# Starship splashdown leaves rocket afloat & Starlink and GPS launches continue - Space News (Jul 30, 2026)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-automated-daily-space-news-edition-7305666/starship-splashdown-leaves-rocket-afloat-starlink-and-gps-launches-continue-space-news-jul-30-2026
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-automated-daily-space-news-edition-7305666/starship-splashdown-leaves-rocket-afloat-starlink-and-gps-launches-continue-space-news-jul-30-2026.md
Podcast: [The Automated Daily - Space News Edition](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-automated-daily-space-news-edition-7305666)
Published: 2026-07-30T13:44:21+00:00
Episode link: https://theautomateddaily.com/episodes/2026-07-30-starship-splashdown-leaves-rocket-afloat-starlink-and-gps-launches-continue
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/cdn.theautomateddaily.com/audio/space/2026-07-30/en/episode.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-automated-daily-space-news-edition-7305666/episodes/starship-splashdown-leaves-rocket-afloat-starlink-and-gps-launches-continue-space-news-jul-30-2026
Duration seconds: 198

## Resource

Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - SurveyMonkey, Using AI to surface insights faster and reduce manual analysis time - https://get.surveymonkey.com/tad - Discover the Future of AI Audio with ElevenLabs - https://try.elevenlabs.io/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: Starship splashdown leaves rocket afloat - SpaceX's Starship upper stage is still floating in the Indian Ocean days after an unusually soft splashdown. The story highlights progress in reusable heavy-lift rocket testing and the surprising durability of next-generation spacecraft. Starlink and GPS launches continue - Fresh Falcon 9 missions, including Starlink deployments and GPS modernization launches, show how busy low Earth orbit has become. These flights underline the growing role of orbital infrastructure in communications, navigation, and global connectivity. Buck Moon meets planet parade - July's full Buck Moon arrived alongside a compact lineup of bright planets, creating one of late July 2026's best skywatching moments. It's a great reminder that space news can be something listeners experience directly from their own backyard. Roman and Rubin reshape astronomy - NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is nearing launch while the Vera C. Rubin Observatory has begun its decade-long sky survey. Together, these observatories represent the next phase of wide-field, data-rich astronomy. Ancient black holes, 6000 exoplanets - Astronomers are pushing deeper into cosmic history with discoveries of ancient supermassive black holes, while NASA says the known exoplanet count has now topped 6,000. These milestones sh…

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