
'Hold That Thought' - T-Minus 40: Starship Scrubs, Mars Beckons
From Astronomy Daily: Latest Space News by bitesz.com
May 22, 2026 · 13 min · Season 5 · Episode 109
About this episode
The episode discusses the recent SpaceX Starship V3 launch attempt, Mars mission announcements, and new findings from JWST.
Sponsor Link : To check out our special money saving deal and upgrade your online securit y with NordVPN - Click Here SpaceX came agonisingly close to launching the most powerful rocket ever built in its newest configuration — but a technical halt at T-minus 40 seconds sent Starship V3's debut back to the drawing board, with another attempt window opening this evening (6:30–8:00 p.m. EDT). Anna and Avery dig into what went wrong, what makes V3 different, and the stunning announcement buried in the webcast: a named commander for humanity's first crewed Mars flyby mission. Plus: JWST rewrites exoplanet atmospheric science with unexpected ice clouds on a distant super-Jupiter, researchers map a mysterious magnetic 'flip' inside the Milky Way, and Rocket Lab launches from New Zealand. Links & Further Reading • Starship Flight 12 live updates: space.com • SpaceX launch webcast (tonight): spacex.com • Chun Wang Mars announcement: universetoday.com • JWST Epsilon Indi Ab paper (ApJL): doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae5823 • Milky Way magnetic field study (ApJ): doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae28d1 • Rocket Lab Viva La Strix mission: rocketlabusa.com • Astronomy Daily website…
People in this episode
Hosts: Anna, Avery
Topics covered
- SpaceX
- Starship
- Mars mission
- exoplanet science
- magnetic fields
- Rocket Lab
Keywords
- SpaceX
- Starship V3
- Mars flyby
- JWST
- exoplanets
- Rocket Lab
- magnetic fields
Sponsors
NordVPN
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: SpaceX, JWST, Astronomy Daily
Products: Starship V3
Places: New Zealand
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