Space and Things

This week we're joined by author and space historian Richard Jurek to cover a diverse set of subjects which he is interested in. Richard has released two books, 'Marketing The Moon: The Selling Of The Apollo Lunar Program' and 'The Ultimate Engineer: The Remarkable Life of NASA's Visionary Leader George Low'. He has also set up the Jefferson Space Museum to showcase his collection of flown $2 bill...

Inspiration 4 has launched the first all civilian crew into orbit, so we wanted to talk about it and what it means to us. We hope you're as inspired as we are. Inspiration 4: https://inspiration4.com/ St Jude Auction and Donations: https://www.stjude.org/get-involved/other-ways/inspiration4.html Netflix Series Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D38W150h9a4 Pre Launch Q&A: https://www.you...

This week we talk to author Gerald Brennan to discuss all about how he got into Alternative History writing and to get a glimpse into his process. Gerald Brennan: http://www.tortoisebooks.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jerry_brennan Altered Space Series: Zero Phase Public Loneliness Islands of Clouds Infinite Blues And coming in 2022: Alone On The Moon. No comprehensive news this week, but as d...

We start our second year of podcasting off in style by interviewing the incredible Nicole Stott about her new book: “Back to Earth – What Life In Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet And Our Mission To Protect It” Nicole Stott: https://www.npsdiscovery.com/ Pre-order the book: https://www.sealpress.com/titles/nicole-stott/back-to-earth/9781541675049/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Astro_Nicole Face...

This week we celebrate the completion of our first year of weekly podcasts by discussing mission patches with Tim Gagnon who has designed us an anniversary patch! Tim has designed patches for flown missions and has also released many fantastic commemorative patches, so as far as we're concerned, he's the perfect person to design our patch and explain how it all works. Tim Gagnon: Website and Galle...

Due to Emily getting stuck in Houston thanks to Tropical Storm Fred, we've had to break away from our scheduled show and bring you this little nugget. If you could keep just one item from a museum what would it be? Today we find out Emily's choice. AND IT'S NOT FROM SKYLAB! Amateur Radio's Newest Frontier | ARRL documentary featuring Owen Garriot, W5LFL, on STS-9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O...

This week we're joined by someone who is going to Mars for two weeks, well kind of. Britaney Phillips is about to take part in an Earth analog mission run by HI-SEAS. An analog mission is where a situation is recreated down here on earth which will recreate some conditions that we might experience in space in order to help prepare for long duration missions. Britaney Phillips: Twitter: https://twi...

This week it's the 60th anniversary of the flight of Gherman Titov on Vostok 2. One of the most colourful characters of the Soviet Union space program and someone who we should all know more about, but we don't. So we asked Stephen Walker to come and talk to us about him and his life. Stephen Walker: Find out more and order his book "Beyond": https://www.stephenwalkerbeyond.com/ Twitter: https://t...

It's the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission so we've decided to celebrate the mission of Dave Scott, Al Worden and Jim Irwin by asking author and historian Francis French to join us again. Francis French: https://www.francisfrench.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/F_French Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/francisjfrench/ Al Worden Books: Falling To Earth: https://www.smith...

This week we're joined by Apollo legend Fred Haise. Known for being the lunar module pilot on the ill fated Apollo 13 mission, but we wanted to talk to him about the other parts of his life which often get left behind, in particular the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests, of which he commanded three on the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Find out more about Fred's new book "Never Panic Early" - ht...

This week we're joined by Jim Remar, CEO of the Cosmophere in Hutchinson, Kansas, the home of Liberty Bell 7, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of it's flight carrying Gus Grissom into space. A truly remarkable story, not just because of the mission being just the 3rd crewed launch of any vehicle into space, but because the capsule was lost at the bottom of the sea until 1999 when it was recovered...

This week we were joined by retired astronaut Clayton C. Anderson to discuss his new podcast 'Making Of An Ordinary Spaceman. In a wonderful honest and inspirational interview, we talked about his journey learned a bit about him as well as talking about 'cashtronauts'. As well as interviewing Clayton, Emily and Dave also carry on that discussion about billionaires in space and the remarkable story...

This week we're joined by Bruce McCandless III as he is just releasing a brand new book about his father, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless II who is most famous for being the astronaut floating about the earth untethered back in 1984. One of the most iconic photos from spaceflight and yet not much is actually known about the man inside the suit. The new book is out next week and is called ' Wonders...

We're joined by author Elizabeth Howell to discuss her new book 'Leadership Moments from NASA - Achieving The Impossible' which is co-written with former Canadian Astronaut Dr. Dave Williams who is also a former director of Space and Life Sciences at NASA. The book is set for release on July 6th. Elizabeth Howell: https://elizabethhowell.ca/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/howellspace Leadership Mome...

This week we're joined again by Christina Korp, this time to talk all about her organisation 'Space For A Better World' and the the zero gravity flight that is coming up with Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke. We hear all about her recent flight with Charlie and Nicole Stott, and their tour of the Artemis rocket and space craft at Kennedy Space Center. Space For A Better World: https://www.allfora...

This year's Spacefest will take place from July 15th- 18th at the JW Marrito Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona. We asked one of the organisers Kelsey Poor to come and talk to us about what it is, how it started and why you want to be there. Spacefest is organised by Novaspace, an online store for space art, astronaut autographs and memorabilia. Definitely worth checking out. Spacefest...

This week we talk about Kennedy Space Center on Florida's Space Coast. We discuss a few of our favourite parts and what not to miss, plus some tips for what to see and do around the area. Kennedy Space Center: https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/ American Space Museum and Walk Of Fame: https://spacewalkoffame.org/ Air Force Space and Missile Museum: https://afspacemuseum.org/ La Quinta Inn: https:/...

This week we're joined by not one, but two astronauts! Mike Massimino and Garrett Reisman have just started their own podcast '2 Funny Astronauts' - so we asked them if they'd like to come and talk to us all about it and to speak more about life as an astronaut and some of the other wonderful things they've been able to do. Not only were they funny, but it's also pretty damn inspirational. 2 Funny...

This week we were joined by legendary NASA flight director Gerry Griffin to discuss the 50th anniversary of Apollo 14 and Apollo 15. We obviously had some other questions for him too, but we really want to hear about those missions, and boy did he deliver. At 86 years old, he remembered things in such incredible detail and was an absolute pleasure to talk to. This was very kind set up by Max Kaise...

There have been some things happen in the space industry this week that we're not happy about, so we speak about that but also offer a positive story as well as we talk to Czarina Salido, founder of Taking Up Space, a charity which sends Native American girls to Space Camp. Taking Up Space: https://taking-up-space.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/taking_up_space Facebook: https://www.facebook.com...

It's finally happened. We've got a whole show dedicated to Skylab. That's right, this week Emily talks us through 5 random facts about Skylab which maybe you knew, or maybe you didn't, but either way, it's something she's incredibly passionate about and thus very entertaining and educational at the same time! Emily's Skylab Article: https://space.nss.org/a-few-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-...

We decided we needed to record an extra podcast to celebrate the life of Michael Collins, who died on Wednesday 28th April at the age of 90. Family Statement: https://www.facebook.com/AstroMichaelCollins/posts/309533063877486 NASA Statement:  https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/statements-on-passing-of-michael-collins Official Obituary: https://www.facebook.com/AstroMichaelCollins/posts/309772...

This week we talk about a real unsung hero. Gerard K. O'Neill. His work about space colonies was truly ground breaking and his book 'The High Frontier' is one of the most inspiring there is. O'Neill is the subject of a new movie, 'The High Frontier - The Untold Story Of Gerard K. O'Neill' and we're joined by three members of the production team to discuss O'Neill and the movie: Director Ryan Stuit...

April 22nd is Earth Day, so today we are joined by BluShift Aerospace CEO Sascha Deri and communications director Seth Lockman to talk to us about what they're doing to try and kickstart the conversations in the aerospace industry about sustainability and using non toxic biofuels. BluShift Aerospace: https://www.blushiftaerospace.com/ Merchandise: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/bluShiftAerospace/ We...

This week we take a look at the very first Space Shuttle mission which took place on April 12th 1981. To do this we're joined by the wonderful author David Hitt who wrote the book 'Bold They Rise: The Space Shuttle Early Years'. David Hitt: http://davidhitt.net/about/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidhitt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedavidhitt/ STS-1 Youtube playlist of all videos to d...