Talking Space

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...

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 Eu...

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...

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 Cent...

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...

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...

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...

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 Apr...

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 com...

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 h...

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...

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 t...

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 fro...

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.

August 4th, 2022, was one of the most active launch days in recent memory. The Talking Space Team attempts to check all the boxes bringing a little insight into each one, including some launch audio from the Mighty AtalsV that carried the SIBRSGEO 6 into orbit and the scream of the Falcon 9 as it took South Korea’s KPLO probe to the Moon.   We briefly discuss some debris left from a Chinese rocket...

On this episode of Talking Space with Mark Ratterman and Dr Kat Robison we have an excellent interview from Mark with Kennedy Space Center’s Dr Kristin Smith and Kathy Rice, both of whom are in KSC's weather office. Special thanks to KSC’s public affairs team, especially Mary MacLaughlin, who make it possible to bring interviews like this to our listeners. Mark talks with Kristin and Kathy about N...

This episode we take a unique look at the historic Axiom-1 mission to the ISS from multiple perspectives. That includes our own Sawyer Rosenstein who was at the press site for the launch and our own Mark Ratterman who viewed the launch from offsite. There was a unique oddity to the audio from this launch which you'll have to hear for yourself. We compare how this mission differs from other SpaceX...

Our Mark Ratterman was on hand at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for the rollout of  America's new launch vehicle: NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion Spacecraft sitting atop the 322 foot stack. . It was the first time a large rocket set on its way to the launch pad from the Vehicle Assembly Building since the Space Shuttle. No longer on the drawing board or an artistic rendering,...

The concept that space unites nations on Earth is tested like never before. In a rare single topic installment of Talking Space, the team pauses its regular reports and observations of the space sphere and examines the impact of the current geopolitical circumstances and the short and long-term impact they may have on space exploration going forward. Recorded on the evening of Saturday, March 5th,...

On a very SpaceX-centric edition of Talking Space to start 2022, The team looks at the SpaceX Polaris Program that hopes to test elements needed for operating the SpaceX Starship, including the first Extra-Vehicular Activity or Spacewalk for a private space mission. We take a look at the SpaceX Starship update event held at the SpaceX Boca Chica, Texas, on February 11th, which was heavy on theater...

On this very special episode of Talking Space, we discuss something very few people have ever experienced, Zero Gravity. However, 12 Zero-G flyers just made history. 12 ambassadors for "Mission: Astro Access" completed the first ever microgravity flight for people with disabilities. That includes people who are deaf/hard of hearing, blind/low vision, and have mobility disabilities. Among the flyer...

If it seemed like average people flying into space was something from the future, this episode is proof that the future is now...or is it? In this episode of Talking Space, we start with the launch of the first all-civilian orbital mission, Inspiration 4. We report what it was like from the grounds of the press site (including some fantastic Falcon 9 launch audio) and the reception it received fro...

This episode takes us all over the world from the U.S. to Russia, from public to private. It's a global and low earth orbit episode of Talking Space. Has Russia's Roscosmos become a little more "Space-X" like in their launch coverage to the point where they have started to rival NASA's? The team looks at the possibility. The orbiting homestead called the International Space Station underwent some...

The era of US crew transitions onboard the International Space Station has resumed with the launch of the Crew 2 mission to the orbiting facility and the return of the Crew 1 astronauts via the Commercial Crew Space X Crew Dragon Capsule. The flight is also is a moment of history in both the United States, Europe, and Japan in their space program as well, and the team brings all into perspective....

This episode is full of plenty of rockets and missions going up....and one that went down explosively. On this episode, we begin with two crew launches. First the Soyuz MS-18 mission and why an American astronaut was added only a few months before launch. Plus a quick look ahead to Crew-2 aboard a Crew Dragon, and a possible new tradition started by the crew. Next it's on to Mars, where the Ingenu...