>> They'll grab what they can full of
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legitimacy, won't they?
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>> They'll take things out of context.
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They'll sort of snip and sort of chop
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something short without the obvious
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conclusion that would be there just by
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saying like CIA have checked have tested
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psychics. Yes, they have. And they found
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them to be useless. It's the second half
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of that judgment that the psychics don't
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like saying. The fact that FBI have
14:37
checked the Bigfoot or that the CIA have
14:40
checked out psychics trying to find
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something some weapon that they can use.
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And in both cases, they found nothing is
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indicative that the pro will always take
14:47
a sting of of a claim and the skeptics
14:49
will go take a few steps further and
14:51
say, "But hang on, what was the
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conclusion?"
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>> Well, there was a Bigfoot program I was
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watching the other day on the Animal
14:56
Planet. Not only did they talk about
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Bigfoot, but they also talked about
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using remote readings. There's also
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people in in the UFO community who are
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doing the same sort of thing, using
15:05
psychics to bring UFOs down, not if they
15:08
crash, just to bring them closer so they
15:09
can look at them more closely. It
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doesn't help that the case any if
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there's no evidence.
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>> That's the skeptics Tim Mum and this is
15:15
Spacetime.
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