Episodes
Friday Mar 08, 2024
Episode 1603: IM-1 Lunar Mission Recap; Interview with Launch-Viewing Rookie
Friday Mar 08, 2024
Friday Mar 08, 2024
There’s a ton of space news to discuss this time around, and we made the time to do it in this lengthy episode. Not to worry, there’s lots of good stuff in here, including:
- Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rolls out to LC-36;
- Changes in the ISS management team;
- ISS Leak in the Zvezda increases;
- Roscosmos selling off $124 Million in assets due to Ukraine war fallout;
- Former astronaut and NASA Admin Richard Truly dies;
- Lawmakers deciding whether to extend expiring FAA commercial human spaceflight “Learning Period” ;
- NASA cancels OSAM-1 Project.
IM-1 Lunar Lander Mission Review
Next, the team discusses our takeaways from the Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander mission to the south pole region of the Moon that ended last week. The Intuitive Machines team dealt with some major challenges on the way to the Moon and during landing, with the first one sprouting up only an hour or so into the launch. Get all the juicy details of how the IM-1 lander and its payloads fared in this episode. NASA’s Space Science Data Coordinated Archive of the mission is located here.
Artist and Launch Rookie Agnes Garbowska Interviewed
Finally, Mark shares an interview with award-winning artist and in-person launch-viewing rookie Agnes Garbowska for her IM-1 launch impressions and takeaways. You can also check out her YouTube channel here, and her upcoming Kickstarter project is 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 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 page at TalkingSpaceOnline.com.
Show recorded 03-02-2024.
Host: Larry Herrin
Panelist(s): Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman (Dr. Kat Robison and Sawyer Rosenstein will return)
Podcast Editor: Mark Ratterman
IM-1 Falcon 9 launch photo credit: SpaceX
Crippen/Rosenstein/Truly photo credit: Sawyer Rosenstein
Agnes Garbowska photo credit: Agnes Garbowska
IM-1 Odysseus lander photo credit: Intuitive Machines and NASA
Wednesday Feb 21, 2024
Episode 1602: IM-1 Lunar Lander Launches Successfully; Deep Cuts at JPL a Heartache
Wednesday Feb 21, 2024
Wednesday Feb 21, 2024
It’ll do your heart good to have a listen to the IM-1 launch audio snippet at the opening of this episode. This episode finds us still focusing on the Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander launch and lunar landing attempt to come later this week. Chantelle Baier from 4Space joins us once again to talk about the launch and the lunar landing, scheduled for February 22, 2024. Both Larry and Mark witnessed the LM-1 launch from Kennedy Space Center’s Banana Creek Launch Viewing Area at 1:05 a.m. on February 15th courtesy of 4Space.
But first, we have plenty of news in the roundup:
- Mark explains how NASA is looking for a new crew for a simulated year-long Mars mission ;
- Gene details the fallout from the recently announced Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) layoffs due to the Federal budget impasse;
- Uruguay and Greece sign the Artemis Accords.
Next, the team and Chantelle discuss our impressions from the IM-1 launch, and hints at what may come next for 4Space. These lunar deliveries are part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative in support of the Artemis program. We’ll keep you informed as events unfold. We also discuss some details relating to the innovative EagleCam experiment aboard the lander. Some interesting video of the IM-1 after separation from the tumbling Falcon 9 upper stage can be found here.
Finally, Mark eagerly shares a bit of background on a couple of engineers at Boeing who are diligently working on getting the Starliner’s re-entry parachutes sorted and ready for flight. This is the kind of folks you want packing your parachutes.
Please be sure to let us know your thoughts on the topics we discuss. You can always reach us at mailbag@TalkingSpaceOnline.com . Our website now has a way to easily send us a voice message that we may use on the show: just click on the blue microphone icon at the bottom right of any page at TalkingSpaceOnline.com.
Show recorded 02-17-2024.
Host: Larry Herrin
Panelist(s): Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman and special guest Chantelle Baier (Dr. Kat Robison and Sawyer Rosenstein will return)
Podcast Editor: Larry Herrin
IM-1 Falcon 9 launch photo credit: SpaceX
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
There’s a lot going on this time around, as usual. First, in the news roundup:
- Starship: The Lawsuit pitting the Center for Biological Diversity against the FAA and SpaceX proceeded mostly as expected (with a notable exception). The FAA awaits the US Fish and Wildlife Service to complete their Biological Assessment portion for review of the Starship’s next launch license. Here’s the Wallops Spaceport site map about which Gene quoted Eric Roesch in our discussion. Harry Stranger first tweeted about the maps on X.
- LUCY Mission makes its first asteroid flyby on November 1st.
- India has announced an ambitious, multi-planetary expansion of its space program on a short, 20-year timeline.
- NASA picks three museums in which to display OSIRIS-REx asteroid Bennu samples. When can you go see them? Actually very soon!
Then, Mark discusses a brief history and laments the lessened art of spacecraft call signs and aircraft nose art. He also informs us that Commander Callie continues her mission in NASA’s newest issue of its graphic novel.
Next, Gene brings us up to speed on the wobbly future of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission in light of the findings of the recent Independent Review Board 2 report. The IRB2 report concluded, among other things, that there is “likely not enough funding available to accomplish any mission.” Say again, Houston?
Finally, Kat brings us an initial teaser report and interview from the recent ASCEND conference with Lindsay Kaldon, Project Manager with NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project, managed by NASA’s Glenn Research Çenter in Cleveland, OH. You want to survive long-term on the Moon or Mars, you gotta have a lot of reliable electrical power!
Thanks to all for the heads-up about issues with Talking Space’s website. It’s been down for a number of weeks now. We’re “working the problem,” and will have the site back up very soon. The podcast itself has always been available wherever else you get your podcasts, as you know if you’re reading this soon after it is published! UPDATE: The website has been restored as of the afternoon of November 7, 2023, and seems to be functioning normally.
Please be sure to let us know your thoughts on the topics we discuss. You can always reach us at mailbag@TalkingSpaceOnline.com .
Show recorded 10-27-2023.
Host: Sawyer Rosenstein
Panelist(s): Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Dr. Kat Robison and Larry Herrin
Podcast Editor: Larry Herrin
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
Episode 1509: Starship Launch Delays – a Triple Whammy?
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
SpaceX’s effort to launch its second integrated test of Starship is likely facing a triple whammy of delays, including a new one that should really be of no surprise to the company. It certainly is no surprise to Eric Roesch, who joins us on this episode to discuss the latest developments in the saga.
First, there’s the well-known environmental lawsuit brought by a consortium of environmental and tribal groups against the FAA and SpaceX. This case showed a little movement on July 25, 2023, and all the details on what did transpire in court filings on that date can be found here.
Turns out that the latest filing in the case (as of this writing) would extend the deadline for proposing a briefing schedule as to summary judgment within 14 days of the Court’s resolution of Plaintiffs’ motion challenging the Administrative Record, if any is filed. And that resolution could come as late as December 2023 or January of 2024, or maybe even later. And all of this time may be used up just to get to the point where all sides agree on what the tools look like that they’re going to use to prosecute the case.
Second, the FAA just reminded everyone on July 26th that SpaceX has not yet submitted a Mishap Investigation Report for its review. This report would outline what SpaceX needs to do to demonstrate to FAA that Starship is safe enough for another launch attempt.
And the third element of the triple whammy? The new water deluge system freshly installed and tested beneath the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM) has no Industrial Wastewater Permit to go with it. Eric gives us a full rundown of all the wonky stuff, as well as the inside scoop as to how long a delay this could cause (spoiler alert: it’s a long time!). And not only has SpaceX not applied for the permit yet, but according to Eric, SpaceX knew they had to do it way back when they wrote the latest Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) that governs the whole environmental shooting match. Is there something that SpaceX knows that we don’t, which will let them circumvent the Clean Water Act? How will SpaceX pull this off?
Please be sure to let us know your thoughts on the topics we discuss. You can always reach us at mailbag@TalkingSpaceOnline.com .
Show recorded 07-27-2023.
Host: Larry Herrin
Panelist(s): Larry Herrin (Sawyer Rosenstein, Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman and Dr. Kat Robison will return)
Podcast Editor: Larry Herrin
Monday Nov 15, 2021
Episode 1306: Zero-G and I Feel Fine - Mission: Astro Access
Monday Nov 15, 2021
Monday Nov 15, 2021
On this very special episode of Talking Space, we discuss something very few people have ever experienced, Zero Gravity. However, 12 Zero-G flyers just made history.
12 ambassadors for "Mission: Astro Access" completed the first ever microgravity flight for people with disabilities. That includes people who are deaf/hard of hearing, blind/low vision, and have mobility disabilities. Among the flyers is our own host, Sawyer Rosenstein. He invited some of the participants onto the show to discuss the mission.
The flight itself involves 15 parabolas aboard a Zero Gravity Corporation plane with one Martian, two Lunar and 12 "Zero-G" parabolas.
That includes the selection process, the training before flight, and the objectives during the flight. We find out what worked, what didn't, and the simple modifications that can be made to make spaceflight accessible to so many more people. We also discuss the future, where we hope this program goes in the future, and the changes we all hope to see as a result of this historic first mission.
To learn more about AstroAccess and to consider donating to help fund a second flight, visit https://astroaccess.org/
To read Sawyer's full recount of the flight, check out the article by clicking here.
Host: Sawyer Rosenstein
Panelists: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, and special guests Dana Bolles and Dr. Sheri Wells-Jensen
Wednesday May 27, 2020
Episode 1108: The Path to #LaunchAmerica – In Flight Abort
Wednesday May 27, 2020
Wednesday May 27, 2020
With astronauts set to return to space from U.S. soil for the first time in almost nine years, Talking Space is going back through the archives to bring you never-before-heard episodes on what it took to get to the historic Demo-2 launch in May 2020.
For this episode, we go back to January 2020 when SpaceX tested the in-flight abort capabilities of their Crew Dragon capsule. Hear what it sounded like from launch to explosion...to a surprise after the intentional destruction of a Falcon 9 booster.
Here's what it's like to root for a rocket to blow up.
This episode also includes an EXCLUSIVE sit-down with the Demo-2 crew. Shortly after the abort test, 15 media members sat down and talked with the crew of Demo-2 ahead of their mission. The audio has never been released in its entirety...until now. Hear it inside this episode.
Show recorded 2-21-2020
Host: Sawyer Rosenstein
Panelist: Gene Mikulka
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Episode 1107: The Path to #LaunchAmerica - Demo-1
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Tuesday May 26, 2020
With astronauts set to return to space from U.S. soil for the first time in almost nine years, Talking Space is going back through the archives to bring you never-before-heard episodes on what it took to get to the historic Demo-2 launch in May 2020.
For this episode, we go back to March 2019 for the Demo-1 mission. This was the uncrewed version of the Demo-2 mission, instead with a "test dummy" onboard, even if SpaceX doesn't call it that.
Hear the sound of the launch, as well as hear of the significance of this mission from the heads of the Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center.
We'll also hear from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on why more innovation is happening now than during the entire Apollo program.
Show recorded 3-2019
Host: Sawyer Rosenstein
Panelist: Gene Mikulka
Friday Sep 21, 2018
Episode 1008: Up-Close with the Sun: Part 2
Friday Sep 21, 2018
Friday Sep 21, 2018
It's not just about getting to the sun, it's about the people behind the mission making it all happen. That's what this episode of Talking Space is all about.
We speak with four integral members of the Parker Solar Probe team. The mission launched successfully in early August. To hear more about the mission along with the spectacular Delta IV Heavy launch audio, be sure to check out Part 1 in Episode 1007.
In this episode, we begin speaking with Dr. Adam Szabo, the mission scientist for Parker Solar Probe. From him we learn more about the mission objectives, how the gravity assist will be different from those in the past, and how PSP fits in with the host of solar observing missions already in orbit.
Next, we speak with David McComas of Princeton University who is in charge of the ISʘIS experiment. We discuss more about the role of the instrument, along with his excitement, plus a person "struggle" so-to-speak that's he's used to his advantage and hopes to share with others.
Then, we hear from two of the mission's leads immediately following the successful liftoff. That includes project scientist and soon to be head of Heliophysics at NASA Nikki Fox and Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen about the status of the mission and what's next for the spacecraft as it nears its first Venus encounter to help slow it down.
Stay tuned for Part 3, following our normal news episode, featuring a Q&A which you can only hear in high quality in its entirety here with Dr. Eugene Parker. The session was held for a very limited audience before launch and has never been aired in its entirety, so stay tuned!
Show recorded 8-19-2018
Host: Sawyer Rosenstein
Panelist: Gene Mikulka with special guest interviews recorded on location at the Kennedy Space Center.
Sunday Aug 26, 2018
Episode 1007: Up-Close with the Sun: Part 1
Sunday Aug 26, 2018
Sunday Aug 26, 2018
On part one of this extremely special three-part Talking Space, hear the sound of a Delta IV Heavy launching a mission to the sun and hear from the scientists behind it!
We begin with the successful launch of the Parker Solar Probe mission, which is set to "touch the sun". This mission will set many records, and you'll hear all about them. You'll hear about the delays and the successes, including the launch audio as the Delta IV Heavy roared into the early morning sky and continued to rumble for minutes after launch. Hear from some of the science heads on the mission, as well as the new NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green.
Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 coming out over the next three weeks where you'll hear more interviews from scientists, some exclusive behind-the-scenes access and a rare Q&A that you may never hear elsewhere in its entirety.
[A photo gallery was inserted here. To view it visit http://talkingspaceonline.com]
Show recorded 8-19-2018
Host: Sawyer Rosenstein
Panelist: Gene Mikulka with special guest interviews recorded on location at the Kennedy Space Center.
Saturday May 12, 2018
Episode 1004: 'InSight' into NEAF
Saturday May 12, 2018
Saturday May 12, 2018
What do you get after one month away? A boat load of news and some amazing interviews for our return from spring break.
We begin looking at the launches of the last month from all corners of the globe. We check out many of the major launch providers and their most recent missions. We also discuss the recent improvements in the quality of their webcasts and our thoughts on what that means for outreach.
We also discuss the announcement of two new NASA managers. First, NASA's new head of science and of course, the recently confirmed NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. We discuss our opinions so far on both of them and what we hope for the future.
Of course we discuss NASA's next Mars lander which is now on its way, Mars InSight, however we get some "insight" from one of the people who worked on it at this year's Northeast Astronomy Forum, or NEAF.
At NEAF, we also hear from the authors of "Bringing Columbia Home" about the recovery efforts after the 2003 Columbia disaster. Plus we bring you an amazing story of a young girl from Cosovo who's taking the US by storm promoting astronomy outreach.
We also have to give a special shout-out to the ESA team working the Bepi Colombo Twitter account, @ESA_Bepi, on taking our wacky suggestion of needing a cute mascot. Make sure to check it out and tweet them if you love it.
Show recorded 5-2-2018
Host: Sawyer Rosenstein
Panelists: Gene Mikulka and Kassy Tamanini