Stephanie Osborn (author and former NASA payload flight controller) is today's featured guest.

Topics: Space Shuttle flights and the International Space Station; her work in astronaut training, and what it is that a payload flight controller does; Space Camp--the actual camp (where she herself taught) and how the real thing differs from the movie of the same name; her friend, the astronaut Kalpana Chawla; the technical side of what happened to cause seven astronauts to die in the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster; and a little about her novels (such as Burnout) which are based on her experience in the space program.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 9, 2009 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 48 minutes] (This interview was recorded on July 11, 2009 at LiberyCon in Chattanooga Tennessee.)

Stephanie Osborn is a former payload flight controller, with over twenty years experience in civilian and military space programs. She has worked on numerous Space Shuttle flights and the International Space Station. As part of her work, she trained astronauts, and one of those astronauts was Kalpana Chawla (known to her friends by her initials: K.C.). Kalpana Chawla was one of the seven astronauts who died in 2003 when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during reentry from earth orbit. Today, Stephanie is retired from space work. She tutors students in math and science from elementary school through college and writes science fiction mysteries based on her knowledge, experience and travels.