Today In Space

On this episode we speak with Dr. Masha Petrova, the CEO of Nullspace, Inc. a company creating simulation software for electromagnetic applications in the Academic, Commercial, Aerospace, and Defense Industries. Masha shares with us her STEM origin story from a childhood love of Soviet Space SciFi to becoming a PhD Simulation Engineer in the US, which led to her "aha" moment of realizing she was a...

In episode 339, we are talking all about Starship's 3rd Test Flight after a VERY exciting launch on March 14th, 2024 a.k.a. Pi Day. The massive Starship made lightspeed progress from the last two tests but the question is: Was IFT3 a success? Did SpaceX have a successful test flight? Don't worry - if you are new to Starship and need a quick review we got you covered! This is a great episode for an...

In this week's episode, Alex shares some of his Florida vacation and the 'magic' of branding and storytelling at both Disney and Universal Studio Themeparks. Alex also shares his rotten luck with catching Rocket launches while in Florida...and its not for a lack of launches either! It's also been over a year with our Vespera Telescope so it's time for a recap on what we've learned and what's stuck...

This episode was recorded live while watching the Intuitive Machines-1 (IM-1) moon landing on February 22, 2024 around 6PM. Alex shares his live reaction and thoughts while the NOVA Command team in Houston, TX intiates landing sequence and then troubleshoots the signal after the landing attempt. Is the lander ok? Will the signal get better? That's for the future. Right now, we were just excited to...

On this episode, Alex shares his thoughts on the latest Lunar Lander attempt by NASA with the IM-1 Mission. Intuitive Machine's is providing the NOVA C lunar lander as part of the CLPS program, where NASA funded commercial contracts to build out the Artemis Infrastructure around the Moon. There's no internet on the moon yet...not even running water. So there's alot to do, and this IM-1 mission aim...

On this episode, Alex opens the podcast with a quick run through (~4 min) of some of the Space Launches to look out for in February (SpaceX, Japan, India, NASA, Rocket Lab). We deep dive on NASA's PACE Mission, flying onboard a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket NET 1:33AM ET 2/8/24 (only a few hours after this podcast is released). We discuss what the mission is, what the payloads are, and why that science wi...

On this episode, we remember the 3 year journey of the Ingenuity Helicopter on Mars, which now has a broken rotor and is unable to fly safely anymore. We discuss how influential the Martian Helicopter was by obliterating it's original 30-day life span and providing miles of coverage inside of Jezero Crater. We discuss some facts on the first powered flight on another world, and close up with a dis...

On this episode we speak with Madison C. Feehan, the founder of Space Copy and Moon Trades. She has a background in lunar instrument development, global open science programs, and is a member of Women in Aerospace Canada. She's also been an External Peer Reviewer and Executive Panelist for NASA since she was in high school.  Topics from the episode: space ,  ai ,  industry ,  entrepreneurship ,  n...

In the second episode of 2024, we went hard and produced a list of the 24 things to look out for in Space this year. Is my voice sore from this recording? Yes. Am I still excited for what's to come? OF COURSE! There are 8 groups of what to expect in 2024: Lunar, Space Station, Orbital Human Spaceflight, Deep Space, Payloads/Sats, Space Flyers, Astronomy, and Rocket Technology. We even added update...

For the first episode of 2024 (Happy New Year!) we're diving into the Human Factor to talk about Confidence vs. Ego. A perfect topic as we all look to make improvments in our lives with "new year new you" vibes. What keeps you honest and on goal when things get tough? What keeps you from continuing your goals for the 'new you'? It's Confidence! (or is it Ego?). We share our advice on how to naviga...

On Part TWO of our two-parter episode with Matt Schricker of @Bostronomy - we dig deeper into Astronomy, Astrophotography, and Telescopes. Matt shares his Astronomy on Instagram and TikTok but also has a creative style that we enjoy very much in his content. We also chat about the human experience of stargazing and how even your position on the planet can change your whole outlook on constellation...

On this FIRST of a TWO PART episode, we have Matt Schricker of @Bostronomy on the show for a 'very Boston podcast' where we chat about Astronomy, Music, and Matt's STEM origin story. Matt shares his Astronomy on Instagram and TikTok but also has a creative style that we enjoy very much in his content. We dive into his origin story, being a Dad, his love of music (his band "Fever Dream" plays in Bo...

Space Debris - a problem that continues to exponentially grow as more and more payloads are sent to Earth orbit every day. Old satellites, or ones without fuel or power, essentially become a giant piece of trash that orbits uncontrolled with the "traffic" of low earth orbit. Now, with companies beginning to be hit with government fines over leaving debris in space - what can be done to prevent or...

On this Thanksgiving week episode, we're breaking down Starship's latest test flight - IFT2 and comparing it to the first integrated test flight (a.k.a. IFT1). We think there are four major WINS for SpaceX, NASA, and humanity after IFT2's successful test launch. There is ALOT of work before humans can launch onboard, but IFT1 and IFT2 were only 6 months apart and they had to rebuild the pad. With...

You may be familiar with some recent news about far-flung interstellar locations, like the Psyche Mission, Mars InSight Mission, and the Juno Mission to Jupiter.  Award-winning planetary scientist  Dr. Sabine Stanley  has been involved in some of these missions and is the author of the new book from Johns Hopkins Press,  What's Hidden Inside Planets?  Thanks to Dr. Sabine and her team, our listene...

On this week's episode, we replicate a pumpkin using 3D scanning and 3D printing in the AG3D lab. While the Replicator in Star Trek is still far away, todays technology has come A LONG WAY since even 10 years ago.  We discuss what we used to bring this pumpkin-stein into life, and I also share some background on how 3D scanning and 3D printing went from an expensive set of tech, to something almos...

This week we introduce a new segment - THE HUMAN FACTOR! As hard as we might try to forget, scientists and engineers (and anyone) lives inside of a human body. While we might push ourselves mentally, we have a tendency to fuel and treat our bodies like crap. But having a well operating human body will make us all better at whatever we do, even if its not science or engineering. We're taking a jour...

On this week's episode, we recap the PSYCHE mission after launch on October 13th, 2023 onboard a Falcon Heavy Rocket from Kennedy Space Center at LC-39A (side booster's recovered at LZ1 & LZ2). This is the a mission of many firsts, but primarily the 1st mission to an all-metal asteroid for NASA.  We discuss: WHAT is the PSYCHE Mission? WHAT is Asteroid 16 PSYCHE? WHAT is an M-Type Asteroid? HOW wi...

On this week's episode, it's all-things Annular Solar Eclipse with the stellar event on Saturday, October 14th, 2023. The path of totality in the US and the "ring of fire" will be visible from Oregon to Texas from 9:13 a.m PDT to 12:03 p.m. CDT (and many other locations in Central & South America) We discuss: WHAT are differences between Annular & Total Solar Eclipses? WHAT is the "Ring of Fire"?...

On this week's episode, we are diving into the latest JWST discovery of CO2 on the surface of Europa. We're answering the WHAT before the WHY in this 15 minutes deep dive into James Webb, Europa, and what this discovery means for life in the universe, and especially a potential alien pool of life in our own solar backyard. We discuss: WHAT is James Webb Space Telescope? WHAT is Europa? WHAT did JW...

On this week's episode, we review the OSIRIS-REx mission and Asteroid Bennu as the sample return is underway on September 24, 2023. This unique robotic space mission will give us data about our early Solar System and what ingredients were around an estimated to be 4.5 billions years ago. This pristine sample is not only a look at the Sol System's genesis, but Bennu is an asteroid with a potentiall...

On this week's episode, we use three of the latest Alien/UFO/UAP events to demonstrate how our science-based approach to the unknown works. In line with what NASA shared at the latest UAP conference, it's about differentiating the extraterrestrial needle from the earth-based haystack. We know there's alot of chaos surrounding these issues but we felt more voices from a science background need to s...

Space is the ultimate extreme environment. The extreme temperatures, vacuum of space, and radiation variability can easily cause electronics to stop functioning and fail. In space your microchips can never fail since there's no replacing it once you're in orbit. That's why it's critical for these chips to be reliable, secure, and able to withstand the harsh environments of space. We are honored to...

On this episode, we review THREE of the major space events in the past month! We answer WHAT each mission is, WHO is involved, and WHY its important for space & humanity's future. Virgin Galactic's Galactic02 crew broke many records on their trip to the edge of space and back. We explain WHY a mission like this is so important SpaceX launched a crew of four on CREW7 to the ISS. We chat about the c...

On this episode we speak with Tanya of Mars herself! Dr. Tanya Harrison is our guest on "People of Science" this week to share her STEM Origin Story, time working on Mars Orbiter and Rovers, and how Space is full of great opportunities right now! So if you have a passion for STEM or just love Space and want to work in it - this episode is for you. So buckle up and let's dive in! Dr. Tanya Harrison...