Talking Space

On this episode, we begin with STS-134 and the Flight Readiness Review setting the launch date and time as April 29th at 3:47pm EDT. Endeavour will be launching on her final mission carrying the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) and a special payload which survived the Columbia disaster in 2003. We then move on to NASA's CCDev, or the Commercial Crew Development Agreement, and who will be getting money supporting their concepts ranging from $22 million to $92 million. Lastly, we get into a heated argument about an editorial posted online and in the New York edition of the New York Times calling the space shuttle Enterprise, which will soon be housed at the Inrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in New York city, a pile of garbage and a hand-me-down.

The article to which is referenced from the New York Times is available online at http://nyti.ms/halISu

Don't forget to tune in to http://astronomy.fm at 3pm EDT on April 29, 2011 for LIVE STS-134 launch coverage! Even if you can't make the live launch, check out the site, which replays our podcasts throughout the week, but the difference is, you can chat with other fans live in their chatroom.

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

Show Recorded - 4/24/2011

On this episode, we talk about AMS-02. We discuss the history, cost, some basics of the instrument, how it is installed and activated. We include audio from several NASA Briefings on AMS-02 from the following:

Prof Samuel Ting, AMS Principal Investigator from MIT

Trent Martin, NASA AMS Program Manager from JSC

Mark Kelly, Commander of STS-134

Our own Talking Space - Mark Ratterman brings first hand information from three NASA media events at KSC and an up close picture of AMS in the Space Station Processing Facility

For the AMS02 Briefing Materials: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/news/ams02_032411.html

For video of the AMS-02 Briefing at JSC http://youtu.be/MxPnAMLDmKY

Hosts this week: Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman Show Recorded - 04/21/2011

On this episode, we invite back Elizabeth Howell as we talk about last week's decision to place shuttles in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Los Angeles, California; Chantilly, Virginia/Washington DC; and New York City, New York. We talk about a press conference with Assistant Administrator of the Office of Strategic Infrastructure, Houston being upset about not getting a shuttle, and out opinion on their locations. Thank you as well to James Cook, Scott Orshan, and @Aries419 for sending us your input. We then discuss the allocation of Endeavour's Canadarm to a lucky Canadian institution and predict where it might go. Lastly, we talk about a story which fooled Mark a few weeks ago, but makes for some entertainment this episode.

Be sure to check out Elizabeth Howell at the Ottawa Business Journal by visiting http://obj.ca and at her own site, Pars3c, at http://pars3c.com

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, and special guest Elizabeth Howell

Show Recorded - 4/17/2011

On this episode, we discuss the postponement of the STS-134 launch which we briefly mentioned last week. We also talk about some debris which avoided the ISS, sending its crew to safety onboard their Soyuz. We continue with our correct speculations last week about the SpaceX announcement of the Falcon Heavy. Following that, we move onto some big anniversaries, including the 30th anniversary of STS-1 and the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's 1st flight aboard Vostok-1. We speculate where the shuttles will go once they retire, and then reveal the announcement of where they'll go. Be sure to listen to find out their final resting places. We end with our reflections of 50 years in space and what Gagarin's flight meant to us.

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

Show Recorded - 4/10/2011

On this episode of Talking Space, Sawyer returns from his two week absence. We start with Mark's adventures covering the upcoming STS-134 Space Shuttle mission at the Kennedy Space Center and learn more about the crew, the payload, and the preparaitons for this mission. Next we move on to discuss the first images returned from a spacecraft orbiting Mercury. We talk about what we believed would be the Falcon 9 Heavy rocket announcement, and it turns out, as of April 5th, the announcement of the vehicle was made. We were right on the money! Find out about it in the show. We move on to the lack of signal from our rover friend Spirit and discuss the retirement of Burt Rutan. We then move onto NASA's song contest, and finally discuss how NASA and Victoria's Secret come together.

To vote in NASA's song contest, please visit: https://songcontest.nasa.gov

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

Show Recorded - 4/3/2011

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

This week we share the microphone with Frank Morring Jr., Senior Editor at AVIATION WEEK, and a journalist for 35 years, specializing in aerospace for the over 20 years. Frank joined AVIATION WEEK in 1989 as a defense/space reporter and senior space technology editor. In 2007 he was named deputy managing editor/space, responsible for coordinating space coverage across all bureaus and publications. Frank began his career working for his hometown daily in Huntsville, Alabama, and moved to Washington in 1979 as correspondent for the Birmingham Post-Herald. He later covered the Cold War Pentagon for Scripps-Howard News Service. Frank received a degree in comparative literature from Dartmouth College.

Read Frank's articles at http://www.aviationweek.com/

Host This week: Gina Herlihy, Panelists: Mark Ratterman & Gene Mikulka

Elizabeth Howell from the Ottawa Business Journal and the award winning Pars3c Spaceflight blog joins Mark Ratterman and Gene Mikulka in this weeks Talking Space Installment.

Don't worry, Sawyer Rosenstein and Gina Herlihy will be returning!

Grist for this week's mill includes Coverage of STS 134 preparations at the Kennedy space Center along with two unfortunate events; the first fatal accident at Launch Complex 39A and the discovery of an illegal controlled substance just shy of the KSC secure area.

The MESSENGER spacecraft became the first robotic emissary from Earth to go into orbit around Mercury. We discuss MESSGNGER's mission and the implications for planetary science going forward.

An agreement was forged last week that commits the European Space Agency to supporting International Space Station operations through 2020. The panel discusses the implications for that agreement, what it means for the Station going forward and possible future international agreements between nations.

A report by the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) indicated that if Canada is not too careful, it could loose its edge in robotics. The Shuttle and Station Remote Manipulator System (RMS) and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator or DEXTRE robots have made significant contributions to the success of the Shuttle and Space Station programs. The team discusses the implications of this as well as the Canadian Space Budget going forward.

In the "Who Get's a Retired Space Shuttle Orbiter" sweepstakes, another entrant has come on to the field. This past week Senators Richard Durban (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) wrote a letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to consider Chicago's Adler Planetarium as a possible site for one of the Orbiters. With the April 12 announcement pending Gene, Mark, and Liz talk the battle being waged for one of the Orbiters and how political the process has become.

To visit Elizabeth's blog, please go to http://pars3c.com and also The Ottawa Business Journal at http://www.obj.ca/ be sure to follow her on Twitter @howellspace

Host: Gene Mikulka Panel Members: Mark Ratterman and Elizabeth Howell.

Show Recorded 23 March, 2011 

On this episode of Talking Space, we continue our look at the STS-133 mission including the 2nd spacwalk, Obama's call to the shuttle and station crew, and her last days in space. Then, we hear from Gina on her STS-133 launch adventure reporting for us including her interview with the first Pilot of Discovery on STS-41-D. Then, we discuss the progress of Endeavour on STS-134. Following that, we say as much as we can about the US Air Force's 2nd X-37 B, their reusable spacecraft, which successfully launched on March 5th, as well as the failed launch of the Glory satellite and what we know so far about the cause of the accident. Lastly, we go into a conversation about NASA's future and its budget.

Gina's pictures and videos are available at http://talkingspaceonline.com

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

Show Recorded - 3/6/2011

On this special STS-133 edition of Talking Space, we discuss the successful launch of Discovery on her final flight, STS-133. We discuss the mission as well as hear some interviews from @CraftLass from her time at the STS-133 NASA Tweetup 1.0 in November and discuss them. Then, we hear from Gina Herlihy who was down at the Kennedy Space Center. Expect more from Gina on next week's STS-133 mission-specific show. Thanks to the following people for their interviews: @PhylisBanner @Thenasalady @phiden @Smith5SE @Camilla_SDO and @CraftLass

To view the photo of Robonaut waving Discovery goodbye, visit http://bit.ly/flDepW

The winning song for the contest, as you will hear in the outro music, is "Blue Sky" by Big Head Todd and the Monsters.

Please note: The outro music is copyright Big Head Todd and the MonstersTalking Space is in no way associated with the group or their associated record company and the audio clip is used under Fair Use.

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, and Gina from the road as well as interviews by @CraftLass

On this episode of Talking Space, we begin by preparing for the launch of STS-133 on Thursday, February 24th at 4:50pm EST and discuss its mission and payload. We then spend some time on the ISS talking about spacwalks, Japanese commanders, and humanoid robots to aid in crew morale...we kid you not. We then mention the reallocation of $287 million dollars from NASA's budget creating an intense conversation on budgets. We finally end on a happy note with plenty of puns as we discuss the launch of the aerosol-measuring satellite, Glory, launching from Vanderburg Air Force Base on February 23rd at 5:09am EST.

Please note: The outro music is copyright Bruce Springsteen and Columbia Records. Talking Space is in no way associated with Columbia Records and the audio clip is used under Fair Use.

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

Show Recorded - 2/21/2011