Failure To Launch

Did you know that Ballooning was once an Olympic sport? This week, we're rejoined by Nicholas Slayton (@nslayton) to talk about balloons, specifically all the people who died trying to conquer the Stratosphere. Find Nicholas' work here and here ! Support FTL through Patreon and unlock bonus content! Theme song by DJ Danarchy Sources The Pre-Astronauts, Craig Ryan Gaddafi article from the I...

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest, join our patreon at any tier: https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch

Non-failure topic this week as Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris talk about Max Valier, the Austrian dude largely responsible for popularizing space research, creating the first professional rocket program, and riding rocket cars. Support FTL through Patreon and unlock bonus content! Sources - Max Valier, A Pioneer of Space Travel - Ilse Essers - The Rocket Men (Air Force Magazine) Theme song by DJ Da...

*CONTENT WARNING* This week, we're back with Taylor and Tanner of the Beyond the Breakers podcast for part 2 of our series on Soyuz 11. Follow Beyond the Breakers here Support FTL through Patreon and unlock new bonus content Sources: - Salyut - The First Space Station: Triumph and Tragedy, Grujica Ivanovich (2008) - Rockets and People Volume 4: The Moon Race, Boris Chertok (2013) Theme song by...

The story of the world's first space station is complicated, tragic, and incredibly stupid. Today, we're joined by Tanner and Taylor from @beyond_breakers to talk about it. Follow Beyond the Breakers here ! Support FTL through Patreon and unlock new bonus content! Sources: - Salyut - The First Space Station: Triumph and Tragedy, Grujica Ivanovich (2008) - Rockets and People Volume 4: The M...

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest, join our patreon at any tier: https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch

The French were the first to fly and it made them really weird about balloons. This episode, we're joined by journalist @NSlayton to talk all about the first balloons and aeronauts. Find Nicholas' work here and here ! Support FTL through Patreon and unlock new bonus content! Sources: - The Aeronauts , Donald Dale Jackson - The Early History of Ballooning , Fraser Simons

What if America got so scared they let a Greek elevator repairman turn off the sky? In this episode, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris are joined by guest youtuber Phrosphor to talk all about Operation Argus, the Cold War plan to hide America under a radioactive death cloud. Check out Phros' work here! Support the show and unlock bonus content! Sources: Burning the sky: Operation Argus and the Unt...

Iron Sky was alarmingly close to being a documentary. This week, Quinn is joined by Joe and Tom, the hosts of Lions Led By Donkeys to talk about all the ways the Soviets tried to put weapons in space. It involves far more flamingos than you'd expect. Sources: - Energiya-Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle , Bart Hendrickx - RussianSpaceWeb.com, Anatoly Zak

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest, join our patreon at any tier: https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch Turns out there were a lot of Soviet space teen movies. And some of them are even good.

Last time, we talked about the biggest rocket ever designed. This time, we're rejoined by guest Scott to talk about the lunatic who designed it, Bob Truax. Also making appearances in this story: Johnny Carson, Evel Knievel, Robert Goddard, and a tortilla baron. Sources: - Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition, Ed Regis We've also got a patreon! If you want to support FTL and unl...

The 60s was a time for scientists and engineers to ask the tough questions. Questions like: what if a rocket was so big it was a railroad? This episode, we're joined by friend of the show and rocket engineer Scott to talk about Sea Dragon, the largest rocket ever designed. *This was our longest recording ever and ran into a couple of technical problems so please excuse some muddiness here and...

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest, join our patreon at any tier: https://www.patreon.com/posts/96333556?pr=true If you ever wanted to see a dude drill a venusian rabbit-lizard with a WW1-era handgun, we've got you covered.

Couldn't have happened to a worse guy (still didn't deserve to be airbrushed). Today Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris start off 2024 by talking about Grigory Nelyubov, the cosmonaut who fell from grace and got written out of history for being an arrogant prick. We've also got a patreon! If you want to support the show and unlock a new bonus episode, follow the link below! https://www.patr...

A few days before Christmas in 1960, a pair of Soviet space dogs (Comet and Joke) were launched toward orbit to pave the way for Yuri Gagarin. To every listener of FTL, thank you, have good holidays however you celebrate it, and you can expect a lot more fun (horrible) stories and guests in 2024.

In the early 60s, the Soviets convinced the world their space program worked flawlessly by only announcing successes and covering up all failures. This policy extended to the people who worked for them. In this short series, we'll be looking at all the cosmonauts who were written out of history, starting with the first cosmonaut to ever die in the line of duty: Valentin Bondarenko. Sources - T...

In late 1944, the Polish Home Army undertook one of the coolest resistance missions in WW2: stealing an entire V2 rocket and smuggling it to the UK. This episode, we're joined by @RedeyeReviewer to talk about a story that really deserves to be an action flick. Check out Redeye's channel ! Sources: The Polish Underground, 1939-1947 Animals in Space

From space engineer to arms dealer to the pawn of a dictator. This episode, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris talk to documentary maker BobbyBroccoli about the story of Gerald Bull, the most infamous figure in Canadian space history.

When most people think "space chimp" they probably think of Ham, the friendly cuddly primate that paved the way for American astronauts. They don't think of the mean one. In today's episode, we're joined by podcast host Francis Horton (@ArmyStrang) to talk about Enos, the coolest space chimp. Sources: - Packing For Mars , Mary Roach - Animals In Space , Chris Dubbs & Coli...

On today's episode, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris are joined by award-winning author Mary Roach to talk about her book Packing For Mars as well as the more secretive side of astronaut culture. Check out Mary's writing here.

Today, we're back talking to podcast host and producer Nate Bethea about OTRAG, the world's first private launch company, the weird dictators they worked with, and a lot more crocodiles than you'd expect. Sources: Projet Wotan , Joelle Stolz

Today, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris are joined by Nate Bethea to talk about OTRAG, the first private rocket company. In Part 1, we cover the origins of Lutz Kayser and all the Nazis and dictators he worked with. Sources: Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition , Ed Regis Projet Wotan , Joelle Stolz

The Soviet everyman. The first Soviet sex symbol. The boyish Russian nationalist. The first man in space played a lot of roles. In this episode, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris talk to space historian Andrew Jenks to try to get to the bottom of just who Yuri Gagarin was. The answer: "Complicated."

In a bid to find more soldiers to send to Ukraine, Russia has found an interesting new recruitment pool: rocket scientists. In this experimental short, Quinn talks briefly about Roscosmos' new Uran Battalion and the 60 year old men being offered the chance to die in the trenches. Not really sure what these shorts will turn into, if they continue. Bonus content, emergency filler episodes. But i...

As the Cultural Revolution threw China into chaos, no institution was immune, not even their highly-secretive rocket program. In this episode we talk to Tom O'Mahony, host of the 33rd County and Beneath The Skin podcasts, about how China's rocket scientists spent the late 60s brawling in the streets and assassinating each other over office politics. Check out our guest, Tom (@gotitatguiney...