Episode 801: Not to Mention...

This season premiere kicks off with a look at the past,starting with the NASA tragedies that still loom large today, particularly withthe 30th anniversary of STS-51L last week. Moving a bit closer tothe present, we go over some of the most notable stories of 2015 and discusswhat they might mean for the future, from the dazzling images of Pluto from NewHorizons to the (sometimes literal) highs and lows of commercial spaceflight. Overour hiatus, SpaceX in particular had some major accomplishments as well asanother attempt to land on their ocean barge, Of Course I Still Love You(OCISLY), to learn from, and we speculate on what this could mean for theirfuture. Meanwhile, the omnibus spending bill for 2016 passed and was signedinto law, and for once there was a lot of good news for NASA. We delve intosome of the details, how this happened, and what this means for NASA missions andthe American space industry moving forward. This brought us into this year andthe extraordinary efforts by the team building and testing the James Webb SpaceTelescope a couple of weeks ago.

Also in January, our own Kassy Tamanini and herpartner and special guest John Wood were among the first to participate in aMeteorite Hunting Boot Camp, led by good friend of the show and past guestGeoff Notkin. Love meteorites and always wanted to know the nitty grittydetails of the experience? These neophytes share what they learned, how itfelt, and what it’s like to visit your first strewn field. If this convincesyou to try it yourself, you can sign up for the next Boot Camp, coming up this May (spaces are running out quickly,though, so get on it or sign up for Aerolite emails to learn about futureevents, and don’t forget to tell them we sent you).

Show recorded 2-1-2016

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein,

Panel Members: Kassy Tamanini, Kat Robison, and special guestJohn Wood