Are We There Yet?

After decades of development, the James Webb Space Telescope takes flight. Scientists have been thinking about this moment since the 1990s -- a new set of eyes that will see father into our universe than ever before.

Meet new astronaut candidate Luke Delaney and hear from "Main Engine Cut Off" host Anthony Colangelo about the new commercial rockets in development.

Meet new astronaut candidate Luke Delaney and hear from "Main Engine Cut Off" host Anthony Colangelo about the new commercial rockets in development.

The Biden administration held its first National Space Council meeting last week. Chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris, the group of cabinet members and space policy stakeholders helps steer the White House’s space policy aspirations.

This first meeting in Washington, D.C. focused largely on space junk and climate change. We’ll speak with Space Policy Online editor Marcia Smith about the administration’s space agenda and the path forward for President Biden’s space program.

Then, space junk caused by a Russian anti-satellite missile test forced space station astronauts to shelter in their docked spacecraft. While Russia downplayed the risk of the test, the U.S. government condemned the action.

It’s the latest space-based event highlighting important ethical issues when it comes to the use of space and militarization of low-Earth orbit. To talk more about these questions we’ll speak with Brian Green, director of technology ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University and author of the book Space Ethics.

What's ahead for space policy under a Biden administration? And how can we ethically explore space?

What's ahead for space policy under a Biden administration? And how can we ethically explore space?

NASA’s DART mission is set to launch tonight from Vandenberg in California, on a 10-month mission that ends when it smashes into a tiny rock in space.

The spacecraft is part of NASA’ planetary defense plan -- figuring out ways to save our own Earth should an asteroid threaten to hit us.

While there’s no immediate threat to us here on our planet, what scientists find out about how this impact affects the orbits of this asteroid can help plan for future missions to nudge asteroids out of a potentially deadly path.

We’ll speak with Nancy Chabot, planetary scientist and NASA coordination lead for DART, about this fast-flying mission to smash into an asteroid.

Then, Star Trek actor Nichelle Nichols took on an ambitious project to recruit more diverse candidates for NASA programs at the start of the Space Shuttle program in the 1970s.

She recruited more than 8,000 African American, Asian and Latino women and men for NASA in the 1970s and 80s, turning NASA into one of the most diverse agencies in the United States Federal Government.

The documentary Woman in Motion looks at the efforts and motivations of Nichols who asked the next-generation of space explorers: “Where are my people?” We’ll revisit a conversation from earlier this year with director Todd Thompson about the film.

NASA’s DART mission is set to launch tonight from Vandenberg in California, on a 10-month mission that ends when it smashes into a tiny rock in space. The spacecraft is part of NASA’ planetary defense plan -- figuring out ways to save our own Earth should an asteroid threaten to hit us.

NASA’s DART mission is set to launch tonight from Vandenberg in California, on a 10-month mission that ends when it smashes into a tiny rock in space. The spacecraft is part of NASA’ planetary defense plan -- figuring out ways to save our own Earth should an asteroid threaten to hit us.

Astrophysicist, author and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson says space enthusiasts are delusional. Exploration is aspirational, and the reality of geopolitics, economy and culture are huge challenges keeping us planted firmly on the ground.

It’s the topic of his talk called “Delusions of Space Enthusiasts” -- one he’s giving here in Orlando Wednesday night at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Ahead of his event, he joins us here on the show to talk about the harsh reality of space exploration and the hope and optimism he gets from a new generation of STEM explorers.

Balancing ambition with reality as we reach for the stars. That’s ahead on Are We There Yet? here on WMFE -- America’s Space Station.