Latest Space x Podcast Episodes
STP192 - Talking About The Moon and Poetry with Christopher Cokinos
Space and Things - May 02, 2024 05:00 - 52 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsWe can’t get enough of talking about the moon and we love a bit of poetry, so it was a joy talking to Christopher Cokinos for this week’s podcast. Christopher has just released a book called ‘Still as Bright - An Illuminating History of the Moon, from Antiquity to Tomorrow’ - and it’s a must rea...
STP191 - Why Is It So Difficult To Land On The Moon? - with Brandon Dotson
Space and Things - April 25, 2024 05:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsWith the recent moon landing attempts by private US companies having some mixed results, it seems that everyone is an expert on how to land something on the moon all of a sudden, well today we speak to an actual expert to find out what's really going on up there. Brandon Dotson has all the degre...
STP190 - How To Look After A Spacesuit - with Lisa Young
Space and Things - April 18, 2024 05:00 - 47 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we speak to Lisa Young, Supervisory Conservator at the National Air and Space Museum, who has been responsible for the preservation of the spacesuits and spacecraft in the Smithsonian collection. Ever been to a museum and wondered about how they look after the spacesuits? Well Lisa is ...
STP189 - Remembering George Abbey - with Michael Cassutt
Space and Things - April 11, 2024 05:00 - 55 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsOn 24th March of this year, George Abbey died at the age of 91. One of the most influencial people working behind the scenes at NASA for many years and someone who has come up many times during many interviews. So we wanted to spend an episode to pay tribute to his contributions. To do this we’r...
STP 188 - Predicting The Eclipse - A Multimillennium Tale Of Computation - with Stephen Wolfram
Space and Things - April 04, 2024 05:00 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsOn April 8th there will be a total eclipse travelling across Mexico, the United States and Canada so today we talk to Stephen Wolfram, who earlier this year released a book called “Predicting the Eclipse: A Multimillennium Tale of Computation.” - we learn about the history of predicting eclipses...
STP187 - Moonshot Astronaut Families - Exploring Image vs Reality in the Early Space Era - with Dr. Tracy Scott
Space and Things - March 28, 2024 06:00 - 50 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we talk to Dr. Tracy Scott who has just started a project to bring together her own history as an early era “astronaut kid” (daughter of David R. Scott: Gemini 8, Apollo 9, Apollo 15) with her professional expertise as a sociologist and teacher. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.p...
STP186 - Remembering General Thomas P. Stafford - with Bill Moore
Space and Things - March 21, 2024 06:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsSad news this week as the space world mourns the loss of General Thomas P. Stafford, pilot of Gemini 6 and commander of Gemini 9a, Apollo 10 and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. A true legend of spaceflight and he will be missed. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.patreon.com/Spaceandthings D...
STP185 - The Art of Museum Curation - with Three Smithsonian Curators
Space and Things - March 14, 2024 06:00 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we conclude the interviews we recorded at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in January by asking about what it means to be a curator at the museum. We had three interview and we spoke to each of the individually about various aspects of life as a curator and have merged those aspect...
STP184 - Galileo's Moon - A Brand New Apollo 15 Movie - with Editor David Woods
Space and Things - March 07, 2024 06:00 - 47 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we speak to David Woods, the editor of a brand new movie called ‘Galileo Moon’ which is all about the Apollo 15 mission and is produced by the commander of that mission, Dave Scott. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.patreon.com/Spaceandthings Dave’s Tour Dates: http://www.davejgi...
STP183 - Space Craze - Our Enduring Fascination with Real and Imagined Spaceflight with Dr. Margaret Weitekamp
Space and Things - February 29, 2024 06:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we speak to Dr. Margaret Weitekamp, the Space History Department Chair at the Smithsonian Institution and the curator of the Air and Space Museum’s social and Cultural history of spaceflight collection, more than 5,000 artefacts that include space memorabilia and space science fiction ...
STP182 - Using Mission Patches To Inspire The Next Generation - STEAM4SPACE - with Logan Jaeren
Space and Things - February 22, 2024 06:00 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we speak to Logan Jaeren who is just about to launch STEAM4SPACE to try and use his extensive mission patch collection to help inspire the next generations. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.patreon.com/Spaceandthings STEAM4SPACE: https://steam4space.org/?page=section/home.html ...
STP181 - Telling The Story Of The Space Shuttle - with Dr. Jennifer Levasseur
Space and Things - February 15, 2024 06:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThere are only 3 Space Shuttle Orbiters left. Atlantis is on display at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Endeavour will be on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles and Discovery is at the Udvar-Hazy Center just outside of Washington DC. While we were in Washington we caught...
STP180 - Can Space Based Solar Power Save The Planet - with John Mankins
Space and Things - February 08, 2024 06:00 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsA recent NASA report wasn't too encouraging about the use of space based solar power to help solve the planets energy problems, but we think there might be more to it than the report suggests so we speak to an expert on the subject John Mankins, who has been working on this since the 1990s. 100...
STP179 - The Mutiny Episode? - Skylab 4 50th Anniversary - with Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony
Space and Things - February 01, 2024 06:00 - 58 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsFebruary 8th 1974 marked the end of the crewed missions to Skylab, America's first space station. To celebrate this 50th anniversary we take a look at that mission and the legacy of Skylab. We're helped to do this by Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony, curator of the Apollo Collection at the Smithsonian Ai...
STP178 - Mars Sample Return and What The Election Means For NASA - with Casey Dreier
Space and Things - January 25, 2024 06:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsPart 2 of our deep dive into space policy with Casey Dreier the Chief of Space Policy at the Planetary Society. This week we learn about the Mars Sample Return mission and how the upcoming US election might affect NASA. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.patreon.com/Spaceandthings Casey Dre...
STP177 - Space Policy AKA How Things Happen In Space - with Casey Dreier
Space and Things - January 18, 2024 06:00 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we speak to Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy at the Planetary Society. We’ve been wanting to take a deeper dive into space policy for a while now and Casey is the perfect person to help us understand how it all works. Part 2 of this interview will be in next week’s podcast. 100 Pat...
STP176 - How To Inspire People Using Spaceflight - with ISSET Space Founder - Chris Barber
Space and Things - January 11, 2024 06:00 - 50 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsWe often get messages asking for advice on how to help encourage younger people with space flight. Well our guest this week has been doing that for over 25 years. Chris Barber founded ISSET space in 1998 and has had 60 different astronauts and cosmonauts involved with events around the globe to ...
STP175 - Celestis Memorial Spaceflights - with CEO Charles Chafer
Space and Things - January 04, 2024 06:00 - 52 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsA new year brings in a new first, a new rocket from United Launch Alliance, the Vulcan Centaur, is due to launch on January 8th and the first private Lunar Lander. So we want to learn more about one of the payloads on board. With that in mind we speak to Charles Chafer, CEO of Celestis Memorial ...
STP174 - 2024 - The Big Preview with Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik
Space and Things - December 28, 2023 06:00 - 59 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratings2024 is just around the corner so we carry on from last week and preview what we can hope to see in the upcoming year, to do this we're once again joined by the hosts of This Week In Space: Rod Pyle and Tarik Malik. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.patreon.com/Spaceandthings This Week In...
STP173 - 2023 - End Of Year Review - with Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik
Space and Things - December 21, 2023 06:00 - 50 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsIt’s time for our 2023 annual review and we’re joined by two big stars of the space world to take a look back at what’s happened this year, the hosts of This Week In Space: Rod Pyle and Tarik Malik. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.patreon.com/Spaceandthings This Week In Space Podcast: h...
STP172 - I Was A Teenage Space Reporter - Getting Up Close To The Launch of Apollo 11 - with David Chudwin
Space and Things - December 14, 2023 06:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we’re joined by David Chudwin, author of a wonderful book called “I Was A Teenage Space Reporter” – David was among the only college journalists accredited to cover the 1969 Apollo 11 launch and first landing on the Moon. At age 19, he was one of only a handful of teenagers with offici...
STP171 - Sew Sister - The Untold Story of NASA's Seamstresses - with Jean Wright
Space and Things - December 07, 2023 06:00 - 44 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we want to share with you the story of the Sew Sisters, a group of women who used their skills to hand sew the thermal blankets used to protect the Space Shuttle. To do this we’re joined by one of the seamstresses, Jean Wright, who has just had a book written about her by Elise Matich ...
STP170 - The Saturn V - with John Duncan
Space and Things - November 30, 2023 06:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsWith so much focus on new heavy lift vehicles at the moment, we wanted to talk about the iconic Saturn V, so we asked John Duncan, founder of ApolloSaturn.com to join us to talk about this iconic rocket. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.patreon.com/Spaceandthings John Duncan: http://www....
STP169 - The Artist & The Astronaut - with Bill Muench
Space and Things - November 23, 2023 06:00 - 57 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we talk to film maker Bill Muench about his brand new documentary “The Artist & The Astronaut” about Skylab 4 commander Jerry Carr and his wife Pat Musick. The 50th anniversary of Jerry’s mission has just started so this is the perfect start for us to kick start our own celebrations. ...
STP168 - Remembering Frank Borman - with Chris Henry
Space and Things - November 16, 2023 06:00 - 57 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsEven more sad news this week. On November 7th, Frank Bowman, commander of Gemini 7 and Apollo 8 passed away at the age of 95. One of the true greats in space history. We speak to his friend Chris Henry from the EAA museum in Oshkosh to find out more about the man and to celebrate his life. 100 ...
STP167 - Remembering Thomas K. Mattingly - with Andrew Chaikin
Space and Things - November 09, 2023 06:00 - 50 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsSad news this week, we’ve lost another of our Apollo heroes. Kenneth T. Mattingly, command module pilot of Apollo 16 and commander of STS4 and STS51c has passed away aged 87. Today we pay our tributes talking to author and space historian Andy Chaikin. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.patr...
STP166 - Space Shuttle Stories - Firsthand Astronaut Accounts From All 135 Missions - with Tom Jones
Space and Things - November 02, 2023 06:00 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsAstronaut Dr. Tom Jones has just released a brand new book called ’Space Shuttle Stories - Firsthand Astronaut Accounts From All 135 Missions’ and it is sensational, so we’re talking to Dr. Jones to find out more. 5 Years of ‘Tennessee and 48th’: https://davejgiles.com/tennessee-and-48th 100 ...
STP165 - Unearthing New Evidence About Aurora 7 - with Kris Stoever and Danny Parker
Space and Things - October 26, 2023 05:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThe story of the 4th American spaceflight has turned into one of the biggest myths in spaceflight history. This week we find out about some new evidence which helps to put the record straight. We speak to Kris Stoever (daughter of astronaut Scott Carpenter) and researcher Danny Parker to find ou...
STP164 - Introducing the Vulcan Centaur Rocket - with ULA VP for Vulcan Development - Mark Peller
Space and Things - October 19, 2023 05:00 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we talk to Mark Seller, VP of Vulcan Development at United Launch Alliance (ULA) to discuss their brand new Vulcan Centaur rocket, coming to a launch pad near you very soon. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.patreon.com/Spaceandthings ULA: https://www.ulalaunch.com Vulcan: Https...
STP163 - Life on the International Space Station at a Time of War - with Stephen Walker
Space and Things - October 12, 2023 05:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsThis week we welcome back Stephen Walker who recently published in the Guardian about life on the ISS during a time of war. It’s a fascinating piece and once again, Stephen Walker proves himself to be a wonderful interviewee. 100 Patreons By Show 200: https://www.patreon.com/Spaceandthings Ste...