Talking Space

Episode 1508: Starship, ULA & STEM news

The environmental lawsuit brought by a consortium of environmental and tribal groups against the FAA and SpaceX has shown no visible movement since July 5, 2023, but we have all the details on what did transpire on that date. Turns out that since our recording date, another filing in the case 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 in the timeframe of December 2023 or January of 2024, or maybe even later. More on this to come next time!

Believe it or not, there are a few other stories in the News Roundup:

• NASA selects Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to further advance the capabilities of their respective spacesuits by pulling a switcheroo on them.
• A new robotic, scientific instrument package with a lovely new acronym – DIMPLE –  has been selected for Artemis through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) to study volcanic terrain on the Moon.
• The asteroid sample-return mission known as OSIRIS Rex is making a number of course-correction burns this month to set it up for a precision landing in the Great Salt Lake Desert on September 24, 2023.

Next, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) says despite recent anomalies involving their Centaur V upper stage and the BE-4 engines built by Blue Origin, Vulcan should still fly this year, although behind schedule. We respectfully disagree.

Then, we bring you a discussion on a subject near and dear to everyone’s heart here on the Talking Space team: STEM education programs and their importance in securing the future competitiveness of the USA, the future of our children and the well-being of the planet. FYI, STEM represents science, technology, engineering and math. NASA has recently awarded millions in STEM research grants to schools all over the country. All this may sound corny, but you can’t argue with how it’s changed lives. Also, here’s a STEM center success story that is very personal to Sawyer.

Finally, a reminder from whence we came: This past week was the 54th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon mission, which carried Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the lunar surface for the first-ever manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969. Meanwhile, Michael Collins piloted the Command Module, which then took all three astronauts back home.

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 07-16-2023.

 

Host: Sawyer Rosenstein

Panelist(s): Mark Ratterman and Larry Herrin (Gene Mikulka and Dr. Kat Robison will return)

Podcast Editor: Larry Herrin

Transition Music Credit: Pixabay - StudioKolomna

Episode 1507: A Secret Mission and … OceanGate’s Titan?

You may ask, “Why are we talking about the OceanGate Expeditions’ Titan submersible tragedy in a podcast dedicated to space-related stuff?” The commonality with undersea exploration is the lack of Human Commercial Spaceflight Safety Regulations. Do we need more regulation? The team muses about this issue in this episode of Talking Space.

But first, the News Roundup: 

• Mark manages to both provide us interesting info as well as to humanize the launch he witnessed of a classified military payload -- the mission designated NROL-68. 
• A classified military orbital mission notwithstanding, there’s still lots of news we CAN provide details about in this episode, including the ribbon-cutting ceremony for NASA’s Earth Resource Information Center in Washington, D.C.
•  The final flight of the Ariane V, VA261, was postponed during rollout. After an additional weather delay on July 4, the final launch of the Ariane 5 rocket took place on Wednesday, July 5. 
• Ecuador and India become the 26th and 27th signatories of the Artemis Accords.
• The Mars Sample Return mission’s cost has skyrocketed, according to a report in Ars Technica. Will it affect the budgets or existence of other planetary research missions? Gene has some insights.
• The Deep Space Food Challenge, an international competition sponsored by NASA to innovate food production for deep space missions, is heading into its final phase. Mark has details.

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 06-25-2023.

 

Host: Sawyer Rosenstein

Panelist(s): Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman and Larry Herrin (Dr. Kat Robison will return)

Podcast Editor: Mark Ratterman

NROL-68 Mission Patch photo credit: NRO, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Delta IV Heavy launch photo credit: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., (June 22, 2023) A ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the NROL-68 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 at 5:18 a.m. EDT on June 22. Photos by United Launch Alliance

 

Delta IV Heavy opening a portal to the heavens Photo Credit: Lavie Ohana @Lavie154 @WeAreSpaceScout

Episode 1506: Shocking Answers to Your Starship Lawsuit Questions

Talk all you want about the delays caused by repairs/mods to the launch pad and re-certifying the Autonomous Flight Termination System, the real issue that is grounding Starship at Boca Chica is this one thing: The Lawsuit.

You know … the one filed by a consortium of environmental groups and Indigenous tribes against the FAA alleging (based on the observable environmental damage wrought by the April test launch) FAA’s inadequate oversight and review of SpaceX’s plans and operations at Boca Chica.

This time around, Larry Herrin and Gene Mikulka are joined by the guy who accurately predicted that the Starship test launch last April 20^th would cause more damage than SpaceX or the FAA’s own calculations predicted in its worst-case scenario. His name is Eric Roesch, and he goes by the Twitter handle @ESGHound.

Turns out, Eric has experience working both the consulting and regulatory sides of the fence in shepherding Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) documents through the process; knows quite a bit about the related issues; and has some well-reasoned answers to questions like:

• Eric, how do you know so much about this stuff?
• Why did SpaceX want to join the FAA as a co-defendant in the lawsuit?
• What are some of the strategies the Plaintiffs may use to try to win it all (or at least wrangle some additional mitigations that SpaceX will have to implement)?
• How much longer will we have to wait for a decision?
• What is the most likely outcome? Will it be:
  • The Plaintiffs win it all, and SpaceX must go back to the drawing board for years while a new Environmental Impact Statement is prepared, reviewed, and revised again and again?
  • The Plaintiffs manage to wrangle some concessions, and FAA adds some additional mitigations to the existing National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document with which SpaceX must comply?
  • Defendants prevail and it’s business as usual under the existing launch license?

The answers may surprise you!

All will be revealed in this episode of Talking Space.

Please be sure to let us know your thoughts on the topics we discuss. You can always reach us at mailbag@TalkingSpaceOnline.com .

 

How to contact Eric and read his writings:

website: blog.esghound.com

Substack: esghound.substack.com

Twitter: @ESGHound

 

Show recorded 06-21-2023.

 

Host: Larry Herrin

Panelist(s): Gene Mikulka (Mark Ratterman, Sawyer Rosenstein and Dr. Kat Robison will return)

Podcast Editor: Larry Herrin

Episode 1505: SpaceX Can’t Slow Down; Starliner’s Pet Black Swan

This episode is packed full of news and insights. Let’s get to it!

 

In the News Roundup:

• NASA selects the second lunar lander partnership for the Artemis moon missions
• Rocket Lab scoops up a bargain with purchase of lease for Virgin Orbit’s Long Beach, CA headquarters and the usual “certain other assets”
• Virgin Galactic’s Unity 25 successful test flight with a full test-crew complement – next comes paying customers
• Spain joins the Artemis Accords
• The Axiom Ax2 Mission is accomplished, spending eight days aboard the ISS and returning to Earth safely on May 30, 2023
• Join the Europa Clipper mission and have your name engraved on NASA’s spacecraft as it prepares to leave for Europa

 

Next, Larry brings us a story about Elon Musk’s companies (SpaceX and The Boring Company) making messes seemingly everywhere they go in Texas. Regulatory agencies can hardly keep up with the citations and Notices of Violation for environmental and public safety concerns. Regarding our coverage of an environmentalist group’s lawsuit against the FAA: while we did report that SpaceX also responded to the lawsuit with its own filing with the court a request to be included as a defendant in the lawsuit, we did not mention in the episode that SpaceX’s filing outlines the potential consequences for the company if the environmentalists prevail in the lawsuit. These consequences include negative outcomes for its business as well as damage to the “substantial national interest.” SpaceX also asserted that the scientific knowledge facilitated by Starship would suffer as a result. These are all valid concerns, and it’s likely there are ways to satisfy both sides of this issue without undue delay or unjustified expense. We’ll be following this issue closely.

 

Finally, Gene and Sawyer provide detailed insights to the news that the first-ever crewed launch of the Boeing Starliner astronaut capsule has been delayed once again due to safety issues with the spacecraft’s parachutes and electrical wiring harness tape that were discovered in late May.  

 

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 06-04-2023.

 

Host: Sawyer Rosenstein

Panelists: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman and Larry Herrin (Dr. Kat Robison will return)

Podcast Editor: Larry Herrin

Transition Music Credit: Pixabay - StudioKolomna

Episode 1504: Space Debris Risks – Perception vs. Reality With a Little Human Nature Thrown In

Talk about risky! This time around, the two cousins are being left alone to see what mischief they can get up to. Good thing there’ll be an adult in the room. 

Mark Ratterman and Larry Herrin are joined by our guest, NASA’s Dr. Mary K. Kaiser, to discuss the omnipresent issue of space debris. We are “flexing” once again from our usual format to bring you a wide-ranging discussion that will cover how scientists objectively calculate risk versus subjective risk perception; dealing with Low-Probability/High-Consequence Risks; and the realities of basic human nature. How does all this relate to the issue of space debris and the world’s willingness to do something about it? We’re about to find out!

As mentioned, our guest for this discussion is Dr. Mary K. Kaiser. Dr. Kaiser spent 30 years as a research psychologist in the Human Systems Integration Division at NASA Ames Research Center. She now serves as a consultant to the Human Factors Technical Discipline Team at the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). This fascinating scientist spends her days worrying about things as diverse as subjective risk perception and innovative spacecraft instrument display technologies. She has authored or co-authored dozens of scientific papers, holds two patents, and is the self-published author of a novel, “The Muse of Kill Devil Hills,” available now on Amazon. 

Then, see and hear Dr. Kaiser’s NASA NESC Academy presentation on “Miserable Risk Estimation: "Managing" Low-Probability, High-Consequence Risks" here.

If you want to hear even more about Dr. Kaiser’s very interesting career, keep listening after the main podcast for a big Easter egg’s worth of conversation we left there for you!

Let us know what you think of our new “flexible” format and your thoughts on this week’s show. You can always reach us at mailbag@TalkingSpaceOnline.com .

Show recorded 5-15-2023.

Host: Larry Herrin

Panelists: Mark Ratterman

Podcast Editor: Larry Herrin

Gene Mikulka, Sawyer Rosenstein and Dr. Kat Robison will be back.

Episode 1503: Of Spaceplanes and Starships

In this installment, we welcome Larry Herrin, a former 10-year-old Apollo astronaut, as the newest pundit on the Talking Space podcasting team. We forgot to mention in the show that Larry is also Mark Ratterman’s cousin!

As his inaugural contribution, Larry tells us about a relatively new, reusable, rocket-powered spaceplane designed and built by New Zealand-based Dawn Aerospace. You can find out more at Dawn Aerospace’s website.       

Then Gene, Mark, and Larry take on the story of the week: The first launch of the SpaceX Starship on the morning of April 20. The team discusses the launch itself, the ramifications of the launch (citing “The Next 30 Trips” blog and the" ESG Hound " blog ), the fallout from residents, the mishap investigation which has grounded the Starship program, and what may happen in the months ahead.

NOTE: Since this recording, several conservation groups have brought legal action against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for granting the Starship launch license to SpaceX. This will be a story we will be following.   

Let us know what you think of our new “flexible” format and your thoughts on this week’s show. You can always reach us at mailbag@TalkingSpaceOnline.com .

Show recorded 4-30-2023.

Host: Mark Ratterman

Panelists: Gene Mikulka, Larry Herrin

Podcast Editor: Larry Herrin

Sawyer Rosenstein and Dr. Kat Robison will be back.

Episode 1502: 50-50 and More

We start this week off with a roundup of news from NASA with the announcement of the Artemis II crew, its Mars Habitat, the second independent review of the Mars Sample Return, and a celebration of two missions hitting 50 - 50 orbits for Juno and 50 flights for Ingenuity (and you can even an audio recording of the Mars helicopter here). We then chatted about Blue Origin’s Club for Future and the FAA licensing of Starship’s launch attempt. 

The first of our main stories was a discussion of the successful launch of ESA’s JUICE mission to study the icy moons of the Jovian system, including taking some selfies as it began its journey. We wrapped up with a report from the recent NASA student launch competitions, which you can see for yourself on MSFC’s YouTube. 

Show recorded 4-16-2023

Panelists: Dr Kat Robison and Mark Ratterman

Episode 1501: New Season, New Era

Talking Space returns for its fifteenth season with a new format!

First up, we have a brief roundup of news, including Kathy Lueders retirement from NASA, with Ken Bowsersox set to take over Space Operations on May 1st, the cessation of Virgin Orbit’s operations, more delays with Starliner, Soyuz’s uncrewed return to Earth, and a special report on one of our favorite non-rocket vehicles at KSC from Mark.

We then head down under as Kat provides an update on Australian space news, including AUKUS in space, NASA’s visit to Canberra and Adelaide, including their announcement of a new Indigenous internship at JPL, and the first woman to be trained under the Australia Flag, Katherine Bennell-Pegg – who also happens to be the Director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency. Mark continues our show with a discussion of the next Artemis RS-25, and shares some facts about the engines from Aerojet Rocketdyne that were even new to us on the show.

Gene rounds the show off with a discussion of the complicated funding and politics of the VERITAS mission to Venus, which has encountered delays and setbacks (and what amounts to a “soft cancellation”), despite being on budget and time and the exciting announcement of volcanic activity on Venus.

We dedicate this show to the memory of Helene Smith. Please be sure to let us know what you think of the new format and let us know your thoughts on the topics of the show. 

Show recorded: 4-1-2023

Host: Sawyer Rosenstein

Panelists: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, & Dr. Kat Robison

Episode 1407: The ”Endurance” of Commercial Crew

The Talking Space team was on site as the Crew-5 astronauts and cosmonaut made their way to the ISS. Hear the launch audio plus what went on behind the scenes when a hurricane threatened the mission and ground infrastructure.

Full show notes coming soon.

Episode 1406: Launchapalooza

August 4th, 2022, was one of the most active launch days in recent memory. The Talking Space Team attempts to check all the boxes bringing a little insight into each one, including some launch audio from the Mighty AtalsV that carried the SIBRSGEO 6 into orbit and the scream of the Falcon 9 as it took South Korea’s KPLO probe to the Moon. 

 We briefly discuss some debris left from a Chinese rocket that showered down on the Philippines and some flotsam from the SpaceX Crew-1 Trunk that impacted an Australian sheep paddock.  

The war in Ukraine has impacted everything for the worse. The repercussions have been felt far and wide, and the space sector has not been immune. The Northrup Grumman Antares 230 launch vehicle is another victim of the war; the fabrication shop for its core stage located in Ukraine was destroyed. With only enough parts to assemble two more rockets, Northrup Grumman has a plan for a domestic version of Antares, which will take an unusual alliance of a bold new corporate venture and an old lion ready to learn new tricks. 

Speaking of Russia, is Roscosmos leaving the International Space Station Partnership like the mainstream media is saying? We provide real context around the story.

Artemis -1, the first launch of a new program to return humans to the Moon, create a sustainable presence there, and move on to Mars, is set for an August 29th launch attempt. We discuss the mission objectives for this first flight, the non-human crew, and the implications for this test flight. 

Dr. Kat Robeson brings a NASA JPL article to our attention concerning the Antarctic Ice Shelf and the loss of mass it may have experienced. We also mention that on the day we recorded ( August 11th ), operational control of the  Landsat 9 Earth Observation Satellite was turned over to the US Geological Survey from NASA. We end the show reminding all that while exploring the heavens is a vital part of space, looking down at our planet is just as critical. 

 

Host: Sawyer Rosenstein

Panelists: Dr Kat Robison & Gene Mikulka 

Engineer and Editor: Mark Ratterman