On The Space Show for Wednesday, 22 April 2026:

Turning Back Time

80 years since the first test launch of a V-2 rocket from American soil:

At 2:47 on the afternoon of Tuesday, 16 April 1946, a captured Nazi V-2 missile ascended into the sky from the U.S. Army's new White Sands Proving Ground in south-central New Mexico. It didn't get very far. The guidance system failed, a fin came off, and the rocket—after reaching an altitude of only 3.4 miles—crashed in the desert.

65 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space:

On 12 April 1961, at 6:07 am UTC, the Vostok 3KA-3 (Vostok 1) spacecraft was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Aboard was Yuri Gagarin, the first human to travel into space.

45 Years since the first flight of the Space Shuttle:

On 12 April 1981, the world's first reusable spacecraft, the Space Shuttle Columbia, was launched from Kennedy Space Centre, beginning the STS-1 mission. Commander John Young & pilot Robert Crippen strapped into the most complex machine ever built, with no test run or uncrewed test flight, and made history.

35 years since the launch of the Gamma-ray Observatory:

On 5 April 1991, the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory (CGRO) was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis from the Kennedy Space Center.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 15 April 2026:

2025 International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Sydney: 

"If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

Part 2 of an astronaut panel discussion marking 25 years of continuous human presence on the International Space Station. 

The astronauts are:

• Julie Payette (moderator) — Canadian engineer, scientist and former astronaut who served as the 29th Governor General of Canada from 2017 to 2021.
• Yi So-yeon — South Korean astronaut and biotechnologist who became the first South Korean to fly in space.
• Koichi Wakata — Japanese engineer and an astronaut working for Axiom Space after retiring from JAXA.
• Andreas Mogenson — Danish engineer and ESA astronaut who is best known for being the first Dane to fly in space.
• Alper Gezeravcı — a military pilot and the first Turkish astronaut who flew to the  International Space Station with Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3).
• Andrew Feustel  — American/Canadian NASA astronaut and geophysicist who most recently served as commander on the International Space Station for Expedition 55 and 56.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 8 April 2026:

Space Show News: Artemis II update

2025 International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Sydney:

• Lessons learned at Gilmour Space with Adam Gilmour, CEO and co-founder of Gilmour Space Technologies
• A conversation between the head of the Australian Space Agency (ASA), Enrico Palermo, and the President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Dr Hiroshi Yamakawa.  
• Part 1 of an astronaut panel discussion marking 25 years of continuous human presence on the International Space Station. The astronauts are:

• ⁠Julie Payette⁠ (moderator) — Canadian engineer, scientist and former astronaut who served as the 29th Governor General of Canada from 2017 to 2021.
• ⁠Yi So-yeon ⁠— South Korean astronaut and biotechnologist who became the first South Korean to fly in space.
• ⁠Koichi Wakata ⁠— Japanese engineer and an astronaut working for Axiom Space after retiring from JAXA.
• ⁠Andreas Mogenson⁠ — Danish engineer and ESA astronaut who is best known for being the first Dane to fly in space.
• ⁠Alper Gezeravcı⁠ — a military pilot and the first Turkish astronaut who flew to the  International Space Station with Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3).
• ⁠Andrew Feustel ⁠ — American/Canadian NASA astronaut and geophysicist who most recently served as commander on the International Space Station for Expedition 55 and 56.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 1 April 2026:

Space Show News:

 * Artemis II mission poised to launch.

 * The Australian National University is providing laser communications support for NASA’s Artemis II Moon mission.

 * NASA selects Intuitive Machines to carry Roo-ver, Australia's first Moon rover, to the lunar South Pole region in 2030.

Lunar Astronomy

Dr Martin Elvis, Senior Astrophysicist at the Centre for Astrophysics at Harvard & Smithsonian, speaking at the 2025 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, Australia.

Lunar Geology

Dr Walter Kiefer of the Lunar and Planetary Institute responds to the Moon hoax conspiracy by explaining how lunar geology counters it.

Looking back at the Earth from space

On the eve of the Artemis II mission, astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson reflects on looking back at the Earth from the cupola of the International Space Station.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 25 March 2026:

The announcement of a major change in direction and focus for NASA with Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator. (Courtesy NASA HQ)

Policy as a compass for Australia's lunar future with Jeremy Kruckel, a member of the Space Association of Australia.

The lunar discoveries of LRO 

A summary of the achievements of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter since its launch in 2009. (Courtesy GSFC)

Turn Back Time: Luna 10

Sixty Years ago, Luna 10 became the first craft to be placed into orbit around the Moon, and how a 'swifty' was pulled on the Communist Party Congress.

Should spacefarers have their appendix removed before a long-duration mission? Also, reflections on the lack of aerospace medical training in Australia with Dr Rowena Christiansen, Medical School, University of Melbourne. 

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 18 March 2026:

Artemis II Mission Update: Read the latest update here.

Post-Shuttle Changes to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

As preparations are being made for the launch of Artemis II by the second Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, we pop back to 2014 when Mike Bolger (Program Manager, Ground Systems Development and Operations, KSC, Florida) described the ground infrastructure changes being made in preparation for the SLS and commercial operators, and Chris Crumbly (Manager, Space Launch System Payload Integration and Evolution, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama) set out the status of the Space Launch System. (Inserts courtesy KSC)

Stools in Space: An Excremental History of the Space Age

The answer to every child's (everyone’s?) question about human spaceflight provided by: Walter Cunningham (Apollo 7 astronaut), Jim Lovell (Gemini 7 & 12 and Apollo 8 & 13 astronaut), Richard Scheuring (NASA Flight Surgeon), Wally Funk (Mercury 13 candidate and Blue Origin NS-16 commercial spaceflight participant), and David Munns (researcher).

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 11 March 2026:

Artemis II Crew Briefing — 24 September 2025 

In anticipation of their forthcoming historic flight, the four members of the Artemis II crew discuss their planned mission around the Moon and answer questions from the media. (Inserts courtesy JSC) 

Turn Back Time: 60th Anniversary of Gemini 8 

The story of the near-disastrous flight of Gemini 8 is told via a series of contemporary recordings "as it happened". (Inserts courtesy NZBC, VOA and ABC)

Precursor audio: Recordings from the NZBC, VOA and Andrew Rennie, describing the visit to Australia and New Zealand by astronauts Frank Borman and Wally Schirra soon after their Gemini 7 and Gemini 6 space missions. Also, some of Andrew's photos of the event.

You can access these recordings and photographs here.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 21 December 2022:

50th Anniversary of Apollo 17 - Part III: On the Shoulders of Giants

Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt and Jim Lovell in conversation with journalist Phil Rogers at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium on 13 November 2012.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 4 March 2026:

Dart AE hypersonic demonstrator by Hypersonix Launch Systems

The launch of Queensland's Hypersonix Launch Systems Dart AE hypersonic aircraft on a modified Rocket Lab Electron (HASTE) rocket. (Inserts courtesy HLS, Rocket Lab)

Space Show News:

 * Update on Artemis II launch delay.

 * Changes to the Artemis program: NASA revises plans for future Artemis missions, updates architecture and cancels upgrades to SLS

Lost Armstrong: 

Bemoaning the fact that there is no definitive photograph of Neil Armstrong standing on the Moon. 

Turn Back Time:

Sixty years ago, Cosmos 110 carried two dogs into the Van Allen radiation belt; Intelsat decided to use geostationary satellites; Venera 2 and Venera 3 reached Venus; and Gemini 8 was being prepared for an ambitious flight. (Inserts courtesy NZBC, BBC, VOA, Radio Australia, Radio Moscow)

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 25 February 2026:

Space Show News:

Artemis II's second launch delay

After a successful wet-dress rehearsal, the Artemis II launch has been delayed at least until April by a helium flow problem in the Interim Cryogenic Upper Stage. The Space Launch System (SLS) has been moved back to the Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida for inspection and repairs.

NASA Releases Boeing CST-100 Report on Crewed Flight Test Investigation

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman describes the report on the problems with the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and gives an assurance that it will not fly with a crew until it is certified safe.

The Space Show in conversation with:

• Zac Warton, Team Co-lead of Monash Nova Rover of Monash University, Clayton, discussing the NOVA Rover competition, funding, rover improvements, sideways driving, and promoting women's involvement.

• Assoc. Prof. Daniel Eddington-Mitchell, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering's Shock Laboratory at Monash University, Clayton, discussing resonance in rocket nozzles.

• Qibin Xu, PhD Student at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, discussing satellite signal processing in progressive integrity evaluation.