# Nuclear Power in Space, Planetary Defense Insights, and an Aurora Alert for Northern Skies

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates-5658676/nuclear-power-in-space-planetary-defense-insights-and-an-aurora-alert-for-northern-skies.md
Podcast: [Astronomy Daily: Latest Space News](https://stenobird.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates-5658676)
Published: 2026-07-08T11:14:13+00:00
Episode link: http://astronomydaily.io
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/mgln.ai/track/op3.dev/e/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72867358/nuclear_power_in_space_planetary_defense_insights_and_an_aurora_alert_for_northern_skies.mp3
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Duration seconds: 842

## Resource

Astronomy Daily — S05E135 — Wednesday, July 8, 2026 1. World's First Commercial Nuclear-Powered Satellite Reaches Orbit SpaceX's Transporter-17 rideshare mission carried City Labs' BOHR CubeSat to orbit on July 7, the first commercially built satellite to fly a nuclear-powered payload — a tritium betavoltaic cell that generates electricity continuously, day or night, regardless of sunlight. Key points • Launched July 7, 2026 at 3:12am EDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard a Falcon 9, part of the 81-payload Transporter-17 rideshare mission. • BOHR (Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability) CubeSat built by City Labs, a Miami/Florida-based company. • Uses a 'NanoTritium' betavoltaic device — converts beta particles from the radioactive decay of tritium directly into electricity via a semiconductor. • Power output is tiny (micro-to-milliwatt range) but continuous — unaffected by eclipse periods or solar panel orientation. • Tritium's 12.3-year half-life means the power source stays effective for two decades before decaying to harmless helium-3. • FAA authorised the launch after finding public radiation exposure would stay below one millirem under conservative assumptions. 2. New Zealand's Fuel-Free Thruster Passes First Orbital Test Auckland-based Zenno Astronautics has successfully tested its 'Supertorquer' — an attitude-control thruster that uses superconducting magnets to push against Earth's own magnetic field, generating thrust with no propellant at all. Key points • Zenno Astronautics is a spin-off from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. • The system, called 'Supertorquer', completed its first in-orbit test in early July 2026. • Superconducting magnets, powered by solar panels, interact with Earth's magnetic field to generate torque and maintain a satellite'…

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