The Launch Pad Space Podcast

Episode 015 – In Good Hands – Jennifer Levasseur

Episode Summary

In this episode, Launch Pad host Paul Ring sits down with Jennifer Levasseur a Smithsonian curator with the enviable job of caring for and interpreting the Space Shuttle Discovery. She and Paul talk about the different aspects of her job, how she got there, and their common affection for the grande dame of the orbiter fleet.

Show Notes

In this episode, Launch Pad host Paul Ring sits down with Jennifer Levasseur a Smithsonian curator with the enviable job of caring for and interpreting the Space Shuttle Discovery. She and Paul talk about the different aspects of her job, how she got there, and their common affection for the grande dame of the orbiter fleet.

Further Reading:

Jennifer Levasseur’s Staff Page on the Smithsonian website

Being Discovery’s Curator, by Jennifer Levasseur

Smithsonian Space Shuttle Discovery Page

Discovery Orbiter Wikipedia Page

Through Astronaut Eyes: Photographing Early Human Spaceflight

STS-131 Wikipedia Page

STS-131 Launch Video (Taken by Paul Ring)

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Episode 014 – Never Panic Early – Bill Moore

Episode Summary

Launch Pad host Paul Ring sits down with Bill Moore, co-author of “Never Panic Early: An Apollo 13 Astronaut’s Journey,” the autobiography of Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise. They discuss how that mantra, “Never panic early, “ played a key role in Haise’s  life from his time growing up in Biloxi, Mississippi, to the critical design work he did on the Space Shuttle and the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests..

Show Notes

Launch Pad host Paul Ring sits down with Bill Moore, co-author of “Never Panic Early: An Apollo 13 Astronaut’s Journey,” the autobiography of Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise. They discuss how that mantra, “Never panic early, “ played a key role in Haise’s  life from his time growing up in Biloxi, Mississippi, to the critical design work he did on the Space Shuttle and the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests..

Further Reading:

Fred Haise’s Wikipedia page

“Never Panic Early” on Amazon

“Never Panic Early” at Smithsonian Books

University of Oklahoma Website

Infinity Science Center Website

Northrup Grumman Website

Kansas Cosmosphere (home of the Apollo 13 CM)

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (home of the Space Shuttle Enterprise)

Apollo 13 Film’s Wikipedia Page

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Episode 013 – Impact – Greg Brennecka Episode Summary Launch Pad host Paul Ring goes a little further afield as he discusses comets and meteorites and the universe with Greg Brenneck, a meteoriticist who is a staff scientist and cosmochemist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He is the author of “Impact: How Rocks from Space Let to Life, Culture and Donkey Kong.”

Show Notes

Launch Pad host Paul Ring goes a little further afield as he discusses comets and meteorites and the universe with Greg Brenneck, a meteoriticist who is a staff scientist and cosmochemist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He is the author of “Impact: How Rocks from Space Let to Life, Culture and Donkey Kong.”

Further Reading:

Greg Brennecka

Impact: How Rocks from Space Led to Life, Culture, and Donkey Kong

Meteoritics

Cosmochemistry

Theia Impact

Dinosaur Extinction Impact

Don’t Look Up

Search for Dangerous Asteroids

Palladium

Donkey Kong

1996 Mars “Fossil”

Venus

Star of Bethlehem

St. Paul

Aristotle

Galileo Galilei

Ernst Chladni

Jean-Baptiste Biot

James Webb Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope

Pillars of Creation

Amino Acids

Exoplanets

Tunguska

Chelyabinsk

Allende

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Episode 012 – One Giant Leap – Charles Fishman

Episode Summary

Launch Pad host Paul Ring sits down with award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Charles Fishman, author of “One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission that Flew Us to the Moon.” In this special, Christmas-sized episode, they will talk the unsung heroes and little-known facts about the Space Race.

Show Notes

Launch Pad host Paul Ring sits down with award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Charles Fishman, author of “One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission that Flew Us to the Moon.” In this special, Christmas-sized episode, they will talk the unsung heroes and little-known facts about the Space Race.

Further Reading:

“One Giant Leap” on Amazon.com

“When MetroWest went to the Moon” by Paul Ring

Margaret Hamilton

Bill Tindall

President Kennedy Proposes Moon Goal

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Yuri Gagarin

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Episode 11 – Crewmates – Nicole Stott

Episode Summary

Launch Pad host Paul Ring sits down with Aquanaut, Astronaut, Artist and Author Nicole Stott to talk about her new book, “Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet – And Our Mission to Protect It.” They talk about how her space missions led to her to discovering a new mission here on Earth.

Show Notes

Launch Pad host Paul Ring sits down with Aquanaut, Astronaut, Artist and Author Nicole Stott to talk about her new book, “Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet – And Our Mission to Protect It.” They talk about how her space missions led to her to discovering a new mission here on Earth.

Further Reading:

Nicole Stott’s Homepage

Nicole Stott’s NASA Biography

@Astro_Nicole on Twitter

@astro_nicole on Instagram

“Back to Earth” on Amazon.com

“Back to Earth” Website

Space for Art Foundation Website

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Episode 10 – Moon Wheels – Earl Swift

Episode Summary

Launch Pad host Paul Ring sits down with New York Times Bestselling author Earl Swift, whose latest book, "Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings,” is a fascinating deep dive into the design, creation and deployment of the first manned vehicle on another world.

Show Notes

Launch Pad host Paul Ring sits down with New York Times Bestselling author Earl Swift, whose latest book, "Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings,” is a fascinating deep dive into the design, creation and deployment of the first manned vehicle on another world.

Further Reading:

Earl Swift’s Website

“Across the Airless Wilds” at Amazon.com

Lunar Roving Vehicle page on Wikipedia

Lunar Roving Vehicle Documentation page at The Apollo Lunar Surface Journal

Space Center Houston 50th anniversary page for The Lunar Roving Vehicle

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum page on The Lunar Roving Vehicle

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Episode 9 – Untethered  – Bruce McCandless III

Episode Summary

The son of Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II sits down with Paul Ring to discuss his new book “Wonders All Around: The Incredible True Story of Astronaut Bruce McCandless II and the First Untethered Flight in Space.”

Show Notes

The son of Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II sits down with Paul Ring to discuss his new book “Wonders All Around: The Incredible True Story of Astronaut Bruce McCandless II and the First Untethered Flight in Space.”

Further Reading:

Wonders All Around: The Incredible True Story of Astronaut Bruce McCandless II and the first Untethered Flight in Space

Bruce McCandless III Amazon author page

STS-41-B

Manned Maneuvering Unit

STS-31

Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Tribute to Bruce McCandless II

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Episode 8 – Space by the Book – Andrew Chaikin

Episode Summary

Award-winning space journalist Andrew Chaikin sits down with host Paul Ring to discuss his love of space exploration, his book “A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts,” and his work on the Viking Mars missions.

Show Notes

Award-winning space journalist Andrew Chaikin sits down with host Paul Ring to discuss his love of space exploration, his book “A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts,” and his work on the Viking Mars missions.

Further Reading:

• A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts
• Bronson Pinchot
• Apollo 12
• K. Mattingly
• Buzz Aldrin
• Ed Mitchell
• Apollo 15
• From the Earth to the Moon
• To a Rocky Moon
• The Geology of Mars
• Faruk El-Baz
• Lee Silver
• Air and Space: The National Air and Space Museum Story of Flight
• Apollo : An Eyewitness Account By Astronaut/Explorer Artist/Moonwalker Alan Bean
• A Passion for Mars: Intrepid Explorers of the Red Planet
• Voices from the Moon: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences
• Mission Control, This Is Apollo: The Story of the First Voyages to the Moon
• The Folio Society
• The Viking Program
• Planetary Photojournal
• Stellarium
• Solar Walk – iOS, Android
• Star Walk – iOS, Android

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Episode 7 – Son of a Spaceman – Pete Conrad III

Episode Summary

Pete Conrad III, son of Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad, is our guest for this episode. He talks with host Paul Ring about the close-up view he had of his father’s aerospace career from Pawtuxet River, Maryland, to the Ocean of Storms and beyond.

Show Notes

Pete Conrad III, son of Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad, is our guest for this episode. He talks with host Paul Ring about the close-up view he had of his father’s aerospace career from Pawtuxet River, Maryland, to the Ocean of Storms and beyond.

Further Reading:

• Pete Conrad, Jr. Wikipedia entry
• Rocketman: Astronaut Pete Conrad's Incredible Ride to the Moon and Beyond

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Episode 6 – Suited for Space - Bill Ayrey

Episode Summary

Bill Ayrey, former ILC Dover space suit test engineer and company historian, talks to host Paul Ring about the creation of the space suits that allowed Apollo astronauts to walk and work on the Moon and his new book, “Lunar Outfitters Making the Apollo Space Suit.

Show Notes

Bill Ayrey, former ILC Dover space suit test engineer and company historian, talks to host Paul Ring about the creation of the space suits that allowed Apollo astronauts to walk and work on the Moon and his new book, “Lunar Outfitters Making the Apollo Space Suit.

Further Reading:

• Bill Ayrey page at the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
• ILC Dover’s Spacesuit Page
• Lunar Outfitters: The Making of the Apollo Space Suit

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