SPEXcast

On June 19th, 2018 SPEXcast headed down to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the Spaceport America Cup. We were able to speak with the organizers of the event, student teams, and key space industry figures. This episode is part one of three, covering our overall experience at the competition, how it works, and our main takeaways from the experience. Stay tuned for Part Two in the coming weeks, which will follow the moment-by-moment stories of several student teams throughout the week as well as Part Three, which follows our home team from Rochester Institute of Technology. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/irec-2018-student-innovation .

This week on SPEXcast, we sit down with Charles Beames, CSO of York Space Systems, a New Space startup that provides full service satellite development and operations to companies seeking to utilize the space environemnt. We discuss the unique challenges of offering end-to-end service to customers, how to build satellites within two days, and the evolving opportunities New Space provides businesses and government. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/york-space-systems-charles-beames .

This week on SPEXcast, we sit down with Pekka Laurila, Co-Founder of ICEYE, a New Space startup trying to revolutionize the business of space-based, synthetic aperture radar imagery. We talk about the challenges of building microsatellite constellations capable of imaging the entire planet and the key commercial technologies ICEYE leverages to make radar imagery available more quickly than ever before. We also discuss the technologies required to turn radar data into actionable information that companies can leverage to make decisions that can impact all of us. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/unlocking-potential-synthetic-aperture-radar-iceye-pekka-laurila .

This week on SPEXcast, we dive into the recent announcements by SpaceX on their new launch complex, the exciting new research and technology demonstrations on NASA's CRS-15 mission to the International Space Station, and some of the unique payloads launched by global launch providers including infrastructure for China's most ambitious lunar mission yet. We also cover the Tesla Roadster SpaceX edition unveil as well as Soyuz MS-09, bringing three new crew members to the ISS. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/spacex-flight-control-crs-15-payloads-chinese-lunar-missions .

This week on SPEXcast, we sit down with Mads Wilson, communications lead for Copenhagen Suborbitals, a volunteer space program based in Denmark with the ambitious goal of launching a human into orbit. We delve into the history of CopSub with Mads, reflecting on the engineering process for their past and future rockets, and the unique challenges and benefits of volunteering engineering blood, sweat and tears into a space program open to (almost) all. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/copenhagen-suborbitals-mads-wilson .

This is the last part of our four part 'Mars May' series where we discuss the missions and technologies enabling Mars exploration.Mars is a tantalizing goal for the next step in human exploration. However, the fourth, rocky planet from the Sun is a harsh world to live on. Terraforming offers the possibility of making Mars a new home for humans, but the challenge is immense. We dive into some of the key aspects of Mars colonization and terraforming today on SPEXcast. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/terraforming-mars-challenges-and-misconceptions .

The third installment of SPEXcast's "Mars May" leads us to a part of interplanetary missions that doesn't get much attention. We often discuss the capabilities of rovers, their designs and objectives, and all the science learned from years spent on the surface of Mars. But what about the engineers who interact with the rovers themselves? What goes into operating a vehicle millions of miles away, and what is a typical work day like? To answer these questions, we spoke with Doug Klein, a sampling systems engineer who spent the last few years working with Curiosity's Mars Science Lab (MSL) and is now a Robotic Arm Flight System Engineer for its successor, the Mars 2020 rover. Doug has experience with daily downlink analysis for sample acquisition and processing, planning out the rover's actions on the uplink side of things, and investigating anomalies and their contingency plans when things went wrong. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/mars-rover-operations-doug-klein .

This week on SPEXcast we continue 'Mars May' with Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) engineer Joel Steinkraus to discuss two CubeSats hitching a ride with the InSight mission, which launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on May 5th. Mars Cube One (MarCO) is comprised of a pair of 6U CubeSats which will each relay signals from the InSight lander back to Earth during while it enters the Martian atmosphere. We ask Joel about the technology behind MarCO and the challenges of designing two interplanetary CubeSats. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/marco-joel-steinkraus .

This week on SPEXcast, we sit down with Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) engineer Troy Hudson to discuss NASA's Mars InSight mission. InSight is scheduled to launch May 5th from Vandenburg Air Force Base on its journey to the surface of Mars. We discuss several of the instruments on InSight and go into a deep dive on HP^3, which Troy Hudson primarily worked on, including how the probe functions, its scientific objective, and the challenges of digging on another planet. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/mars-insight-troy-hudson .

This week on SPEXcast, we dive into this developments and give the inside scoop on SpaceX’s recovery efforts. On April 9th, Elon Musk shared a photo of a large mandrel to be used to manufacture the Big Fucking Spaceship (BFS). This unveil comes along side the confirmation that the Port of LA will be the location of the BFR factory. While BFR is still years away, Elon also teased 2nd stage recovery again, hinting at inflatable ballutes as the key to safely returning the 2nd stage to Earth. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/spacex-new-mars-rocket-factory-fully-reusable-falcon-9 .