Talking Space

Episode 337: Clean Up Time for Low Earth Orbit

Low Earth orbit is a mess, with flotsam floating around at speeds between 17,000 to 20,000 MPH. These pieces of space debris, some that are relics from the beginning of the space age are numerous. They are various sizes ranging from the very large, (spent boosters and the like) to the to the very small like bolts, washers and various pieces of small hardware. Their presence threatens communications and weather satellites, and yes piloted spacecraft and orbiting manned platforms like the International Space Station. A report issued last week by the National Research Council indicated that the orbital debris problem may have reached a tipping point where collisions of decommissioned satellites, empty boosters and smaller pieces will continually collied with each other. The result:more debris in low earth orbit causing the problem to get worse. This may prevent future utilization of low earth orbit, and cause a threat to orbiting satellites and yes the International Space Station. To talk about this problem further and discuss ways to solve this looming crisis, we asked two recent graduates of Singularity University's GSP 2011 class; Major Franz Gayl United States Marine Corps (ret) and the author of the book "It's Only Rocket Science", Doctor Lucy Rogers from the United Kingdom, both already quite accomplished in their respective fields to discuses the issue of space debris. Both had studied the issue of Earth Orbital Debris, and brainstormed ways to attempt to solve the problem while at Singularity university. You may follow Dr. Lucy Rogers on Twitter. Her Twitter address is @DrLucyRogers Links: Space Debris Research - http://www.spacedebrisresearch.com/ Web site of Dr. Lucy Rogers - http://www.lucyrogers.com/ Web Site for "It's Only Rocket Science" - http://www.itsonlyrocketscience.com/ Singularity University - http://singularityu.org/ Discovery News - "What Can We Do About the Space Junk Problem " by Dr. Lucy Rogers - http://news.discovery.com/space/space-junk-recycle-problem-110904.html

Episode 336: The Holy GRAIL

On this episode of Talking Space, we return from our three week summer break to catch you up on the latest in space news, starting with the successful launch of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, (GRAIL) mission which successfully launched to study the moon and our own Mark Ratterman was there to cover the launch. Mark also gets a special interview with Kim Guodace, a former shuttle vehicle engineer for United Space Alliance. We then move on to the failure of a Progress 44 resupply ship launched aboard a Soyuz and how it may leave the International Space Station unmanned. We move onto the topic of space debris including the UARS satellite scheduled to crash back to Earth at an unknown location. We then discuss some stunning shots of the lunar landing sites taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, LRO. We finish off with pieces of metal on Spirit and Opportunity which were once a part of the World Trade Center towers which were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Two images were inserted here. To view them, please visit http://talkingspaceonline.com Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman Show Recorded - 9/11/2011

Episode 329: The Final Countdown

On this episode of Talking Space, the team picks themselves up after a long week of covering the STS-135 mission and discuss the final flight of the space shuttle program. We talk about Atlantis's now 13 day mission to the ISS, its purpose, and some moments of anticipation as the clock ticked down to launch. We mention the significance of the end and hear some stories from the people of the future of manned spaceflight as well as some funny stories of the training for this mission. Also, check out some pictures still being posted on our blog at http://talkingspaceonline.com/135. And don't forget, a full show on our amazing adventures for this launch will be coming up in the very near future! NOTE: We couldn't complete this episode without thanking everybody who helped to make our live broadcast of the launch a complete success, especially those at the website http://astronomy.fm who hosted us and lent us their servers for this historic event. A copy of the broadcast will be available shortly on our website. Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman Show Recorded - 7/10/2011

Episode 328: It's Been A Blast!

On this episode, we orbit around Atlantis and her final flight signifying the end of the 30 year space shuttle program. We discuss the current status of STS-135, as well as listening to some updates from the NASA personnel working on the mission and the true importance of the mission. We then listen to Charlie Bolden’s comments on NASA’s future endeavors. Following this, we discuss a program on CNN: “Atlantis: The Final Frontier”. After that, we discuss an article which “ruffles Gene’s feathers” in The Economist. We also mention another article talking about America’s space program and if it really matters. Lastly, we discuss an article by “Bad Astronomer” Phil Plait giving his view on NASA’s shuttle program. Don’t forget to tune in to our live launch coverage of STS-135. Coverage begins on Friday, July 8th at 10:30am EDT/14:30 UTC with launch scheduled for 11:26 am EDT on http://astronomy.fm Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman Show Recorded - 7/3/2011

Episode 327: The Little Asteroid That Couldn't

On this episode of Talking Space, we get an update on STS-135. We discuss past issues, and the launch date of Atlantis on her final flight. Remember Talking Space will be there! For all the information, check out any page on our website, http://talkingspaceonline.com and join us live. Please remember this was recorded before the Final Flight Readiness Review (FFRR). As an update: NASA managers have given Atlantis a "go" for launch on July 8th at 11:26am EDT. We talk about Mark's interview with the 135 astronauts, White Sands landing facility closing, and even Mark going inside Discovery! We move on to the restoration of the Soviet shuttle, Buran, and an asteroid that came awfully close to our home planet. We finish off with the Shuttle Landing Facility setting a world record. To re-listen to our interview with Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart in which we discussed Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), check it out by visiting our website, http://talkingspaceonline.com An image was inserted here. To view it, please visit our website at http://talkingspaceonline.com Show Recorded - 6/27/2011 Listen now:

Episode 326: Talking Space Live For 135

On this episode, we begin with a status update of STS-135, from the tanking tests, to a leaky valve, to a very interesting view on what will be in Atlantis's payload bay. We also make a big announcement about Talking Space's coverage of STS-135. An announcement for the ages, not to be missed! We talk about the Multi-Puropse Crew Vehicle (MPCV) taking a tour around the states as well as an announcmement about a date for the announcement of the new Space Launch System (SLS). We then conclude with a heated, interesting discussion that occured at a Republican debate in New Hampshire regarding the United State's space program and its future. To learn about Symbiotic Modulation, check out the site mentioned in the show:http://sciencestorm.com/award/0414463.html For a visual to help out on the audio clip supplied by Mark, please visit http://talkingspaceonline.com for the link Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman Show Recorded - 6/19/2011

Episode 325: Finding NEEMO

On this special episode, we interview the Associate Program Scientist for the International Space Station, Dr. Tara Ruttley. Tara was the Lead Hardware Engineer for the Health Maintenance System on the station until about two years ago when she acquired her current title. Dr. Ruttley discusses with us a couple of the experiments being performed onboard the ISS and some of the intricacies, concerns, and fun facts about them. We talk about her background on getting involved and her interest in biology. We then discuss with her on NEEMO-6, a NASA mission (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) which simulated time onboard the ISS, although underwater. We discuss schedules, aquanauts, and men who don't sound like men underwater. This is an episode not to be missed! For more information on what's going on with science on the ISS, check out: NASA's Site for ISS Research: http://1.usa.gov/mKipOl NASA's ISS Research Twitter account: @ISS_Research For the ISS research blog which Tara is an author for, check out A Lab Aloft at: http://bit.ly/jioBRG To follow Tara on her personal Twitter account, give her a follow at @SpaceMama Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, and special guest Associate Program Scientist for the International Space Station Dr. Tara Ruttley Show Recorded - 6/5/2011

Episode 324: Runways, Crawlerways, and On Their Ways

On this episode of Talking Space, we have a lengthy discussion regarding the final landing of the space shuttle Endeavour, ending a career spanning 25 missions since 1992 ending with STS-134. Mark was at the Kennedy Space Center for landing and we have his updates and interviews. We then discuss with him his experience with the rollout of STS-135, the final flight of Atlantis and the space shuttle program, which occured the night before into the morning of landing. We also mention the launch of Expedition 28, which upon this release launched successfully. We then discuss the SAC-D satellite or Aquarius launching with some Earth science experiments onboard. We then play a conversation from last week's episode which was deleted regarding astronaut Harrison Schmitt giving the idea of eliminating NASA and starting fresh. We then mourn the loss of former KSC Director Lee Scherer. To view the launch videos from Ames Research Center discussed in the show, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/shuttle_station/features/sts-134_launch_photo-video.html A photo was inserted here. To view it, please visit http://talkingspaceonline.com We just recently updated our website! If you haven't checked it out, visit http://talkingspaceonline.com and be sure to send us your feedback! Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman Show Recorded - 6/5/2011 Listen now:

Episode 322: The Ghost of Spacecraft Past

On this clip-filled episode of Talking Space, we begin with the conclusion of the STS-134 mission, recapping the final spacewalks and the outline for the end of Endeavour's operational career. We then briefly discuss STS-135 before delving deeper into it through a special interview which Mark obtained with Space.com writer Denise Chow. We then move on to talk about the rebirth of Orion as the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle, or MPCV, and listen to clips from an interview with Doug Cooke from NASA. Then we finish off by discussing the official loss of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit, who last year became stuck upon a rock. Contact was unable to be reestablished, and we bid her farewell. To read Denise Chow's articles, check out the website http://SPACE.com and you can follow her on Twitter as @DeniseChow Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman Show Recorded - 5/29/2011 Listen now:

Episode 321: Booster Ignition and Liftoff!

On this episode of Talking Space, we countdown 3, 2, 1, as we did on May 16th live on Astronomy.FM reporting on the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. We go into a deep discussion on the subject of STS-134's timeline and payloads, including the spectacular Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS. We then move on to talk about a US Senate hearing on human spaceflight and national security. Listed below is the transcripts of Frank Slazer, Dr. Christopher Chyba, and Capt. Frank Culbertson. We then move on to the case of the busted lunar sample seller, and lastly provide the final result of the BTS-1 mission onboard their Inspiration 1 capsule. The links to the testimonies of the following people to the US Congress are available on http://talkingspaceonline.com: Dr. Christopher Chyba, Professor of Astrophysics and International Affairs, Director, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University Captain Frank L. Culbertson Jr., Astronaut and former Commander of the International Space Station Frank Slazer, Vice President of Space Systems, Aerospace Industries Association The link to the updates on BTS-1 from Camilla herself can be read at http://camilla-corona-sdo.blogspot.com/ Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman Show Recorded - 5/22/2011