In today’s episode we’ll speak with Scott “Kidd” Poteet, a Mission Pilot for the new SpaceX Polaris Program. Kidd is a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with more than 3,000 flying hours as a pilot and over 400 hours of combat time. Most recently Kidd served as the Mission Director for Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian mission to space last September that raised more than $240 million for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Kidd will be the Mission Pilot for the upcoming...

What kind of discoveries can we expect from the James Webb Space Telescope? Find out in our interview with Lee Feinberg, James Webb’s Optical Telescope Element Manager. Lee Feinberg has been the Optical Telescope Element Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for the past 20 years. Lee led the telescope technology development and led the telescope from architecture trades and design activities to manufacturing through integration and testing....

Interview with best-selling author Homer Hickam Homer Hickam is the New York Times #1 best-selling author of 19 books, including ‘Rocket Boys’ which became the major motion picture ‘October Sky’, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Homer. In this interview Homer talks about how his fascination with rockets began in October, 1957 with the launch of Sputnik. He also shares details of his newest book Don’t Blow Yourself Up! and talks about his work with NASA and other space...

Interview with SpaceX Crew-3 pilot Tom Marshburn Crew-3 Launch currently scheduled for November 2021. Dr. Thomas Marshburn is the pilot of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and second in command for the SpaceX Crew-3 mission. He is responsible for spacecraft systems and performance. Once aboard the International Space Station (ISS), he will serve as an Expedition 66 flight engineer. Tom is a Statesville, North Carolina, native who became an astronaut in 2004. Prior to...

A new documentary about the pioneer of human colonies in space In this episode we dive into the new award-winning documentary about inspirational physics professor Gerry K. O’Neill. Gerry was a Princeton University professor who changed the face of space exploration during the 1970s and 80s with his plans for building human colonies in space. His innovative ideas inspired many, including Johnny Carson and Isaac Asimov. Producer Will Henry joins us today to discuss the...

Are you interested in pursuing a career in space? In this episode we interview space consultant and author, Laura Seward Forczyk. Laura is the owner of Astralytical, a space consulting firm specializing in space science, industry, and policy. Laura & her company also offer space & aerospace career coaching services to students and professionals. In this episode we’ll dive more into the latest space news and find out more about how you can pursue a career in the space...

Cloud-Based Mission Control In this episode we speak with Tyler Browder, CEO and founder of Kubos, a satellite software company. Tyler joins us to discuss how their company’s cloud-based mission control platform, Major Tom, helps operators take care of every aspect of a satellite’s flight software, from mission design and onboard software to hardware testing and mission operations in the cloud. Major Tom, which uses Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS),...

In this episode we explore speak with Jeromy Grimmett, the founder & CEO of Rogue Space Systems. Rogue is a new space startup company that is creating orbital robots, or “Orbots”, that will repair and service satellites using Artificial Intelligence. Their new service will increase satellite lifespans, reducing the need to replace expensive space assets; by repairing them. Their first Orbot, named LAURA, is scheduled to launch in early 2022, to be followed later in 2022 and 2023 by Orbots...

A space journey to explore an alien ocean on a moon of Jupiter Is there alien life on Europa? We may find out sooner than you think. And it just might be at the bottom of an alien ocean on Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter. In this episode we going to explore Europa, the Jovian moon, and the mission to get there. NASA is currently building the Europa Clipper spacecraft which will begin its voyage to the Jovian Moon in 2024. Joining us today to discuss his new...

Welcome to Episode 1 of Season 2! In this episode we discuss NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission, the upcoming second rotational flight to the ISS which is currently scheduled to launch in late April 2021. We feature an interview with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and also discuss ESA’s quest to find new astronauts and open up space to people with disabilities. French astronaut Thomas Pesquet will be the first European to fly on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. Thomas will be a mission...

Planetary scientist Dr. Alan Stern has been chosen to be the first to conduct NASA-funded science experiments while flying aboard a commercial spacecraft. In this interview Dr. Stern discusses the experiments he will perform aboard Virgin Galactic’s “SpaceShipTwo” on a suborbital mission from the Spaceport America launch site in New Mexico. He also discusses software upgrades coming to the New Horizons spacecraft in 2021, and as a proponent of Pluto, explains why it should be considered the...

Interview with Project Scientist Dr. Jason P. Dworkin On October 20th, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made history as it collected samples from asteroid Bennu, which are expected to return to Earth in 2023. For this episode I’m pleased to introduce Dr. Jason Dworkin, the project scientist for OSIRIS-REx, for an update and more details on the OSIRIS-REx mission. About OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith...

Water on the Moon – Sunny side up! NASA’s aircraft SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) has confirmed for the first time, water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. Previously NASA had discovered evidence for water in shadows of craters, but this new discovery has incredible implications for possible use of this water as a resource as NASA returns to the Moon. Lunar Geologist Dr. Sarah Noble joins us today to discuss this incredible discovery and its...

In this interview, recorded via phone on September 29, 2020, I speak with Commander Mike Hopkins about this mission, his training and the challenges (and thrills) of commanding the SpaceX Crew-1 mission, currently scheduled to launch at 2:40 AM EDT on Saturday, October 31, 2020. BONUS: Mini-Interview with Felix Schlang of What About It!? Felix joins me briefly to share how he became interested in space and his excitement for the future, especially SpaceX Starship. Felix is the host of...

In this episode we interview Thomas Kacpura regarding NASA’s SCaN program (Space Communications and Navigations). I was fortunate to travel to NASA Glenn Research Center earlier this year to meet with Tom and discuss this incredible program. SCaN provides communications services that are essential to the operations of NASA’s space flight missions. SCaN provides communications support to NASA and non-NASA missions by managing three networks: The Deep Space Network, the Near Earth Network and...

In this episode authors Michael Zeiler and Michael Bakich join us to discuss their fascinating new book, Atlas of Solar Eclipses, an adventure guide for the next 25 years of solar eclipses. This amazing atlas covers every type of solar eclipse around the world—total, annular and partial—with beautiful and informative maps to guide you to nature’s most stupendous site, a total eclipse of the Sun. The Atlas of Solar Eclipses — 2020 to 2045 is an adventure guide for anyone entranced by...

In this episode we continue our “Around the World in Space” series with the Canadian Space Agency. Ken Podwalski, Program Manager for the Lunar Gateway at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) joins us to discuss the Canadian Space Agency’s efforts for the upcoming Lunar Gateway and Canadarm3. The Canadian Space Agency was established in 1990 but Canada has been involved with space for decades. In fact, Canada was the third country to develop and build its own satellite, Alouette, that...

We continue our series with countries around the world in this episode as we feature the European Space Agency (ESA). Joining us for this interview is Günther Hasinger, the director of science for ESA. Günther was born in Germany and earned his PhD in astronomy, later becoming a professor, researcher and author. He is the...

Mars Perseverance launching soon! In this episode our panel discusses NASA’s upcoming Perseverance mission, including its passenger Ingenuity, the first ever helicopter designed to fly on Mars. Targeted for launch in July 2020, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will seek signs of past life, set aside a returnable cache with the most compelling rock core...

We continue our series with countries around the world in this episode as we feature JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Joining us to discuss JAXA is astronaut Dr. Koichi Wakata.  Dr. Wakata has accumulated 347 days in space spanning four missions, setting a record in Japanese human space flight history for the longest stay...

The United Arab Emirates are just a few days away (July 15, 2020) from launching the Hope Probe to Mars. The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) – Hope Probe will be the first probe to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere and its layers when it reaches the red planet’s orbit in February 2021....

The Rocket & Satellite Company, Pakistan’s first private space company Over the next few episodes, we’re embarking on a new space journey; a short series highlighting various countries and their efforts for the future of space exploration. In upcoming episodes we’ll be featuring interviews with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), the Canadian Space Agency, and...

Mars Helicopter Ingenuity launching July 2020 In this episode Bob Balaram, Chief Engineer for the Mars helicopter INGENUITY project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, joins us to discuss this first-ever helicopter designed to fly on Mars. The Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity, is a technology demonstration to test powered flight on another world for the first time....

GALAXIES: Inside the Universe’s Star Cities by Dave Eicher is out now! In this episode we first briefly recap the successful launch of SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavor, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. Then we dive into our conversation with Dave Eicher to talk all about Galaxies! Dave Eicher is one of the...

SpaceX Crew Demo-2 launching soon, and we’re SO EXCITED! For the first time since 2011, astronauts are set to once again launch from U.S. soil aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon–and we’re SO EXCITED! The SpaceX Crew Demo-2 mission is set to launch from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:33 pm EDT...