The Space Show

By Andrew Rennie for the Space Association of Australia

The Space Show is a one-hour radio program presented every Wednesday evening between 7.00 and 8.00 pm Australian Eastern Time by Andrew Rennie for 88.3 Southern FM and the Space Association of Austral... more

· Science

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FAQs about The Space Show:

How many episodes does The Space Show have?

The podcast currently has 227 episodes available.

The Space Show episodes:

December 11, 20212021.12.08 | The Space Show Off-Cuts Edition: A collection of tasty morsels that didn’t make it to air in 2021
On The Space Show for Wednesday, 8 December 2021:
Launch coverage of Soyuz MS-20: a Russian Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station launched on 8 December 2021. Soyuz MS-20 is commanded by a single professional cosmonaut, Alexander Misurkin, and carries two space tourists, Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano for the space tourism company Space Adventures.

NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE): A space observatory built to discover the secrets of some of the most extreme objects in the universe – the remnants of supernova explosions and more.

Thomas Pesquet, ESA astronaut mission end: A profile of his second mission aboard the International Space Station and his personal reflections on seeing the Earth from space.

Twelve astronaut candidates have been selected to begin training at the Johnson Space Centre, Houston in January 2022.

The 17th flight of the ingenuity helicopter above the surface of Mars.

The science objectives of the Lucy mission to the Trojan asteroids.

The Queensland-based Hypersonix Launch Systems has announced its latest project, the DART AE. DART AE is the world’s first 3D printed hypersonic platform in high-temperature alloys - and it’s made in Australia.

NASA DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) asteroid impactor: NASA's first planetary defence mission

The European Space Agency’s Hera mission

Near Earth Asteroid Scout (NEA Scout) cubesat mission

Distributing the rewards of asteroid mining operations with Prof Christian Barry, the Centre for Social, Moral and Political Theory at the Australian National University in Canberra

Using supernovae as ‘Standard Candles’ and the Nancy Roman Space Telescope

Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s icy moon: What’s the big deal about Europa?
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54min
December 01, 20212021.12.01 | Saber Astronautics signs with Axiom Space to develop Australian astronaut program
On The Space Show for Wednesday, 1 December 2021:
Aussie movers and shakers: Self-profiles by some of Australia's space industry's leaders.

Australian based Saber Astronautics has signed a deal with private U.S. spaceflight company Axiom Space to create an Australian presence on the International Space Station.

Ben Greene, Group CEO, Electro-Optics Systems, Canberra on 'Sovereign Space Situational Awareness Capabilities'.

Planet Earth - Episode 28: DSCOVR; INCUS; Landsat 9; Tropics Pathfinder; algal blooms.
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55min
November 24, 20212021.11.24 | Planet Earth - Episode 27: Rising Seas
On The Space Show for Wednesday, 24 November 2021:
Planet Earth: Global Rising Sea Levels
Sentinel 6 satellite one year anniversary

Sea level rise

Glaciers driving sea-level rise

Land subsidence

High tide flooding

Australian buildings at sea level

El Nino and La Nina

Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite

“Rising Seas” by the Australian band Midnight Oil (song)

Josh Willis, Lead Scientist, Sentinel 6 on the satellite's 1st anniversary

SWOT satellite

CSIRO "State Of The Climate" report
DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) asteroid impactor: NASA's first planetary defence mission
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56min
November 17, 20212021.11.17 | Russian anti-satellite missile test draws international condemnation
On The Space Show for Wednesday, 17 November 2021:
The United States has condemned a Russian anti-satellite missile test: The U.S. State Department has accused Russia of jeopardising the safety and security of space exploration following the launch of an anti-satellite missile against one of its own targets, the defunct Cosmos 1408 satellite.
Planet Earth - Episode 26
Global Methane Pledge at COP 26: The United Nations Climate Change Conference 2021
Ursula von der Leyen (President, European Commission)

Joe Biden (President, United States of America)

Scott Morrison (Prime Minister, Australia)

Gina McCarthy (former Head, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

The Methane Pavilion: The Space Race to Save the Planet
Dr Steven Hamburg (Co-lead, MethaneSAT)

Riley Duren (CEO, Carbon Mapper)

Stephane Germain (President, GHGSat)

Antoine Rostand (President/Founder, Kayrros)

Celebrating Women in Space with Kerrie Dougherty: Join us for the November 2021 public meeting of the Space Association of Australia. This month we feature space historian Kerrie Dougherty who will reprise her World Space Week 2021 presentation, Women in Space. Find meeting details and registration here.
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56min
November 10, 20212021.11.10 | Q: How do you go to the toilet in space? A: Very carefully.
On The Space Show for Wednesday, 10 November 2021:
A leaky toilet on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft has forced NASA to ask it's Crew 2 astronauts returning to Earth to use absorbent 'undergarments' – also known as 'adult diapers' for the eight-hour trip home.

LeoLabs to construct space radars in Western Australia: LeoLabs has announced it will construct two phased-array space radars in Western Australia, the sixth site for the Silicon Valley startup’s global space domain awareness tracking network.

The recently released United States Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 has listed the giant Magellan telescope as one of it’s top priorities - and there’s an Australian connection.

New insights about our Moon’s geologic history have been gained from the analysis of China’s Chang'e 5 lunar samples. Comparison with the analysis of Apollo lunar samples has identified both similarities and differences.

An in-depth look at CUAVA-1, Sydney University’s pioneering cubesat, with Professor Iver Cairns (@CairnsIver).
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48min
November 03, 20212021.11.03 | Planet Earth - Episode 25
On The Space Show for Wednesday, 3 November 2021:
NASA's SpaceX Crew 3 mission: The launch of the next commercial crew mission to the International Space Station, already postponed by weather, has been further delayed by what NASA calls a “minor medical issue” with one of its four astronauts.

Lucy mission: Spacecraft in cruise mode but solar panel remains unlatched and only partially deployed

Mars Express: Ground penetrating radar sub-surface reflections from the Red Planet may not be liquid water after all

Planet Earth - Episode 25: CSIRO's AquaWatch Australia; astronaut Story Musgrave on the Earth from space; COVID-19 Earth Observation Dashboard; Apollo 14 Moonwalker Edgar Mitchell guided visualisation; NASA-ISRO SAR Mission (NISAR) radar satellite.
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55min
October 20, 20212021.10.20 | Mythodia: Music dedicated to the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission celebrating 20 years mapping the Red Planet
On The Space Show for Wednesday, 20 October 2021:
Mythodia by the Greek composer Vangelis: Music dedicated to the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission celebrating 20 years mapping Mars

Lucy: NASA’s mission to investigate the Trojan Asteroids launches successfully - Hal Levison, Lucy Principal Investigator

Soyuz MS-18 returns to Earth from the ISS with a cosmonaut, a Russian actress and film director aboard

Shenzhou 13 and Tianhe

Planet Earth - Episode 23: William Shatner and Chris Boshuizen speak after they return from their suborbital journey into space aboard Blue Origin's NS-18 mission

Rocket Lab selected as the launch provider for NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System. This exciting mission will explore new technology to harness sunlight to power deep space exploration. The Electron rocket will deploy an innovative satellite designed to test new deployable structures and materials technologies for solar sail propulsion systems, paving the way for sunlight to power future exploration in deep space.
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56min
October 13, 20212021.10.13 | Australian-built rover to be sent to the Moon under deal with NASA
On The Space Show for Wednesday, 13 October 2021:
Australia signs a deal with NASA to be part of a future Moon mission: The Australian Space Agency has reached an agreement with NASA for an Australian-made rover to be part of a future lunar mission, possibly as early as 2026, leveraging the nation's skills and experience in the resources sector. Leading Australian businesses and researchers will come together to develop the rover, backed by $50 million in funding from the Trailblazer program, a part of the Australian Government’s Moon to Mars initiative. The Trailblazer program is expected to open later this year, with applications to be submitted in early 2022. For more information, visit space.gov.au. Read the full text of the joint media release about the rover mission on the Prime Minister's website.

Hypersonix Launch Systems to develop re-usable space vehicle: Queensland aerospace engineering company Hypersonix Launch Systems has teamed up with the University of Southern Queensland to create a re-usable hypersonic UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to be named Delta Velos. The launch vehicle is to be a technology demonstrator for key aspects of a re-usable small satellite launch system to support Hypersonix’s first launch due in approximately two years time. Hypersonix’s initial focus is to deploy small satellites into low Earth orbit and find their unique place in the rapidly growing small satellite launch market.

Blue Origin NS-18 mission update: Australian physicist and entrepreneur, Chris Boshuizen, set to become the third Aussie to go to space aboard New Shepard, speaks on a panel discussion in Australia about Planet Labs, the space industry and innovation in 2016.

On the eve of his suborbital journey into space, Chris Boshuizen’s alter ego Dr Chrispy, has released two new music tracks as an EP called One by One. Both tracks feature the voice of Stephen Fry. Announcing the release of his new music online, Dr Chrispy wrote: "I’m excited to announce two new songs featuring Stephen Fry. These are my feelings about human spaceflight, narrated by Stephen and set to music written by Bill Simpkins and me. It’s been an honour to work with Stephen, an international treasure, to produce something very unique and honest. A fitting tribute to human spaceflight, exploration and imagination."

William Shatner reflects on what his imminent flight aboard NS-18 means not only to himself but to the legion of fans for the spacefaring character he made famous, Captain James T. Kirk.

Shenzhou 13 launch scheduled for 3:24 am Friday, 15 October 2021 AEDT.

Binar-1 and CUAVA-1: Australian cubesats deployed successfully from the International Space Station.

Lucy: NASA’s mission to investigate the Trojan Asteroids prepares for an October 16 launch.
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51min
October 06, 20212021.10.06 | A Russian cosmonaut, a film director and an actress fly to space
On The Space Show for Wednesday, 6 October 2021:
Rocket Lab signs a dedicated launch contract with Astroscale Japan for the ADRAS-J (Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan) satellite

Rocket Lab awarded US$24.35 million contract with the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command for development of the upper stage of the company’s new Neutron launch vehicle

Soyuz MS-19 launches a Russian cosmonaut, a feature film director and an actress into orbit bound for a film shoot, on location, aboard the International Space Station

A tale about Klim Shipenko, Salyut 7 / “Salyut 7”, Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Soyuz MS-19

Matthias Maurer, German ESA astronaut and Josef Aschbacher, the Director General of the European Space Agency comment on space tourism

The European Space Agency embarks on an astronaut selection process including, for the first time, for those individuals with disability

The worst kept secret in the space world was confirmed on Monday, October 4 (Australian time) when Blue Origin announced that the third and fourth seats on its New Shepard NS-18 flight next week will be taken by actor William Shatner (best known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek television series and movie franchise) and Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations. They will join crew mates Chris Boshuizen – an Australian as featured on last week’s episode of The Space Show – and Glen de Vries. The flight is scheduled to lift off from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in West Texas at 12:30 am on Wednesday, October 13 AEDT. If the just over 10 minute suborbital flight is successful, Shatner will become – at the age of 90 – the oldest person to go to space, no matter how briefly, eclipsing 82-year-old female aviator Wally Funk who was aboard the first crewed New Shepard flight in July with Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.

Chris Boshuizen: while working at the NASA Ames Research Centre, talks about why you would want to go to space and what it takes to get there cheaply

Planet Earth - Episode 22: Landsat 9 mission science briefing (cont’d) and the next chapter in The Landsat Legacy
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56min
September 29, 20212021.09.29 | Dr Chris Boshuizen (aka @DrChrispyMusic), set to become only the third Aussie to fly to space
On The Space Show for Wednesday, 29 September 2021:
Dr Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer at the Ames Research Centre and co-founder of Planet Labs (now Planet), is set to become only the third Australian to go to space when he launches aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard 18 suborbital mission, which is scheduled for October 14.

Soyuz MS-19 crewed mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for October 5. The three-person crew will include director Klim Shipenko, actor Yulia Peresild and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, hoping to be the first feature film to shoot scenes in space.

Construction of the launch pads at Equatorial Launch Australia’s Arnhem Space Centre has begun with formwork and concrete pours completed recently. Meanwhile, a NASA contingent has arrived at the Arnhem Space Centre in preparation for a historic sounding rocket launch campaign from the site next year.

SpaceOz Pty Ltd has announced the development of the Space Centre Australia launch facility at Weipa, in far north Queensland, with initial construction expected in Q1 of 2022. If successful, Space Centre Australia will join Southern Launch’s Whalers Way Orbital Launch Facility in South Australia, Equatorial Launch Australia’s Arnhem Space Centre at Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory and the Queensland Government’s proposal for a launch facility at Abbot’s Point in Queensland, as sovereign space launch facilities in Australia.

Round 3 of the Australian Government’s Moon to Mars Supply Chain Capability Improvement grants have been awarded to four local companies — Gilmour Space Technologies (Qld), Crytalaid Manufacture (Qld), Black Sky Aerospace (Qld) and Inovor Technologies (SA) — to improve their technical capabilities and help them enter new national and international markets.

Space Machines Company and the CSIRO have partnered to test an innovative Australian printable solar cell technology in space.

Microsoft to build a set of satellite ground stations in Australia.

Chinese satellite, Shiyan-10, fails in orbit after a successful launch but not before causing a great “UFO” mystery to unfold in the skies above parts of northern and eastern Australia.

Planet Earth Episode 21: NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey successfully launch the next Earth observation satellite in the series — Landsat 9
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53min

FAQs about The Space Show:

How many episodes does The Space Show have?

The podcast currently has 227 episodes available.