As NASA struggles to keep its ambitious launch schedule on track, engineers at contractor Morton Thiokol raise concerns about a key component of the space shuttle’s rocket boosters: O-Rings, which are designed to prevent fuel leaks. Amid this tension, the Teacher in Space program captivates the nation after Christa McAuliffe is selected, raising public inter ... Show More
Jan 2025
Challenger Disaster | What Really Happened | 4
Following the Challenger disaster, engineers grapple with guilt and the consequences of raising concerns about the space shuttle’s flaws. Amidst public outcry, the Rogers Commission’s inquiry, including Richard Feynman’s stark demonstration of the O-Rings' vulnerability, uncovers ... Show More
40m 34s
Jan 2025
Challenger Disaster | Revisiting the Tragedy | 5
Like most people who were alive in 1986, filmmaker Steven Leckart remembers the Challenger disaster. He was a kid in elementary school at the time. But as an adult, Leckart set out to explore the aftermath of what happened through interviews with astronauts’ family members, engin ... Show More
36m 41s
Jan 2025
Could the Challenger Disaster Have Been Prevented?
January 28, 1986. It's freezing in Central Florida, a historically cold day. That's bad news for citrus growers, and for NASA, which is scheduled to launch the Space Shuttle Challenger from Cape Canaveral this morning.Engineers have ben cautioning NASA that cold temperatures can ... Show More
34m 57s
Jan 2025
Space Policy Edition: The Challenges of Change at NASA
<p dir="ltr">How does change happen within NASA, and what prevents it? Marcia Smith, founder of Space Policy Online, joins the show to discuss the opportunities and pitfalls faced by incoming presidential administrations and how NASA has—and hasn’t—changed over ... Show More
1h 8m
Jul 2023
Space Policy Edition: What’s Going on with: Congress, MSR, and ?
<p>We check in on the congressional budget process for NASA, Mars Sample Return’s spiraling cost growth, and the impending end of the regulatory holiday for human commercial space launch companies. Jack Kiraly, director of government relations for The Planetary Society, joins hos ... Show More
56m 49s
Apr 2025
Houston, Gayle King and Crew Have a Problem: Blue Origin’s PR Free Fall
<p>A rocket full of high-profile women launched into space, but the real spectacle might’ve been the PR machine that sent it there. From Katy Perry floating with a daisy to Oprah crying on the ground, every moment of Blue Origin’s all-women flight felt like it was choreographed t ... Show More
21m 6s
May 2018
The Space Race | Playing Catch Up | 2
Information sharing was normal in the global scientific community, but when it came to rockets, normal rules didn’t apply. If the details got passed along to civilian scientists, there was no telling where that intel might end up…But for many Americans, the Eisenhower just wasn’t ... Show More
37m 29s