Liftoff

By RelayScience Education

Liftoff episodes

February 28, 201741: The Ice Giants
This fortnight, Stephen went out for a nerdy evening, NASA announced the seven planets at TRAPPIST-1 and SpaceX is going to the moon. After the news, Jason and Stephen break down the Ice Giants of Uranus and Neptune.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Blue Apron: A better way to cook. Get three meals free with your first purchase, and free shipping.
Casper: Because everyone deserves a great night sleep. Get $50 off with the code ‘liftoff’
Links and Show Notes NASA Telescope Reveals Record-Breaking Exoplanet Discovery | NASA Exoplanet Exploration: Planets Beyond our Solar System: Largest batch of Earth-size, habitable zone planets NASA & TRAPPIST-1: A Treasure Trove of Planets Found - YouTube Habitable Planet Reality Check: The Seven Planets of TRAPPIST-1 | Drew Ex Machina Exoplanet Exploration: Planets Beyond our Solar System: TRAPPIST-1 SpaceX to Send Privately Crewed Dragon Spacecraft Beyond the Moon Next Year | SpaceX SpaceX plans to send two people around the Moon - The Verge NASA Statement About SpaceX Private Moon Venture Announcement | NASA With its Moon announcement, did SpaceX kick off the first public-private space race? - The Verge Uranus - Wikipedia Neptune - Wikipedia Triton (moon) - Wikipedia
58 min
February 14, 201740: A Gradient of Space News
This fortnight, Proxima B breaks our hearts, SpaceX is on historic ground and a Europa lander begins to take shape.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Blue Apron: A better way to cook. Get three meals free with your first purchase, and free shipping.
Ministry of Supply: Dress smarter. Work smarter. Get 15% off your first purchase.
Links and Show Notes We're Sorry About This Seriously Bummer Proxima B News Red Dwarf Stars' Planets May Face Oxygen Loss | NASA A group of prominent Republicans has an excellent plan to fight climate change - The Washington Post SpaceX Falcon 9 Breathes First Fire at KSC Pad 39A - Successful Static Fire Test Paves Path to Feb. 18 ISS Launch - Universe Today Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 - Wikipedia GMS: SDO: Year 6 Goals for NASA's proposed Europa Lander begin to crystallize - SpaceFlight Insider NASA Plans to Drill Into Europa's Crust In Search of Life NASA Science Definition Team Report (PDF) We finally have a computer that can survive the surface of Venus | Ars Technica Liftoff #19: Venus: The Pizza Planet - Relay FM NASA - Venus Landsailing Rover
31 min
January 31, 201739: The Speed of Light Doesn't Apply to Telepathy
This fortnight, Stephen and Jason talk about how the current political climate affects science, space and technology.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Blue Apron: A better way to cook. Get three free meals with free shipping.
Ministry of Supply: Dress smarter. Work smarter. Get 15% off your first purchase.
Links and Show Notes OSIRIS-REx completes critical deep space maneuver - SpaceFlight Insider a16z Podcast: New Year, New Horizons — Pluto! — a16z — Overcast Powering space travel: NASA’s dark materials | The Economist News | Close Views Show Saturn's Rings in Unprecedented Detail Early results from NASA’s twin study show differences between astronaut brothers - The Verge Astronaut twin study hints at stress of space travel : Nature News & Comment Media Invited to New Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Tribute | NASA Visit Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at Cape Canaveral 50 Years After Apollo Disaster, Memorial for 3 Men, and for Era - The New York Times Climate change summit canceled by CDC amid uncertainty of a Trump presidency - The Verge Al Gore and others will hold climate change summit canceled by CDC - The Verge Trump Administration Imposes Freeze On EPA Grants and Contracts - ProPublica Allaying concerns, EPA lifts temporary freeze on grants to states EPA science under scrutiny by Trump political staff Trump transition leader’s goal is two-thirds cut in EPA employees - The Washington Post Donald Trump is the sole reliable source of truth, says chair of House Science Committee - Vox Scientists are planning to march on Washington. Here's why | Science | The Guardian Exit Memo: Office of Science and Technology Policy | whitehouse.gov Obama’s NASA made strides on commercial space, but stumbled on exploration - The Verge Liftoff #26: The Journey to Mars - Relay FM Liftoff #18: The SLS - Relay FM Congress may soon pass NASA authorization bill - SpaceNews.com
55 min
January 17, 201738: Lucy: Levitating Ulcers Carefully Yearning
This fortnight, Jason and Stephen catch up on the news and remember Gene Cernan, the last man on the moon.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Blue Apron: A better way to cook. Get three free meals with free shipping.
Links and Show Notes Venus Smiled, With a Mysterious Wave Across Its Atmosphere - The New York Times Scientists Predict Star Collision Visible To The Naked Eye In 2022 : The Two-Way : NPR Hidden Figures (2016) - IMDb 'Fast radio burst' tracked to a dwarf galaxy 3 billion light-years away - CNN.com SpaceX resumes flights with on-target launch for Iridium – Spaceflight Now Photos: Falcon 9 returns to flight with weekend launch from California – Spaceflight Now Remembering Gene Cernan | NASA Gene Cernan Family Statement on Astronaut's Passing | NASA Astronaut Bio: Eugene A. Cernan The Last Man on the Moon (2014) - IMDb From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries) - Wikipedia NASA Selects Two Missions to Explore the Early Solar System | NASA
40 min
January 02, 201737: All Objects Are Special
Jason and Stephen look back at some of the biggest space stories of 2016.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Luminos: A fantastic astronomy app, 10 years in the making! Now with an Apple Watch app for skygazing!
Links and Show Notes
Jason and Stephen look back at some of the biggest space stories of 2016.
Status JWST/NASA No damage to JWST after vibration test anomaly - SpaceNews.com Audio and Ringtones | NASA New Horizons | NASA 2014 MU69 - Wikipedia Planet Nine - Wikipedia The Search for Planet Nine: New Finds Boost Case for Distant World The Search for Planet Nine News | Gravitational Waves Detected 100 Years After Einstein's Prediction | LIGO Lab | Caltech Juno | NASA Bigelow Aerospace | BEAM Bigelow Expandable Activity Module - Wikipedia New Planet Found Orbiting Proxima Centauri HD 164595 - Wikipedia Forbes Welcome 'Alien Megastructure' Star Keeps Getting Stranger OSIRIS-REx | NASA ExoMars - Wikipedia
33 min
December 20, 2016 36: Remembering John Glenn
This fortnight, Jason and Stephen remember John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, and the oldest person to travel in space.
Links and Show Notes Saturn Probe Dives Past Rings for 1st Time Ancient eclipse records show that days on Earth are getting just a little longer - LA Times Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. | NASA Profile of John Glenn | NASA The Incomparable | Likeable Jerkability (Episode 326) John Glenn, first American to orbit the Earth, dies at 95 - The Washington Post Buzz Aldrin: John Glenn was a hero. We owe it to him to keep exploring space. - The Washington Post
34 min
December 06, 201635: Saturn: The Jewel of The Solar System
The sixth planet out from the sun is a fascinating world of extreme atmospheric conditions, strange moons and breathtaking views.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Luminos: A fantastic astronomy app, 10 years in the making! Now with an Apple Watch app for skygazing!
Links and Show Notes
Russian space station cargo freighter lost on launch – Spaceflight Now Space’s Trash Collector? A Japanese Entrepreneur Wants the Job - The New York Times Saturn - Overview | Planets - NASA Solar System Exploration Great White Spot - Wikipedia Saturn's hexagon - Wikipedia Cassini | NASA The Day the Earth Smiled - Wikipedia Cassini: Mission to Saturn: Ring-Grazing Orbits
32 min
November 22, 2016 34: The James Webb Telescope
This fortnight, Jason and Stephen discuss NASA's $8.8 billion project: the James Webb telescope.
Links and Show Notes
Artist rendering of The James Webb Telescope
Shenzhou-11 returns Chinese duo to Earth | NASASpaceFlight.com NASA Launches NOAA Advanced Geostationary Weather Satellite | NASA GOES-R MISSION NOAA/NASA Hubble Space Telescope - Wikipedia James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NASA James Webb Telescope James Webb Telescope - Webb's Big Chill James Webb Telescope - Doors to the Universe
Doors to the Universe
James Webb Space Telescope nears completion - SpaceFlight Insider NASA has completed the $8.7 billion James Webb space telescope With the Main JWST Mirror Completed, Scientists Focus On How To Best and Most Fairly Use It Once In Space – Many Worlds NASA Completes Webb Telescope Center of Curvature Pre-test | NASA James E. Webb - Wikipedia
31 min
November 08, 201633: Cubesats: Orbital Science on a Budget
This week, Jason and Stephen are joined by Glenn Fleishman to talk about the rising use of cubesats.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Luminos: A fantastic astronomy app, 10 years in the making! Now with an Apple Watch app for skygazing!
Guest Starring:
Glenn Fleishman
Links and Show Notes Juno update: 53.5-day orbits for the foreseeable future, more Marble Movie | The Planetary Society Juno recovers from reboot, but propulsion problem lingers – Spaceflight Now Why NASA’s Juno mission could last a lot longer than it was supposed to - The Verge Launch moves China one step closer to a permanent space station - CBS News Ars Technica: A technical issue has occurred. China launches its longest crewed space mission yet (Update) CubeSats | NASA NASA Small Satellites Set to Take a Fresh Look at Earth | NASA Tiny satellites: Sputnik in 125 cubic cm | The Economist Phonesat | NASA KickSat-2 | NASA Planet Labs — Home GRACE - Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Satellites JPL | Cubesat | Lunar Flashlight War of the Coprophages - Wikipedia Glenn Fleishman (@GlennF) | Twitter Glenn Fleishman's Blog
43 min
October 25, 201632: The Robotic Spacecraft Draft
This week, Stephen and Jason draft their favorite robotic spacecraft after pouring one out for Schiaparelli.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
HelpSpot: The most comprehensive and flexible help desk software around. Get 10% off with the code LIFTOFF.
Links and Show Notes ESA - Robotic Exploration of Mars Lost on Mars: Schiaparelli lander falls silent shortly before touchdown - SpaceFlight Insider ESA - Robotic Exploration of Mars: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter views Schiaparelli landing site News | Mission Prepares for Next Jupiter Pass Juno Spacecraft in Safe Mode for Latest Jupiter Flyby | NASA Juno Spacecraft in Safe Mode for Latest Jupiter Flyby | NASA JunoCam | Mission Juno Voyager 2 - Wikipedia New Horizons - Wikipedia Cassini–Huygens - Wikipedia Opportunity (rover) - Wikipedia Galileo (spacecraft) - Wikipedia Magellan (spacecraft) - Wikipedia Curiosity (rover) - Wikipedia Stardust (spacecraft) - Wikipedia Venera 9 - Wikipedia Viking 1 - Wikipedia Mars Pathfinder - Wikipedia Voyager 1 - Wikipedia Surveyor 1 - Wikipedia Deep Impact (spacecraft) - Wikipedia SELENE - Wikipedia
48 min

About Liftoff

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Liftoff was a podcast about space, the universe, and everything. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand the major developments as explained by enthusiastic space fans Stephen Hackett…