The Space Show

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 25 June 2025: Space Show News: The explosion of Starship 36 on the test stand at Starbase, Texas. (Insert courtesy NSF) Turn Back Time: NASA’s Scout small satellite launcher program (Feature courtesy The Space Story , NASA 1989) Is Elon Musk's plan to settle Mars a visionary dream, or a nightmare folly? * Elon Musk outlines his plan for using Starships to put a...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 18 June 2025: Australian Space Industry 2025 Part 8: * A panel discussion about the emerging Australian space industry as it stood just before the formation of the Australian Space Agency on 1 July 2018. (Recorded by The Space Show for the Space Association of Australia) * Also, the recently launched Defence Science and Technology Group's Buccaneer Main Mission...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 11 June 2025: Dr Naomi Mathers, Aerospace Engineer with Geospatial Intelligence and the Space Industry Association of Australia; Andrea Boyd, European Space Agency; and Mike Thompson, amateur astronomer with Backyard AstroScience, discussing Australian space technology applications: * puncture repair kit * using satellites * space situational awareness * 3D printin...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 4 June 2025: Breaking News: Jared Isaacman vs the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’. The 60th anniversary of the first two extravehicular activities (EVAs), or 'space walks’: Alexei Leonov exited Voskhod 2 and Ed White floated out of Gemini 4. Neither mission went as planned. The 60th anniversary of the ill-fated Luna 6 in the context of the other Soviet Luna missions.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 7 May 2025: Tell him he’s dreaming: Jared Isaacman’s confirmation hearing — Part 2 vs the Trump Administration's NASA Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request — Part 1 We examine President Trump's nominee for NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman's promises to Congress, compared with the reality of the Trump Administration’s recently announced NASA budget request ....

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 26 March 2025: Australian Federal Budget 2025—2026: Some space and astronomy aspects of yesterday's Australian Federal Budget. The item includes Professor Peter Quinn (Director, International Centre for Radio Astronomy research, Perth) answering questions about the Square Kilometre Array, and a feature on Landsat and Landsat Next. (Prof. Quinn recorded at a Space A...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 19 March 2025: Blue Ghost 1 Completes Mission The successful conclusion of the Blue Ghost 1 lunar landing mission, with a description of the experiments carried. (Inserts courtesy NASA and Firefly) Athena Volatiles The objectives of the Volatile Contamination experiment on the failed Athena lunar lander. (Insert courtesy IM) Sun and Butch Return to Earth Marking th...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 12 March 2025: SPHEREx and PUNCH: The launch of the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere satellites and the SPHEREx observatory. Athena Crash: The crash landing of the Athena spacecraft on Mons Moutan in the South Polar region of the Moon, and the purpose of the Hopper Gracie and Trident drill. The Nova-C lunar lander, named Athena, reached the surface o...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 5 March 2025: Elaine Hyde & New Shepard 30 mission The suborbital spaceflight of Melbourne raised but now Florida resident Elaine Chia Hyde aboard the New Shepard 30 mission; biography, interviews and an analysis of comments posted on Channel 9's Instagram page. Australian Space Industry 2025 Part 3: * Neumann thruster successfully tested aboard the Edison satellit...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 26 February 2025: Athena: The Intuitive Machine's second lunar mission, Athena with a NASA PRIME-1 (a payload consisting of a drill and mass spectrometer), the Micro Nova Hopper "Gracie", Lunar Outpost's Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) and Dymon's Yaoki rover. (Insert courtesy NASA HQ) PUNCH: A briefing on the four Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 5 February 2025: Stellar Fireworks: Novae and Supernovae Coronal mass ejections and the SunRISE satellites Stellar flares seen by Swift Novae — T Coronae Borealis Supernovae — SN1987a and Eta Carina SPHEREx . (Audio inserts courtesy GSFC, CXC)

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 29 January 2025: Update: Perseverance and Ingenuity The Mars Perseverance rover has left Jezero Crater but what is the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter doing now that it is unable to fly? — you might be surprised.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 22 January 2025: Australia and Transporter 12 The Australian involvement in the Transporter 12 mission, including statements from Fleet Space, HEO Robotics, Impulse Space, Varda Space Industries and Dawn Aerospace.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 15 January 2025: Australia and Transporter 12 The launch this morning of the Transporter 12 mission, carrying Australian satellites Centauri 7 and Centauri 8 from Fleet Space, and satellites carrying Australian parts, including: * Impulse 2 with a Holmes-007 camera from HEO Robotics * Edison with Neuman Space's ND-50 second generation electric-ion thruster. Also la...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 15 January 2025: Blue Ghost 1 by Firefly & Hakuto R M2 by ispace The launch this afternoon of Blue Ghost 1 and Hakuto R M2 towards the Moon, and a description of Blue Ghost 1's ten NASA experiments.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 8 January 2025: Mars Sample Return Mission: From NASA HQ, Bill Nelson (Administrator) and Nicky Fox (Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate), outline a new plan to retrieve the Mars surface samples collected by the Perseverance rover. Mars Sample Return , is a joint campaign being planned by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), which would see mu...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 18 December 2024: Australian Space Industry 2024 — Part 21 (final) * DSTG Buccaneer liquid lens * Australia - New Zealand Collaborative Space Program * Varda to land in Koonibba test range in South Australia * Duckweed in space * Starlink satellites interfere with the Square Kilometre Array * Australia - Greece space agreement * Lunasa to fly its StarLogic Rendezvo...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 11 December 2024: Space Show News: * Artemis II and Artemis III delayed to no earlier than 2026 and 2027 respectively Australian Space Industry 2024 — Part 20: * Fleet Space Technologies and its involvement in the SEVEN SISTERS project – Australia’s First Lunar Exploration Mission * HEO Robotics * Impulse Space * Rio Tinto * Kanyini * Paladin Space * Australian Spa...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 4 December 2024: Australian Space Industry 2024 - Part 19 Tim Parsons, Co-Founder X-Lab: We take a look back at the state of the Australian space industry before the establishment of the Australian Space Agency — has much changed? * Changing global space trends; start-up companies questioning space regulatory requirements; and educational needs. * Defence space in...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 27 November 2024: Australian Space Industry 2024 - Part 18: iLAuNCH UK-Australia Space Bridge Myriota. (Inserts courtesy ABC, BNSC, SMC, iLAuNCH, Grundfos)

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 20 November 2024: Solar System Missions — Part 3: A survey of the currently active spacecraft studying our Solar System. Today, Jupiter, Kuiper Belt and Uranus.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 13 November 2024: Try SCE to Aux: Marking the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 12 mission, with a detailed account of the lightning strikes during ascent, and profiles of astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean. When Shirley Bassey met Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad. A brief history of space tracking in Australia by space historian, Colin MacKellar.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 6 November 2024: Australian Space Industry 2024 — Part 17: Southern Launch's Whalers Way launch site approved Gilmour Space receives Eris orbital launch permit JP9102 project for a military geostationary communications satellite cancelled STaR Shot overview (Rod Smith, Leader, STaR Shot, DSTG, Adelaide) Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG’s) small satellite...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 30 October 2024: Solar System Missions - Part 2: A survey of the currently active spacecraft studying our Solar System. Today Mars, Asteroids and Jupiter. Australian Space Industry 2024 - Part 16: Buccaneer Main Mission due as Buccaneer Risk Mitigation Mission reenters on 2024 October 4 SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre and New Zealand joint projects SatPing Tak...

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 23 October 2024: Australian Space Industry 2024 - Part 15: * Scott Morrison joins Space Centre Australia * Equatorial Launch Australia signs up Sirius Space Services * Neuman Space teams with Inovor * Space Machines' Optimus 2 to be launched by New Space in 2026 * Australian Defence Force Space Command takes up residency at Adelaide's Lot 14. Solar System Missions...