Your Space Journey

Interview with Homer HickamHomer 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 agencies.Homer is a retired NASA engineer who worked on the Hubble Space telescope, trained U.S. and Japanese astronauts, and helped negotiate the use of the International Space Station with the Russians. Homer is a decorated Vietnam vet, carried the Olympic torch, taught David Letterman how to scuba dive, flew with General Chuck Yeager, dove on a sunken WWII German U-boat just off the North Carolina coast, and found four T-Rex skeletons as an amateur paleontologist. His best-selling books including his newest book Don't Blow Yourself Up! have been translated i

Interview with SpaceX Crew-3 pilot Tom MarshburnDr. Thomas Marshburn is the pilot of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and second in command for the SpaceX Crew-3 mission, which launched November 2021. 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 serving in the astronaut corps, the medical doctor served as flight surgeon at Johnson and later became medical operations lead for the ISS. The Crew-3 mission will be his third visit to the space station and his second long-duration mission.  Tom previously served as a crew member of STS-127 in 2009 and Expedition 34/35, which concluded in 2013.Having flown the space shuttle, Soyuz and soon the Crew Dragon, in this interview Tom discusses some of the differences between these vehicles and even the pre-launch traditions for astronauts. He also talks about some of experiments

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 new film, THE HIGH FRONTIER: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O’Neill.About the filmThe High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O’Neill is an award winning documentary film about the life and influence of Gerard K. O’Neill told through the eyes of his peers, family and the younger generation he inspired during the 1970s and 80s who are now leaders in the modern day space race. Through old stories of “Gerry” as many called him, and the social impact he made on the world, this documentary pays tribute to the unsung hero of today’s space race, while hoping to inspire all ages and walks of life to reignite ou

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 industry. About AstralyticalAstralytical is a woman-owned research, consulting, and publishing firm founded in 2016 and located outside of Atlanta. Their focus is high-quality big-picture outlook on the space sector including space-related scientific research, industry and policy analysis, career coaching, and communications. They welcome global clientele for consulting, coaching, project, or ongoing support. https://www.astralytical.com/https://www.facebook.com/Astralytical/https://twitter.com/Astralytical Laura’s Space on Space (blog):

Cloud-Based Mission ControlIn 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), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), Amazon Identity and Access Management (IAM), Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Elastic Container Registry (Amazon ECR), and Amazon Route 53 to power its cloud-based mission control solution, will gives Kubos customers seamless control of their satellites through AWS Ground Station’s fully managed ground station as a service.The wide-scale adoption of Major Tom by global customers with vastly different needs has been driven by a quickly changing s

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 FRED, CHARLIE & BOB.About Jeromy Grimmett Jeromy is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rogue Space Systems Corporation.  He started his career in the US Army where he specialized in missile guidance systems for both ground and air defense platforms. Since then, he’s attended Harvard University’s School of Extension Studies where he pursuing Undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Government and International Relations respectively.  After founding and running a successful technology services company, Jeromy fou

Is there life on Europa and in our Solar System? We'll discuss this question and more in this David Brown interview that will talk about just how close we are to finding an answer about alien life in our own backyard. David's book, THE MISSION, discusses NASA’s upcoming Europa Clipper mission and the scientists, engineers and other key figures behind this incredible endeavor to explore the Jovian moon.  In this episode we are going to explore Europa, the ice moon of Jupiter, 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. David is an award-winning writer, whose work appears frequently in The New York Times, Scientific American and Smithsonian. He is an Antarctic expeditioner, an endurance runner, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, and a veteran of Afghanistan. David just released his latest book: THE MISSION, an amazing behind-the-scenes narrative of NASA’s deep space mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa, where a

In this episode we discuss the news around NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission, the second rotational flight to the ISS which launched in late April 2021. We also feature an interview with European Space Agency's astronaut, Thomas Pesquet, where we are fortunate to have a pre-launch press conference Q&A with him and other Crew-2 astronauts. This episode will also discuss ESA’s quest to find new astronauts and open up space to people with disabilities.0:00 Intro to Season 2 Episode 10:45 European Space Agency (ESA) & SpaceX News Updates4:22 Shane Kimbrough & Thomas Pesquet Press Conference Questions Answered6:37 Press Conference Bonus Question #1 for Thomas Pesquet10:25 Bonus Question #2 for Thomas Pesquet12:35 Bonus Question #3 for Thomas Pesquet16:34 Closing Thoughts on ESA and the SpaceX Crew-2Topics covered in this episode:ESA PARASTRONAUT FEASIBILITY PROJECTIn a first for ESA and human spaceflight worldwide, ESA is looking for individual(s) who are psychologically, cognitively, technically and p

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 ninth planet in our solar system. About Dr. Alan SternDr. Alan Stern is a planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant, author, and avid public speaker. Since 2001 he has led NASA’s $880M New Horizons mission that successfully explored the Pluto system and is now exploring the Kuiper Belt—the farthest exploration in the history of humankind. In 2018, he was named by the Administration to a six yearlong term to the U.S. National Science Board. In both 2007 and 2016, he was named to the Time 100 list. I

Phone Interview with OSIRIS-REx Project Scientist Dr. Jason P. DworkinOn 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 Explorer)https://www.asteroidmission.org/OSIRIS-REx seeks answers to the questions that are central to the human experience: Where did we come from? What is our destiny? Asteroids, the leftover debris from the solar system formation process, can answer these questions and teach us about the history of the sun and planets.The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is currently orbiting Bennu, a carbonaceous asteroid whose regolith may record the earliest history of our solar system. Bennu may contain the molecular precursors to the origin of life and the Eart

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 implications for the future of space exploration, especially with NASA’s plan to send the first woman and next man on the Moon in 2024.In this interview Sarah discusses how SOFIA made this discovery, how much water was found, and future plans for investigating on the Moon, including NASA's VIPER rover, a mobile robot that will go to the South Pole of the Moon to get a close-up view of the location and concentration of water ice. About Sarah Noble (from NASA.gov)Sarah Noble grew up in rural Minnesota, where from a very young age she was fascinated with space exploration, star

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 in mid-November 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 "What About It!?", an amazing program on YouTube that explores Space, Rockets & Science, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays. Check out his YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/ZSSolomon or visit https://whataboutit.space/ABOUT SPACEX CREW-1NASA is preparing to launch its first crew rotational flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew-1 flight mission will carry astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of the Ja

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 the Space Network.  In this interview Tom provides an overview of SCaN, how the program has its roots in the 1950s, the three networks managed by SCaN, plus the incredible spinoffs generated by the development of SCaN technology.For more information, visit https://www.nasa.gov/scanSpecial thanks to Dylan Hagreen for sharing his space journey in this episode!

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 celestial wonders and interested in seeking nature’s most stupendous sight, a total eclipse of the Sun. The atlas covers every type of solar eclipse around the world — total, annular, and partial — with beautiful and informative maps at overview, regional, and detail scales.   You can view a preview of the atlas at https://tinyurl.com/AtlasOfSolarEclipsesPreviewThe atlas spans 56 solar eclipses from 2020 to 2045. Emphasis is given to total solar eclipses in heavily populated areas, such as the 2024 April 8 eclipse across North Amer

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 launched in 1962. CSA is well known for its development of Canadarm, the robotic arm used on the space shuttle, the International Space Station, and soon the Lunar Gateway.  About the GatewayNASA is spearheading the initiative to establish the Gateway, a space station in lunar orbit. About one-fifth of the size of the ISS, this new outpost will be developed, serviced, and utilized in collaboration with international and commercial partners.The Gateway will be:- a science laboratory;- a testbed for new technologies;- a r

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 author of an award-winning book called Astronomy’s Limitless Journey: A Guide to Understanding the Universe, and the winner of the Wilhelm Foerster Prize for public dissemination of science.In this interview we review several current and upcoming missions for ESA including Solar Orbiter, and its recent high-res images of the Sun from its first close approach this summer. Other missions discussed include Cheops (searching for exoplanets), BepiColumbo (Mercury Mission), and an extensive discussion on ExoMars and the upcoming 2022 launch of the Rosalind Franklin Rover, the first rover designed by ESA for Mars.For more information, visit https://esa.intSpecial thanks to Laen August of Alpha Cont

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 and soil samples, and demonstrate technology needed for the future exploration of Mars.MEET OUR PANELJoining us for this panel are Jenna Foertsch (https://www.jennafoertsch.com/), Ken Ruffin (board of advisor for the National Space Society at https://space.nss.org/) and Christian Ready, astronomer and creator of Launchpad Astronomy (https://youtube.com/christianready).Mars Perseverance Mission OverviewThe Mars Perseverance rover mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The Mars Perseverance mission addresses high-priority science goals for Mars exploration, including key questions about the potential for life on M

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 in space. He has flown on three space shuttle missions, and a Soyuz mission, and became the first Japanese Commander of the International Space Station. Dr. Wakata has held several key positions with JAXA, including serving as JAXA Vice President and Senior Advisor.In this interview, Dr. Wakata discusses JAXA, his experience as an astronaut, current missions including Hayabusa2 (which rendezvoused with near-Earth asteroid Ryugu in 2018 and is returning samples to Earth later this year), and IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun), launched in 2010 and became the first spacecraft to successfully demonstrate solar sail technology in interplanetary sp

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 Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, based in Dubai, is managing, developing and executing all stages of the program. Joining us from the Space Centre are Ayesha Al Sharafi, the EMM Lead for the Spacecraft Propulsion Subsystem, and Mohsen Al Awadhi, the EMM Lead Mission Systems Engineer.Emirates Mars Mission OverviewThe Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) ​is the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) ​first mission to Mars. EMM is designed to ​orbit Mars and study the dynamics in ​the Martian atmosphere on a global scale, and on both diurnal and seasonal timescales. Using three scientific instruments on board of the spacecraft, EMM will provide a set of measurements fundamental to an improved understanding of ​circulation and wea

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 more. Be sure to subscribe today (it's free!) so you don't miss a single episode!The Rocket & Satellite Company, Pakistan's first private space companyIn this episode we interview Sami Ullah Khan, the CEO of The Rocket & Satellite Company, Pakistan’s first private space company. The Rocket & Satellite Company will offer solutions for two major space issues: space debris and in-orbit satellite servicing.About The Rocket & Satellite CompanyTHE ROCKET & SATELLITE COMPANY (SMC-PRIVATE) LIMITED is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission Government of Pakistan and is Pakistan’s 1st Private Space Company.The company will cover and offer the low-cost solutions to t