WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.000 Good morning. I'm Micah Finch. It's Tuesday, September 29th, and this is your LullWhat.net 2 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:11.040 morning briefing. This is a catch-up edition. NASA and Boeing have set out the next steps 3 00:00:11.040 --> 00:00:15.440 for Starliner, beginning with a trip to the International Space Station without a crew. 4 00:00:16.080 --> 00:00:20.320 In Monday's announcement, NASA said that engineering flight could happen in December 5 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:28.000 or January. Its current plan is for astronauts to fly on Starliner 2 by 2028. The timetable 6 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:33.680 depends on testing and certification. During the spacecraft's crewed test in 2024, 7 00:00:33.680 --> 00:00:37.760 propulsion problems led to Starliner returning without its astronauts aboard. 8 00:00:38.480 --> 00:00:44.800 NASA's investigation produced 61 recommendations. The agency says ground testing traced the service 9 00:00:44.800 --> 00:00:50.400 module's thruster problems to a combination of heat and design features. Boeing has made thermal 10 00:00:50.400 --> 00:00:56.320 modifications. The next flight will evaluate those changes in orbit and gather performance data. 11 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:01.520 With another thruster valve modification planned afterward. The useful distinction 12 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:06.080 is between demonstrating an improvement and completing all the work needed to carry people. 13 00:01:06.800 --> 00:01:12.560 One successful test would be a step through that process. NASA also intends to add two station 14 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:17.920 missions and work with Boeing and United Launch Alliance to certify the Vulcan rocket after the 15 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:23.520 final Atlas V flight. The goal is more than one American transportation option for astronauts, 16 00:01:23.520 --> 00:01:27.600 including future commercial destinations. Both the spacecraft 17 00:01:27.600 --> 00:01:31.920 and its launch arrangements still need the required testing and certification. 18 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:36.460 Back on earth, Australia's central bank has raised its cash rate target by a quarter of 19 00:01:36.460 --> 00:01:43.260 a percentage point, to 4.6%. The reserve bank's decision was unanimous. Its explanation connects 20 00:01:43.260 --> 00:01:48.860 several pressures. Higher global energy prices, rising prices for technology-related goods, 21 00:01:48.860 --> 00:01:53.180 driven by demand associated with artificial intelligence, and limits on how much the 22 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:58.380 domestic economy can produce. The bank says recent inflation was stronger than it expected. 23 00:01:58.940 --> 00:02:03.980 At the same time, growth has slowed, consumer spending is easing, and housing prices have 24 00:02:03.980 --> 00:02:09.260 fallen in most capital cities. That is the uncomfortable policy tradeoff. Tighter credit 25 00:02:09.260 --> 00:02:14.060 can reduce demand, while households and businesses are already adjusting to a slower economy. 26 00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:19.580 The cash rate target is a policy rate, so it does not tell you the exact rate on someone's mortgage. 27 00:02:20.300 --> 00:02:25.740 For a sense of scale, if a quarter-point rise were passed through in full to a $100,000 loan 28 00:02:25.740 --> 00:02:31.740 balance held constant for a year. It would add $250 in interest. Actual payments depend 29 00:02:31.740 --> 00:02:36.780 on the loan's terms and repayment schedule. The reserve bank says financial conditions 30 00:02:36.780 --> 00:02:42.220 have already tightened, following three increases earlier this year. It nevertheless judged another 31 00:02:42.220 --> 00:02:46.780 increase necessary, to help bring inflation back to target. Its statement leaves further 32 00:02:46.780 --> 00:02:51.900 decisions dependent on incoming evidence. For households, the practical question is how their 33 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:57.260 lender responds. For the central bank, it is whether demand can ease enough to reduce inflation, 34 00:02:57.260 --> 00:02:58.940 without a larger slowdown. 35 00:02:59.200 --> 00:03:05.200 In Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs says, United 36 00:03:05.200 --> 00:03:10.980 States forces are scheduled to withdraw on Wednesday, including from the Kurdistan region. 37 00:03:10.980 --> 00:03:15.760 The ministry's statement, issued on Monday, places the withdrawal under an agreement involving 38 00:03:15.760 --> 00:03:19.920 the coalition, Iraq's government, and the United States. 39 00:03:19.920 --> 00:03:23.560 Its central concern is protection from aerial attacks. 40 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:27.720 The ministry says the departure will not be accompanied by an alternative air defense 41 00:03:27.720 --> 00:03:28.920 system. 42 00:03:28.920 --> 00:03:33.400 It also says, civilian areas in the region have been struck during the wider conflict 43 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:36.880 involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. 44 00:03:36.880 --> 00:03:42.120 Those are claims from the Kurdish ministry, which is describing its own security concerns. 45 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:47.180 The statement identifies the region's airspace as part of Iraq's national airspace, and says 46 00:03:47.180 --> 00:03:53.000 the federal government has primary responsibility for future protection against aerial threats. 47 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:58.080 At the same time, it affirms ties between the Peshmerga ministry and the Iraqi army, 48 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:00.760 and pledges continued coordination. 49 00:04:00.760 --> 00:04:04.720 That helps explain the institutional question behind the departure date. 50 00:04:04.720 --> 00:04:09.560 A troop withdrawal and the provision of air defense involve different arrangements. 51 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:14.280 The statement is a schedule for one, while raising concern about the other. 52 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:17.280 It does not supply a detailed replacement plan. 53 00:04:17.280 --> 00:04:22.120 For civilian communities, the practical issue is what protection will be available, and 54 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:25.760 how federal and regional authorities will coordinate it. 55 00:04:25.760 --> 00:04:30.920 The ministry's concern deserves clear attribution, and the eventual effectiveness of those arrangements 56 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:32.200 remains an open question. 57 00:04:32.650 --> 00:04:37.290 A separate diplomatic effort concerns Iran's proposals for ending the conflict. 58 00:04:37.290 --> 00:04:42.530 Reuters reports that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday that Tehran was 59 00:04:42.530 --> 00:04:46.490 expecting an American response through Qatari mediators. 60 00:04:46.490 --> 00:04:50.570 His comments ledge ceasefire proposals with Iran's conditions for restoring maritime 61 00:04:50.570 --> 00:04:53.330 traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. 62 00:04:53.330 --> 00:04:57.730 Reuters also reports that President Donald Trump said American officials had spoken separately 63 00:04:57.730 --> 00:05:01.730 with mediators on Monday, without giving further details. 64 00:05:01.850 --> 00:05:05.250 Those statements establish communication through intermediaries. 65 00:05:05.250 --> 00:05:07.930 They do not establish an agreed settlement. 66 00:05:07.930 --> 00:05:13.170 Reuters describes Iran's proposed seven-day plan as seeking an end to hostilities in Iran 67 00:05:13.170 --> 00:05:18.770 and Lebanon, access to frozen Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil, and the 68 00:05:18.770 --> 00:05:22.690 lifting of the American blockade on Iranian ports. 69 00:05:22.690 --> 00:05:27.890 Iran would then allow the Strait to reopen, and the two sides would resume nuclear talks. 70 00:05:27.890 --> 00:05:33.170 The account lays out Iran's proposed terms, it does not show the two sides accepting them. 71 00:05:33.170 --> 00:05:37.810 The sequence matters, because shipping access, sanctions, and nuclear negotiations involve 72 00:05:37.810 --> 00:05:39.850 separate decisions. 73 00:05:39.850 --> 00:05:44.370 Linking them could give each side something to negotiate over, while also making progress 74 00:05:44.370 --> 00:05:47.730 on one issue depend on movement elsewhere. 75 00:05:47.730 --> 00:05:52.530 For listeners beyond the region, the Strait's role as a major route for oil tankers explains 76 00:05:52.530 --> 00:05:55.970 why these talks have wider economic significance. 77 00:05:55.970 --> 00:06:00.770 A proposal to restore passage is consequential, but it is still a proposal. 78 00:06:00.770 --> 00:06:04.690 Follow our live desk at lul what dot net for verified updates. 79 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:09.880 Finally, a health alert from Adelaide has a useful practical takeaway. 80 00:06:09.880 --> 00:06:15.600 ABC News reported on Friday, September 25, that four students at Brighton Secondary School 81 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:18.160 had tested positive for measles. 82 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:22.540 South Australia's health authority linked three infections to a teenager whose case 83 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:26.800 had been reported earlier in the month, after returning from overseas. 84 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:31.160 The authority published exposure locations and arranged a temporary vaccination service 85 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:33.520 for the school community that day. 86 00:06:33.520 --> 00:06:38.040 ABC reported an incubation period of seven to eighteen days, which helps explain why 87 00:06:38.040 --> 00:06:41.640 exposure notices look back over earlier visits. 88 00:06:41.640 --> 00:06:46.240 For families, the useful questions concern vaccination history and how to contact medical 89 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:47.480 care. 90 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:52.440 Two doses of a measles-containing vaccine are considered effective at preventing illness. 91 00:06:52.440 --> 00:06:56.760 South Australia's chief public health officer, Nicholas Spurrier, said some adults might 92 00:06:56.760 --> 00:07:00.640 have received only one dose, depending on when they were born. 93 00:07:00.640 --> 00:07:05.040 People unsure of their vaccination history can discuss their records with a clinician. 94 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:09.800 SA Health also advised anyone who suspects they have measles to phone their doctor before 95 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:11.040 visiting. 96 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:15.800 Calling ahead allows a clinic to make arrangements for receiving someone with a highly contagious 97 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:16.800 infection. 98 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:22.040 Early symptoms can include fever, a cough, a runny nose, and sore eyes, followed by a 99 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:23.200 rash. 100 00:07:23.200 --> 00:07:25.200 The practical steps are straightforward. 101 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:30.840 Check your vaccination record, ask about any gaps, and call ahead if you suspect an infection. 102 00:07:30.840 --> 00:07:32.080 I'm Micah Finch. 103 00:07:32.080 --> 00:07:32.880 Thanks for listening.