Talking Space

Episode 1302: Turn it Up to SN-11

This episode is full of plenty of rockets and missions going up....and one that went down explosively.

On this episode, we begin with two crew launches. First the Soyuz MS-18 mission and why an American astronaut was added only a few months before launch. Plus a quick look ahead to Crew-2 aboard a Crew Dragon, and a possible new tradition started by the crew.

Next it's on to Mars, where the Ingenuity helicopter is set to take off. This isn't just significant for future Mars exploration. We go into the potential historical impact of a mini helicopter flying on another world.

Then it's onto the nominee for NASA's next administrator, former Senator Bill Nelson (D) Florida. Former administrator Jim Bridenstine thinks it's a good pick, but what does the panel think?

Then it's onto SpaceX. First, the farewell to Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief, the fairing recovery ships. What does this mean for reusability.

Last but no least, it's all about SN-11, the Starship test flight from Boca Chica (or Starbase depending on your preference) Texas. The mission went up under heavy fog before exploding before landing. What does this mean for the program? Can you still get enough data from just telemetry as opposed to visuals? What led to the decision to fly on that day and how is the FAA somehow involved? Also, is SpaceX learning from these test flights or is it just for show? We look at all these questions and more.

Show recorded 4-7-2021

Host: Sawyer Rosenstein

Panelists: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman,

 

Episode 606: Exploring the "Cosmos"

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

Episode 323: Meteorite Men 'Rock'

On this special episode of Talking Space, we welcome back co-host of the Science Channel original show "Meteorite Men" and now author, Geoff Notkin. We discuss some moments together at the Challenger Centers for Space Science Education and other personal topics. On top of that, we discuss his new book, available online only, Meteorite Hunting: How To Find Treasure From Space. We include talks about shooting stars, land owners with shotguns, late-night stargazing in graveyards, and some behind-the-scenes stories from the television show that you'll never see on air! To purchase a copy of Geoff's book, Meteorite Hunting: How To Find Treasure From Space, please visit http://meteoritehunters.tv. The book ships to anywhere in the known universe, so our international listeners are not excluded from this! For more information on Geoff Notkin as well as more on the Science Channel show "Meteorite Men", check out: http://meteoritemen.com for information on the television show To contact them through social media, check out their Facebook page http://facebook.com/meteoritemen and their Twitter account @meteoritemen as well as Geoff's personal account at @geoffnotkin For Geoff's website and to find out about if a meteorite is geniune or to purchase your own space rock, check out http://aerolite.org Two images were inserted here. To view them, please visit http://talkingspaceonline.com Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, guest panelist CraftLass with special guest, co-host of Meteorite Men and author, Geoff Notkin Show Recorded - 5/2/2011

Episode 218: Come Tweet Away

On this episode, we discuss a very busy week in space news. We talk about the Ariane 5 returning to flight, as well as Japan's (JAXA) H-II A launch of a probe to Venus. We then visit Opportunity setting a longevity record, SpaceX adding more delays, and honor PROP officer Lonnie Schmitt on his 100th shuttle mission behind the doors of mission control. For more info on Lonnie's accomplishment, check out the collectSPACE article by clicking here. We then discuss with Gene and Gina the STS-132 Launch Tweetup which they were selected to attend.  Credit for the audio of David Letterman is from CBS, and CBS maintains all rights to the clip. Below is a picture from the tweetup event. An image has been inserted here. To view the image, please visit http://talkingspaceonline.com. Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman Show Recorded - Sunday 5/23/2010

Episode 217: It's Raining 'Meteorite Men'

On this very special episode, we are joined by special guests Geoffrey Notkin and Steve Arnold of the Science Channel show, "Meteorite Men". We discuss their show, how they both got their start as meteorite hunters, some of their favorite moments from their television program, along with some science and some friendly poking fun.  Gina Herlihy's batteries needed recharging after the STS-132 Tweet-Up so , we asked  Rebecca Setzer (@beccasetz on Twitter) from the broadcast "Astronomy Out & About" heard weekly on Astronomy.FM to join our panel for this week. For more information on the Meteorite Men, please check out the following links: Meteorite Men Website: http://meteoritemen.com Meteorite Men on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/meteoritemen Meteorite Men on Twitter: @meteoritemen Steve Arnold's Company: http://stevearnoldmeteorites.com Geoff Notkin's Company: "Aerolite Meteorites": http://aerolite.org Science Channe's Official Meteorite Men Page:http://science.discovery.com/tv/meteorite-men/ An image has been inserted here. To view the image, please visit http://talkingspaceonline.com. Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, and special guest panelist Rebecca Setzer. Special Guests: Steve Arnold and Geoffrey Notkin of the Science Channel show Meteorite Men. Show Recorded - Sunday 5/16/2010

Episode 201: Can You @SPOTScott? We Did

To kick off our 2nd season of shows, we invite 5-time shuttle astronaut and the only astronaut to summit Mount Everest Dr. Scott Parazynski on the show. We discuss with Dr. Parazynski his climb to the summit along with his spaceflights including STS-120, in which he performed an unplanned spacewalk to repair a damaged solar array which was the difference in the continuation of the ISS construction as planned or a devastating setback to the program. We also discuss the television show on Discovery Channel titled "Everest: Beyond the Limit" which documented his record-setting climb. To keep up with Dr. Scott Parazynski, be sure to follow him on Twitter as @SPOTScott and also visit his website http://www.parazynski.com. For more on Challenger Centers for Space Science Education, visit http://challenger.org. Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein.  Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman and special guest Scott Parazynski. Announcer: Russ Dale (@flight001), Theme Composed by:Todd Cecilio (@negativereturn). Also a very special thanks to Jen Scheer (@flyingjenny) for designing the amazing Talking Space logo. Of course, a special thanks to you, the listener, for making this podcast a success and bringing us to our second season! Remember to email us with questions or comments as text OR an .mp3. Send it to spacetweeppodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/talkingspace Show Recorded - Tuesday, 12/29/2009

Episode 112: I Can Talk for Miles and Miles with Miles

In our last interview of the inaugural season of Talking Space, we welcome on a person who is celebrating the release of the inaugural episode of their video podcast. We welcome on Miles O'Brien, former CNN reporter, who now does launch commentary for http://spaceflightnow.com and also now has his own video podcast titled "This Week in Space". We discuss his new show with him along with his goal of the show, the difficulties, and we also compare with him the differences in this and making a show compared to his nearly 17 year career with CNN and also discuss of events that went on during that time. To watch to "This Week in Space" with Miles O'Brien, you can visit http://spaceflightnow.com where the video is embedded. You can also watch it and subscribe to it on the SpaceflightNow YouTube Channel. It is also available on iTunes at http://bit.ly/72ghQO. For more information on Miles or to watch the episodes on his blog, visit http://milesobrien.com Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein.  Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman and special guest Miles O'Brien. Announcer: Russ Dale, Theme Composed by:Todd Cecilio. Special thanks to all of the members of the Space Tweep Society (http://spacetweepsociety.org ) and the folks at Spacevidcast (http://spacevidcast.com) for their support! Remember to email us with questions or comments as text OR an .mp3. Send it to spacetweeppodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/talkingspace Show Recorded - Tuesday, 12/22/2009into Wednesday, 12/23/2009

Episode 107: Tweet-up, Up, and Away!

In this episode, we devote the entire episode to the STS-129 NASA Launch Tweet-up, and took a look at a different aspect than most people that viewed the tweetup...at the actual event. Our very own Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman were one of the lucky 100 that were able to get in to the event. We discuss some of the guest speakers and the times that we had, as well as major thank yous and acknowledgements of those that were there and helped to make the event so great. Not only that, but we discuss the three major features of the event: 1. The Use of Twitter 2. The intersting guests and surprises 3. Oh yeah! The shuttle launch! Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Gina Herlihy. Announcer: Russ Dale , Space Tweep Theme Composed by: Todd Cecilio. Special thanks to all of the members of the Space Tweep Society (http://spacetweepsociety.org )  The folks at Spacevidcast (http://www.spacevidcast.com) for their support! Remember to email us with questions or comments as text OR an .mp3. Send it to spacetweeppodcast@gmail.com! Show Recorded - Friday, 11/22/2009

Episode 103: Solar Bodies and NASA Programs Hold Water

In this episode, we discuss the recent findings of water on both the moon and near the equator of Mars below the surface. We also discuss the official date of the Ares 1-X test launch and if it will fly, and a special look at the STS-127 Tweetup with our very own Gene Mikulka, who was at the tweetup in Washington D.C. Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Gina Herlihy. Announcer: Russ Dale , Space Tweep Theme Composed by: Todd Cecilio. Special thanks to all of the members of the Space Tweep Society (http://spacetweepsociety.org )  The folks at Spacevidcast (http://www.spacevidcast.com), & Andy Gruswitz at the Apple Store in Rockaway NJ   for their support! Show Recorded - Sunday, 9/27/2009

Episode 101: Single Human Theory & Defying Gravity

Welcome to our first podcast! An open exchange of ideas and opinions about current events in space exploration, space science and policy.  As an introduction we tell you what were all about, what we are not and kick around two topics timely topics in space flight news. Topic One: A possible plan to get humans to the Martian surface made a bit of a splash last week because of it’s unorthodox nature. If you could would you go to Mars alone to explore it’s secrets knowing you will never return back to Earth? That was the idea that made the rounds and our panel of space enthusiasts make their stand on this issue. Topic Two: The ABC Television show Defying Gravity which airs at 10:00 PM EDT On Sunday nights. Is this the vision we want to give the public of our space program or is it a good thing that a show on space exploration is even on TV? Host this week: Gene Mikulka. Panel Members: Mark Ratterman &  Sawyer Rosenstein. Announcer: Russ Dale , Theme Music  Composed by: Todd Cecilio. Special thanks to all of the members of the Space Tweep Society (http://spacetweepsociety.org ) & The folks at Spacevidcast (http://www.spacevidcast.com)  for their support! Show Recorded - Sunday, 9/6/2009