The Rocket Ranch

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Welcome to the Rocket Ranch, the official podcast of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Take a listen for a behind-the-scenes sneak peek into the inner workings of the world’s premiere spaceport.


    • Apr 16, 2021 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 31 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Rocket Ranch

    Episode 30: Commercial Crew Reaches Milestone

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2021


    The Rocket Ranch welcomes Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager for the Commercial Crew program. She'll talk about the mission ahead, reflect on the program's 10-year anniversary and share her personal journey with NASA.

    Episode 29: First Space Shuttle Flight: Astronaut Bob Crippen on the Legacy of STS-1 & Columbia

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2021


    The spotlights came on in the predawn hours of April 12th 1981, illuminating a spacecraft like no other, the space shuttle. Just before liftoff, Columbia's crew climbed inside for the very first test flight into space.

    Episode 28: Women in STEM - Stories of Challenge and Success

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2021


    When instrumentation controller JoAnn Morgan was in Firing Room number One for the historic moonshot in 1969, she was the only woman. NASA has come a long way since. Today, the very same firing room is led by a woman, and 30% of the engineers supporting NASA's Artemis Moon program are women, too.

    Episode 27: Being Black in the NASA Family, Finding Inspiration, and Becoming More Inclusive

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2021


    The Rocket Ranch welcomes Sheldon Lauderdale, Program Analyst for NASA's Commercial Crew Program, to share where he draws inspiration and talk about his role supporting NASA's efforts to expand diversity and inclusion to empower the next generation of explorers.

    Episode 26: Perseverance Rover: Rapid Disassembly, Martian Mission, and Beyond

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2021


    After a 300 million mile journey through space, the Mars Perseverance Rover is ready to begin the most challenging part of the trip, landing on the red planet. If successful, it will embark on the most advanced mission ever sent here, to discover if life ever existed on Mars.

    Episode 25: Lessons of Loss

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2021


    On this episode of the Rocket Ranch Podcast, we remember Challenger, her crew and their survivors, and how we carry forward the lessons NASA learned with the director of the Apollo Challenger Columbia Lessons Learned Program.

    Episode 24: Space Lullaby

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2020


    Astronaut Chris Hadfield flew to space three times, and was the first Canadian to walk in space. His cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity that he recorded on the International Space Station has over 47 million views, and as you're about to hear, he's given a lot of thought to the future of space exploration, and what it can mean for all of us.

    Episode 23: Mars 2020: In the Midst of a Pandemic

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2020


    The NASA Kennedy Launch team has persevered through a global pandemic to get a Mars Rover named Perseverance to the launch pad on time. The cloud of doubt the virus cast over the Mars mission and how NASA overcame it, next on the Rocket Ranch.

    Episode 22: NASA Astronauts' Friendship Key to History Making SpaceX Flight

    Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2020


    Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will make history when they break the bond from Earth in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that's never been flown by humans before. But find out how the strong bond of friendship they share gives them the edge in space.

    Episode 21: NFL Quarterback: Rocket Arm AND Mind

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2020


    And with the number one overall pick in the Kennedy Space Center NFL Draft, NASA selects Jacksonville, Jaguar quarterback and aerospace engineer Josh Dobbs. Next on the Rocket Ranch.

    Episode 20: Space Explorer

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2020


    Pluto is not a planet...or is it? Next on the "Rocket Ranch.”

    Episode 19: Launching Artemis

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2020


    Sometimes history inspires us. Sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of history being made. Now we are in the middle of the most aggressive push for the Moon since we landed there the first time 50 years ago.

    Episode 18: To Launch a Starliner

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2019


    Commercial and government partnerships and contracts might not sound that fascinating, but when we're talking about certifying Boeing Starliner to carry humans to space, the challenges and complexities become a whole lot more interesting.

    Episode 17: Abort!

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2019


    Rockets are dangerous. And before we strap our star sailors in, we need to know there is a proven escape plan.

    Episode 16: An ICONic Launch

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2019


    The air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL is the vehicle selected to launch NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON.

    Episode 15: Jedi Masters of Launchery

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2019


    For over 20 years, NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP) has been the workhorse of uncrewed spaceflight, enabling exploration of Pluto, the Sun, the Earth and other worlds. In this episode, we hear from Amanda Mitskevich and Chuck Dovale - two leaders within LSP.

    Episode 14: The Kids of Summer

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2019


    Every member of the NASA team is critical to our success, even if they're still finishing school. In this episode, we hear from two of our summer interns, Amber George and Peter Henson, during their first week here and their first impressions.

    Episode 13: When Rockets Need Rescue

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2019


    In this episode,we unpack the need and value of test flights with Jon Cowart, as well as dig into the recent, successful, second test of Orion's Launch Abort System with Carlos Garcia.

    Episode 12: From Apollo to Artemis

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2019


    NASA looks back at the Apollo era and ahead at the Artemis missions to come.

    Episode 11: The Place that Sends Stuff to Space

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2019


    We're looking back at the Space Station Processing Facility, or SSPF, as it turns 25 years old.

    Episode 10: Gateway

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2019


    NASA's latest exploration goals center on returning humans to the Moon – not just for a visit, but to stay. At the center of that plan is Gateway. It's a small lunar outpost that will have living quarters, laboratories for science and research, docking ports for visiting spacecraft, and more.

    Episode 9: Developing Technology

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2019


    NASA has a reputation for creating history changing technology, and much of that technology is available to you right now. One of our secrets to success is that we aren't developing all of this by ourselves. We're leveraging industry and students to make innovative leaps.

    Episode 8: Commercial Crew - Space Flight's Next Chapter

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2019


    On this episode of Rocket Ranch we catch up with several members of Commercial Crew to talk about the past, present and future of the program.

    Episode 7: Turning Space Trash into Gas

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2018


    As we plan to send humans farther into our solar system than ever before, we must overcome a myriad of challenges. And at the top of the heap… is trash. Just like here on Earth, humans in space create trash—but we don't have interstellar landfills. What we do have are super smart scientists and engineers working on converting trash to gas.

    Episode 6: Starting Up the Space Station

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2018


    In this episode, we sit down with the Space Shuttle commander who officially began construction of the ISS in space. Former astronaut Bob Cabana recounts his experiences in being the first American on station and turning on the lights.

    Episode 5: Odd Jobs Around the Ranch

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2018


    When people think of the Kennedy Space Center, rockets are what likely come to mind. But we have more than rocket scientists here on the Space Coast. In this episode, we meet a few Ranch hands with odd jobs you may not expect to find around these parts.

    Episode 4: Rocket Roundup

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2018


    In this episode, hear from two powerhouses in NASA's Launch Services Program: Mic Woltman, chief of Fleet Systems and Integration, and Launch Director Tim Dunn.

    Episode 3: Failure is Not an Option

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2018


    As we prepare to launch humans into space on new American-made rockets and spacecraft, it's more important than ever that we revisit what led to two of the most tragic days in NASA's human space flight history.

    Episode 2: Some Like it Hot

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2018


    Even though our Sun shines bright in the sky, it is shrouded in mystery. In this episode, we'll sit down with scientists working to get us closer to the Sun than ever before.

    Episode 1: Mars

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2018


    The soil beneath your feet, the food on your table, the roof over your head... these are luxuries on Mars. Getting there isn't a problem, it's surviving once you land. In this episode we'll sit down with scientists and engineers exploring our planetary neighbor and preparing for the survival of those who brave the journey.

    Welcome to the Rocket Ranch

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2018


    Introducing the official podcast from NASA's Kennedy Space Center - or, as we call it, the Rocket Ranch. What makes rockets fly? It's people - regular men and women doing extraordinary things. During this podcast series, we're going to introduce you to some of them.

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