Talking Space

On this episode, we begin with a status update of STS-135, from the tanking tests, to a leaky valve, to a very interesting view on what will be in Atlantis's payload bay. We also make a big announcement about Talking Space's coverage of STS-135. An announcement for the ages, not to be missed! We talk about the Multi-Puropse Crew Vehicle (MPCV) taking a tour around the states as well as an announcmement about a date for the announcement of the new Space Launch System (SLS). We then conclude with a heated, interesting discussion that occured at a Republican debate in New Hampshire regarding the United State's space program and its future.

To learn about Symbiotic Modulation, check out the site mentioned in the show:http://sciencestorm.com/award/0414463.html

For a visual to help out on the audio clip supplied by Mark, please visit http://talkingspaceonline.com for the link

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 6/19/2011

On this special episode, we interview the Associate Program Scientist for the International Space Station, Dr. Tara Ruttley. Tara was the Lead Hardware Engineer for the Health Maintenance System on the station until about two years ago when she acquired her current title. Dr. Ruttley discusses with us a couple of the experiments being performed onboard the ISS and some of the intricacies, concerns, and fun facts about them. We talk about her background on getting involved and her interest in biology. We then discuss with her on NEEMO-6, a NASA mission (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) which simulated time onboard the ISS, although underwater. We discuss schedules, aquanauts, and men who don't sound like men underwater. This is an episode not to be missed!

For more information on what's going on with science on the ISS, check out:

NASA's Site for ISS Research: http://1.usa.gov/mKipOl

NASA's ISS Research Twitter account: @ISS_Research

For the ISS research blog which Tara is an author for, check out A Lab Aloft at: http://bit.ly/jioBRG

To follow Tara on her personal Twitter account, give her a follow at @SpaceMama

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, and special guest Associate Program Scientist for the International Space Station Dr. Tara Ruttley

Show Recorded - 6/5/2011

On this episode of Talking Space, we have a lengthy discussion regarding the final landing of the space shuttle Endeavour, ending a career spanning 25 missions since 1992 ending with STS-134. Mark was at the Kennedy Space Center for landing and we have his updates and interviews. We then discuss with him his experience with the rollout of STS-135, the final flight of Atlantis and the space shuttle program, which occured the night before into the morning of landing. We also mention the launch of Expedition 28, which upon this release launched successfully. We then discuss the SAC-D satellite or Aquarius launching with some Earth science experiments onboard. We then play a conversation from last week's episode which was deleted regarding astronaut Harrison Schmitt giving the idea of eliminating NASA and starting fresh. We then mourn the loss of former KSC Director Lee Scherer.

To view the launch videos from Ames Research Center discussed in the show, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/shuttle_station/features/sts-134_launch_photo-video.html

A photo was inserted here. To view it, please visit http://talkingspaceonline.com

We just recently updated our website! If you haven't checked it out, visit http://talkingspaceonline.com and be sure to send us your feedback!

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 6/5/2011

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On this special episode of Talking Space, we welcome back co-host of the Science Channel original show "Meteorite Men" and now author, Geoff Notkin. We discuss some moments together at the Challenger Centers for Space Science Education and other personal topics. On top of that, we discuss his new book, available online only, Meteorite Hunting: How To Find Treasure From Space. We include talks about shooting stars, land owners with shotguns, late-night stargazing in graveyards, and some behind-the-scenes stories from the television show that you'll never see on air!

To purchase a copy of Geoff's book, Meteorite Hunting: How To Find Treasure From Space, please visit http://meteoritehunters.tv. The book ships to anywhere in the known universe, so our international listeners are not excluded from this!

For more information on Geoff Notkin as well as more on the Science Channel show "Meteorite Men", check out:

http://meteoritemen.com for information on the television show

To contact them through social media, check out their Facebook page http://facebook.com/meteoritemen and their Twitter account @meteoritemen as well as Geoff's personal account at @geoffnotkin

For Geoff's website and to find out about if a meteorite is geniune or to purchase your own space rock, check out http://aerolite.org

Two images were inserted here. To view them, please visit http://talkingspaceonline.com

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, guest panelist CraftLass with special guest, co-host of Meteorite Men and author, Geoff Notkin

Show Recorded - 5/2/2011

On this clip-filled episode of Talking Space, we begin with the conclusion of the STS-134 mission, recapping the final spacewalks and the outline for the end of Endeavour's operational career. We then briefly discuss STS-135 before delving deeper into it through a special interview which Mark obtained with Space.com writer Denise Chow. We then move on to talk about the rebirth of Orion as the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle, or MPCV, and listen to clips from an interview with Doug Cooke from NASA. Then we finish off by discussing the official loss of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit, who last year became stuck upon a rock. Contact was unable to be reestablished, and we bid her farewell.

To read Denise Chow's articles, check out the website http://SPACE.com and you can follow her on Twitter as @DeniseChow

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 5/29/2011

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On this episode of Talking Space, we countdown 3, 2, 1, as we did on May 16th live on Astronomy.FM reporting on the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. We go into a deep discussion on the subject of STS-134's timeline and payloads, including the spectacular Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS. We then move on to talk about a US Senate hearing on human spaceflight and national security. Listed below is the transcripts of Frank Slazer, Dr. Christopher Chyba, and Capt. Frank Culbertson. We then move on to the case of the busted lunar sample seller, and lastly provide the final result of the BTS-1 mission onboard their Inspiration 1 capsule.

The links to the testimonies of the following people to the US Congress are available on http://talkingspaceonline.com:

Dr. Christopher Chyba, Professor of Astrophysics and International Affairs, Director, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University

Captain Frank L. Culbertson Jr., Astronaut and former Commander of the International Space Station

Frank Slazer, Vice President of Space Systems, Aerospace Industries Association

The link to the updates on BTS-1 from Camilla herself can be read at http://camilla-corona-sdo.blogspot.com/

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 5/22/2011

In this special episode of Talking Space, Gene Mikulka recounts his experiences during NASA's Kennedy Space Center's "Once and Future Tour" conducted for members of the media before the first launch attempt of Shuttle Endeavour on Shuttle Mission STS 134 on April 27, 2011.

The first stop on the tour is a demonstration of a new LIDAR designed by a partnership between Lockheed Martin and Ball Areospace, the system is engineered to make rendezvous and docking of any new piloted or robotic spacecraft far more safer than it is today. Called the Sensor Test for Orion RelNav Risk Mitigation or STORRM for short, it is a prototype system that will be tested by Shuttle Endeavour during the STS 134 Mission. Representatives from both companies explain what STORRM is and how it will be tested.

Next was a demonstration of the current Space Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit or EMU know by the rest of us as a Spacesuit. Gene was able to speak to one of the space suit engineers about how the suit is built and how it helps protect spacewalkers and is to follow for future spacesuit designs.

The last stop on tour was a visit to Orbiter Processing Facility Number 2 which is usually the home of Space Shuttle Endeavour. Today Space Shuttle Discovery resides within. She is being prepared not for her next mission to the International Space Station, but for display at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center. Discovery's new mission will be that of Human Space Flight Ambasador nd her Flow Director, Stephanie Stilson, explains how Discovery is being prepared for her new role.

On this episode of Talking Space, Mark Ratterman interviews 3 NASA Astronauts + 1 NASA JSC Scientist. Interviews were on  April 27th and 29th, 2011 prior to the launch attempt for STS-134 on April 29th. Interviews were at the NASA KSC Press Site. Gene Mikulka contributed most of the questions Mark asked the Astronauts, Mark also ad-libbed a few during the recorded conversations. Thank you Gene, great job!

A sincere Thank You to NASA, the KSC Media Services Staff and our Guests:

NASA Astronaut - Dr. Michael Barratt - ISS Expedition 19/20 via Soyuz TMA-14, STS-133

NASA Astronaut - Steven Swanson - STS-117, STS-119

NASA Astronaut - Dr. Michael Foale - STS-45, STS-63, MIR 23 via STS-84/STS-86, STS-103, ISS Expedition 8 via Soyuz TMA-3

NASA JSC ISS Associate Program Scientist - Dr. Tara Ruttley

Sit back, listen, enjoy, then a pop quiz - Does 3 + 1=WOW?

On this episode of Talking Space, we start with the update on STS-134, the final flight of Endeavour, and its new launch date. By the way, don't miss our live launch coverage beginning on May 16th at 8:30am EDT on http://astronomy.fm! We then discuss the 50h successful Atlas V launch. We move on to SpaceX's possibility of combining two of their preparatory flights, COTS-2 and COTS-3, possibly leading them to an ISS docking sooner than later. Following that, we crack open some history books on the 50th anniversary of Alan Shepard's flight, the first American in space. The next topic became the Astronaut Hall of Fame and the amazing Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Lastly, we went on to discuss a spacesuit for sale and the recovery of the BTS-1 team, consisting of a rubber chicken (@Camilla_SDO), a teddy bear, (@AstroFuzz), and a stuffed pig (@SkyeBleu). We wish them all the best!

For more information on the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, visit http://astronautscholarship.org

Please note: We did have technical problems, and we realize some audio is muffled or is skipping and difficult to understand. We are aware of the problem and working to fix it.

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 5/9/2011

On this episode of Talking Space, we devote the entire show to the days leading up to the scrub of the launch of the shuttle Endeavour on Friday, April 29, 2011. Mark and Gene participated in press events at the Kennedy Space Center, and we discuss tours of launch pads, astronaut interviews, and more! Listen in for some spectacular stories you can ONLY hear here! Also, stay tuned for a STS-134 clip show.

To view the pictures mentioned in the show, click on the Photo Album link on our website, http://talkingspaceonline.com. Below are some teaser images. (Two images were inserted here. To view them, please visit http://talkingspaceonline.com

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gina Herlihy, Gene Mikulka, and Mark Ratterman

Show Recorded - 5/1/2011