Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Talking Space

When the Russian crew on board the ISS decided to perform an unusual procedure on the station’s Zvezda module, it caused quite an agreeable break in the routine of the day on board the orbiting laboratory. The crew on the US segment entered an emergency evacuation posture aboard their Crew Dragon, but all returned to normal after a few hours. The team discusses what happened and why. 

The astronauts for the Artemis III mission were introduced to the world at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, with much fanfare and some controversy: No female astronauts were named to the crew. Was this just a normal crew rotation, or was politics at play? The panel looks at the points of contention and weighs in on the Artemis III mission itself. 

NASA’s X59 Quesst aircraft, built by Lockheed Martin, is an incredible experiment aimed at reducing a sonic boom to a barely audible thump. If successful, the project has far-reaching implications for the future of civil aviation. Our Mark Ratterman reports on this unique aircraft's first flight tests and its implications. 

SpaceX launched something its CEO, Elon Musk, said he would never do: turn SpaceX into a public company and, in the process, turn Musk into the world’s first trillionaire. Heather Smith has been watching this story for us for a while now and delivers some insight into what happens next.

On the heels of the SpaceX IPO, environmental groups in and around Cameron County, Texas, are fighting a plan by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to reallocate land inside the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge to SpaceX to support Starship Operations. 

Want to send your name to the stars on board NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Telescope launching no earlier than August 30th? Use this NASA link to find out how!

Team Members for this Episode:

Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman and Heather Smith

 

The Talking Space Team gathers around the microphone once again to survey the horizon of spaceflight news—and what an eventful week it has been.

On May 26th, NASA announced a new wave of contracts for its moon base program, along with updates on the progress of Artemis III. We break down exactly what was said during the press event and what it means for humanity's return to the lunar surface.

SpaceX launched its highly anticipated Starship 12 mission on May 22nd, showcasing the brand-new Starship V3 vehicle. While some space news outlets were quick to stamp it as an unqualified success, the actual results were decidedly mixed. As far as debuts go, there is plenty of room for both applause and concern—and we dive deep into the launch.

The biggest, most shocking news of the week took place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. On Thursday, May 28th, a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket suffered a catastrophic explosion on Launch Complex 36, yielding the most powerful rocket explosion since the Soviet N1 moon rocket disintegrated in the late 1960s. This static-test accident sent shockwaves through both Blue Origin and NASA’s Artemis timeline. We attempt to begin picking up the pieces.

Decades ago, NASA's twin Pioneer spacecraft became some of the first human-made objects to chart a course out of the solar system. But as they crossed into deep space, a mystery emerged: both probes were mysteriously slowing down. The effect was later referred to as the Pioneer Anomaly. With assistance from the Planetary Society archives, our resident cosmic detective, Mark Ratterman, goes on the case to solve this historic deep-space puzzle.

Show Presenters for this week, 

Gene Mikulka, Heather Smith, and Mark Ratterman.

NASA has tried to get Extra Vehicular Activity Number Ninety underway since June 13th. The first attempt was thwarted by a space suit comfort issue, the second by a water leak that created a blizzard of ice inside the  Quest airlock. Are the Shuttle-Era Extra Vehicular Mobility Units (EMU) or space suits finally showing their age? Also, what about Collins Aerospace and their recent withdrawal from their NASA contract to build the next generation of space suits for the ISS and the Artemis Lunar Program when they indicated back in February that all was going well? We discuss.

On June 17th, the FAA held a virtual public hearing to receive comments concerning SpaceX’s plans to use Launch Complex 39-A and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to support Starship Super Heavy Launches. We discuss what occurred during the session and the fallout from statements put into the record by both Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance.

Talking Space continues our Boeing Space CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Test coverage. The team continues to examine the “Starliner is Stuck at the ISS” misconceptions and asks what NASA & Boeing Space could have done to alleviate such headlines. We also look at a detailed explanation posted on Twitter from Jim May, a Boeing Engineer who was part of the NASA-TV coverage, of why “Calypso” remains on the ISS. The basis of his discussion comes from the actual NASA flight certification plan. Heather Smith mentions the observations of a NASA flight director and his assessment of how Starliner performed during its first actual safe-haven exercise. 

All this and more in this edition of Talking Space!

(Recorded July 5th, 2024)

Host: Larry Herrin

Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Heather Smith

This episode takes off with the successful launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying the second pair of satellites for the U.S. Air Force’s Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP). Looking ahead to the company’s next launch for the NASA mission OSIRIS-REX and even further to the test flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, we also discuss their not-quite-as-high-tech but welcome efforts to upgrade the company’s launch stream for the public. Continuing with the return of crewed spaceflight to American shores, we take a look at the results of the RS-25 engine firing test for NASA’s Space Launch System and upcoming tests for the program intended to take us to Mars. SpaceX’ launch of the JCSAT satellites rounds out a very busy August for the space industry before the month has even concluded. At the other end of the launch process, spacewalkers Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins successfully installed the first International Docking Adapter on the ISS to enable docking of a variety of spacecraft, including the upcoming commercial crew vehicles. As commercial access to the ISS increases there is an idea of extending the life of the station by selling it off when the space agencies involved end their cooperative agreements to keep the orbiting lab afloat. Is this feasible? Are there other options for using the station beyond the current plans and what would it take to make them happen? What is the future of not just the ISS but laboratories in orbit? In the even nearer future, Russia has announced their plans to reduce the amount of cosmonauts on station just after news broke of plans to invest in researching a trip to the moon. Again, is this feasible? We discuss the relationship between dreaming and pragmatism when it comes to space exploration, particularly in the two premier spacefaring nations. After all this speculation on the future of space exploration, we take a look back at the days when America was dreaming and preparing for all of this with the X-15. Mark brings our attention to the White Eagle Aerospace blog with just a little sample of the fascinating histories they are preserving over there. We highly recommend visiting the site, with a warning that you might not be able to pull yourself away for a few hours. Show Recorded 08-22-2016 Host: Sawyer Rosenstein Panelists: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Kat Robison, and Kassy Tamanini

On our own return to flight episode, we discuss several upcoming events ; NASA’s Osiris Rex, a sample return mission to the asteroid Bennu is scheduled for launch on 8 September 2016. The team looks at the mission objectives and the unique configuration of the United Launch Alliance (ULA)  AtlasV carrying the spacecraft. SpaceX too is making news with two upcoming commercial launches out of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. OrbitalATK is also returning it’s Antares booster to flight next month launching the Cygnus cargo craft from the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA Wallops.  We also explore a SpaceNews piece indicating that the USAF awarded two National Reconnaissance Office Launch Contracts for the DeltaIV rocket in 2020 and 2023 with SpaceX mysteriously not even filing a protest. The NASA Advisory Council met during the final week of July and issued a warning concerning the Commercial Crew Program and the dangers of the program falling behind schedule. It may impact US ISS crew access. We also explore completely the recent Government Accounting Office Report on NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion Exploration Vehicle, criticizing budget estimates and schedule. Don’t forget about the Upcoming Pleiades Meteor Shower, peaking on August 11th and 12th If you are inclined, take a look at a Kickstarter project  to help restore the observatory at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff Arizona  where Clyde Tombaugh discovered the dwarf planet Pluto. Show Recorded 08-08-2016 Host: Sawyer Rosenstein Panel Members: Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman

The Kepler Spacecraft ran into trouble last Friday but thanks to heroic effort by the team at  NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory,  Kepler’s search for Exoplanets can resume. We discuss the SpaceX Dragon Cargo Resupply Mission 8  and it’s cargo specifically the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) to be attached to the International Space Station.  SpaceX also proved at least part of their business model by landing the first stage of their Falcon 9 booster on a drone ship. We discuss the implications. At the  32nd Space Symposium,  United Launch Alliance and Bigelow Aerospace announced a partnership to loft Bigelow’s B330 expandable modules in 2020, thus creating a new independent space station separate from the ISS without NASA. The team looks at this groundbreaking deal. ULA was also making news this week at the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF), presenting it’s blueprint for a cis-lunar economy once more independent of NASA. All of this looks at space not just a place for exploration but economic opportunity, the team discusses and explores what a future could look like. 

In the second half of the show, the team opens up part one of it’s NEAF roundup with David Shoemaker  of the Advanced LIGO Project  and Hans Koeningsmann of SpaceX  The second half of our NEAF roundup will be coming up in Episode 806.

 

Host: Sawyer Rosenstein

Panel Members: Kassy Tamanini & Gene Mikulka

A new episode and a new crew make their way to the international space station, we highlight the members of Expedition 47 and Astronaut Jeff Williams who will assume command of the station under Expedition 48, and break the US endurance record for time in space during this increment. Only weeks after they have wrapped up the OA4 mission, OrbitalATK is is poised to launch the Cygnus cargo craft the SS Rick Husband  to the ISS. We profile one of its experiments the Spacecraft Fire Experiment or SAFFIRE which will study how fires develop and spread in a confined space. Could the US establish its own lunar base by 2022? NASA Ames Astrobiologist Chris McKay seems to think so, and do it for $10 Billion, about the price of a US Aircraft Carrier. The base according to Dr. McKay’s would be established under the McMurdo Antarctic base model, and could be set up rather quickly. Dr. McKay’s paper was first published in the New Space Journal and in light of ESA’s Lunar Village concept we discuss the merits of both ESA’s and Dr. McKay’s vision. Host: Gene Mikulka Panel Members: Kat Robison & Kassy Tamanini

In a departure from our usual fare of space news and policy, this week we took some time to contemplate the skies. Danielle Adams, a doctoral candidate at The University of Arizona in the School of Middle East and North African Studies with a minor in the School of Anthropology stopped by to discuss her current project with us. Two Deserts, One Sky is a project in cultural astronomy connecting the present day desert sky in Arizona across time to the desert skies observed by Arab cultures between the 9th and 12th centuries CE. Danielle weaves the stories recorded by these past cultures in with instructions on how to view the asterisms in the night sky with naked eye observing. In this episode, we speak with Danielle both about Two Deserts, One Sky and how her interest in astronomy and Arab culture led her to the pursuit of this project. 

 

We often speak about the importance of NASA in the community on our show, and this episode provided us with an opportunity to showcase how NASA supports not only those in the STEM fields, but important social science research as well. Two Deserts, One Sky is funded as an outreach project by NASA through the Arizona Space Grant Consortium, along with The University of Arizona’s School of Middle East and North African Studies and the School of Anthropology.

Show Recorded 2-29-16

Host this week: Kassy Tamanini

Special Guest: Danielle Addams 

Panel Members: Gene Mikulka and Kat Robison

This week we take a journey from the halls of Congress out through our solar system, and then journey out to a point 1.3 billion light years away from home. On February3rd, the Space Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology met to discuss the current status of NASA’s Journey to Mars, and how it may survive past the current presidential administration. We examine the winners and losers in the 2017 NASA budget proposal. NASA announces the Exploration Mission 1 Launch Director and we discuss the Cygnus OA-6 Mission launch delay.

The Year In Space increment on board the International Space Station is coming into the home stretch, while back on Earth, the primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is completed.

European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission continues, but without the Philae lander that made landfall on Comet 67P in November. There has been no response from Philae since July and ESA has announced they will stop trying to contact the spacecraft. We discuss some of the highlights and lessons learned from this milestone mission.  NASA releases  a terrain map of Pluto’s ‘heart’ region, based on New Horizon’s spacecraft data , revealing a few big surprises.

The final story: the discovery of gravitational waves from the collision of two massive black holes. These waves reached our own planet this past September and were detected by the freshly-upgraded advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), providing the first proof of parts of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. What does this mean and why is it so exciting? We break it down for you

The LIGO comic by Talcott Starr discussed in the episode can be found here and make sure to give it a like if you enjoy it.

Host: Sawyer Rosenstein

Panelists: Kat Robison and Kassy Tamanini

This season premiere kicks off with a look at the past, starting with the NASA tragedies that still loom large today, particularly with the 30th anniversary of STS-51L last week. Moving a bit closer to the present, we go over some of the most notable stories of 2015 and discuss what they might mean for the future, from the dazzling images of Pluto from New Horizons to the (sometimes literal) highs and lows of commercial spaceflight. Over our hiatus, SpaceX in particular had some major accomplishments as well as another attempt to land on their ocean barge, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY), to learn from, and we speculate on what this could mean for their future. Meanwhile, the omnibus spending bill for 2016 passed and was signed into law, and for once there was a lot of good news for NASA. We delve into some of the details, how this happened, and what this means for NASA missions and the American space industry moving forward. This brought us into this year and the extraordinary efforts by the team building and testing the James Webb Space Telescope a couple of weeks ago.

Also in January, our own Kassy Tamanini and her partner and special guest John Wood were among the first to participate in a Meteorite Hunting Boot Camp, led by good friend of the show and past guest Geoff Notkin. Love meteorites and always wanted to know the nitty gritty details of the experience? These neophytes share what they learned, how it felt, and what it’s like to visit your first strewn field. If this convinces you to try it yourself, you can sign up for the next Boot Camp, coming up this May (spaces are running out quickly, though, so get on it or sign up for Aerolite emails to learn about future events, and don’t forget to tell them we sent you).

 

Show recorded 2-1-2016

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein,

Panel Members: Kassy Tamanini, Kat Robison, and special guest John Wood

Come along with the Talking Space Team  to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) as we bring to you the sights and sounds leading up to the return to flight of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus Cargo spacecraft (named after pioneering Astronaut  Donald K. Slayton) and the resumption of ISS logistics delivery missions from US Soil.  In this special expanded show, we discuss the mission , designated OA4, the  Cygnus itself and just why we are launching from Florida and not the usual home port for Cygnus of Wallops Island, Virginia. Also why we are flying on United Launch Alliance’s AtlasV and not OrbitalATK's Antares booster. With wind measurements playing a huge factor in this launch (wind delayed in the launch three times) Mark Ratterman takes us on a tour of a key instrument, NASA’s Doppler Radar Wind Profiler. Once fully commissioned the system will  make sure the “highway to space” is safe for launch vehicles leaving KSC.  We spend some time with Mr. Frank DeMauro, OrbitalATK’s Vice President of Human Spaceflight Systems to discuss his career, his role in supporting this return to flight mission, and what the future holds for the Cygnus spacecraft.

There was a bit of controversy surrounding Space Exploration Technologies (Space X) and their future return to flight plans, we discuss. We also look at the company’s progress with reimagining historic Launch Complex 39-A.  We also make commentary as to why we think their message last week surrounding their future launch plans became somewhat muddled.

In a future show, we will profile progress being made by United Launch Alliance at LaunchComplex 41 to support human missions. We’ll also examine Boeing’s efforts to get the former Orbiter Processing Facility 3 now known as the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility ready to fabricate the CST-100 Starliner , and NASA’s Launch Equipment Testing Facility , making sure that connections on the new Mobile Launcher will support the Space Launch System and Orion.

Talking Space wishes to thank NASA’s George Diller and OrbitalATK’s Frank DeMauro for their time with us.

For additional photographs/images go to our Team Blog page

Show recorded 12-07-2015

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein

Commentators: Mark Ratterman & Gene Mikulka

This Past week, The Expedition 45 Crew on board the International Space Station had to contend with a bit of a power wrinkle that may require a spacewalk next year to repair. They also observed a moment of silence (as do we) for those lost in the Paris Terrorist Attacks. Preparations continue for the Cygnus OA4 Cargo craft at the same time, NASA further delays the announcing the winners of the second round of Commercial Resupply contracts.  NASA Administrator Charles Bolden continues to be adamant that NASA will not take a lead role in Europe’s “lunar village”. Does that leave the door open for Federal Aviation Administration? What happened to the Martian atmosphere, NASA’s MAVEN in orbit around Mars has found the answer. The Martian Moon, Phobos may become rubble, and Virgin Galactic hires its first woman pilot, Kelly Latimer.. Show recorded 11-16-2015 Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein Panel Members: Mark Ratterman, Kassy Tamanini & Gene Mikulka

The International Space Station celebrated its “crystal anniversary” of occupation on November 2nd, marking 15 years that humans have been continuously on board the orbiting facility. The Expedition 45 Crew paused to reflect on the anniversary and what it means for the future of space exploration going forward. During an investor conference call, CEO David Thompson of Orbital ATK says his company is on track for the Cygnus cargo vehicle to return to flight.  NASA released its findings into the October 28th 2014 Orbital ATK Antares launch mishap, we discuss the findings.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says his agency is “doomed” if “Journey to Mars” roadmap is abandoned. The Cassini spacecraft captures a plume from Saturn’s Moon Enceladus while making an historic close flyby. Finally we profile the humble beginnings of the Paragon Space Development Corporation.  

 Show recorded 11-02-2015

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein,

Panel Members: Mark Ratterman, Kat Robison, Kassy Tamanini & Gene Mikulka

The Geosynchronous Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-U, launched at 5:26 PM EDT on 25 June 2024 from Launch Complex 39 A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. 

 A SpaceX Falcon Heavy took the 6000-pound satellite to its geostationary orbit in the Western Hemisphere. After a commissioning process, GOES –U will be renamed GOES 19 and take over the GOES EAST duties, standing sentinel, watching for severe storms, hurricanes, and wildfires. A unique option on this spacecraft: it can keep an eye on Coronal Mass Ejections or CMEs from the Sun.

This episode is an all-you-can-eat GOES fest, complete with GOES-U Falcon Heavy launch audio at the beginning and a related special audio treat at the end of the episode. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Ratterman was at the Kennedy Space Center press site representing Talking Space during launch activities and was able to talk to several key players of the GOES-U team. In this episode you'll hear from: 

John Gagosian - Director, NASA Joint Agency Satellite Division

Krizia Negron - Language Program Lead, National Weather Service Office of Science and Technology Integration, NOAA

Chris Reith - Program Manager, Advanced Baseline Imager,  L3-Harris Technologies Mr. Reith is also working on NOAA's follow-up to the GOES series: The GeoXO program

Ken Graham – Director, National Weather Service 

If you wish to take a look at what the GOES satellites have seen and how their images have evolved over the years, NOAA has on their website a "Cool Image Retrospective" page, have a look here.  

Please be sure to let us know your thoughts on the topics we discuss. You can always reach us at mailbag@TalkingSpaceOnline.com. You now also have a way to easily send us a voice recording that we may use on the show: just click on the blue microphone icon at the bottom right of any of our web pages at TalkingSpaceOnline.com.

Show recorded 07-03-2024.

Host: Larry Herrin

Segment Producer: Mark Ratterman 

Panelists:  Gene Mikulka, Heather D. Smith 

Podcast Editor: Gene Mikulka

GOES-U Falcon Heavy – website photo credit: NASA

 

 

In this special edition, the Talking Space Team puts the  66th Annual International Astronautical Congress which took place in Jerusalem, Israel between October 12th and 16th into focus. Our first stop is a paper presented by our own Kat Robison on the issues surrounding scientists communicating the importance and relevance of their own research to the public.   The theme for IAC 2015 this year was "Space: The Gateway for Mankind's Future" and we review the various gateways starting to open though the International Space Station, leveraging cis-lunar space, and finally humanity declaring "Earth independence" setting sail for Mars. The episode includes commentary from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and new European Space Agency Director General Johann-Dietrich Wörner. On various concepts including analysis of NASA's Journey to Mars outline and ESA's vision for a permanent research outpost on the lunar surface.  Commercial ventures were also a topic at IAC 2015 and the team examines a new launch services company, Bloostar with an interesting approach to placing 100 kg (220 lbs) payloads into orbit.  We end our visit to Jerusalem with an interview Kat conducted with NASA astronaut Suni Williams who was selected to fly one of the first Commercial Crew missions to the International Space Station.  Talking Space congratulates Kat Robison on her presentation at IAC 2015 and thanks both Kat and Kassy Tamanini for their work in preparing this episode.  

 There's a new "Ironman" in space flight: Current Space Station commander,  astronaut Scott Kelly , broke the US space endurance record recently and is gearing up for two upcoming US spacewalks on October 28th and November 6.  

We open the strange case of star KIC8462852 some 1480 light years away in the constellation Cygnus the Swan that's is behaving in a weird manner. The conclusion: Aliens? You be the judge. A swan of a different feather: the  Cygnus, cargo space craft built  by OrbitalATK arrived at the Kennedy Space Center  in preparation of the OA-4 mission and its return to flight. We also discuss return to flight efforts by SpaceX and Virgin Galactic  and examine the implications surrounding NASA's Venture Class CubeSat launch contracts recently announced.  

Mark Ratterman sat down with former NASA astronaut Nicole Stott to discuss her start in aviation and Kat Robison gives us a sneak peak at her experiences at the International Astronautical Conference  held in Jerusalem, Israel. 

Finally we celebrate the life of  a legendary figure in spaceflight who's contributions still reverberate though the years even today: NASA's George Mueller who we lost on 12 October. 

Presenters this week: Kassy Tamanini & Gene Mikulka

So you want to be a Martian? On October 1st  NASA  held an event at the Kennedy Space Center to explain more about the agency's push to send the first humans to Mars and our own Mark Ratterman was there and provides insights. We highlight Two Deserts, One Sky a  project by Danielle Adams a doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona, and briefly discuss  new solar power technology.   United Launch Alliance (ULA) puts 100 successful  launches in the books sending Mexico's Morelos-3 communications satellite into orbit on into orbit on October 2nd. However as the company looks toward Launch 101, the joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing heads into uncharted territory and uncertain waters as a launch services provider. The team discusses.the challenges that lay ahead for the firm.  

On September 28 NASA announced the confirmation that brine water has at certain times, been collecting on the surface of Mars.  The initial report made on 4 August 2011 (which we discussed   on Episode 334 )  was confirmed with a NASA press conference  and the team examines the announcement itself, the reaction to the announcement  in some circles, and   the implications not only for NASA's planned human Mars exploration efforts, but for the future of human solar system exploration going forward.  

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein, 

Panel members:  Mark Ratterman, Kat Robison, Kassy Tamanini (CraftLass) & Gene Mikulka

We kick off  the show with congratulations, an upcoming celestial event, and follow ups to two previous stories. First an update to  rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne's attempt to purchase launch provider United Launch Alliance.   We report on the preliminary results from the Ardbeg distillery experiment that flew to the International Space Station.  We send congratulations to NASA's five new flight directors including a name that the audience may recognize. So is the world going to end this week? Umm, no but we do have a an upcoming Lunar Eclipse  on September 27 for the Western Hemisphere,  Europe,  most of Africa, and parts of Asia to enjoy, local weather permitting! NASA TV will provide coverage starting 8:00 PM EDT on Sunday 27 September, Midnight GMT September 28.

NASA last week gave a status report on the progress of the Orion spacecraft, a linchpin in NASA's human space exploration effort,  with a probable delay with  the first piloted flight. The team examines  the implications. The NASA Inspector General's Office released a report which casts some doubt on OrbitalATK's recover plan to resume cargo flights to the International Space Station. We shed some light of our own on the implied difficulties.  Launch provider Blue Origin has decided to call Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force station home, not just to launch rockets  but to build and test it's vehicles. We consider what this means for commercial space and the economy of Florida.

Show recorded 9/21/2015

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein, Panel members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, and Kassy Tamanini (CraftLass)

We start off our sixth anniversary show with an update on the recent Soyuz missions and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko’s one year mission on the International Space Station, which has just passed the halfway point. From there, we bring things back down to Earth with a discussion on Aerojet Rocketdyne’s unsolicited $2B offer to purchase United Launch Alliance and the Department of Defense’s likely position on the offer.

Heading back off planet, we then jump into a discussion about the release of the most recent New Horizons photographs including one particular picture that shows a fantastic contrast between old and new geography on Pluto.

After wrapping up the news for this week, we all took some time to reflect on six years of Talking Space. We talk about the first show, and our favorite moments, including a live broadcast from STS-135, the final shuttle mission, a live interview with then relatively unknown CSA Astronaut Chris Hadfield from that same broadcast, meditate on some thoughts from NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden and NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, and on the future of space travel and Talking Space. We conclude the episode with a request to you, our audience - we want to hear your memories of the last six years too! Share with us on Twitter, Facebook, and G+ using the hashtag #TS6 or send us an email or audio clip to mailbag@talkingspaceonline.com.

Thank you for six years of Talking Space, and we look forward to many more!

Show Recorded 9/14/2015

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein

Panel members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Kat Robison, and Kassy Tamanini (CraftLass)

Audio Engineer: Kassy Tamanini (CraftLass)

HTV5 launched recently supporting International Space Station resupply, successfully docking on 24 August, 2015. To learn more about the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency HTV Program see http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/htv/index.html Future ISS resupply will also be supported by Orbital ATK via ULA's ATLAS V carrying the Cygnus capsule to Station. Dates have not been set yet for those launches.

Kat brings us some news about the Mars One Project and a public debate at the recently concluded Mars Society Conference to read more and for links to the video of the debate “Is Mars One Feasible?” check out this Tech Insider article http://www.techinsider.io/mars-one-mit-students-mission-not-feasible-debate-2015-8

Mark after reading the NTSB Accident Report for Virgin Galactic SpaceShip Two brings us his thoughts about that tragic test flight. To learn more about the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation follow this link http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/

Listen close and you’ll almost see the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex “Forever Remembered” Exhibit. Gina Herlihy talks about her experience of seeing it for the first time. If you have not seen this yet you’ll find you can’t wait for your next trip to Florida’s Space Coast and KSC.

Sawyer spoke with International Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini just prior to his retirement. News about the ISS is always interesting. Hear what we think about increasing the ISS to a seven person crew and going beyond 2024.

Show Recorded 8/24/2015

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Kathryn Robison and Gina Herlihy

So what is that white stuff that NASA’s Dawn spacecraft found in Occator Crater on Ceres? What about that four mile high mountain or “pyramid”? We sort the wheat from the chaff. The International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 44 crew partook of the first edible harvest from the NASA’s VEGGIE experiment becoming the first humans to harvest food grown in space while on orbit. We highlight efforts to use Asteroids as fueling depots for future deep space missions, and mention the successful spacewalk conducted by cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko on the station’s Russian segment. We look at an unusual experiment flying on board  Japan’s HTV 5 cargo vehicle to be launched to the ISS on Sunday August 16th. CBS News had a worthy feature on light pollution and its impact on ground based astronomy, we visit the piece for comment. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden sent a letter to Congress saying due to Congressional action, NASA was forced to extend the launch services contract with Russia into 2019 to the tune of $490 Million. Eric Berger of the Houston Chronicle had some thoughts on that topic similar to our own and we debate.  We visit the NTSB’s findings of the October 31 Virgin Galactic accident  released on July 28th.. Our Spinoff of the week: A NASA Sensor allows plants to send a text to farmers to say “Can I have some water, please?” Click Here for more information on the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) Show recorded 8/3/2015 Hosts this week: Kassy Tamanini a.k.a. CraftLass & Gene Mikulka

On this episode of Talking Space we begin with the preliminary conclusions released by SpaceX regarding the loss of CRS-7, leading into a discussion of the succession of resupply issues over the past year and how it might impact today’s commercial space race for future NASA contracts. Heading over to the purely commercial side of things we speculate on the National Transportation Safety Board’s public hearing on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip Two crash from last fall (which took place the morning after recording). Quickly shifting to much happier news we devote the bulk of the show to the New Horizons Pluto flyby with special commentary by our own intrepid on-the-scene reporter, Mr. Mikulka, who was at Johns Hopkins for all the festivities. From the images and data that rocked the very foundations of geological knowledge to international coverage and the incredible reach of this particular mission, we look at how New Horizons has and will change our ideas about our solar system. Speaking of images, we round things out with DSCOVR and its new Earth portraits before announcing a special plan to show NASA some more appreciation. Winding things up is this week’s Spinoff and one aspect of how space research is contributing to cleaner drinking water for people at all altitudes.

Show recorded 7/27/2015

Host this week: Kassy Tamanini a.k.a. CraftLass. Panel members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, and Kathryn Robison.

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On this episode of Talking Space, we look at the duration records set by the recently-returned Expedition 43 crew, and a close look at why they were up there for so long (hint: the 2011 Soyuz age of reliability statement and a failed Progress launch come into play). Next we take a look at the mostly successful LDSD test and how a balloon can help us on Mars. Then it's onto a look at two recent satellite launches and their importance, LightSail and DSCOVR. We also discuss the Boeing CST-100 contract awarded by NASA and what that means for SpaceX, and we also look at SpaceX's pad abort test. Then it's on to everybody's favorite topic: the NASA budget, and what's being cut or funded this year. We finish off as always with our spinoff of the week, and this time it's Robonaut2 and what it's doing for robotics back on Earth with a company called Universal Robotics.

Show recorded: 5/21/2015

Host This Week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Kathryn Robison and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass

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On this episode we bookend the whole conversation with the launch and loss of Progress 59 and the implications for the International Space Station and future resupply missions. Then we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope with some historic highlights and personal perspectives of the mission, along with a discussion about the upcoming end of the program and whether Hubble could or even should be extended, inspired by the op-ed by Donald F. Robertson featured on Space News that put forth the idea that there could be another Hubble servicing mission and John Morse’s rebuttal of the idea. Moving on to the more immediate future, we look into Dava Newman and her Senate confirmation as the new Deputy Administrator of NASA. While on the topic of Capitol Hill we go over the House Science Committee’s first swing at the next NASA budget and the notable changes in budget distribution that have been proposed. Could there be a special hope in the Senate, though? NASA’s lioness in Maryland, Barbara McCluskey just might be making this a feature of her last term, and we discuss her ideas as well as the political upside to supporting NASA. Finally, we round things out with our new weekly feature on NASA Spinoffs with an explanation of just what Nissan means by “zero gravity seats” (and why you just might want them).

Show recorded: 4/28/2015

Host This Week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Kathryn Robison and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass

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“Starliner Stuck In Space!!!”, “Starliner Stranded at the ISS!!”, “Space-X To Rescue Starliner Crew!!!” These were the various outrageous headlines being thrown around by various space media outlets this week, concerning the Boeing Starliner Mission and its progress. None of these sensational headlines are true, the ship and crew are in good condition but the media claims that the Starliner mission is in a grave situation, remain.  

 In this special edition of Talking Space, Gene Mikulka and Heather Smith take the time to sort through the chaff that is out there about the mission and offer insight into what is going on. We explore why it is not just the usual social media suspects perpetuating the myth about a broken spacecraft and a “crew in peril” but mainstream media has been jumping on the same bandwagon.

There have been some exceptions to the rule the social media rule: the YouTube channel Overlook Horizon released a fairly good video explaining some of the mission details that we also touch on, in this installment. The video does speculate what a Dragon rescue might look like, however, our show does not examine that possibility. Given the information that NASA and Boeing have presented in thier joint press conferences, such speculation on our part was not needed or required. 

As of this writing, Starliner remains docked to the ISS, in a good, healthy state, ready to support crew return. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams continue to support the balance of the Expedition 71 crew in their ISS science and maintenance duties.

Our usual format picks up next time with an upcoming deep dive into the GOES-U launch and more!

Host

Gene Mikulka

Panel Member: Heather Smith

 This week we look at the impending demise of NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft after being on orbit since 18 March, 2011. We also examine the SpaceX Cargo Resupply Mission Number 6 and discuss the science cargo on board, and the results of the Stage one landing attempt, critical to the company's booster re-usability formula. United Launch Alliance was also in the news, announcing it's booster replacement for the Delta IV and Atlas V, called "Vulcan" by popular vote. The team discusses Vulcan's roll out and implications. Also look at the progressthat OrbitalATK has made in getting Antares and Cygnus back to space.   We turn our attention to the Northeast Astronomy Forum that took place at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York. Some of the Guest speakers included NASA's Bill Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC and Dr. Jim Green, NASA's Planetary Science Division Director. Other speaker's included: Dr. Matt Penn Associate Astronomer of the National Solar Observatory, in Tucson AZ who introduced a plan to recruit the amateur astronomy community to track the 2017 US Solar Eclipse called Citizen Cate.  Ellyne Kinney Spano, Image Processing Lead of NASA'sOSIRISREx mission with ways how you can also get involved on the Mission to Asteroid Bennu. Dr. Jon Morseformally the director of NASA's Astrophysics Division and instrumental with the Hubble Space Telescope porgram, now Board of Director's Member of the BoldlyGoAstro-1 Telescope. Kassy Showcases a set of Binoviews by a company called Denkmier that turns the sky into a 3D viewing experience.  The team gives the final moments of the show to pay tribute to Jan DuRaine, Tireless STEM Educator and one of the first supports of the program. Host This Week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Kathryn Robison and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass with a message from Mark Ratterman Show Recorded 21 April, 2015. Listen now!

On this episode of Talking Space, the team discusses the International Space Station One Year Mission. We also mention that the New Horizons spacecraft is just a little over 90 days away from its destination: Pluto. We then look at the ramifications of an article by Eric Berger of the Houston Chronicle making an assertion that NASA is looking at leveraging the Moon as a true stepping stone to Mars. We also cite The Examiner's Mark Whittington, and a rebuttal to Mr. Berger's piece by Marcia Smith at SpacePolicyOnline . Mr. Berger stood by his piece in a later blog post. NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan said during a public panel aired on NASA TV, “I believe we are going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth in the next decade." We discuss what that really means for us and how some main stream media outlets have reported on this story. Mark Ratterman wraps up his involvement with the First Robotics Competition  and what do the Mars Exploration Rovers have in common with Major League Baseball? We'll tell you in this week's NASA Spinoff Segment.  The outro song is "Familiar Frontier " by Craft Lass. It is used with her permission. To purchase the file, visit https://craftlass.bandcamp.com/track/familiar-frontier. The song is also available on iTunes and Google Play. Show recorded: 4/9/2015 Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Kathryn Robison and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass 

In our "Return to Flight" episode we discuss NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission   and it's implications for learning more about how space weather impacts life here on Earth. With the new International Space Station Commercial Cargo Contracts coming, two new players have come on the scene but with very familiar names. Sierra Nevada Space Systems puts its new entry, a cargo version of the Dreamchaser Spacecraft into consideration and Lockheed Martin puts its Jupiter Exoliner hat into the ring.The controversial Mars One program gets placed under the microscope as the team discusses the fallout from Elmo Keep's piece on the Medium web site. We launch a new segment, exploring how NASA technology impacts everyday life hear on Earth profiling medical spinoffs. Finally we look at a NASA sponsored program, FIRST Robotics. Our  Mark Ratterman is leading a team of students, Team 3556 " Get Smart" competing in the event.   We're sorry for our absence over the last few months. Thanks for sticking with us, and we'll be back with plenty more episodes in 2015! Show recorded: 3/23/2015 Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Mark Ratterman, Gene Mikulka, Kathryn Robison and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass..

On this special episode of Talking Space, we look at the launch of Orion, NASA's next manned capsule, and its unmanned maiden voyage on EFT-1. We discuss the mission itself from scrubs on December 4th all the way through a successful launch and landing in the early morning of December 5th. We look in depth at the mission itself, the goals it was to accomplish, and even analyze the NASA TV coverage of the event, which included live views of re-entry from a drone as well as onboard the capsule. We try to put to bed the comparisons between Apollo 4 and EFT-1 with the help of NASA's Orion Program Manager Mark Geyer. We also talk to a few NASA astronauts who are working on making Orion possible. Plus, as always with these launches, we have the raw launch audio as heard from just a few miles away, so get out your best headphones or crank up your car speakers and get ready for a wild ride. We also take a look at a few other newsworthy stories for the week including some findings about Gale Crater on Mars, the future of Cygnus and Antares after the Orb-3 explosion, and SpaceX's upcoming mission which will land the first stage back on a barge.

Show recorded: 12/9/2014

Host This Week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Kathryn Robison and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass..

On this episode of Talking Space: Rosetta and the way the Philae lander had captured the imagination of the public. Even though the lander has gone into "sleep mode', its batteirs starved for power, reports of Philae's passing may be greatly exaggerated.  NASA's OSIRIS-REx team was also carefully following the journey of  Philae. Launching in 2016, OSIRIS-Rex,will attempt a landing on an asteroid in the hopes of returning a surface sample to Earth.  The team moves on to discuss the upcoming EFT-1 test flight. Set to go for 7:02 on 4 December. There are 8 things to look for  during the Orion's flight that Jason Rhian of Spaceflight Insider profiles. So is Russia really saying  do svidaniya to the ISS partnership and building their own station in 2017? Thie Russian news service  RT Seems to think so.   Is this fact or is this claim as  IB Times thinks full of sound and fury, signifying nothing? The team takes this claim to task. Finally the panel looks at a Lunar mission for everyone. A UK based group, Lunar Mission One, is preparing a new mission to the lunar South Pole in ten years. and YOU can be a part of it. 

Show recorded: 11/19/2014

Host This Week: Gene Mikulka. Panel Members: Mark Ratterman, Kathryn Robison and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass

Expedition 41 is in the books and we revisit the landing and the passing of the baton to the Expedition 42 crew along with the International Space Station increment poster: a salute to  "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by  Douglas Adams. EFT-1 Preparations are rolling forward (in a literal sense) and the team discusses the  EFT1  press briefing about the Orion mission. The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission falls under the magnifying glass as they attempt to do what has never been done: land on a comet this week. Orbital Sciences released their "Go Foward" plan in the wake of the 28 October Antares launch mishap. We examine all the pieces  of the recovery blueprint and offer opinion.  We end with a story of survival: How Peter Siebold Pilot of the doomed VSS Enterprise escaped as the craft disintegrated over the skies of California. Also offer an update on the progress of the crash which occurred on 31 October. Recorded: Monday, 10 November 2014 Host This Week: Gene Mikulka Panel Members: Mark Ratterman, Kathryn  Robison and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass

On a sobering edition of Talking Space, the team gathers to discuss the loss of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip Two on 31 October, 2014 over the skies of the Mojave Desertin California. The ill fated test flight of the VSS Enterprise left the pilot, Peter Siebold,hospitalized and sadly took the life of  it's co-pilot Michael Alsbury. The acting administrator of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Christopher A. Hart released some intriguing information during a late night 2 November Press conference that may be the first piece of the puzzle in determining the cause of the accident. Mark Ratterman offers additional insight into how the NTSB painstakingly conducts an accident investigation. 

The team then focuses back to the Eastern Shore of Virginia and discusses the information released by Orbital Sciences CEO David Thompson during an investor call on 29 October  concerning the failure of the Antares launch vehicle and the loss of the ORB3 Cargo Mission to the International Space Station. The ORB3 Cargo mission was launched on 28 October and disappeared  into a fireball over the skies of Virginia's Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport. The Cygnus cargo ship, Donald K Slayton, was to have docked with the orbiting platform on 2 November. The team discusses was known about the accident on the record date.   

Scaled Composites has set up an on line fund to help the family of Michael Alsbury, the pilot lost in the SpaceShipTwo accident. If you wish to contribute visit the GoFundMe site at this link

Show recorded 11/3/2014

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Kathryn "Kat" Robison and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass

On this special episode of Talking Space, we throw out our originally-scheduled show to discuss the loss of the Orbital Sciences Orb-3 mission. The Antares rocket had a failure upon launch and exploded within 20 seconds of lifting off. The rocket was unmanned, carrying a Cygnus spacecraft with more than 5,000 pounds of supplies and science experiments to the International Space Station. In this episode we break down the facts of what is known and what is not known. We also discuss what was said in the press conference and where both Orbital and NASA stand. One interesting examination we look at is how all different forms of media covered the event from national news to local to Orbital themselves. We then look at the next steps in the investigation and the future state of the ISS as well as Orbital Science's contract with NASA for these resupply missions. Also included is a brief discussion of some of the science experiments onboard that were lost.

If you find any debris, DO NOT keep it as a souvenir or even touch it. Call the Incident Response Team at 757-824-1295.

This is obviously an ongoing story, and keep in mind this was recorded on the night of the launch failure. We will continue to update via Twitter and future episodes as information becomes available. Our hearts go out to the team at Orbital Sciences and to all of those who had experiments or equipment onboard.

Show recorded 10/28/2014

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Milulka, Kathryn "Kat" Robinson and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass

The Talking Space team plays "catch-up" this week opening the discussion with NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) decision. NASA decided on 16 September, 2014,  to go with the conical shaped spacecraft offered by Boeing (CST-100) and  SpaceX (Dragon Version 2)  over the Sierra Nevada Corporation lifting body design, Dreamchaser. This week, a judge with the US Claims Court allowed NASA to continue work on CCP related  activities while the US General Accounting Office considers SNC's challenge to the overall decision. The International Space Station is becoming a very busy place with robotic cargo vehicles coming and going. The team gives a traffic report for the orbiting laboratory with cargo ships from SpaceX, Roscosmos and Orbital Sciences. Want to go to Mars? You can, well okay, virtually. The team describes how to pick up your boarding pass not only for NASA's upcoming Exploration Test Flight 1, but for a future mission to the Red Planet. Our Mars focus continues with the once every million year encounter that occurred on 19 October, 2014 when Comet Siding Spring made its historic close encounter with the fourth rock from the Sun. Additional Links: Aviation Week: NASA Document Spells Out Reasons for SNC's Commercial Crew Loss Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein Panel Members: Mark Ratterman, Gene Mikulka Show Recorded 10/22/2014

Our guests for this episode Kathryn "Kat" Robison and our very own Kassy Tamanini (aka Craft Lass) took on the task of studying the impact of social media on space flight outreach and awareness. In an academic paper entitled "Hastags for Outreach", both had an opportunity to present their findings at the 2014 International Astronautical Congress held in Toronto, Ontario from 29 September  to 3 October. This installment explores the results of their combined research. Ms. Roberson is a graduate student and teaching assistant at Youngstown State University in Ohio,  Her main speciality is the impact of social media and how it is leveraged by various interest groups. Ms. Tamanini has distinguished herself not only as a talented singer/songwriter with her ground breaking 2009 single "Bake Sale for NASA"  but as a leader in innovative science outreach methods. Both are the masterminds behind the blog "Geek Girls Night Out" an online community for "female geeks both in and off line." 

Show recorded 10/13/2014

Host this week: Gene Mikulka. Panel Member: Mark Ratterman with special guests Kathryn "Kat" Robinson and Kassy Tamanini aka Craft Lass

A quick special report on the status of the joint NASA/Boeing Starliner Mission based on a Blog Post prepared by  NASA and Boeing for our listeners. 

On this episode of Talking Space, we look at two interesting events you can see with the naked eye, the Supermoon and the Perseid meteor shower. We talk about whether the supermoon is really that noticeable, or if we just make it seem bigger since we know it's supposed to be bigger. We then talk about three launches within one week, all from the same launch site in Florida. We also look at a fourth launch which was ESA's final ATV, and what this last resupply vehicle from Europe means for the future of the ISS. We then look at a flying saucer type device which NASA is studying for future use on Mars. Then, special guest Jason Rhian joins us for a summary of the 17th Annual International Mars Society Convention. Lastly, we look at a solar powered fridge.

Below is a video of NASA's LDSD "Flying Saucer". Video courtesy NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

[To view this video, visit http://talkingspaceonline.com]

For more on LDSD inclduing additional pictures and videos, visit the NASA website: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/ldsd/

For more on the Mars Society conference, check out Jason's story: http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/space-flight-news/17th-annual-international-mars-society-conference-closes-calls/

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Member: Mark Ratterman with special guest Jason Rhian

Show recorded 08/11/2014

On this episode of Talking Space, we continue our discussion of SpaceFest VI, which was held in May in Pasadena, California. We begin where we left off last episode, with a look at some of the talks and panels from this year's event. We look at ion engines, the Russian space program, comets and more, all of which were discussed at the event. We include a final recap of some more of our favorite moments, and discuss a trip to the Mount Wilson Observatory after the event. Finally, we wrap up with another space event that happened the week after SpaceFest, and that was the International Space Development Conference, or ISDC. Mark Ratterman joins us with a special interview with Azam Shaghaghi about the event.

For more on SpaceFest, visit http://spacefest.info

For more on ISDC and other items heard during the interview, visit the following links:

https://twitter.com/STS_Canada  https://twitter.com/ISDC  http://nss.org/ http://isdc.nss.org/2014/index.html

An image was inserted here. To view it, visit http://talkingspaceonline.com

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Member: Gene Mikulka with Mark Ratterman and special guest Azam Shaghaghi

Show recorded 06/06/2014

On this episode of Talking Space, we begin our two part discussion of a recent trip to Pasadena, California for SpaceFest VI. The event features astronauts, artists, and other vendors and speakers as a way to talk about current topics in the space community and meet some of the people who made the past possible. During this part, we talk about the events leading up to the event including a tour of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a visit to Endeavour at the California Science Center. We then begin talking about the opening event with the Apollo astronaut panel. Afterwards, we talk about what was on the floor of the event, and a special birthday celebration for an astronaut.

Tune in to Part 2 to hear about the panels and discussions as well as a look at another Californai conference that happened around the same time.

Images were inserted here. To view them visit http://talkingspaceonline.com

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Member: Gene Mikulka

Show recorded 06/06/2014

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On our 200th episode of Talking Space, we welcome on decorated fighter pilot and two-time shuttle astronaut Bob Springer. We begin with his military career and his favorite planes to fly. We also talk about his time in the TOPGUN program. Then it's onto how he got from test piloting to being a space shuttle mission specialist. Then it's on to his flights, including two that never flew and the connection the flights, and Bob, had to the Challenger Disaster. The other flights included STS-29 and STS-38. Finally, we talk about his work with Boeing, the Kennedy Space Center, and his vision for the future.

Below is the STS-38 patch as described in the episode:

[An image was inserted here. To view it, visit http://talkingspaceonline.com]

A huge thank you to everybody who has helped the show grow to what it is today, allowing us to create 200 episodes!

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman and special guest astronaut Bob Springer

Show recorded 04/17/2014

SpaceX launched CRS3 successfully and the Falcon 9 first stage made a zero velocity soft landing in the Atlantic. We also noticed that typical NASA news conferences vs one with SpaceX is quite different. We look forward to Orbital making their first night launch mid-June from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport with cargo to the ISS. So, were you concerned about the problem on the ISS with MDM possibly impacting the SpaceX launch? Well of course now we know SpaceX was able to launch without delays related to that problem on orbit.LADEE's mission is complete; we know some great science was accomplished and look forward to hearing more from the team involved. NASA selects Kathryn Lueders as Commercial Crew Program Manager at KSC.The 1 year anniversary of the signing of a lease with PaR Systems took place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Hanger N. Listen to a short recording of KSC Director Bob Cabana talking about how important this is for the future of our space program. To see more about the incredible variety of work PaR Systems does and in particular the non-destructive testing capabilities go to http://www.par.com/non-destructive-testing/ Our next episode will be our 200th. You can count on another great interview with a NASA Astronaut (and no we're not telling who it is till next week) Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Mark Ratterman and The Spaceflight Group's Jason Rhian Show recorded 04/22/2014

On this episode of Talking Space, we talk with the Executive Director and co-founder of Explore Mars, Chris Carberry. In the interview, we discuss what Explore Mars is all about, and as you can guess, it has a lot to do with Mars. We begin with discussing the upcoming "Humans 2 Mars", or H2M conference coming up in Washington D.C. from April 22nd to the 24th. We then go into his thoughts on manned vs. robotic, the best way to get to Mars, and jumping off points such as the moon and the ISS. We also go into some of the STEM programs that they are participating in, and look at the future of Mars exploration.

For more on Explore Mars, visit their website http://exploremars.org/.

For more on the H2M conference, visit http://h2m2014.exploremars.org/

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Mark Ratterman and special guest Chris Carberry from Explore Mars.

Show Recorded 4/7/2014

On this episode of Talking Space, we talk about the recent Soyuz launch to the ISS, and the glitch that turned a few hour rendezvous into a two-day event. We look into what may have caused the event and look back at the classic "Era of Reliability" Russia declared at the end of the shuttle program in 2011. We then talk about a range outage that has delayed two launches until an unknown time and what it means for the future launch schedule for one of the commercial companies it affects. Next, we look at a wind measuring field finally getting a well-needed upgrade. On the second trip around the table, we talk about NASA's new spacesuit designs which the public can vote for, and how we probably wouldn't vote for any of them. Then it's on to our thoughts on some interesting comments made by Charlie Bolden and a discussion on the state of NASA. Then it's on to how NASA equipment helped predict sinkholes before they formed. For the third round, we discuss a record set by the mostly-classified X-37B and check out an award going to the Dawn spacecraft makers.

To vote for the next spacesuit design, visit http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/z2/

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Mark Ratterman and the Spaceflight Group's Jason Rhian

Show Recorded 3/31/2014

Robots, Wheels and Wings literally covers these three topics with a couple of interviews and our comments. First we cover F.I.R.S.T. as in For Inspiration And Recognition Of Science And Technology http://www.usfirst.org/ Mark went to the March 15, 2014 Orlando, FL Regional FRC Robotics Competition. Along with seeing some real #omgrobots he interviewed former FIRST Regional Chairman and former NASA KSC Media Operations Group Manager Laurel Lichtenberger (who is also a SpaceFlightInsider.com Team Member). They talked about the incredible way FIRST and High School students come together redefining what team work is all about. For a video insight into the excitement that’s FIRST check out this 2014 NY Tech Valley Regional Highlight Video http://youtu.be/_ORIt5PC8uc Next up the unique testing of one fast set of wheels at the NASA Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility with the Hennessy Venom GT http://www.venomgt.com/ We think you’ll agree that 270.49 mph is impressive. We wind up this episode talking about wings thanks to our interview with John Godfrey, Owner of The Shuttle Landing Experience in Titusville, FL http://theshuttlelandingexperience.com/index.html John flies guests on any and all of three levels of tours seeing the Shuttle Landing Facility from the air like our Space Shuttle crews did time after time on their landings at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. Hear about the Level 1, 2 and 3 Flights you can take when you’re visiting the Central Florida area. Host this week Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Member: Mark Ratterman Special Guests: Laurel Lichtenberger  from our partner The Spaceflight Group http://spaceflightinsider.com/ and John Godfrey from The Shuttle Landing Experience http://theshuttlelandingexperience.com/index.html Show Recorded 03/23/2014

On this episode of Talking Space, we return from a long hiatus to recap some of the space news of the last few weeks that was important to us. We begin with a look at the 2015 NASA Budget proposal and what that means for some NASA programs and what we think of the cuts and gains. Next, we talk about the ISS, including the release of a record 33 CubeSats and the return of the Expedition 37/38 crew from the station. On our second trip around the table, we discuss some launches, including GPS 2F-5 which involved a lot of possums, and the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission or GPM which launched from Japan. On our final trip around the table, we talk about raining iron on a brown dwarf, and lastly review the first episode of the Cosmos reboot, Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

We want to hear from you about Cosmos. Send us your thoughts via email tomailbag@talkingspaceonline.com, tweet us @talkingspace, or post it on our Facebook wall atfacebook.com/talkingspace

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Mark Ratterman and the Spaceflight Group's Jason Rhian

On this episode Sawyer and Mark cover a wide variety of topics and catch up on some news we promised to share like the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture from October 2013 titled “The Chelyabinsk Meteor: Can We Survive a Bigger Impact?” http://youtu.be/Y-e6xyUZLLs   Another video to check out is one from the NASA YouTube channel titled “2013 Astronaut Class Talks STEM at Smithsonian Air and Space Museum” Don’t miss what Astronaut Candidate Anne McClain (@Astroannimal on twitter) has to say about believing in yourself. The link to the video takes you to 36:38 with Leland Melvin speaking, then Anne McClain. http://youtu.be/7-iCm9S53Jo?t=36m38s 

What would Google want with a NASA hanger at Moffett Federal  Airfield? #NASA continues to connect with participants with a first ever Photo #NASASocial at Goddard SpaceFlight Center.  Remember to keep up with NASASocial news at http://www.nasa.gov/connect The Great Moonbuggy Race has transitioned to something new, read more about The NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge. It’s coming up at the US Space and Rocket Center April 10-14 2014 Learn more at http://www.nasa.gov/roverchallenge/home/index.html#.Uvrmsfnw8VU

How about 16 Cubesat’s from 9 states selected by NASA to fly from 2015-2017. Our new topic (maybe first of its type for Talking Space) is numismatist. If you are one then you already know about the collectable coin celebrating the European Space Agency and 50 years of space cooperation. They are a limited edition run from 500 to 10,000 coins depending on denomination. Leland Melvin announces his retirement and Sawyer shares a quick interview with him from an event back in July 2012. President and COO of SpaceX, Gwynne Shotwell was recently appointed to the FAA Management Advisory Council. The Astronaut Hall of Fame has selected two astronauts for induction in 2014. Congratulations to Jerry Ross and Shannon Lucid.

Winding up this show is an interview with RocketSTEM Executive Director and Founder, Chase Clark. Here are the links for your convenience to vote for RocketSTEM at the FedEx web site. Your vote supports them in the competition to receive  a $25,000 small business grant from FedEx. Please vote daily through Feb 23.

http://www.rocketstem.org/

https://www.facebook.com/RocketSTEM

http://smallbusinessgrant.fedex.com/Gallery/Detail/7163199e-1591-4b95-9dce-18edc7725104

After years of development, testing, disappointment, and perseverance,  NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Willams took Boeing's CST 100 Starliner to the International Space Station for its first flight with a human crew. The team discusses all facets of the launch, rendezvous, docking (not without its moments of drama), and public reaction to the mission thus far.

Also this week, the fourth test flight of the SpaceX Starship Super-Heavy booster and a re-entry test of the Starship vehicle itself. The super-heavy vehicle is critical for NASA's Artemis lunar landing program, and a derivative of Starship was selected by NASA to be the human lunar lander used on Artemis III. The team puts the fourth Starship test into perspective.

Starship development was also critical for the SpaceX/ Yusaku Maezawa dearMoon program, which was to take Maezawa and eight invitees into orbit around the Moon. However, Maezawa announced that since a 2023 launch had become "unfeasible" and lacked a "clear schedule," he was canceling the program. The announcement drew some ire in the space community, and we examine the fallout.

One of The Hubble Space Telescope's three gyroscopes used to point the telescope to distant objects has failed. We look at a Media Telecon where NASA's astrophysics leader, Dr. Mark Clampen, indicated the agency will continue to utilize Hubble in a "one gyro mode" so the iconic telescope can still deliver good science with only a 20% loss of capability. The orbiting telescope is in overall good health and should continue to operate until 2035. At the same teleconference, Dr. Clampen announced that NASA has no intention of launching a Hubble servicing or re-boost mission in the foreseeable future. This news ends the SpaceX/Polaris plan to launch a possible servicing mission to the telescope. A May 2024 NPR article by Nell GreenfeldBoyce also reported NASA's concerns about the unsolicited proposal. 

Sadly, the past few episodes have ended in obituaries, and that trend continues. The team takes a  few moments to remember NASA Apollo 8 Astronaut William Anders, who died in a plane crash this past weekend.

All this and more in this edition of Talking Space!

UPDATE ONE:  During the show, we reported that the new undock date for Starliner was on 22 June. After we published, NASA and Boeing decided to do some more analysis on the thruster issues experienced during last week's docking to the ISS. To understand the Starliner Service Module more, ( the service module does not return ) NASA and Boeing have now indicated that Starliner will undock from the ISS  at 10:10 PM EDT on Tuesday, June 25th with a landing planned at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 4:51 AM EDT on June 26th. 

UPDATE TWO: In A Blog Post Today (21 June 2024)  NASA and Boeing Space announced that they are waiving the return date of 26 June for Starliner, with a new date to be announced at a later time. To quote the NASA blog post: " The move off Wednesday, June 26, deconflicts Starliner’s undocking and landing from a series of planned International Space Station spacewalks while allowing mission teams time to review propulsion system data."

Steve Stitich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager said “We are strategically using the extra time to clear a path for some critical station activities while completing readiness for Butch and Suni’s return on Starliner and gaining valuable insight into the system upgrades we will want to make for post-certification missions.”

NASA Reports that Starliner remains healthy and that CFT Crew Members Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams continue to support the Expedition 71 Crew with their activities on the International Space Station. 

Talking Space will continue to follow the story as it develops. 

Host: Gene Mikulka

Panel Members: Mark Ratterman, Heather Smith

 

On this episode of Talking Space, we welcome The Spaceflight Group's Jason Rhian to discuss his trip to see TDRS-L launch. Along with talking about the launch and TDRS-L, we discuss some other experiences he had while at the Kennedy Space Center including some insider information on Dreamchaser as well as a "look" at Orion. We wrap things up with a happier look at NASA's Remembrance Week.

For more on The Spaceflight Group, visit http://spaceflightinsider.com and follow them on Twitter@SpaceflightGrp and like them on Facebook 

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Member: Gene Mikulka with special guest Jason Rhian of The Spaceflight Group

Show Recorded 1/27/2014

On this episode of Talking Space, the ship runs a little light, as Gene and Sawyer start with the wake-up of Rosetta after 31 months of hibernation, and we talk about the ambitious goals this mission has set. We then talk about the newest approved NASA budget and is it really a "hip hip hooray" like some are saying? We then start round two with a look at ESA's service module for Orion and rumors of a possible delay. We give the facts and weigh in our thoughts. We finish off with an interesting topic and one almost certain to cause debate: Should NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center have been renamed after Neil Armstrong, and should any others be renamed. We finish off with a special segment from Mark who interviewed ULA TDRS-L Mission Integrator Bryan Bauerlin.

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Member: Gene Mikulka with Mark Ratterman and his guest ULA TDRS-L Mission Integrator Bryan Bauerlin 

Show Recorded 1/20/2014

On this episode of Talking Space, our first news show in 2014, we discuss a whole bunch of commercial news. We discuss Virgin Galactic's latest test flight of SpaceShipTwo, SpaceX's most recent launch of Thaicom 6 aboard a Falcon 9 v1.1, and Orbital's Antares launch bringing Cygnus to the ISS. In regards to Orbital, we also look at the man behind the name of this particular Cygnus capsule, C. Gordon Fullerton. We then look at National Geographic's upcoming live two hour show from the International Space Station and what in particular they plan on doing that excites us the most. We then talk about the recent announcement extending the life of the space station until 2024. Finally, Mark brings us a special follow-up interview with NASA's Social Media Manager and Deputy Manager John Yembrick and Jason Townsend.  For more on NASA Socials, visit http://www.nasa.gov/connect

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Emily Carney, Gene Mikulka, with Mark Ratterman and his guests NASA's Social Media Manager John Yembrick and NASA's Deputy Social Media Manager Jason Townsend

Show Recorded 1/13/2013