Terranauts

If you can do something three times, doing it three more times doesn't sound like it should be that hard.  Unless, of course, you're talking about orbiting the planet. In this episode we take a look at the third Project Mercury manned orbital flight - which doubled the number of orbits from 3 to 6 and we talk about why that was a lot more work for the Project Mercury Terranauts than...

In this episode we return to the story of Project Mercury. Having managed to achieve its original object of getting and American into orbit, Project Mercury, life was now changing as NASA's manned space activities expanded to include the new Gemini and Apollo programs.  And, now that NASA had discovered it knew how to get a humans into orbit, they needed to start thinking about what they...

Last week, on 28 January, NASA marked its Day Of Remembrance. It was a day set aside to honour the sacrifices of all astronauts who have died in the pursuit of the human exploration of space. In this episode of Terranauts, host Iain Christie sits down with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield to talk about those we have lost and what their sacrifices have meant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

The need to do big things is a basic human urge.  The need to do them together is an even more basic one.  Going to space satisfies both those urges in fundamental and sometimes profound ways. But human beings have been captive to the Collective Power of The Big Idea for a long time.  In this episode, Terranauts host Iain Christie muses on how the theme of working together to accomp...

When we left Project Mercury they had finally managed to have a successful orbital flight.  All of the technologies, techniques and procedures had been tested.  The global tracking network was in place.  There was only one thing left to do.  Put an astronaut in the capsule and get him into orbit... and bring him home, of course.  In this episode of a Terranauts Guide To Le...

This week's installment of The Terranauts Guide to Leaving the Planet is called "Project Mercury Gets Around."  When we left the Mercury Flight Control team they were just about to make their first attempt to get an American into space.  Once they cleared that hurdle though, the game would change again, as they confronted all of the things they would need to learn in order not just to ge...

In this episode of a Terranauts Guide to Leaving The Planet, we return to the story of First Terranaut Gene Kranz and the early days of NASA's Mercury Project which was supposed to get the first American into space. As we found out last time, though, Project Mercury was having trouble getting more than a few inches off the launch pad. In addition to that, they had some pretty big challen...

If you were going to spend some time on board a drilling rig in the North Atlantic, in the foggiest place on the planet where icebergs are common, you would probably want Des Power looking over your shoulder from space.  Des and the team at C-CORE have been solving the problem of tracking icebergs from space for more than 20 years.  Des didn't start out wanting to go to space, but that's...

Today we have another instalment of the Terranauts Guide to Leaving the Planet. The guide is our exploration of spaceflight, the challenges that have been overcome in getting there, and the people who overcame them. Today's focus, a young engineer named Gene Kranz who would later become the NASA Apollo Flight Director, and who famously said of the rescue of Apollo 13, "failure is not an option." H...

Meet Terranaut Sarah Gallagher, Science Advisor to the President of the Canadian Space Agency, professor at Western University in London, Ontario, and supermassive black holes and galaxy researcher. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest instalment of the Terranauts Guide to Leaving the Planet, Iain talks about the first Terranauts. In this multi-episode track, Iain first discusses Wernher von Braun who could be considered the first Terranauts. von Braun's life and story is a complicated one. His work, which started in earnest in Germany shortly before World War II led to the first rockets that sent humans to space....

Welcome to the Terranauts first episode of Season 2. On this episode we talk to long time  Terranaut Colleen Merchant who worked on the international team that  designed and built the Space Station and the international flight  control team that continues to support it on orbit today. Her career has taken her from the Tropical heat of Houston summers to  the frozen wasteland of...

As we pause before starting season 2 in September, we're playing remastered "Best of Terranauts"  episodes. This is our Summer Series Best of episode 4, Apollo 13 and Stan Rogers in Tales From Mission Control. The latest Terranauts podcast happens to be the 13th episode and it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission. So naturally Iain provides a unique and insightful look...

As we pause before starting season 2 in September, we're playing remastered "Best of Terranauts"  episodes. This is our Summer Series Best of episode 3, Tales from Mission Control.  Host Iain Christie takes you on a journey through Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center during the 90’s with the first part of a this new series, Tales from Mission Control. Hosted on Acast. See acast...

As we pause before starting season 2 in September, we're playing remastered "Best of Terranauts"  episodes. This is our Summer Series Best of episode 2, Launch Day. Launch Day is a quintessentially Terranaut experience, and this is Iain's Launch Day story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we pause before starting season 2 in September, we're playing remastered "Best of Terranauts" episodes for the next three weeks. This week, host Iain Christie, recounts the story of when he realized what it meant to be what he now calls a Terranaut. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's hard to believe that we've come to an end of Season 1. Iain shares his thoughts including what he learned from his guests and in creating a podcast for the first time. He then provides a glimpse into Season 2 which is scheduled to launch on September 10. Between now and then you can expect a "best of season" to be published.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Terranauts , Iain Christie discusses the history of rocket science as part of a new series, a Terranauts guide to leaving the planet. Since the new series is about leaving the planet it only makes sense to talk about rockets, rocket science and its history. And you’ll be surprised at how how far back the history of rocket science began. This is the first of two parts on rocket s...

His love for space was so strong that he joked that when he was interviewed to be one of the first people at a new space organization, that he was willing to work for free.  That was what Gilles Leclerc told Iain Christie in this weeks Terranauts podcast. He was one of the first five employees at the Canadian Space Agency. Leclerc has been working at the Canadian Space Agency for almost as lo...

In this episode of Terranauts , Iain Christie discusses the history of rocket science as part of a new series, a Terranauts guide to leaving the planet. Since the new series is about leaving the planet it only makes sense to talk about rockets, rocket science and its history. And you'll be surprised at how how far back the history of rocket science began. This is the first of two parts on rocket s...

Dr. David Williams is both a Terranaut and astronaut.  He's been a pioneer at bringing medicine to space, helped construct the International Space Station, written popular children books on space, managed a hospital system with a larger budget than the Canadian Space Agency, began training astronauts as aquanauts and much more. Along the way he's come to understand the critical role thousands...

What is a Clandestine Terranaut? If you’re opening up New Space markets, albeit in the failing Soviet Union, and then Russia, and different parts of the US government either support you or don’t, how do you classify your work? After all, you’re being asked to transition a communist state to, in part, a capital state with a new venture. Today on the Terranauts podcast you’ll hear that story from so...

The latest Terranauts podcast happens to be the 13th episode and it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission. So naturally Iain provides a unique and insightful look at the mission. He also concludes the Stan Rogers story which was mentioned in the last episode. Oh, and did I mention there’s singing? Listen in. The Show Like the show? Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/b...

In this weeks Terranauts podcast, host Iain Christie takes you on a journey through Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center during the 90’s with the first part of a new series, Tales from Mission Control. The Show Like the show? Support the show:https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=4270364 Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to:podcast AT spaceq.ca Follow us on Twitter:https://twitter...

On the podcast we have talked to Terranauts who have been in on the early days of big programs and we have talked to Terranauts that are bringing new technology to space and to market. Today we're going to talk to a couple of Terranauts who have spent their careers watching and helping a technology through literally three generations in space. That technology is Synthetic Aperture Radar, or RADARS...