Talking Space

Informações:

Sinopsis

A Free and Open Exchange of Ideas and Opinions on All Things Space: Now at http://talkingspaceonline.com!

Episodios

  • Episode 1604: Starship Flight 3 Recap; Safely Watch the April 8 Solar Eclipse

    23/03/2024 Duración: 01h15min

    We’re giving up on new ways to describe how busy it is now in the world of space-related news. Nonetheless, we still have a Starship Flight 3 recap, a look at the next (and last) Delta IV Heavy launch, and we also focus on the upcoming total solar eclipse. But first, in the News Roundup, even more, including: Crew 7 returns from the ISS; RocketLab’s Electron booster launches the “Owl Night Long” mission for Japan-based Synspective; Japan-based Space One launch vehicle explodes during first launch; SpaceX’s controversial land-swap deal in Texas; The White House releases NASA 2025 budget on the heels of the final fiscal year 2024 spending bill for NASA, NOAA and FAA; NASA network of small moon rovers gets ready for work on IM-2 mission; The Post-Delta-IV-Heavy Future of Launch Complex 37 Next, the team discusses some possible alternatives for the future of Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The USAF conducted a public hearing (both in-person and online, which Gene attended)

  • Episode 1603: IM-1 Lunar Mission Recap; Interview with Launch-Viewing Rookie

    08/03/2024 Duración: 01h34min

    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 Coordinat

  • Episode 1602: IM-1 Lunar Lander Launches Successfully; Deep Cuts at JPL a Heartache

    21/02/2024 Duración: 51min

    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

  • Episode1601: Taking Non-Traditional Space Companies and Artisans From Concept to Launchpad: A Conversation With Chantelle Baier of 4Space.

    08/02/2024 Duración: 45min

    Welcome to the First Talking Space of 2024! The Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission is the second flight of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) missions. Its purpose is to have commercial entities be responsible for sending NASA science payloads and eventually cargo to the lunar surface to support human exploration of the Moon. NASA isn't the lead of the mission, but simply one customer of many. This new way of getting to the lunar surface opens a new door for not only researchers but also other non-traditional businesses who may never have thought of participating in spaceflight before to make their first bold steps into the space business. Bolted to the side of the Intitutive Machines NOVA-C IM-1 lander set for its lunar voyage is sculpture called “Moon Phases” conceptualized and designed by artist Jeff Koons. Consisting of 125 small and unique lunar phase sculptures, each one dedicated to someone who contributed to humanity for good in some way, it’s bolted to the side of the spacecraft set to be t

  • Episode 1515: What Do Aussies Think About Space?

    28/12/2023 Duración: 50min

    First off, apologies are in order for our extended absence from your podcast-hungry ears. We try our best to record on a consistent basis, but sometimes there’s a perfect storm of Life Events getting in the way for the Talking Space team when it comes down to getting an episode in the can. We DID even record an episode with Gene and Larry that we could not air because Larry’s audio track for the recording was not usable due to, of all things, an intermittently malfunctioning microphone. Sometimes the Universe just plain conspires against us. In the News Roundup:  First: Be encouraged and inspired. Watch an interview with former astronaut Jose Hernandez on This Week in Space, as well as his new biopic, A Million Miles Away. Here’s a link to the trailer. His daughter interviews him here. Next, we have an update on the Center for Biological Diversity, et al’s Starship lawsuit against the FAA, SpaceX, and a new defendant added recently: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Also, what’s happening now to qualify Spa

  • Episode 1514: Starship vs. the Fish People, MSR Woes and a Powerful Tale from ASCEND

    05/11/2023 Duración: 01h06min

    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

  • Episode 1513: What’s a WR? How does it Affect Starship’s Next Launch Date?

    22/09/2023 Duración: 01h33s

    So much has happened so fast in the last couple of weeks related to SpaceX’s pursuit of Starship’s Flight 2 launch license. Look at all these goings-on: September 10, 2023: The list of 63 corrective actions specified in the Mishap Investigation Report are published; September 13, 2023: Acting FAA Administrator Polly Trottenberg comments to reporters that “We’re working well with them (SpaceX) and I think we’re optimistic sometime next month,” whatever that means. Trottenberg also mentions that SpaceX would also need a separate environmental approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) before a launch. She didn’t say how long that might take. Late Friday afternoon on September 15, 2023: News from FAA that they were performing a Written Reevaluation (WR) of the 2022 Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA). The WR will evaluate all the new environmental data collected as a result of the April 20, 2023 initial test launch of Starship, and will include results of an Endangered Species Act (ESA) con

  • Episode 1512: Pretty Plasma Trail, But Not from Starship Anytime Soon?

    17/09/2023 Duración: 01h11min

    This episode brings lots of Space news from around the globe, as well as from our own back yards. Literally.  First off: both Sawyer and Mark witnessed the plasma trail from the latest Crew Dragon reentry from their own back yards. A photo that looks … kind of like what they saw (taken by NASA) … is shown here. Next, we have plenty of news in the roundup, including: How LeoLabs worked with the European Space Agency (ESA) to support Aeolus satellite’s controlled reentry ULA's 98th launch for NRO and 157th launch with 100 percent mission success was SILENTBARKER/ NROL 107 on 10 Sept, 2023 How and why the majority of NASA’s buildings are in need of serious maintenance – or demolition The ongoing New Horizons Mission saga Virgin Galactic flies a group of “Founder” astronauts in its fourth flight NASA’s Frank Rubio breaks the US space endurance record NASA and Axiom announce the Axiom 3 crew The GAO says NASA’s Space Launch System needs more cost transparency Then, the team discusses the 36-page report of the NAS

  • Episode 1511: Looking Outside the Bubble – A Conversation With Nathan Price

    04/09/2023 Duración: 47min

    How many people outside the space community know about the Artemis Moon to Mars program? What do people who don’t follow spaceflight think of the current program? If given a chance, would YOU go to the Moon or Mars? Our guest, Nathan Price, is attempting to explore these questions with people who don’t typically follow the space program all that closely. Countdown to the Moon aims to have a daily conversation with a single person about space exploration and their attitudes toward space. The purpose is to understand how the public perceives space exploration and make an electronic time capsule on how people in our time may perceive the future. After participating in the interview process, Talking Space’s Gene Milkulka decided to discuss with Nathan what was the driving force behind the project, and what has surprised him about the conversations he has had thus far.  Nathan Price lives in the Houston, Texas area and founded the National Space Society’s North Houston chapter. He worked in Information Technology

  • Episode 1510: Artemis III – A Different Mission?

    20/08/2023 Duración: 53min

    ESA’s Aeolus earth observation satellite, launched in August 2018,  ended its primary mission on July 28, 2023.  It still had one final mission: a safe, fiery, controlled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere conducted by the European Space Agency flight controllers. Larry Herrin provides details of the importance of this maneuver.     August 8, 2023 was Artemis II media day at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development Jim Free, and the Crew of the Artemis II mission, provided an update on the upcoming lunar reconnaissance mission. Jim Free was also asked about the status of the Human Landing System and how its progress may impact the Artemis III lunar landing attempt. Gene Mikulka reports. The link to the press conference on the NASA YouTube page can be found here.     In a separate press telecon on August 7, Boeing Space and NASA gave updates on the progress of the Starliner capsule that will be used to transport crew to the internatio

  • Episode 1509: Starship Launch Delays – a Triple Whammy?

    30/07/2023 Duración: 55min

    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 s

  • Episode 1508: Starship, ULA & STEM news

    23/07/2023 Duración: 45min

    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 s

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

    14/07/2023 Duración: 53min

    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 Artem

  • Episode 1506: Shocking Answers to Your Starship Lawsuit Questions

    02/07/2023 Duración: 01h02min

    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 20th 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 thro

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

    10/06/2023 Duración: 57min

    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

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

    19/05/2023 Duración: 50min

    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). T

  • Episode 1503: Of Spaceplanes and Starships

    05/05/2023 Duración: 53min

    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 w

  • Episode 1502: 50-50 and More

    25/04/2023 Duración: 34min

    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

    04/04/2023 Duración: 48min

    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 complicate

  • Episode 1407: The ”Endurance” of Commercial Crew

    05/11/2022 Duración: 01h28min

    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.

página 1 de 16