Liftoff

By RelayScience Education

Liftoff episodes

August 25, 2020131: Windex for Rockets
It's a busy week on Florida's Space Coast, and supernovas are in the news. Thankfully the two won't cross paths. Neither will Earth and an asteroid the day before Election Day in the United States.
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Links and Show Notes: Support Liftoff with a Relay FM Membership Relay FM for St. Jude Relay FM - Twitch August set to end with string of launches from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now Launch Schedule – Spaceflight Now ULA to launch Delta 4 Heavy for its 12th mission, four more to go before rocket is retired - SpaceNews SpaceX flies the same, sooty booster for the sixth time [Updated] | Ars Technica Sorry but NASA says this small asteroid doesn’t pose a threat to Earth before Election Day - The Verge News | Tiny Asteroid Buzzes by Earth - the Closest Flyby on Record Engineers troubleshooting small space station air leak – Spaceflight Now Unveiling Rogue Planets With NASA’s Roman Space Telescope | NASA Predictions of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Galactic Exoplanet Survey. II. Free-floating Planet Detection Rates - IOPscience Warped Space-time to Help WFIRST Find Exoplanets | NASA Richard Pogge's Home Page Researchers propose a supernova triggered the Late Devonian mass extinction | Ars Technica This Star Looked Like It Would Explode. Maybe It Just Sneezed - The New York Times
46 min
August 11, 2020130: A Salted Almond in Space
Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have splashed down after their historic mission to the ISS, and SpaceX's finally gotten a Starship test article to hop in Texas and the OSIRIS-REx team is gearing up for their sample return flight. Also: Ceres' bright spots, government contracts and an update on the SLS.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code LIFTOFF at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
Tuparev Technologies: Introducing StarBrush: Modern astronomical imaging tool for everyone.
Links and Show Notes: Support Liftoff with a Relay FM Membership NASA Astronauts Safely Back from First Commercial Crew Trip to Station | NASA Soyuz 23 - Wikipedia An early version of Starship takes its first tentative steps off Earth | Ars Technica Starship SN5 150m Hop - YouTube Martian Night Sky Pulses in Ultraviolet Light OSIRIS-REx is One Rehearsal Away from Touching Asteroid Bennu | NASA Air Force to end agreements with Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman, prepares for launch contract protests - SpaceNews Dwarf planet Ceres is 'ocean world' with salty water deep underground - Reuters News | Mystery Solved: Bright Areas on Ceres Come From Salty Water Below NASA’s Pegasus Heads to Kennedy With Artemis I Rocket Hardware | NASA Key Connection for Artemis I Arrives at Kennedy | NASA SLS Green Run test-firing to verify Core Stage design, analysis before first launch - NASASpaceFlight.com NASA Motor Test Helps Evaluate New SLS Materials – Artemis
41 min
July 28, 2020 129: Dirt in a Soccer Ball
Mars 2020 is set to launch in just a few days, and should be followed by the splashdown of the Commercial Crew Demo-2 mission. Elsewhere, Virgin Galactic has shown off the interior of its space tourism craft, and we remember Rene Carpenter.
Links and Show Notes: Support Liftoff with a Relay FM Membership U.S. Space & Rocket Center Save Space Camp | Created by U S SPACE & ROCKET CENTER FOUNDATION NASA Delays James Webb Telescope Launch Date, Again - The New York Times Virgin Galactic unveils the interior cabin of its tourist spaceplane - The Verge Rene Carpenter, Astronaut’s Wife Who Broke NASA Mold, Dies at 92 - The New York Times Top 10 Things to Know for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Return | NASA NASA Announces Astronauts to Fly on SpaceX Crew-2 Mission | NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover - NASA Mars Bringing Mars Rocks to Earth: Our Greatest Interplanetary Circus Act - The New York Times Too Much Mars? Let’s Discuss Other Worlds - The New York Times
39 min
July 14, 2020128: Summer of Mars
There are three missions bound for Mars launching this month, and Jason walks through them each. Then, Stephen gives a NASA budget update and the two get into some space law ... and guidelines.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code LIFTOFF at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
ExpressVPN: High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service. Get 3 months free with a 1-year package.
Links and Show Notes: Support Liftoff with a Relay FM Membership How to catch a glimpse of the comet NEOWISE dazzling the skies right now - The Verge Thierry Legault on Twitter: "Neowise Sunday evening over the Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy..." Rocket Lab experiences first Electron mission failure since original flight test in 2017 - Space Explored NASA Updates Planetary Protection Policies for Moon to Mars Missions | NASA NASA implements changes to planetary protection policies for moon and Mars missions - SpaceNews NASA and Boeing Complete Orbital Flight Test Reviews | NASA Scrutinizing SpaceX, NASA Overlooked Some Boeing Software Problems - The New York Times Eric Berger on Twitter: "Sounds like there are a lot of "ifs" in Boeing flying its OFT-2 mission this year..." The UAE’s first interplanetary mission to Mars set for launch - The Verge Home | Emirates Mars Mission Your Guide to Tianwen-1 | The Planetary Society Mars rover mated with Atlas 5 launcher after teams deal with coronavirus cases – Spaceflight Now NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter: Attempting the First Powered Flight on Mars - YouTube NASA's Dragonfly Mission to Titan Will Look for Origins, Signs of Life | NASA No 12 Percent Increase for NASA As House Appropriators Keep Agency At Current Funding Level – SpacePolicyOnline.com House CJS Subcommittee Approves FY2021 Bill, But Not Without Dissent – SpacePolicyOnline.com Congress may allow NASA to launch Europa Clipper on a Falcon Heavy | Ars Technica
53 min
June 30, 2020127: Wormy Space Coin
This week: black holes doing weird black hole things, a progress report on the SLS and a discussion of how some of NASA's facilities should be renamed.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Tuparev Technologies: Introducing StarBrush: Modern astronomical imaging tool for everyone.
Links and Show Notes: Support Liftoff with a Relay FM Membership Building the next Canadarm - Canada.ca NASA developing plans to fly astronauts on suborbital rockets – Spaceflight Now American Innovations $1 | News Image Library | U.S. Mint Annie Jump Cannon | American astronomer | Britannica NASA Names Headquarters After ‘Hidden Figure’ Mary W. Jackson | NASA Modern Figures | NASA Campaign to Rename Stennis Space Center Kicks Off – SpacePolicyOnline.com NASA Completes Artemis Space Launch System Structural Testing Campaign | NASA NASA Plans for More SLS Rocket Boosters to Launch Artemis Missions | NASA Astronomers see first light flare from two distant black holes colliding - The Verge A Black Hole’s Lunch Provides a Treat for Astronomers - The New York Times
47 min
June 15, 2020126: Astronauts are Really Good at Moving
The crew of Demo-2 are likely working on orbit until August, while here on the ground, COVID-19 is taking its toll on NASA schedules. Also: a conversation about CLPS and Gateway, as well as NASA's new Director of Human Spaceflight, Kathy Lueders.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code LIFTOFF at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
Links and Show Notes: Support Liftoff with a Relay FM Membership Crew Dragon likely to support extended space station stay - SpaceNews.com SpaceX's 1st Crew Dragon astronauts settle into life at the space station | Space James Webb Space Telescope will “absolutely” not launch in March | Ars Technica Mars 2020 launch slips three days - SpaceNews.com NASA Selects Astrobotic to Fly Water-Hunting Rover to the Moon | NASA NASA Picks Astrobotic to Carry VIPER Ice-Hunting Moon Rover - The New York Times Saturn's largest moon is drifting off into space 100 times faster than researchers previously thought - CBS News Space Force (TV series) - Wikipedia Somehow I Manage - a podcast from The Incomparable NASA Awards Northrop Grumman Artemis Contract for Gateway Crew Cabin | NASA Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) | NASA Kathy Lueders Selected to Lead NASA’s Human Spaceflight Office | NASA NASA’s new chief of human spaceflight has a commercial background | Ars Technica
41 min
June 02, 2020125: A Sparkly Dinosaur
The age of Commercial Crew has arrived, with Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken arriving at the International Space Station safely after riding a Falcon 9 there this weekend. Also: tiny CubeSats can do big things and Tom Cruise may be taking a trip.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
ExpressVPN: High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service. Get 3 months free with a 1-year package.
Links and Show Notes: Support Liftoff with a Relay FM Membership Early SpaceX prototype test ends in fiery explosion, unrelated to NASA astronaut mission – Space Explored SpaceX’s Starship SN4 launch vehicle prototype explodes after static engine fire test | TechCrunch SpaceX's Starship explosion explained by Elon Musk Risky Business? NASA and Tom Cruise Talk Movie Shoot in Space - The New York Times News | JPL Mission Breaks Record for Smallest Satellite to Detect an Exoplanet JPL | CubeSat | ASTERIA Shannon Walker joins crewed SpaceX mission, launch target later this year – Space Explored Making history, astronauts ride commercial capsule to space station – Spaceflight Now “The trampoline is working”—SpaceX returns human spaceflight to America | Ars Technica SpaceX 'stowaway' revealed by crew as sons' dinosaur toy 'Tremor' | collectSPACE Astronauts 'capture the flag' for SpaceX in race to reach space station | collectSPACE SpaceX Crew Astronauts Get Used to Space Station – Space Station
50 min
May 19, 2020124: Space Koozie
The Artemis Accords have been unveiled, but will their adoption be hurt by their rollout? Could Starship be more useful as a refueling station than a lander? Jason and Stephen get into these questions and more this fortnight.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Tuparev Technologies: Introducing StarBrush: Modern astronomical imaging tool for everyone.
Links and Show Notes: Support Liftoff with a Relay FM Membership Liftoff on Twitter Large chunks of a Chinese rocket missed New York City by about 15 minutes | Ars Technica Perseverance Rover Goes Through Trials by Fire, Ice, Light and Sound | NASA Rover Cameras - NASA Mars Op-ed | Toward a coherent Artemis plan - SpaceNews.com Starlink Discussion National Academy of Sciences | SpaceX SpaceX to test Starlink “sun visor” to reduce brightness - SpaceNews.com NASA Artemis Accords NASA Unveils “Artemis Accords” – SpacePolicyOnline.com NASA announces international Artemis Accords to standardize how to explore the Moon - The Verge Outer Space Treaty - Wikipedia Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 - Wikipedia
44 min
May 05, 2020123: Lunar Camper
NASA has unveiled its plans to source a lunar lander for the Artemis program, while Hubble celebrates its 30th anniversary.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code LIFTOFF at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
Links and Show Notes: Support Liftoff with a Relay FM Membership NASA spent a decade and nearly $1 billion for a single launch tower | Ars Technica NASA will pay a staggering $146 million for each SLS rocket engine | Ars Technica NASA Names Companies to Develop Human Landers for Artemis Missions | NASA NASA selects three companies to develop lunar landers - SpaceFlight Insider Hubble Marks 30 Years in Space With Tapestry of Blazing Starbirth | NASA Hubble Space Telescope | NASA The Pillars of Creation | NASA
52 min
April 21, 2020122: Get an Exoplanet; Lose an Exoplanet
May seems to be the Month of Commercial Crew! Also: NASA is working from home, an exoplanet may be no more and a look at a future Mars sample return mission.
This episode of Liftoff is sponsored by:
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Links and Show Notes: Support Liftoff with a Relay FM Membership How engineers are operating space missions from their homes - The Verge NASA's Curiosity Keeps Rolling As Team Operates Rover From Home An Earth-Sized World Orbiting in its Star's Habitable Zone Was Found in Older Kepler Data - Universe Today The Case of the Disappearing Exoplanet - The New York Times Strange ingredient in interstellar Comet Borisov offers a clue to its origins | Space Why the Big Bang Produced Something Rather Than Nothing - The New York Times NASA DM-2 SpaceX returns to the launch pad, and there are a few things to watch for | Ars Technica Robert L. Behnken (Colonel, USAF, PH.D.) NASA Astronaut | NASA Douglas G. Hurley (Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) NASA Astronaut | NASA This is SpaceX’s very first human crew - YouTube NASA reveals ambitious multi-spacecraft plan to bring a piece of Mars back to Earth | TechCrunch NASA narrows design for rocket to launch samples off of Mars – Spaceflight Now
50 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…