Episode 346: Mars or Bust

On this episode of Talking Space, we discuss the successful launch of the Mars Science Laboratory or Curiosity, which our very own Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman were in Florida to witness. You will even get to here the actual sound of launch, and an interesting sound it is if you listen closely. We then move on to the next name to leave NASA: Mike Leinbach. We then continue on to some interesting articles posted regarding NASAs budget. We finish off our main topics with the attempts to salvage the Russian mission Phobos-Grunt. 

In our Talking Space Mad Minute, we talk about the Twitter account @KillerCuriosity, a new location for a space shuttle simulator, the official hand-over of space shuttle Enterprise's title, ice in Florida, and some interesting facts about Plutonium.

The Atlas V carrying the Mars Science Laboratory launches from the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Alex Shimp

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 11/28/2011

Listen now:

 or Listen on your mobile device

Episode 345: Sparking 'Curiosity' in Space Science

On this episode of Talking Space, we change our format slightly. For our main topics, we discuss the return of the Expedition 29 crew to Earth after 167 days in space. We then move on to the upcoming launch of the Mars Science Laboratory, also known as Curiosity. We also discuss the issue of its main fuel source: Plutonium. We then discuss the new, finalized NASA budget. Although it saves something important, many other important items are cut. We finish off our main topics with YouTube's Space Lab, where students ages 14-18 can devise an experiment which could be performed onboard the ISS. The two winning submissions will actually be flown into space and flown aboard the space station.

On our newest segment, where we round up stories we couldn't cover in depth, we mention the congressional medal  handed out to some space heroes, a NASA facility which is not only a great place to work, but safe, an extended Mercury mission, a new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Neutral Buoyancy lab being repurposed, and the return of Science Channe's hit show Meteorite Men.

For more information on YouTube Space Lab, to submit your video, or to check out their educational playlist, visit http://youtube.com/spacelab

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 11/21/2011

Listen now:

 or Listen on your mobile device

Episode 344: 100 'Miles' Above the Earth

On our 100th episode of Talking Space, we invite on a very special guest, and the only guest to date to appear on the show 3 times, the one and only Miles O'Brien. We begin with the recent Mars 500 mission, in which astronauts spent over 500 days simulating a trip to Mars. We ask him if this is a valuable tool and discuss actually getting to Mars in the future. After the successful launch of the Soyuz on November 6th, 2011 at 11:14pm EST carrying 3 astronauts to the International Space Station, we talk about the era of Soyuz and what this means for the United States and talk about where we'll go in the future. We move on to the failed Phobos-Grunt mission launched by Russia and discuss that as well as its future as space debris and if Earthlings need to break out their crash helmets. We then talk about Miles' trip to earthquake-ravaged Japan and takes a look at how it is now for PBS. 

For more on Miles, feel free to check out his website: http://milesobrien.com

You can also check out some of his clips on his YouTube channel, http://youtube.com/milesobrien

You can also take a look at other clips for PBS by visiting http://pbs.org and clicking on PBS NewsHour or Frontline. 

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman with broadcast journalist and PBS correspondent Miles O'Brien

Show Recorded - 11/14/2011

Listen now:

 or Listen on your mobile device

Episode 343: Ghosts, Ghouls, and Spooky Space

On this, our 99th and Halloween episode of Talking Space, we discuss an announcement made by Boeing to build their CST-100 in Orbiter Processing Facility 3 (OPF-3) at the Kennedy Space Center. We then discuss the successful launch of a Soyuz carrying Progress 45, a resupply ship to the International Space Station, and discuss its impact after the recent Progress 44 failure. We then move onto the successful launch of China's Shenzhou-8 to dock with the already orbiting Tiangong 1. We discuss what this means for China's future as well as an attempted hacking of a US satellite and China's denial. We then move on to a discussion about an article written by Robert Zubrin about a review of NASA's planetary missions and our opinion on the possible cancellations of such missions as Voyager 1 and 2, the Mars rovers, and more. We finish off with NASA's underwater mission, NEEMO 15, as well as Elon Musk possibly dropping out of his attempts to dock to the ISS due to a format change. 

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 10/31/2011

Listen now:

 or Listen on your mobile device

Episode 342: Landing a New Home

On this news-packed episode of Talking Space, we discuss the space shuttle Endeavour officially being handed over to the California Science Center, and also discuss the controversey of trying to bring a shuttle to Houston as well as Ohio. This segment includes a classic clip from a STS-134 briefing with a question asked by our own Gene Mikulka. We then discuss former Space Shuttle Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses, who will be leaving NASA to join Virgin Galactic. We also discuss the second drop test of Space Ship 2, which did not go as smooth as expected. We then get into a deep discussion of the next proposed NASA budget and some intersting areas which are being affected by the budget and others that aren't. We then talk about a possible 2013 abort test of the Orion capsule as well as a 2012 drop test of Sierra Nevada's Dreamchaser. We then continue with another satellite coming in for a reentry similar to UARS, except this time it's ROSAT. We finish off our discussions with the Soyuz getting NASA's ok to keep flying as well as a launch this week, for the first time, of a Soyuz from somewhere other than the Baikonour Cosmodrome. We finish off with an interview conducted by Mark with another amazing speaker from the 100 Year Star Ship Symposium, Chantelle Louis. 

For more information on the upcoming Soyuz launch from French Guyana, check outhttp://threelaunchersontheequator.com

For more information on Chantelle Louis and to see her work, visit her website athttp://chantellelouis.com

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 10/17/2011

Listen now:

 or Listen on your mobile device

Episode 341: Deep 'Space.com' Travel

On this episode of Talking Space, we continue our discussion of the 100 Year Star Ship Symposium with an interview conducted by Mark with Space.com Senior Writer Clara Moskowitz. Afterwards, we get a special report from friend of the show and composer of all of our music Todd Cecilio. Todd reports on STS-135 commander Chris Ferguson's trip to the Franklin Institute Science Museum where he returned a piece of their planetarium which had flown in space. We then discuss Boeing's desire to use the US military X-37 B for commercial purposes. We move on, afterwards, to a discussion about the possibility of Europe becoming involved with the design for the service module of the Orion/Space Launch System. Lastly, we discuss Mark Kelly's retirement from the Navy and the special guest who was their to participate in the event.

For more information on Clara Moskowitz, follow her on Twitter as @claramoskowitz and be sure to read hear articles on Space.com.

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman. Included in this episode is Senior Writer for Space.com Clara Moskowitz and friend of the show Todd Cecilio.

Show Recorded - 10/10/2011

Listen now:

 or Listen on your mobile device

Episode 340: 100 Years in 1 Hour

On this episode of Talking Space, Mark discusses his amazing visit to the 100 Year Starship Study Public Symposium (100 YSS) held in Orlando, Florida. He discusses the multiple tracks you could take as well as some of the lectures he heard ranging from algae farming to a panel of science fiction writers to creating aliens. We then move on to the successful launch of China's Tiangong-1, a space lab, as well as a minor mishap that occured on a video which China released. We then move on to an announcement by SpaceX's Elon Musk about the reusability of the Falcon rocket as demonstrated in the video released by the company, available on our website http://talkingspaceonline.com (below). Lastly, we discuss an announcement regarding the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum moving the planned location for the space shuttle Enterprise and discuss a bill proposed to remove the shuttle from New York and deliver one to Texas. 

To learn more about the 100 Year Star Ship Symposium, please visit: http://100yss.org

This was the video released by SpaceX and is property of SpaceX. Note: Talking Space does not own this clip.

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 10/2/2011

Listen now:

 or Listen on your mobile device

Episode 339: It's "Aviation Week" on Talking Space

On this episode, we invite back Aviation Week Senior Editor Frank Morring. With his 35 years in journalism, over 20 of those focusing in aerospace, we ask him about the current events around NASA. We begin with the discussion of UARS which recently crashed back to Earth and about space debris in general. Then we get his opinion of the Space Launch System, or SLS, NASA's future spacecraft to take American astroanuts to an unspecified destination. We then discuss the role of commercial companies and the possibilities that it may hold and if it can be viable. We then finish off with Wallops Space Flight Center possibly having manned launches and the implications at the Kennedy Space Center, as well as preview Mark's far-out upcoming trip and Mr. Morring's thoughts on it. 

Be sure to check out Frank Morring and all of the other amazing staff members at Aviation Week by visiting their website: http://aviationweek.com

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 9/26/2011

Listen now:

 or Listen on your mobile device

Episode 338: Talking Space is "2" Infinity and Beyond

On this episode, we discuss the safe return of the Expedition 28 crew after their 6 month stay aboard the International Space Station. In doing so, we discuss the Soyuz and Progress 44 failure and the impact it will have on the ISS in the near future. We then get into a large discussion about the official announcement and presentation of NASA's new vehicle to carry humans beyond Low Earth Orbit, and that is the Space Launch System (SLS) scheduled for completion in 2017. We discuss the composition of the vehicle as well as the actual announcement itself. We then discuss our opinions on the vehicle and if we think it's going to fly. We them move on to ATK's new commercial rocket as well as an update on the UARS satellite scheduled to make a fiery return to Earth sometime this week. We then mention a discovery by the spacecraft Keppler of a Tatooine-type planet from Star Wars. Lastly, we mention that last week our show celebrated its 2 year anniversary and we reflect on where we've come, who's helped us, and where we're going next.

Please feel free send us your comments regarding the SLS announcement or any other story. You can email us at mailbag@talkingspaceonline.com, send us as tweet at @talkingspace or post it on our Facebook wall at facebook.com/talkingspace

An artist's conception of the Space Launch System at Launch Pad 39. Credit: NASAAn artist's concept of the Space Launch System lifting off from the launch pad

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 9/18/2011

Listen now:

 or Listen on your mobile device

Episode 337: Clean Up Time for Low Earth Orbit

Low Earth orbit is a mess, with flotsam floating around at speeds between 17,000 to 20,000 MPH. These pieces of space debris, some that are relics from the beginning of the space age are numerous. They are various sizes ranging from the very large, (spent boosters and the like) to the  to the very small like bolts, washers and various pieces of small hardware. Their presence threatens communications and weather satellites, piloted spacecraft and orbiting manned platforms like the International Space Station.  

 A report issued last week by the National Research Council indicated that the orbital debris problem may have reached a tipping point where collisions of decommissioned satellites, empty boosters and smaller pieces will continually collied with each other. The result:more debris in low earth orbit causing the problem to get worse. This may prevent future utilization of low earth orbit by anyone.

 

To talk about this problem further and discuss ways to solve this looming crisis, we asked two recent graduates of Singularity University's GSP 2011 class; Major Franz Gayl United States Marine Corps (ret) and the author of the book "It's Only Rocket Science", Doctor Lucy Rogers from the United Kingdom, both already quite accomplished in their respective fields to discuses the issue of space debris. Both had studied the issue of Earth Orbital Debris, and brainstormed ways to attempt to solve the problem while at Singularity University.

 

You may follow Dr. Lucy Rogers on Twitter. Her Twitter address is @DrLucyRogers

Note: Any opinions presented by Mr. Gayl in this porgram are his own. and not the postion of the US Government. 

Host this Episode: Gene Mikulka.  Guests: Franz Gayl & Dr. Lucy Rogers  Show Recorded - 9/10/2011

Listen now:

 or Listen on your mobile device

Links: 

Space Debris Research 

Web site of Dr. Lucy Rogers

Web Site for "It's Only Rocket Science" 

Singularity University 

Discovery News - "What Can We Do About the Space Junk Problem " by Dr. Lucy Rogers