Ever since satellites have existed, people have wanted to find ways to kill them. This week, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris are taking a look at the 2007 Chinese Anti-Satellite Test - the largest debris-creating event in space history - and the larger trend of nations trying to turn Low Earth Orbit into the zero-g Somme.

Support FTL on Patreon and unlock bonus content!

Sources:

- Characteristics and Consequences of the Break-up of the Fengyun-1C Spacecraft, NASA

- Analysis of the 2007 Chinese ASAT Test and the Impact of its Debris on the Space Environment, T.S. Kelso

Theme song provided by DJ Danarchy

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon.

Heartbreak can be a terrible thing and people work through it in all kinds of ways. Some people drink. Some people attempt to summon an incarnation of Babalon to be their new girlfriend. We're back and we're talking with rocket test engineer Guest Chris about Jack Parsons. In this episode we cover the downfall of Jack Parsons and his ostracization from both the scientific and magical communities.

Support FTL on Patreon and unlock bonus content!

Sources:

- Strange Angel, George Pendel

Theme song provided by DJ Danarchy

Jack. 210. 𝕿𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖒𝖆 𝕺𝖇𝖙𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖚𝖒 𝕻𝖗𝖔𝖈𝖊𝖉𝖊𝖗𝖔 𝕬𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖘 𝕹𝖚𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖆𝖊. John Whiteside Parsons went by many appellations. In part 2 of our series, we talk to rocket test engineer Chris about how Jack got into Thelema and how he pioneered a frightening amount of modern rocket fuels while chainsmoking.

Sources:
- Strange Angel, George Pendel

Theme song provided by DJ Danarchy

In a field of weirdos and freaks, Jack Parsons is broadly considered the weirdest freak of all. This week, we're joined by guest and space engineer Chris for our series on the life, accomplishments, and sex life of John Whiteside Parsons.

Support FTL on Patreon and unlock bonus content!

Sign up to the FTL Patreon at any tier and get access to our new Discord community.

Sources:

- Strange Angel, George Pendel

- Jack Parsons, Famous Bi People

Theme song provided by DJ Danarchy

In the late 80s, the Soviet Union attempted to dominate the commercial launch market. Their principal success was launching the most miserable salaryman into orbit. Today, we're joined by Josh from The Worst of All Possible Worlds podcast to talk about Glavkosmos, the Soviet private space program.

Find Josh and Worst Of All Possible Worlds here

Support FTL on Patreon and unlock bonus content!

Source:

- Soyuz TM-11, Spacefacts.de

- Soviet Efforts To Enter the Launch-Services Market, CIA

- Akiyama Toyohiro: The Japanese Astronaut Who Hated Space, Unseen Japan

Theme song provided by DJ Danarchy.

𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚏𝚕𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎. This week, we're back talking to Kelly from Canuck Is A Slur to finish up our series on Nikolai Kibalchich, the rocket visionary who blew up Tsar Alexander II.

Follow Canuck Is A Slur here!

Support FTL on Patreon and unlock bonus content!

Source:

- Nikolai Ivanovich Kibalchich: Terrorist Rocket Pioneer, Lee B Croft

Theme song provided by DJ Danarchy.

A travelling clown, a socialist revolutionary, an assassin, an edgelord. Today, we talked to Kelly from Canuck is a Slur about the strange life of one of the first men to theorize manned rockets and also blew up Tsar Alexander II, Emperor of Russia. Come back for Part 2, where we cover the assassination and how he factors into space history.

Follow Canuck is a Slur here!

Support Failure To Launch on Patreon and unlock bonus content!

Source:

- Nikolai Ivanovich Kibalchich: Terrorist Rocket Pioneer, Lee B Croft

Theme song provided by DJ Danarchy.

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon.

A communications satellite is a bundle of computers (all made by different people) the size of a minivan. Coordinating all these systems to work together, send info to Earth, and accept new commands is nightmarish. This week, we're joined by Jake, a software engineer at the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) to learn a little bit about spacecraft operations.

Follow along with Jake's slides

Support Failure To Launch on Patreon and unlock bonus content!

Theme song provided by DJ Danarchy