The Orbital Mechanics Podcast

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Every week we cover the latest spaceflight news, discuss past, current and future exploration efforts, and take a look at upcoming events. Tune in to hear about how humans get to space, how they stay in space and how unmanned craft reach farther and farther into the universe around us.

David Fourman, Ben Etherington, and Dennis Just


    • Jun 10, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 53m AVG DURATION
    • 416 EPISODES

    4.8 from 166 ratings Listeners of The Orbital Mechanics Podcast that love the show mention: david and ben, space flight, spaceflight, space news, ben and david, engineering student, interested in space, rocketry, aerospace, space podcast, sol, space related, launches, missions, hardware, mechanics, fanboy, technical, production quality, want to learn.


    Ivy Insights

    The Orbital Mechanics Podcast is an absolute gem for anyone interested in space and spaceflight. With its unique blend of current news, historical exploration, and in-depth discussions on various space-related topics, it provides a comprehensive and entertaining experience for listeners. The hosts, Ben and David, are clearly passionate about the subject matter and their enthusiasm shines through in every episode. They have created a wonderful community around the podcast with engaging segments and opportunities for listener participation. Overall, it is a fantastic project that is well worth your time.

    One of the best aspects of The Orbital Mechanics Podcast is the "This Week in Space History" segment at the beginning of each show. It adds a sense of nostalgia and appreciation for the incredible achievements that have taken place throughout human history in space exploration. It also sets the stage for the rest of the episode by providing context and background information on specific events or missions. Additionally, the podcast covers news from all across the galaxy (and beyond), ensuring a diverse range of topics that keep listeners engaged and informed.

    As for drawbacks, there are very few to be found with The Orbital Mechanics Podcast. Occasionally, some listeners may find that they assume a base level of knowledge from their audience which could make it challenging for newcomers to fully grasp certain concepts or discussions. However, this is mitigated by their effort to be accessible to newcomers while still engaging those who are more familiar with the material.

    In conclusion, The Orbital Mechanics Podcast is an exceptional podcast that combines informative content with entertaining discussions about spaceflight past, present, and future. It has built a passionate community around it and continues to deliver high-quality episodes week after week. If you have any interest in space or simply want to learn more about it, this podcast should not be missed.



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    Latest episodes from The Orbital Mechanics Podcast

    Episode 510.1: Hold hold hold

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2025


    Weird, short episode here, but it still feels weird to not start the show by saying “and I'm Ben.”So, we've had a personal emergency here on the crew. All three of us are fine, and we will let you know more about what's happened, but for right now, this week's episode is delayed. Hopefully it'll be coming out later this week, but I don't know. It may take a little while for things to get back to normal, but hopefully not too long. We just need a little bit of time to cope, and then we can figure out what our plans are.Thank you guys for listening, and you know, I miss y'all.

    Episode 510: Leakspin

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2025 49:06


    Spaceflight News— Starship Block 2: 0 for 3 (spacenews.com) (youtube.com)— Block 3 Update (nasaspaceflight.com)Short & Sweet— Xodiac flies final time (arstechnica.com)— China successfully tests vertical-takeoff vertical-landing rocket (cgtn.com)This Week in Spaceflight Historyii May 24, 1962: Fourth flight of Project Mercury (en.wikipedia.org) (nasa.gov)— Next week (6/10 - 6/16) in 1973: Dos equis

    Episode 509: Hungry Hopping Hippos

    Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2025 58:43


    Spaceflight News— Neutron update (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— China announces mission to Venus (ieee.org)Tianhe to be expanded (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 14 May, 1973. Launch of Skylab (historicspacecraft.com) (PDF: nasa.gov)— Next week (5/20 - 5/26) in 1962: Kickin' up fireflies.

    Episode 508: North of Antarctica

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2025 36:39


    Spaceflight News— Firefly Nozzle Anomaly (spacenews.com) (youtube.com)Short & Sweet— Efforts continue to rescue Lunar Trailblazer (spacenews.com)— ISS avoids space debris (space.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Kosmos 482's parachutes dangling out? (space.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— May 10, 1994: Last contact with the Clementine Spacecraft (en.wikipedia.org) (researchgate.net) (nap.nationalacademies.org) (klabs.org)— Next week (5/13 - 5/19) in 1973: It's the final countdown

    Episode 507: Prolate Marshmallow

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2025 44:10


    Spaceflight News— Sierra Space impact test (asdnews.com)— Atmos reentry test of PHOENIX-1 (spacenews.com) (europeanspaceflight.com)Short & Sweet— Kosmos 482's deorbit update (sattrackcam.blogspot.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— Blue Origin tank failure? (HT ArcadeEngineer: fixupx.com/kerballistic07)This Week in Spaceflight History— 1 May, 1979: Enterprise rolled out to 39A (nasa.gov)— Next week (5/6 - 5/12) in 1994: Lost and gone forever, in orbit

    Episode 506: ISS at Risk

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2025 44:16


    Spaceflight News— The Riskiest Period of ISS' Existence (spacenews.com)— Enginefest — Latitude (europeanspaceflight.com) — Pangea Aerospace (europeanspaceflight.com) — Venus Aerospace (prnewswire.com)Short & Sweet— Building destroyed in explosion at Northrop Grumman test site (space.com)— Seat barter agreement extended through 2027 (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— Unc' Willy: “First flight” is a better term (discord.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— April 24, 1970: Launch of Dong Fang Hong (astronautix.com) (en.wikipedia.org)— Next week (4/29 - 5/5) in 1979: Heading out for a three-month stay

    Episode 505: Confirming Isaacman

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2025 48:33


    Spaceflight News— Confirming Isaacman (spacenews.com) (law.cornell.edu) (aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org)— One of the Lunar Terrain Vehicles unveiled (lunaroutpost.com)Short & Sweet— New addition to DSN (space.com)— DOD hires Astroscale (satellitetoday.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Jonathan McDowell retiring (archive.ph)This Week in Spaceflight History— 18 Apr, 2001. Maiden flight of GSLV Mk. I (a.k.a GSLV-D1) (isro.gov.in) (astronautix.com) (PDF: sci-hub.se) (planet4589.org)— Next week (4/22 - 4/28) in 1970: Is the national anthem really 20 days long?

    Episode 504: Mark Soyuzworth

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2025 38:00


    Spaceflight News— Two more PAMs (spacenews.com) (sam.gov)Short & Sweet— Fram2 launches and lands (arstechnica.com) (space.com)— SpinLaunch turns to broadband (spacenews.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Starliner shakeup (spaceflightnow.com)— From Espen Urkedal: FTS vs VTSThis Week in Spaceflight History— April 10, 1979: Launch (and early return) of Soyuz 33 (en.wikipedia.org) (blazingbulgaria.wordpress)— Next week (4/15 - 4/21) in 2001: Stumbling 58 minutes short of the finish orbit

    Episode 503: DOWNLINK -- Joseph Marlin

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2025 81:46


    Spaceflight News— Security Space (arstechnica.com) (spacenews.com)Interview -- Joseph Marlin, Deputy Chief Engineer, Blue Ghost Lunar Program— linkedin.com/in/josephmarlin— fireflyspace.comThis Week in Spaceflight History— Apr 4, 1983. Launch of STS-6 (americaspace.com)— Next week (4/8 - 4/14) in 1979: Stumbling a mile before the finish line

    Episode 502: Still Sticking

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2025 48:11


    Spaceflight News— Still sticking with Starliner (spacenews.com) (aviationweek.com) (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Starlab starts new phase (space.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— Blaise via email: SRTM gravity gradientsThis Week in Spaceflight History— March 31, 1972: Launch of Kosmos 482 (en.wikipedia.org) (spacereview.com) (leonarddavid.com)— Next week (4/1 - 4/7) in 1983: Orbital structural test article

    Episode 501: MSR China

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2025 43:17


    Spaceflight News— China's Mars Sample Return open to International Cooperation (cgtn.com) (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Several Russian sats on the move (sattrackcam.blogspot.com) (defence-blog.com)— X-37B lands after record-breaking mission (arstechnica.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: leaked starship photos: (HT The Orbital Index: reddit.com) (HT The Orbital Index: reddit.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 18 Mar, 1980. Plesetsk launch pad disaster (plesetzk.ru) (russianspaceweb.com) (bbc.co.uk) (en.wikipedia.org) — Tangent on GRAU indices (en.wikipedia.org)— Next week (3/25 - 3/31) in 1972: Much closer, much easier, but 53 years late

    Episode 500: Quincentennial

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2025 55:45


    Spaceflight News— IM-2 lunar landing (intuitivemachines.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (intuitivemachines.com) (youtube.com)Short & Sweet— Voyager turns off further instruments (space.com)— A Falcon 9 loses a leg (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: ISS too clean (newsbreak.com) (cell.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 15 Mar, 1976. Launch of Lincoln Experimental Satellite 8 and 9 (LES-8 and -9) (skyrocket.de) (wikipedia.org) (ll.mit.edu)— Next week (3/18 - 3/24) in 1980: Wait nine years until “openness”

    Episode 499: Wicked Shimmy

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2025 40:30


    Spaceflight News— Starship TF7 bounced to pieces (Paywall: aviationweek.com) (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Two payloads on IM-2 launch suffering problems on-orbit (spacenews.com)— Space capsule lands in Australia while first rocket readies to launch (spacenews.com) (abc.net.au)— Xona received contract to develop GPS alternative (insidegnss.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Blue Ghost lunar landing? (Spoiler: it did!) (space.com) (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— Feb 26, 1960: Failed launch of MiDAS 1 (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: nro.gov) (PDF: nro.gov)— Next week (3/11 - 3/17) in 1976: Two score and nine years ago

    Episode 498: Decimation

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2025 40:39


    Spaceflight News— Stoke Space reveals Andromeda 2 (stokespace.com)Short & Sweet— Long March 8A completes first flight (spacenews.com)— Germany provides funds for new launch facility (europeanspaceflight.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Blue Origin Layoffs (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 24 Feb, 1996. Launch of POLAR satellite (PDF: ntrs.nasa.gov) (eyes.nasa.gov) (nasaspaceflight.com)— Next week (2/25 - 3/3) in 1960: The copper touch

    Episode 497: Frustrating Frustum

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2025 76:34


    Spaceflight News— The most amazing little rocket that will have ever built (spacenews.com) (aas.org) (aas.org) (aas.org) (PDF: hou.usra.edu)Short & Sweet— Starbase Update (nasaspaceflight.com)— Thales Alenia to build an airlock (europeanspaceflight.com)Vast reschedules Haven-1 (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: ThrustMe pushes into US market (spacenews.com) (thrustme.fr)— Unc' Willy: Frustums, and NGLR (discord.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 11 Feb, 2000: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission launched on STS-99 (en.wikipedia.org) (airandspace.si.edu VIA web.archive.org) (PDF: agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com)— Next week (2/18 - 2/24) in 1996: Goes where it says on the tin.

    Episode 496: Next-Gen Corner Cube

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2025 62:07


    Spaceflight News— Blue Ghost M1 (americaspace.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (fireflyspace.com) (gsfc.nasa.gov) (baas.aas.org) (hou.usra.edu) Short & Sweet— Starliner investigation nears completion (spacenews.com)— AstroForge announces first target (space.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: IRNSS-1K launch failure (thehindu.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— Feb. 6, 1995: STS-63 approaches within 11 meters of Mir (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: nasa.gov) (thespaceabove.us)— Next week (2/11 - 2/17) in 2000: Tail-first and burning fast

    Episode 495: NICER than orange slices

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2025 60:49


    Spaceflight News— NICER repair on EVA 91 (nasaspaceflight.com) (svs.gsfc.nasa.gov) (science.nasa.gov) (svs.gsfc.nasa.gov) (heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov)Short & Sweet— ESA to vote on future of Space Rider spacecraft (europeanspaceflight.com)— China hops higher, maybe (spacenews.com) (bilibili.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: New Shepard's lunar gravity mission (spacenews.com)— Hydraq via email: CH4 hydrodynamics in StarshipThis Week in Spaceflight History— 3 Feb, 1994: The launch of STS-60 (americaspace.com) (americaspace.com) (PDF: nasa.gov) (nss.org)Next week (2/4 - 2/10) in 1995: Hey, it's me again. I'm outside.

    Episode 494: Debris Cross-Range

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2025


    Spaceflight News— Starship FT-7 (nasaspaceflight.com) (spacenews.com) (bsky.app/profile/derekdotspace.bsky.social) (space.com) (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— ISRO successfully docks in space (spacenews.com)— RFA granted license for vertical launch from UK (europeanspaceflight.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: New Glenn First Flight (nasaspaceflight.com) (americaspace.com) (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com)— DarthMooMoo: Varda launched on F9, not Electron (discord.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 22 Jan 1997: Space debris hits a person for the first and only time on record. (HT SciKyle: en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: deepblue.lib.umich.edu) (PDF: apps.dtic.mil) (foxnews.com)— Next week (1/28 - 2/3) in 1994: Call before you come over

    Episode 493: Two Satellites Enter! Five Satellites Leave!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2025 39:36


    Thanks to Dennis O for naming this week's episode!Spaceflight News— Mars Sample Return redesign (spaceflightnow.com) (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— China tests mission extension tech on-orbit (spacenews.com)— X-37B's latest mission passes one-year in space (space.com)— Pale Blue Propulsion (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Eaton/Pallisades fire relief for JPL workers (spacenews.com) (americaspace.com) (securelb.imodules.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— Jan. 17, 2005: US-China Orbital Debris Event (space.com) (PPT: celestrak.org) (spaceref.com) (PDF: orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov)— Next week (1/21 - 1/27) in 1997: A tap on the shoulder

    Episode 492: Lotta Scoopin'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 8, 2025 55:09


    Spaceflight News— Starship TF-7 (spacenews.com) (ringwatchers.com) (spacex.com) (twitter.com)Short & Sweet— India launches space docking demo mission (nasaspaceflight.com) (space.com) (en.wikipedia.org) (isro.gov.in)— Launches gaining frequency (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 10 Jan, 1968: Surveyor 7 lands on the moon (nasa.gov) (ntrs.nasa.gov) (ntrs.nasa.gov)— Next week (1/14 - 1/20) in 2005: Was that the Aurora Australis?

    Episode 491: Everest Space

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2025 42:41


    Spaceflight News— K2 Space wins contract (spaceinsider.tech) (spacenews.com) (addtheegg.com)Short & Sweet— Contracts awarded for NASA's Near Space Network (spacenews.com)— Record breaking spacewalk set by Shenzhou-19 crew (spacenews.com)— Crew-10 delayed (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 2 Jan, 1959. Launch of Luna 1, first spacecraft to reach the Moon (en.wikipedia.org) (smithsonianmag.com) (mentallandscape.com) (smithsonianmag.com)— Next week (1/7 - 1/13) in 1968: Highlander - there can be only one (of seven)

    Episode 490: PhageX

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2024 38:19


    Spaceflight News— Orion's heat shield (americaspace.com) (nasa.gov)Short & Sweet— Tests of Russian Orbital Station core module announced (interfax.com)— Ingenuity's Crash Investigation (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) (youtube.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— Joel Rogers via email: Young and Crippen didn't fly on Enterprise.This Week in Spaceflight History— December 17, 2012: Grasshopper makes its first real hop (spacenews.com) (en.wikipedia.org)— Next week (1/1 - 1/6) in 1959: To the moon! Uh... to the Sun!

    Episode 489: Swirl Domination

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2024 42:00


    Spaceflight News— Swirl-dominated chambers (payloadspace.com) (https://www.sierraspace.com) (Pic, from researchgate.net) (PDF: nasa.gov)Short & Sweet— So long Sutherland Spaceport (satellitetoday.com)Further delays to Artemis program announced (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 12 Dec, 1970. Launch of Uhuru (nasa.gov) (PDF: jhuapl.edu)— Next week (12/17 - 12/23) in 2012: Ride ‘em, cowboy

    Episode 488: Chonky Copter

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2024 44:07


    Spaceflight News— Epsilon can't stop exploding (space.com) (youtu.be) (PDF: jaxa.jp)— A Dragonfly on a Falcon Heavy (satellitetoday.com)Short & Sweet— Old spaceport, newish rocket (europeanspaceflight.com)— New rocket, new spaceport (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: New Glenn on the pad (space.com) (blueorigin.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 3 Dec, 2003: Shuttle Training Aircraft loses part of an engine (iasa.com.au VIA web.archive.org) (en.wikipedia.org) (simpleflying.com)— Next week (12/10 - 12/16) in 1970: Equatorial eyes

    Episode 487: What's that smell?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2024 40:57


    Spaceflight News— Global grasshoppers — Russia's hopper (arstechnica.com) — EU's hopper (europeanspaceflight.com)Short & Sweet— Omani spaceport looks to launch next month (www.thenationalnews.com)— China tests inflatable spacecraft on orbit (news.cgtn.com) (space.com) (spacenews.com)— Starship Test Flight Six (nasaspaceflight.com) (spacenews.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Progress contamination (russianspaceweb.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— November 28, 1983: Launch of STS-9, Columbia (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: nasa.gov) (nasa.gov) (americaspace.com)— Next week (12/3 - 12/9) in 2003: You've heard of the space banana, but what about the Banana River dunk?

    Episode 486: 300mm of Mercury

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2024 54:21


    Spaceflight News— Zvezda leak disagreement (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (arstechnica.com)Short & Sweet— NGR is in the building! (spacenews.com)— Bye bye ABL (from launch anyway) (arstechnica.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 24 Nov, 1970. Launch of Kosmos 379 (astronautix.com) (russianspaceweb.com) (russianspaceweb.com) — Next week (11/26 - 12/2) in 1983: And then there were six

    Episode 485: Shuttle Sandwich

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2024 45:57


    Spaceflight News— CRS-2 extended (spacenews.com) (sam.gov)Short & Sweet— Gilmour ups and Bowen downs (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com)— LignoSat to be deployed from ISS (popsci.com) (nanosats.eu)— Long March 9: Starship (arstechnica)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: LEO safety study (PDF: ntrs.nasa.gov)This Week in Spaceflight History— 12 Nov, 1981: The launch of STS-2 (en.wikipedia.org) (nasa.gov) (historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov)— Next week (11/19 - 11/25) in 1970: LELO: Low-Earth “Lunar” Orbit

    Episode 484: Runaway Ramp

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2024 37:00


    Spaceflight News— Shenzhou-19 reaches Tiangong (spaceflightnow.com)— Mirror platform for Tiangong (news.cgtn.com) (youtube.com)— Low-cost Tiangong cargo S/C (spacenews.com)— “Kinetica-2 [selected] as top launcher choice” (twitter.com/cas_space)— Crewed moon rover (spacenews.com) (twitter.com/YuqiiQian)Short & Sweet— Artemis heat shield chunks (spacenews.com)— Liquid water on Mars (nature.com VIA nasaspaceflight.com) (news.berkeley.edu)— California startup develops ABEP system (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— November 8, 2004: First launch of a Soyuz 2 carrier rocket (en.wikipedia.org) (v2rockethistory.com)— Next week (11/12 - 11/18) in 1981: 40% of the mission, 90% of the objectives.

    Episode 483: 100 Abort Criteria

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2024 45:17


    Spaceflight News— Starship Flight 5 Review “Leaked” (spacenews.com) (twitter.com/elonmusk) (spacenews.com) (HT DennisO: x.com/StarshipGazer)Short & Sweet— Crew-8 post-landing medical issue (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (blogs.nasa.gov)— Companies to bring commercial launch to Ireland (europeanspaceflight.com)— ACS-3's a little crooked (space.com) (blogs.nasa.gov)— Mars Sample Revision (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Aerojet 260 solid rocket test (en.wikipedia.org)This Week in Spaceflight History— 3 Nov, 1994. Launch of STS-66 (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: nasa.gov) (nss.org) (youtu.be)— Next week (11/5 - 11/11) in 2004: A blind bowling ball

    Episode 482: Geostationary Explosive Orbit

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2024 54:30


    Thanks to Dennis O for naming this week's episode!Spaceflight News— Intelsat 33e loses power and blows up (spacenews.com) (x.com/S4S_SDA) (reddit.com)Short & Sweet— Sirius Space hot fire (europeanspaceflight.com)— A Firefly to launch a Jackal (satellitetoday.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— Ross Peterson: Super Heavy's reentry heating— Taylor S Marks: ISS graveyard orbit (discord.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 27 Oct, 1992. Launch of the Znamya 2 solar power antenna (en.wikipedia.org) (thespacereview.com) (qsl.net) (skypub.com VIA web.archive.org)— Next week (10/29 - 11/4) in 1994: holding the weight of LEO on your shoulders

    Episode 481: Deorbit Strategies

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2024 30:01


    Spaceflight News— Worries about ISS making a splash (spacenews.com) (PDF: nasa.gov) (spacenews.com) (space.com)Short & Sweet— X-37B to perform aerobraking maneuver (defenseone.com)— Rocket Lab wins Mars Sample Return concept award (spacenews.com)— Vast unveils details on Haven-1 (payloadspace.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Starship Flight Test 5 (youtu.be) (nasaspaceflight.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— October 17, 1974: Founding of OTRAG (en.wikipedia.org) (youtube.com) (youtube.com) (bernd-leitenberger.de)— Next week (10/22 - 10/28) in 1992: To shreds, you say!

    Episode 480: Phenolic Burnthrough

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2024 55:07


    Spaceflight News-- Vulcan anomaly (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) (spaceflightnow.com) (spacenews.com) (twitter.com/dwisecinema) (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet-- Voyager 2 turns off science instrument (inverse.com)-- Super bright Qianfan satellites (spacenews.com)-- NASA reduces rate of ISS leak (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- Unc' Willy: Crossfield's employer (discord.com)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 8 Oct, 2012: The launch of CRS-1 (en.wikipedia.org) (nasaspaceflight.com)-- Next week (10/15 - 10/21) in 1974: The original SpaceX

    Episode 479: VIPER Sting

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2024 43:05


    Spaceflight News-- VIPER opinions (spacenews.com) (sam.gov) Short & Sweet-- Chinese lunar spacesuit revealed (cgtn.com) (space.com)-- Upper stage anomaly grounds Falcon 9 (space.com) (spacenews.com)-- MaiaSpace moves in (spacenews)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 2 Oct, 1921. Birth of Scott Crossfield (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: govinfo.gov) (magazine.washington.edu)-- Next week (10/8 - 10/14) in 2012: A boxy box delivery

    Episode 478: ISRO Audit

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2024 35:37


    Spaceflight News-- ISRO rising (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet-- Iran successfully launches research satellite (almayadeen.net)-- Ariane 6 software fix (spacenews.com)-- Yutu 2 turns six (space.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From the intro: Sirius Space will launch from Australia (europeanspaceflight.com)This Week in Spaceflight History-- Launch of Shenzhou 7 (神舟七号) (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: nescacademy.nasa.gov) (youtube.com) (youtube.com)-- Next week (10/1 - 10/7) in 1921: Flying with Michael Burnham

    Episode 477: Land Ahoy

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2024 29:54


    Spaceflight News-- Landspace lands (spacenews.com) (youtube.com)Short & Sweet-- New Glenn to attempt landing (HT Chris Radcliff: https://twitter.com/davill)-- Chang'e-6 extended mission (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From the intro: Polaris Dawn spacewalk (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (youtube.com)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 22 Sep, 2006. Launch of Hinode (日の出) (nasa.gov) (eoportal.org) (esa.int) (en.wikipedia.org)-- Next week (9/24 - 9/30) in 2008: And then there were three

    Episode 476: Qrbital MeQaniQs

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2024 46:12


    Spaceflight News-- BepiColombo insertion delayed (europeanspaceflight.com) (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) (esa.int)Short & Sweet-- EscaPADE DelAYED (spacenews.com)-- Starliner Returned (arstechnica.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com)-- Vega's final launch (satellitetoday.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From the intro: Blue Origin's new drone ship (HT DennisO: https://x.com/_mgde_) (space.com)-- Haragopal: Europa Clipper's flying on Falcon Heavy, not New Glenn (discord.com)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 10 Sept, 2009: The launch of HTV-1 (en.wikipedia.org) (humans-in-space.jaxa.jp) (PDF: nasa.gov)-- Next week (9/17 - 9/23) in 2006: Flying to where the Sun never rises

    Episode 475: Falcon Crunch

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2024 31:41


    Spaceflight News-- B1062 lost (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (youtube.com) (HT ArcadeEngineer: twitter.com)Short & Sweet-- Intuitive Machines selected for lunar South Pole mission (spacenews.com)-- Stoke Space wins contract to prototype cargo delivery (satellitetoday.com) (stokespace.com)-- Starliner wob wob (spacenews.com) (arstechnica.com) (spacenews.com) (blogs.nasa.gov)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From the intro: Europa Clipper (planetary.org)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 6 Sept, 1988: The troublesome landing of Soyuz TM-5 (russianspaceweb.com) (en.wikipedia.org)-- Next week (9/10 - 9/16) in 2009: Stork with a smile

    Episode 474: Another Six Months

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2024 52:38


    Spaceflight News-- Starliner crew to return on Dragon (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com)Short & Sweet-- EscaPADE arrives in Florida (spacenews.com)-- SLS gets bumped up a block (spacenews)-- RFA first stage lost in test-firing anomaly (arstechnica.com) (spacenews.com) (europeanspaceflight.com) (youtu.be)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 27 Aug, 1985. Launch of STS-51-I (PDF: nasa.gov) (youtube.com) (forum.nasaspaceflight.com) (historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov) (PDF: ntrs.nasa.gov) (wikiarchives.space) (en.wikipedia.org)-- Next week (9/3 - 9/9) in 1988: Shouldn't have had that last cup of coffee

    Episode 473: DOWNLINK--Rocket Lab's EscaPADE Team

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2024 74:13


    Spaceflight News-- First polar-orbiting crewed mission announced (spacenews.com) (arstechnica.com)Short & Sweet-- New solid rocket game in town (breakingdefense.com) (spacenews.com)-- Spaceport Rundown (flyingmag.com) (europeanspaceflight.com) (cnbc.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From Espen Urkedal via email: Raptor 3 is not as incomplete as it looks (twitter.com/gwynne_shotwell)Interview -- Rocket Lab's Cristophe Mandy and Sarah Blyde-- There's also a brief appearance by Lane Cook, Senior Program Manager-- Thank you so much to the Rocket Lab team for making their time and facility available to us!-- rocketlabusa.comThis Week in Spaceflight History-- 24 Aug, 1958: The failed launch of Explorer 5 (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: nasa.gov)-- Next week (8/27 - 9/2) in 1985: Big Astronaut, Little Astronaut

    Episode 472: Megadebris

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2024 31:29


    Spaceflight News-- Megadebris? (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (slingshot.space)Short & Sweet-- NEOWISE ends operations (space.com) (spaceflightnow.com)-- Starliner still stuck at Station (spaceflightnow)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From Upcoming Spaceflight Events: -- JUICE Earth flyby #1 on Aug 19/20 (esa.int) -- Online FAA meeting RE: Starship launch cadence on Aug 20 (faa.gov)This Week in Spaceflight History-- August 15, 1969: Creation of ISRO (en.wikipedia.org) (britannica.com)-- Next week (8/20 - 8/26) in 1958: Catching a second wind

    Episode 471: Rubber Baby Whipple Bumper

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2024 38:32


    Spaceflight News-- ADRAS-J rendezvous (HT Zach: twitter.com/CRD2_JAXA) (astroscale.com) (PDF: astroscale.com VIA astroscale.com)Short & Sweet-- POLARIS spaceplane startup back on track (europeanspaceflight.com)-- Dawn does docking (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From the intro: JWST looks at Epsilon Indi A (nasaspaceflight.com)-- Ryan R: TEA-TEB is a pre-mixed fluid (discord.com)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 10 Aug, 1992. Launch of the first major oceanographic research satellite, TOPEX/Poseidon (en.wikipedia.org) (jpl.nasa.gov) (eoportal.org) (aviso.altimetry.fr) -- T/P data is used in this sea level rise dashboard (climate.nasa.gov)-- Next week (8/13 - 8/19) in 1969: This agency is ro-bust

    Episode 470: DOWNLINK--Martin Frederick

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2024 84:25


    Spaceflight News-- Falcon 9 Return to Flight (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com)Short & Sweet-- ABL Static fire failure (spacenews.com)-- Starliner Debugging (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- The RAX bug was caused by differing clocks (youtube.com)Interview -- Martin Frederick, Northrop Grumman Corporate Director, Civil Space Programs-- linkedin.com-- Further reading: -- JWST (northropgrumman.com) -- TRMM (gpm.nasa.gov) (trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov)This Week in Spaceflight History-- July 31, 1992: Launch of Atlantis on STS-46 (en.wikipedia.org) (americaspace.com) -- EURECA was also the subject of a TWSF about STS-57 (theorbitalmechanics.com) -- TSS-1 was also the subject of a TWSF about STS-75 (theorbitalmechanics.com)-- Next week (8/6 - 8/12) in 1992: The zeroth argonaut.

    Episode 469: Runk

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 53:18


    Spaceflight News-- NASA nixes VIPER (spacenews.com) (newscientist.com)European Short & Sweet-- Ariane 6 may carry crew (europeanspaceflight.com)-- Europe announces RAMSES mission to Apophis (arstechnica.com) (esa.int)-- Themis gets delayed (europeanspaceflight.com)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 29 Jul, 1999. Deep Space 1, NASA's first S/C with ion propulsion, flies by asteroid 9969 Braille (en.wikipedia.org) -- We interviewed DS-1's chief mission engineer and deputy mission manager Marc Rayman in Episode 75 (theorbitalmechanics.com) -- Ron Garret discussed the RAX bug in his talk The Remote Agent Experiment (youtube.com)-- Next week (7/30 - 8/5) in 1992: We'll hang on to this one, and come back for that one later

    Episode 468: Upper Stage Downer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2024 33:31


    Spaceflight News-- Falcon 9 Failure (spacenews.com) (spaceflightnow.com)-- Ariane 6 anomaly (europeanspaceflight.com) (spaceflightnow.com)-- Hyperbola-1 mishap (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet-- Europa Clipper faces last-minute obstacle (space.com)-- Dawn gets green light for spaceplane tests (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 17 July, 1977. First launch of a complete TKS spacecraft (en.wikipedia.org) (russianspaceweb.com) (nasa.gov)-- Next week (7/23 - 7/29) in 1999: Is that a grid of dots on that asteroid?

    Episode 467: DOWNLINK--MSI-DFAT

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2024 86:10


    Spaceflight News-- Luch (Olymp) 2 “caught” snooping (sattrackcam.blogspot.com) (sattrackcam.blogspot.com) (russianspaceweb.com) (thespacereview.com)Short & Sweet-- The Poles make it to space! (europeanspaceflight.com)-- ISRO announces major size increase to Indian space station (x.com/ISROSpaceflight)Interview -- MSI-DFAT-- We talked to: -- Alex Carrella, VP Strategy & Growth -- Bradley Hope, Business Manager -- Max Myers, Systems Engineer/Lead Rigger-- Before DFAT (and RFAT), we had feet. (youtube.com)-- msidfat.com-- linktr.ee/msidfatThis Week in Spaceflight History-- July 12, 2001. Launch of Artemis GEO satellite (en.wikipedia.org) (esa.int) (PDF: esa.int)-- Next week (7/16 - 7/22) in 1977: One month now, 312 months later

    Episode 466: All Aboard?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2024 32:46


    Spaceflight News-- The Vulcan train is leaving the station (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet-- Starliner's extended-er ISS stay (spacenews.com)-- A not-so-static test fire (spacenews.com)-- Resurs P1 breaks up (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From the intro: (americaspace.com)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 8 July, 1994. Launch of STS-65 (en.wikipedia.org)-- Next week (7/9 - 7/15) in 2001: Spiraling into control

    Episode 465: Reflown Don

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2024 25:19


    Spaceflight News-- Long March 10 hot firing (spacenews.com) (weixin.qq.com) (youtube.com) (spacenews.com)-- Latest taikonaut class selected (space.com)Short & Sweet-- ESA gets involved in Vega C's transfer (europeanspaceflight.com)-- Ariane 6 gets dressed (spacenews.com)-- Starliner's extended ISS stay (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History-- Next week (7/1 - 7/8) in 1994: From rocket to lab

    Episode 464: Starliner Seep

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2024 42:38


    Spaceflight News-- Starliner OFT (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (HT deltaV: twitter.com/cbs_spacenews) (twitter.com/SciGuySpace) -- Suni Williams gave a tour on orbit (HT Dennis O: youtube.com)Short & Sweet-- Chinese space plane proximity ops (sattrackcam.blogspot.com)-- NASA selects companies to explore Mars Sample Return methods (nasa.gov) (spacenews.com)-- VOYAGER'S BACK!!! (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From the intro: ISS replicates War of the Worlds radio drama (space.com) (twitter.com/airplaneian)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 24 Jun, 1982. Soyuz T-6 carries Jean-Loup Chrétien, the first Frenchman, to Salyut 7 (en.wikipedia.org) (spacefacts.de)-- Next week (6/25 - 7/1) in 1983: Six seconds calls for vodka

    Episode 463: The Camera That Could

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2024 47:33


    Spaceflight News-- Starship Test Flight 4 (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (youtube.com) (spacey.space/@spmttracker)Short & Sweet-- Vast plans for ESA (spacenews)-- Chang'e-6 has its moon rocks (spacenews) (spacenews.com)-- Hubble Hobble (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- RIP Bill Anders (apnews.com)-- Traches: Relativity and Novas (discord.com)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 11 June, 2008. Launch of the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope (en.wikipedia.org) (nasa.gov)-- Next week (6/18 - 6/24) in 1982: First wolf in space?

    Episode 462: Oh, Dear, No Moon

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2024 37:09


    Spaceflight News-- ThinkSubOrbital (spacenews.com) (PDF: nasa.gov) (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) (sbir.gov) (sbir.gov)Short & Sweet-- Starliner scrub (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com)-- Indian startup Agnikul Notches launches first flight (payloadspace.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From the intro:-- Chang'e 6 landing (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com)-- Dear Moon canceled (spacenews.com)-- Deathkin via discord.com: Centaur's not a workhorse-- Heads up for a recurrent nova! (planetary.org)This Week in Spaceflight History-- 8 June in 1959: Regulus Missile Mail (HT SciKyle: postalmuseum.si.edu)-- Next week (6/11 - 6/17) in 2008: A salty Italian

    Episode 461: DOWNLINK--Justin Fiaschetti

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2024 83:56


    Spaceflight News-- More Starliner Delays (spacenews.com) (HT deltaV: twitter.com/jeff_foust) (spacenews.com) (HT deltaV: https://arstechnica.com)Short & Sweet-- U.S. accuses Russia of launching countersat weapon (spacenews.com) (payloadspace.com) -- Redwire wins award for European lunar lander's robot arm (europeanspaceflight.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections-- From the intro: Bepi-Colombo power failure (esa.int)-- Ryan R: Technology Connections talked about heterodyne radios (youtube.com VIA discord.com)Interview -- Justin Fiaschetti, CEO and Co-Founder of Inversion-- twitter.com/InversionSpace-- inversionspace.com-- linkedin.com-- linkedin.com This Week in Spaceflight History-- 2 Jun, 2003. Launch of Mars Express (en.wikipedia.org) (russianspaceweb.com) (universetoday.com)-- Next week (6/4 - 6/10) in 1959: A short-term version of the above

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