Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Invest Like the Pros with StockMVP - https://www.stock-mvp.com/?via=ron - Effortless AI design for presentations, websites, and more with Gamma - https://try.gamma.app/tad - Consensus: AI for Research. Get a free month - https://get.consensus.app/automated_daily Support The Automated Daily directly: Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/theautomateddaily Today's topics: Hidden exoplanet Beta Pictoris d - NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a giant hidden exoplanet, Beta Pictoris d, inside one of the most studied planetary systems in the Milky Way, using atmospheric fingerprints of molecules like carbon monoxide, water vapor, and methane rather than traditional imaging.[12][18][9] Keywords: Beta Pictoris d, hidden planet, James Webb, exoplanet spectroscopy, carbon monoxide, methane. Artemis III dual Moon lander test - NASA announced an ambitious Artemis III orbital rehearsal for 2027, where Orion astronauts will rendezvous and dock separately with prototype lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin to practice complex maneuvers before crewed Moon landings later in the decade.[7][4] Keywords: Artemis III, Orion, Blue Origin, SpaceX, lunar lander test, Moon missions. China’s Gravity-1 sea launch - Chinese commercial firm Orienspace launched its Gravity-1 solid rocket from a ship off Shanghai, placing nine satellites into orbit, including six Dongpo spacecraft for the Huantian constellation designed for optical and radar Earth observation.[15][1][8] Keywords: Gravity-1, Orienspace, sea launch, Huantian constellation, Dongpo satellites, Earth observation. Boeing Starliner OFT-2 approval - NASA has cleared Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner for a second uncrewed Orbital Flight Test, aiming to demonstrate fixes from the first mission and pave the way for a future crewed flight to the International Space Station.[19][14] Keywords: Starliner, OFT-2, Boeing, NASA, commercial crew, International Space Station. Intermediate-mass black hole jet - Astronomers using the NSF Very Large Array detected a burst of radio light from a tidal disruption event involving an intermediate-mass black hole, revealing what appears to be the off-axis afterglow of a hidden jet.[11] Keywords: intermediate-mass black hole, tidal disruption event, radio jet, NSF VLA, off-axis afterglow. Tonight’s Saturn, Mars, Venus - In today’s sky, Saturn and Mars shine in the predawn hours while a bright waxing gibbous Moon and dazzling Venus dominate the evening, offering accessible observing targets for amateur skywatchers.[6][20] Keywords: Saturn, Mars, Venus, waxing gibbous Moon, July 23, 2026, skywatching. Episode Transcript Hidden exoplanet Beta Pictoris d Our first story takes us to Beta Pictoris, a young nearby star that has been a favorite target for planet hunters for years.[9] Astronomers already knew about two planets there, along with a bright, messy disk of dust and gas, making it one of the most closely studied planetary systems in the Milky Way.[9][12] Now, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a third, giant planet called Beta Pictoris d that had been hiding in plain sight inside that dusty disk.[12][18] Instead of relying on sharp images alone, Webb picked up subtle signatures of molecules like carbon monoxide, water vapor, and methane in the planet’s atmosphere, allowing researchers to tease out its presence from the glare.[12][18] What makes this discovery so interesting is the method as much as the planet itself.[12][18] Beta Pictoris d is the first directly imaged world found primarily through moderate-resolution spectroscopy, a technique that reads the "fingerprints" of molecules rather than just blocking starlight with a coronagraph.[12][18] That means astronomers now have a powerful new way to identify planets that are buried in bright disks or complex environments where traditional imaging struggles.[12][18] In a system we thought we understood reasonably well, Webb has shown there was still a massive planet left to find, reminding us that even familiar cosmic neighborhoods can hold surprises. Looking ahead, this approach could be crucial for future surveys of young planetary systems.[12][18] Many stars with thick dust disks may harbor hidden worlds shaping those disks from within, and being able to spot them by their atmospheric chemistry opens up fresh territory for planet formation studies.[12][18] It also hints at how next-generation observatories might search for cooler, smaller worlds by their molecular signatures, pushing us closer to a detailed census of planetary systems around nearby stars.[12][18] Artemis III dual Moon lander test From planets around other stars, we turn to our own Moon and NASA’s evolving plans to get astronauts back to its surface. NASA is preparing for a particularly ambitious orbital rehearsal during the Artemis III mission in 2027.[7] Instead of going straight to a landing, Orion astronauts will rendezvous and dock separately with prototype lunar landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX in lunar orbit.[7] The idea is to practice the complex choreography of meeting, approaching, and attaching to these commercial landers while still in a test phase, gathering data on how the vehicles behave and how crews handle the procedures.[7] This rehearsal matters because the next step is sending astronauts down to the Moon’s surface later in the decade.[4][7] By practicing rendezvous and docking with two different lander designs in a controlled mission, NASA and its partners can identify weak points, refine guidance and docking software, and spot any human factors issues before people ride these systems all the way to the ground.[7] It’s a way to reduce risk in advance and to make sure that the handoff between NASA’s Orion capsule and privately built landers is smooth and safe. In a broader sense, Artemis III’s plan underscores the hybrid nature of modern lunar exploration.[4][7] NASA is leaning heavily on commercial partners for hardware, but still managing mission architecture and safety requirements.[7] If the rehearsal goes well, it will strengthen confidence not just in the vehicles, but in the whole model of collaborating with companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX to extend human reach beyond low Earth orbit.[7] China’s Gravity-1 sea launch Next up, we have a launch story that blends commercial innovation with a striking choice of launch site. Chinese company Orienspace has carried out its third flight of the Gravity-1 solid rocket, this time launching from a ship at sea off Shanghai in the East China Sea.[15][1] The roughly thirty-meter rocket lifted off late on July 21 local time, sending nine satellites into orbit on a trajectory that marked the firm’s first long-range sea launch, farther offshore than earlier missions from near Haiyang in Shandong province.[15] On board were six Dongpo satellites for the Huantian constellation, along with a mix of other commercial payloads.[15] The Dongpo satellites are designed to work together as an Earth-observation constellation, combining optical cameras and synthetic aperture radar to monitor surface changes with high precision.[15][8] Two of them carry optical payloads with onboard artificial intelligence for recognizing targets and processing data more quickly, while four are radar satellites that can fly in formation to track millimeter-level deformations of the ground.[15] Additional payloads included a hyperspectral satellite, a spacecraft from Spacety, and an ultra-flat disk satellite developed by Chinese universities and firms, highlighting a diverse set of experimental designs.[15] Sea-based launch offers several advantages that make this flight noteworthy.[15] Launching from a ship gives operators flexibility in choosing exact locations and azimuths, which can help avoid populated areas, reach certain orbits more efficiently, and simplify range safety.[15] It also signals growing confidence among Chinese commercial launch providers, who are experimenting with new platforms rather than relying solely on traditional coastal spaceports.[15][16] Paired with other recent Chinese missions that have deployed flat-panel communications satellites and possible intelligence spacecraft, this Gravity-1 launch is another step in China’s rapid expansion of both commercial and quasi-military space infrastructure.[15][16] Boeing Starliner OFT-2 approval Now we move from rockets to crew spacecraft, and the careful process of qualifying a new vehicle for human flight. NASA has approved Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner for a second uncrewed Orbital Flight Test, known as OFT-2, following a detailed flight readiness review.[19] The mission is scheduled to launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, with a target date of July 30 and a backup window in early August if needed.[19] Once in orbit, Starliner will attempt to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station about a day after launch, stay berthed for several days, and then return to Earth for a landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.[19] This flight is crucial because the first uncrewed test in 2019 suffered a number of software and operational issues, preventing the spacecraft from reaching the station as planned.[19] Since then, Boeing and NASA have been working to correct those problems, refine procedures, and upgrade systems in preparation for another attempt.[19] The goal of OFT-2 is to demonstrate that Starliner can safely perform all the key steps of a station mission—launch, orbit insertion, rendezvous, docking, undocking, and landing—without a crew on board.[19] If OFT-2 succeeds, NASA and Boeing can move ahead to the Crew Flight Test, the first mission to carry astronauts inside Starliner to the ISS.[19] That would give NASA a second operational commercial crew vehicle alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, adding redundancy to human access to low Earth orbit.[14][19] From a program pe
