Space Junk

In this episode I speak with Dr Moriba Jah, an Associate Professor and the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics.
Moriba Jah is the director for Computational Astronautical Sciences and Technologies (CAST), a group within the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. He is also the Lead for the Space Security and Safety Program at the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law. Moriba came to UT Austin by way of the Air Force Research Laboratory and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory prior to that, where he was a Spacecraft Navigator on a handful of Mars missions.
Moriba is a Fellow of multiple organizations: TED, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), American Astronautical Society (AAS), International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS), Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). He has served on the US delegation to the United Nations Committee On Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN-COPUOS), is an elected Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), and has testified to congress on his work as related to Space Situational Awareness and Space Traffic Management. He’s an Associate Editor of the Elsevier Advances in Space Research journal, and serves on multiple committees: IAA Space Debris, AIAA Astrodynamics, IAF Astrodynamics, and IAF Space Security.
While in the US last year for the International Astronautical Congress, Moriba and I got talking at a dodgy bar in DC. Some drinks later, we decided to get together over Skype and record this episode. We chat about tackling fear in the face of adversity, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and what it all has to do with Space sustainability.
Music (as requested by Moriba): 'The Voice' by Celtic Woman

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In this episode, I bring you part 2 of my conversation with NASA Sagan Fellow Dr Benjamin Pope, a conversation ostensibly about space movies, but at this point so off the rails that I’m almost embarrassed to give it that title. We launch straight in after having watched Grimes’ music video ‘we appreciate power’ and our chat quickly devolves to AI apocalypse as the logical end to industrial capitalism.
Any opinions expressed by me on this podcast are my own and do not represent the views of any organisation with which I am associated.
Support the podcast: www.patreon.com/thespacejunkpod
Dr Ben Pope: benjaminpope.github.io/

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In this episode, I bring you part 1 of a relaxed, wide-ranging and delectable conversation with fan-favourite and good friend Dr Benjamin Pope. Ben has a PhD in Astrophysics from Oxford University and is currently a NASA Sagan Fellow at NYU researching exoplanets.
In this episode, Ben and I tackle an in-advisably large number and bewilderingly wide range of Space movies. Do either of us have qualifications in film studies? No, but Ben won University Challenge and I took Drama in year 11, so that has to be good enough. Some of the references in this episode are a little out of date, as it was recorded some time ago, notably ‘Trump’s worst idea so far’. You’ll know when you hear it.
Movies discussed include: Gravity, The Right Stuff, First Man, The Dish, Hidden Figures. It's not really about the movies - we delve deeply into politics, philosophy, history, sociology, and gender discourse.
As usual, Ben’s vocabulary is vast, and includes the occasional swear word. There’s nothing to be done I’m afraid – you have to take your Astrophysicist as you find him, sweary or otherwise.
As always, I’m required to say that any opinions expressed by me on this podcast are my own and do not represent the views of any organisation with which I am associated.
This episode is certified 100% tardigrade free, unlike the Moon.
Support the podcast: www.patreon.com/thespacejunkpod
Dr Ben Pope: benjaminpope.github.io/

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In this episode, we get technical. I catch up with Dr Francis Bennet, a researcher from the Australian National University who works on Lasers, adaptive optics, and quantum electronics and is currently based out of Mt Stromlo.

Our conversation ranges from space situational awareness (SSA) and riding bicycles, to making your own chocolate while fixing the kitchen sink, to photon entanglement and encryption. Make yourself a cup of tea and settle in for a good old fashioned chat.

Patreon: www.patreon.com/Thespacejunkpod

Dr Francis Bennet: https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/bennet-fh

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In this episode I chat to space lawyer Donna Lawler, the Principal at Azimuth Advisory, a firm which provides advice and assistance to Governments and businesses who are engaged in space activities.

Donna is a commercial space lawyer with decades of experience working with Optus Satellite, and other Aussie space companies.
We talk about the intricacies of space contracts, current developments in the Australian space industry, and what the Moon Agreement might mean for Australian companies who want to mine space resources.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Thespacejunkpod

Donna Lawler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-lawler/

Azimuth Advisory: https://azimuthadvisory.com.au/

The Moon Agreement: http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/intromoon-agreement.html

Music: 'Clair de Lune' (Debussy), performed by up and coming Australian musician James Hu.

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In part 2 of my conversation with Dr Vince Houghton, the chief historian and curator at the international spy museum in Washington DC, we continue to delve into the intersections between technology, espionage, and society. If you haven't heard part 1, listen to that one first! http://spaceaustralia.com/opinions/space-junk-space-espionage-dr-vince-houghton-part-1

Dr Houghton specializes in military and intelligence history, with specific expertise on late-WWII and early-Cold War eras. He is a veteran of the US army and served in the Balkans before receiving his Masters and PhD in Diplomatic and Military History from the University of Maryland.

We talk about how we balance privacy and freedom in our day-to-day interactions with smartphones and the internet, stereotypes of women in intelligence, and why Vince isn't a big fan of James Bond.

Nuking the Moon: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/575262/nuking-the-moon-by-vince-houghton/

Music: Covert Affair - Film Noire by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100795
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

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In this week's episode, I interrupt the normal scheduling to bring you a special episode on space and bushfires. It seems that despite the technological advances that space has brought, we are still at the whim of nature when it comes to natural disasters. Or are we?

To help me answer this question, I tracked down the best expert I know to tell me about the ongoing bushfire situation in Australia, and how space enabled technologies can assist efforts to predict, manage, and assess the impact of bushfires. It just so happens that he is also my Uncle.

Professor John Handmer is an Emeritus Professor with the RMIT School of Science, and has qualifications and experience in human geography, economics and law. Recently named Australia's top researcher in emergency management, he chairs the Scientific Committee of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) Program of ISC (International Council of Science and the UNDRR), and is, or has recently been, on a number of Australian advisory bodies, which cover climate change adaptation, disaster risk and resilience, and most recently the National Vulnerability Profile project. John also ran the Bushfire CRC's communities research program and the post-Black Saturday human dimensions research.

Information on how to donate to help the bushfire relief effort: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/news-and-media/general-news/how-you-can-help

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In this episode, I chat to Dr Vince Houghton, the chief historian and curator of the International Spy Museum in DC and the host of their podcast 'SpyCast' about Space Espionage, and Space-enabled spying.

Dr Houghton specializes in military and intelligence history, with specific expertise on late-WWII and early-Cold War eras. He is a veteran of the US army and served in the Balkans before receiving his Masters and PhD in Diplomatic and Military History from the University of Maryland.

We talk about nuclear weapons, cyber warfare, MAD, space surveillance, and why your social media account might be a liability.

Want to support Space Junk and get more episodes? www.patreon.com/thespacejunkpod

Nuking the Moon: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/575262/nuking-the-moon-by-vince-houghton/

Music: Covert Affair - Film Noire by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100795
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

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In this episode, Meaghan Munro and I talk about the future of space in Australia and internationally. Meaghan is an aerospace engineering student who founded the Monash University rocketry team and is chairing the Australian Youth Aerospace Association (AYAA) Space Futures conference in Adelaide, Australia in 2020. This episode is a wild ride in which we discuss what it feels like to launch a rocket, where Australia will be in 50 years (in Space, we hope!) and why millennials ought to listen to the older generation.

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In this episode, Secure World Foundation Space Lawyer Chris Johnson and I branch out from our discussion on the tardigrades on the Moon to chat about the benefits of using robots for space exploration, whether it's possible to interpret space law in a non-anthropocentric manner, and what it means to use space sustainably. We also touch on astropolitics and archaeology, because why not?

Media mentioned include:
The Three Body Problem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three-Body_Problem_(novel)

Peaks of Eternal Light: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_of_eternal_light
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265964616300194

More information can be found in the series of essays published by Chris Johnson, Dan Porras, and others in The Space Review.
Part 1: www.thespacereview.com/article/3783/1
Part 2: www.thespacereview.com/article/3786/1

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