https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-disasters-daring-missions--7317501
Each episode is one complete, reconstructed story, told without a host standing between you and the record. A skull rides shotgun on Hubble's highest orbit. A 121-pound cap gets bolted onto a spacecraft that still won't reveal where it's leaking. A navigator with no instruments steers by starlight to bring Apollo 13 home. A surgeon performs emergency repairs on a live solar array with no operating room and no second attempt. These are not summaries — they are minute-by-minute accounts built from flight logs, radio chatter, and the private memories of the people who lived through space disasters that never made the headlines they deserved.

The show moves through the full arc of American spaceflight: the astronauts denied their missions for reasons buried in politics, the men who crossed space three times and still never got their wings, the geologists who proved the Moon itself had lied about a mountain's identity. It is NASA history told through the human cost of ambition — the near-misses, the improvised fixes, the decisions made in seconds that took decades to fully explain.

If you want space history that reads like a thriller because it actually was one, subscribe now. New episodes arrive weekly, each one a self-contained descent into a mission that almost didn't make it back.]]>enAstronomyCopyright OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENThttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/04089e5fa83aabef56c58444a03bdc93.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-disasters-daring-missions--7317501Sat, 19 Sep 2026 09:14:10 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTOBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTcreators@obomedia.comSpace has swallowed careers, missions, and men whole, leaving behind bolts, checklists, and a few surviving voices who know exactly how close the silence came. This show digs through NASA archives, mission transcripts, and the quiet testimony of...
Each episode is one complete, reconstructed story, told without a host standing between you and the record. A skull rides shotgun on Hubble's highest orbit. A 121-pound cap gets bolted onto a spacecraft that still won't reveal where it's leaking. A navigator with no instruments steers by starlight to bring Apollo 13 home. A surgeon performs emergency repairs on a live solar array with no operating room and no second attempt. These are not summaries — they are minute-by-minute accounts built from flight logs, radio chatter, and the private memories of the people who lived through space disasters that never made the headlines they deserved.

The show moves through the full arc of American spaceflight: the astronauts denied their missions for reasons buried in politics, the men who crossed space three times and still never got their wings, the geologists who proved the Moon itself had lied about a mountain's identity. It is NASA history told through the human cost of ambition — the near-misses, the improvised fixes, the decisions made in seconds that took decades to fully explain.

If you want space history that reads like a thriller because it actually was one, subscribe now. New episodes arrive weekly, each one a self-contained descent into a mission that almost didn't make it back.]]>false759f1376-1046-5bd3-9479-d9b08db5d294episodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-suit-valve-he-radioed-about-that-risked-his-launch-time--74912475
The suit valve he radioed about that risked his launch time

In this episode, we follow the moments before Alan Shepard's historic flight: the repeated delays, the political pressure after Gagarin's orbit, and the personal urgency building inside a tiny capsule. What happened during those four hours on the pad, and could a single suit valve decide the mission's fate?

Person: Alan Shepard
Date: May 5, 1961
Location: Freedom Seven capsule, launch pad
Event: Launch delays and a reported suit valve issue
Context: Cold War pressure after Yuri Gagarin's orbit

- Shepard spent four hours and fourteen minutes strapped inside Freedom Seven while the countdown was repeatedly held.
- Multiple launch postponements had already pushed Shepard's mission back six times before this day.
- He radioed the flight surgeon from inside the suit to request permission to relieve himself as bladder pressure became urgent.
- The suit's design offered no bathroom provision, turning a human need into an operational decision during the hold.
- Political urgency after the Soviet orbit amplified the stakes of every delay for Shepard and NASA.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912475Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:01:24 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA test pilot strapped in Freedom Seven radios that a suit valve might force a launch delay - did he make it onto history's countdown? The suit valve he radioed about that risked his launch time In this episode, we follow the moments before Alan...
The suit valve he radioed about that risked his launch time

In this episode, we follow the moments before Alan Shepard's historic flight: the repeated delays, the political pressure after Gagarin's orbit, and the personal urgency building inside a tiny capsule. What happened during those four hours on the pad, and could a single suit valve decide the mission's fate?

Person: Alan Shepard
Date: May 5, 1961
Location: Freedom Seven capsule, launch pad
Event: Launch delays and a reported suit valve issue
Context: Cold War pressure after Yuri Gagarin's orbit

- Shepard spent four hours and fourteen minutes strapped inside Freedom Seven while the countdown was repeatedly held.
- Multiple launch postponements had already pushed Shepard's mission back six times before this day.
- He radioed the flight surgeon from inside the suit to request permission to relieve himself as bladder pressure became urgent.
- The suit's design offered no bathroom provision, turning a human need into an operational decision during the hold.
- Political urgency after the Soviet orbit amplified the stakes of every delay for Shepard and NASA.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1208falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-day-snoopy-teetered-above-the-moon-eight-seconds-that-could-ve-changed-history--74912474
The Day Snoopy Teetered Above the Moon: Eight Seconds That Could've Changed History

In this episode, we follow Apollo Ten’s dress rehearsal mission and the decisions, hardware limits, and split-second piloting that defined its most dangerous moment. What did the crew face when Snoopy swung and tumbled just above the lunar surface, and how did those eight seconds reshape the countdown to the Moon?

Mission: Apollo Ten
Crew: Thomas Stafford, John Young, Gene Cernan
Launch Date: May 18, 1969
Location: Launch Complex 39B; lunar orbit 14.4 km above surface
Spacecraft Names: Charlie Brown (CM), Snoopy (LM)

- The mission was a full dress rehearsal: every landing procedure except the actual touchdown would be tested in lunar orbit.
- Snoopy’s ascent stage was fueled to roughly 50% capacity, a deliberate limit that made an unauthorized landing physically impossible.
- Stafford and Cernan brought the lunar module down to 14.4 kilometers-close enough to identify craters and pick a landing site without touching down.
- During ascent, unpredictable lunar mascons and untested rendezvous procedures were core mission risks NASA intended to quantify.
- For eight seconds the lunar module began violent tumbling while Young waited alone in the command module above, forcing split-second decisions under extreme conditions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912474Sat, 19 Sep 2026 09:01:21 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA lunar module named Snoopy dips to 14.4 km above the Moon-could the Apollo 10 crew complete the dress rehearsal without landing? The Day Snoopy Teetered Above the Moon: Eight Seconds That Could've Changed History In this episode, we follow...
The Day Snoopy Teetered Above the Moon: Eight Seconds That Could've Changed History

In this episode, we follow Apollo Ten’s dress rehearsal mission and the decisions, hardware limits, and split-second piloting that defined its most dangerous moment. What did the crew face when Snoopy swung and tumbled just above the lunar surface, and how did those eight seconds reshape the countdown to the Moon?

Mission: Apollo Ten
Crew: Thomas Stafford, John Young, Gene Cernan
Launch Date: May 18, 1969
Location: Launch Complex 39B; lunar orbit 14.4 km above surface
Spacecraft Names: Charlie Brown (CM), Snoopy (LM)

- The mission was a full dress rehearsal: every landing procedure except the actual touchdown would be tested in lunar orbit.
- Snoopy’s ascent stage was fueled to roughly 50% capacity, a deliberate limit that made an unauthorized landing physically impossible.
- Stafford and Cernan brought the lunar module down to 14.4 kilometers-close enough to identify craters and pick a landing site without touching down.
- During ascent, unpredictable lunar mascons and untested rendezvous procedures were core mission risks NASA intended to quantify.
- For eight seconds the lunar module began violent tumbling while Young waited alone in the command module above, forcing split-second decisions under extreme conditions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1370falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-rocketcam-caught-foam-slamming-the-tank-did-they-make-it--74912473
The rocketcam caught foam slamming the tank - did they make it?

In this episode, we follow the ascent of STS-112 and the new rocketcam footage that recorded a foam strike on Atlantis’s external tank. We trace the shuttle’s recent technical scares, the crew’s mission objectives for the S1 truss, and the decisions made once controllers saw the dent - but did those choices change anything?

Person: Commander Jeffrey Ashby
Person: Pilot Pamela Melroy
Event: Foam impact recorded at 82 seconds after liftoff
Date: October 7, 2002
Location: Atlantis (STS-112) ascent, visible via external tank rocketcam

- A dictionary-size foam piece struck solid metal at several hundred miles per hour, leaving a four-inch by three-inch dent.
- For 116 days the dent sat in a NASA report while another shuttle remained on the pad.
- Atlantis had faced earlier issues in 2002: cracked liquid hydrogen feed line liners and a Hurricane Lili delay.
- The rocketcam, mounted on the external tank for the first time, transmitted live ascent video to controllers on the ground.
- At about two minutes the SRB separation obscured the camera’s view, closing the window of direct observation.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912473Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:00:45 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA rocketcam shows a chunk of foam slam into Atlantis’s external tank during ascent - did NASA act in time to protect the crew? The rocketcam caught foam slamming the tank - did they make it? In this episode, we follow the ascent of STS-112 and...
The rocketcam caught foam slamming the tank - did they make it?

In this episode, we follow the ascent of STS-112 and the new rocketcam footage that recorded a foam strike on Atlantis’s external tank. We trace the shuttle’s recent technical scares, the crew’s mission objectives for the S1 truss, and the decisions made once controllers saw the dent - but did those choices change anything?

Person: Commander Jeffrey Ashby
Person: Pilot Pamela Melroy
Event: Foam impact recorded at 82 seconds after liftoff
Date: October 7, 2002
Location: Atlantis (STS-112) ascent, visible via external tank rocketcam

- A dictionary-size foam piece struck solid metal at several hundred miles per hour, leaving a four-inch by three-inch dent.
- For 116 days the dent sat in a NASA report while another shuttle remained on the pad.
- Atlantis had faced earlier issues in 2002: cracked liquid hydrogen feed line liners and a Hurricane Lili delay.
- The rocketcam, mounted on the external tank for the first time, transmitted live ascent video to controllers on the ground.
- At about two minutes the SRB separation obscured the camera’s view, closing the window of direct observation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1356falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-backup-separation-cord-detonated-and-cost-them-minutes-of-eva-time--74912471
A backup separation cord detonated and cost them minutes of EVA time

In this episode, we follow the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery as they deal with unexpected hardware firing that punctures insulation in orbit and threatens the mission’s primary rehearsal for upcoming Hubble servicing. The episode covers the sequence of events, the mission context, and the unresolved gap in the record: what caused both explosive cords to fire at once?

Mission: STS-51
Date: September 12, 1993
Location: Space Shuttle Discovery, payload bay
Person: Commander Frank Culbertson; Pilot Kenneth Reightler; Mission Specialists James Newman, Carl Walz, Daniel Bursch
Event: Simultaneous detonation of primary and backup explosive separation cords damaging 24 insulation blankets and a retaining ring

- Thirty minutes before the first ACTS deployment window, two-way comms to ground dropped and mission rules prevented proceeding without a GO.
- Engineers switched the S-Band to a lower frequency, restored comms forty-five minutes later, and scheduled a second deployment window.
- ACTS was released and the Transfer Orbit Stage fired forty-five minutes after release as planned, putting the satellite on course.
- Both explosive separation cords on the Airborne Support Equipment cradle detonated simultaneously, punching holes in twenty-four insulation blankets near APU-3 and damaging the retaining ring.
- The flight record logs debris observed by the crew and detailed physical damage but does not identify a root cause for the dual detonation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912471Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:00:54 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTSeparation cords detonate, ripping Discovery’s payload bay insulation-did the astronauts make it in time to save their EVA plans? A backup separation cord detonated and cost them minutes of EVA time In this episode, we follow the crew of Space...
A backup separation cord detonated and cost them minutes of EVA time

In this episode, we follow the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery as they deal with unexpected hardware firing that punctures insulation in orbit and threatens the mission’s primary rehearsal for upcoming Hubble servicing. The episode covers the sequence of events, the mission context, and the unresolved gap in the record: what caused both explosive cords to fire at once?

Mission: STS-51
Date: September 12, 1993
Location: Space Shuttle Discovery, payload bay
Person: Commander Frank Culbertson; Pilot Kenneth Reightler; Mission Specialists James Newman, Carl Walz, Daniel Bursch
Event: Simultaneous detonation of primary and backup explosive separation cords damaging 24 insulation blankets and a retaining ring

- Thirty minutes before the first ACTS deployment window, two-way comms to ground dropped and mission rules prevented proceeding without a GO.
- Engineers switched the S-Band to a lower frequency, restored comms forty-five minutes later, and scheduled a second deployment window.
- ACTS was released and the Transfer Orbit Stage fired forty-five minutes after release as planned, putting the satellite on course.
- Both explosive separation cords on the Airborne Support Equipment cradle detonated simultaneously, punching holes in twenty-four insulation blankets near APU-3 and damaging the retaining ring.
- The flight record logs debris observed by the crew and detailed physical damage but does not identify a root cause for the dual detonation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1348falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-33-minute-orbital-window-that-would-buy-earth-s-escape--74912469
The 33-minute orbital window that would buy Earth's escape

In this episode, we follow the mission that deliberately struck a small moon to test whether a tiny change in velocity could translate into years of safe distance for Earth. We trace the discovery of Didymos and Dimorphos, the science behind kinetic impactors, and the tense final minutes before contact-would thirty-three minutes be enough?

Person: Petr Pravec
Event: DART kinetic impact test
Date: September 26, 2022
Target: Dimorphos (Didymoon)
Launch Date: November 24, 2021

- An eleven-point-nine-two-hour orbital rhythm in Didymos’s light revealed a previously unseen moon, found by Petr Pravec in 2003.
- Radar imaging at Arecibo measured Dimorphos as roughly 170 meters across, tidally locked and orbiting Didymos.
- Dimorphos’s smooth, crater-free surface indicated a rubble-pile structure, raising questions about how it would absorb an impact.
- DART carried no explosives-its mission was pure momentum, using SMART Nav to autonomously steer the spacecraft in the final hours.
- The mission hinged on producing about two centimeters per second of delta-v so that, accumulated over years, it could create a ~6,500 km miss distance.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912469Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:00:52 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA spacecraft slammed into Dimorphos; humanity had minutes to nudge the asteroid-did it work? The 33-minute orbital window that would buy Earth's escape In this episode, we follow the mission that deliberately struck a small moon to test whether...
The 33-minute orbital window that would buy Earth's escape

In this episode, we follow the mission that deliberately struck a small moon to test whether a tiny change in velocity could translate into years of safe distance for Earth. We trace the discovery of Didymos and Dimorphos, the science behind kinetic impactors, and the tense final minutes before contact-would thirty-three minutes be enough?

Person: Petr Pravec
Event: DART kinetic impact test
Date: September 26, 2022
Target: Dimorphos (Didymoon)
Launch Date: November 24, 2021

- An eleven-point-nine-two-hour orbital rhythm in Didymos’s light revealed a previously unseen moon, found by Petr Pravec in 2003.
- Radar imaging at Arecibo measured Dimorphos as roughly 170 meters across, tidally locked and orbiting Didymos.
- Dimorphos’s smooth, crater-free surface indicated a rubble-pile structure, raising questions about how it would absorb an impact.
- DART carried no explosives-its mission was pure momentum, using SMART Nav to autonomously steer the spacecraft in the final hours.
- The mission hinged on producing about two centimeters per second of delta-v so that, accumulated over years, it could create a ~6,500 km miss distance.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1360falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-sensor-glitch-that-burned-140-kg-of-fuel-and-froze-their-six-minute-window--74912467
The sensor glitch that burned 140 kg of fuel and froze their six‑minute window

In this episode, we follow the race against time and shrinking propellant margins on the LCROSS mission as it descended toward Cabeus crater and one last opportunity to sample a lunar impact plume. The story tracks decisions, hardware tradeoffs, and a single six‑minute sampling pass that would determine whether definitive evidence of lunar water could be captured.

Mission: LCROSS
Date: October 9, 2009
Location: Cabeus crater, lunar south pole
Person: Dan Andrews
Event: propellant anomaly on August 22, 2009

- LCROSS rode to the Moon on an Atlas V with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched June 18, 2009.
- The mission used a spent Centaur upper stage as an impactor to excavate deeply shadowed material.
- The Shepherding Spacecraft was built around an ESPA ring adapter-hardware never previously used as a spacecraft backbone.
- A sensor malfunction on August 22 caused an unplanned thruster firing that burned 140 kg of propellant, eliminating margin for correction.
- After separation at 04:23 PT on October 9, nine instruments had exactly six minutes to fly through the plume and sample before the spacecraft struck the surface.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912467Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:01:01 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA sensor glitch burned fuel and froze LCROSS-did the nine instruments make the only pass that would decide whether the Moon holds water? The sensor glitch that burned 140 kg of fuel and froze their six‑minute window In this episode, we follow...
The sensor glitch that burned 140 kg of fuel and froze their six‑minute window

In this episode, we follow the race against time and shrinking propellant margins on the LCROSS mission as it descended toward Cabeus crater and one last opportunity to sample a lunar impact plume. The story tracks decisions, hardware tradeoffs, and a single six‑minute sampling pass that would determine whether definitive evidence of lunar water could be captured.

Mission: LCROSS
Date: October 9, 2009
Location: Cabeus crater, lunar south pole
Person: Dan Andrews
Event: propellant anomaly on August 22, 2009

- LCROSS rode to the Moon on an Atlas V with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched June 18, 2009.
- The mission used a spent Centaur upper stage as an impactor to excavate deeply shadowed material.
- The Shepherding Spacecraft was built around an ESPA ring adapter-hardware never previously used as a spacecraft backbone.
- A sensor malfunction on August 22 caused an unplanned thruster firing that burned 140 kg of propellant, eliminating margin for correction.
- After separation at 04:23 PT on October 9, nine instruments had exactly six minutes to fly through the plume and sample before the spacecraft struck the surface.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1241falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-particle-that-stopped-giotto-7-6-seconds-from-halley--74912466
The particle that stopped Giotto, 7.6 seconds from Halley

This episode recounts the journey of the Giotto spacecraft as it approached Comet Halley in 1986, detailing the unexpected challenges it faced. It explores the historical context of Halley's Comet and the ambitious goal of capturing the first images of its nucleus.

Event: Giotto spacecraft encounter with Comet Halley
Date: March 1986
Object: Comet Halley
Mission: Giotto
Agency: European Space Agency

- Edmond Halley first identified the comet's periodic return in 1705, predicting its 1758 appearance.
- The Giotto mission aimed to photograph the comet's nucleus, a dark, frozen core never before seen.
- The spacecraft was named after Giotto di Bondone, a painter who depicted a comet in a 14th-century fresco, believed to be Halley.
- Giotto was equipped with a dual-layer dust shield made of aluminum and Kevlar to protect against cometary particles.
- The mission relied on targeting data from two Soviet spacecraft, Vega One and Vega One, which flew past the comet days earlier.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912466Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:51 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA spacecraft speeds towards Comet Halley for humanity's first close look, but a sudden impact threatens the entire mission. The particle that stopped Giotto, 7.6 seconds from Halley This episode recounts the journey of the Giotto spacecraft as...
The particle that stopped Giotto, 7.6 seconds from Halley

This episode recounts the journey of the Giotto spacecraft as it approached Comet Halley in 1986, detailing the unexpected challenges it faced. It explores the historical context of Halley's Comet and the ambitious goal of capturing the first images of its nucleus.

Event: Giotto spacecraft encounter with Comet Halley
Date: March 1986
Object: Comet Halley
Mission: Giotto
Agency: European Space Agency

- Edmond Halley first identified the comet's periodic return in 1705, predicting its 1758 appearance.
- The Giotto mission aimed to photograph the comet's nucleus, a dark, frozen core never before seen.
- The spacecraft was named after Giotto di Bondone, a painter who depicted a comet in a 14th-century fresco, believed to be Halley.
- Giotto was equipped with a dual-layer dust shield made of aluminum and Kevlar to protect against cometary particles.
- The mission relied on targeting data from two Soviet spacecraft, Vega One and Vega One, which flew past the comet days earlier.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1294falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-telecon-delayed-the-launch-decision-did-they-make-it--74912465
The telecon delayed the launch decision - did they make it?

In this episode, we follow the hours leading up to the night-before launch telecon about O-ring performance in extreme cold and the decisions that unfolded across Morton Thiokol and NASA. The episode traces the technical warnings, prior test flights, and the tense phone call that put the launch decision on a knife edge.

Person: Ellison Onizuka
Event: Challenger launch preparations and telecon
Date: January 27-28, 1986
Location: Kennedy Space Center; Morton Thiokol (Utah); Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville)
Topic: O-ring erosion and cold temperature effects

- A scuffed soccer ball from Ellison Onizuka was recovered intact from the Atlantic debris field after the breakup.
- In December 1982, NASA redesignated the SRB field joint from Criticality One-R (redundant) to Criticality One (single point of failure).
- O-rings are rubber seals that must compress at ignition to stop 5,000°F combustion gases from leaking through SRB joints.
- Engineers documented O-ring erosion on the January 1985 STS-51-C flight after launch temperatures fell to 53°F.
- The telecon began at 8:30 PM on January 27, 1986, linking Morton Thiokol engineers with NASA managers to discuss forecasts below 18°F.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912465Sun, 13 Sep 2026 09:01:20 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA senior engineer and NASA managers argue over frozen O-rings before Challenger's launch. Did they make it in time? The telecon delayed the launch decision - did they make it? In this episode, we follow the hours leading up to the night-before...
The telecon delayed the launch decision - did they make it?

In this episode, we follow the hours leading up to the night-before launch telecon about O-ring performance in extreme cold and the decisions that unfolded across Morton Thiokol and NASA. The episode traces the technical warnings, prior test flights, and the tense phone call that put the launch decision on a knife edge.

Person: Ellison Onizuka
Event: Challenger launch preparations and telecon
Date: January 27-28, 1986
Location: Kennedy Space Center; Morton Thiokol (Utah); Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville)
Topic: O-ring erosion and cold temperature effects

- A scuffed soccer ball from Ellison Onizuka was recovered intact from the Atlantic debris field after the breakup.
- In December 1982, NASA redesignated the SRB field joint from Criticality One-R (redundant) to Criticality One (single point of failure).
- O-rings are rubber seals that must compress at ignition to stop 5,000°F combustion gases from leaking through SRB joints.
- Engineers documented O-ring erosion on the January 1985 STS-51-C flight after launch temperatures fell to 53°F.
- The telecon began at 8:30 PM on January 27, 1986, linking Morton Thiokol engineers with NASA managers to discuss forecasts below 18°F.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1391falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-robotic-arm-grabbed-the-28-000-pound-module-and-raced-the-clock--74912463
The robotic arm grabbed the 28,000‑pound module and raced the clock

In this episode, we follow the path that led Stephanie Wilson from a middle‑school homework call to an astronomer to operating a robotic arm in low Earth orbit. The episode covers her upbringing in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, her engineering education and NASA training, and the mission where she was tasked with moving the Multi‑Purpose Logistics Module - but could she meet the clock in space?

Person: Stephanie Diana Wilson
Location: Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Date: September 27, 1966 (birth)
Event: STS-121, launch July 4, 2006
Object: Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (28,000 pounds)

- A middle‑school interview with astronomer Jay Pasachoff set Wilson on a career path toward space.
- Raised in a technical household, she earned a B.S, in Engineering Science from Harvard in 1988.
- She worked on Titan IV loads and dynamics, then earned an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering focused on flexible space structures.
- At JPL she handled attitude and articulation control for the Galileo mission before NASA selected her as an astronaut candidate in April 1996.
- Ten years after starting astronaut training, she was assigned to STS-121 on Discovery to operate the robotic arm for the MPLM rendezvous.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912463Sat, 12 Sep 2026 09:01:35 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA single astronaut must command a robotic arm to steady a 28,000-pound module racing above Earth - did she make it in time? The robotic arm grabbed the 28,000‑pound module and raced the clock In this episode, we follow the path that led...
The robotic arm grabbed the 28,000‑pound module and raced the clock

In this episode, we follow the path that led Stephanie Wilson from a middle‑school homework call to an astronomer to operating a robotic arm in low Earth orbit. The episode covers her upbringing in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, her engineering education and NASA training, and the mission where she was tasked with moving the Multi‑Purpose Logistics Module - but could she meet the clock in space?

Person: Stephanie Diana Wilson
Location: Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Date: September 27, 1966 (birth)
Event: STS-121, launch July 4, 2006
Object: Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (28,000 pounds)

- A middle‑school interview with astronomer Jay Pasachoff set Wilson on a career path toward space.
- Raised in a technical household, she earned a B.S, in Engineering Science from Harvard in 1988.
- She worked on Titan IV loads and dynamics, then earned an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering focused on flexible space structures.
- At JPL she handled attitude and articulation control for the Galileo mission before NASA selected her as an astronaut candidate in April 1996.
- Ten years after starting astronaut training, she was assigned to STS-121 on Discovery to operate the robotic arm for the MPLM rendezvous.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1138falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-robotic-arm-that-grabbed-spas-1-and-bought-them-six-hours-to-return--74912461
The robotic arm that grabbed SPAS‑1 - and bought them six hours to return?

In this episode, we follow the mission timeline of STS‑7 and the role Sally Ride played as a mission specialist and robotic‑arm operator. The episode covers crew tasks, the SPAS‑1 deployment and retrieval, and the decisions that shaped those six critical days in orbit-what choices did they make on the clock?

Person: Sally Ride
Event: STS‑7 shuttle mission
Date: June 18, 1983
Location: Kennedy Space Center / Low Earth orbit
Equipment: Remote Manipulator System (robotic arm), SPAS‑1

- Ride served as mission specialist and was the astronaut who operated the Remote Manipulator System during SPAS‑1 operations.
- The crew deployed two commercial satellites (Anik C‑2 and Palapa B‑1) before releasing the SPAS‑1 platform.
- SPAS‑1 was released to photograph the shuttle from the outside, a first for the program.
- Retrieving SPAS‑1 required precise manual control and steadiness that simulators could not fully reproduce.
- The retrieval consumed critical on‑orbit time, adding about six hours to mission planning for return preparations.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912461Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:00:58 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTSally Ride maneuvers the shuttle's robotic arm to catch SPAS‑1 - can she bring the platform home intact before time runs out? The robotic arm that grabbed SPAS‑1 - and bought them six hours to return? In this episode, we follow the mission...
The robotic arm that grabbed SPAS‑1 - and bought them six hours to return?

In this episode, we follow the mission timeline of STS‑7 and the role Sally Ride played as a mission specialist and robotic‑arm operator. The episode covers crew tasks, the SPAS‑1 deployment and retrieval, and the decisions that shaped those six critical days in orbit-what choices did they make on the clock?

Person: Sally Ride
Event: STS‑7 shuttle mission
Date: June 18, 1983
Location: Kennedy Space Center / Low Earth orbit
Equipment: Remote Manipulator System (robotic arm), SPAS‑1

- Ride served as mission specialist and was the astronaut who operated the Remote Manipulator System during SPAS‑1 operations.
- The crew deployed two commercial satellites (Anik C‑2 and Palapa B‑1) before releasing the SPAS‑1 platform.
- SPAS‑1 was released to photograph the shuttle from the outside, a first for the program.
- Retrieving SPAS‑1 required precise manual control and steadiness that simulators could not fully reproduce.
- The retrieval consumed critical on‑orbit time, adding about six hours to mission planning for return preparations.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1237falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-mmu-s-nitrogen-jets-ran-out-with-mccandless-320-feet-from-safety--74912458
The MMU's nitrogen jets ran out with McCandless 320 feet from safety

In this episode, we follow the seconds and years that led to Bruce McCandless becoming the astronaut who would don a nitrogen-powered Manned Maneuvering Unit and float free above Earth. We trace his lineage, naval and academic career, and the patient engineering and bureaucracy behind the MMU-what did that long preparation mean in the moment he drifted alone?

Person: Bruce McCandless II
Date: February 7, 1984
Event: Untethered EVA using the Manned Maneuvering Unit
Duration of astronaut wait: 17 years before first spaceflight
Background: Naval Academy graduate and electrical engineer who helped design the MMU

- Born Byron Willis McCandless on June 8, 1937, renamed Bruce McCandless II at 11 months, tying him to a two-generation Medal of Honor family legacy.
- Graduated Naval Academy in 1958, ranked second of 899, later earned an M.S, in electrical engineering from Stanford in 1965.
- Selected by NASA in April 1966 as part of Astronaut Group Five and served repeatedly as CAPCOM, including during Apollo 11’s lunar landing communications.
- Shifted roles from competing for shuttle pilot slots to becoming a mission specialist focused on designing, testing, and advocating for the MMU for years.
- The MMU was a rigid backpack using nitrogen propulsion, controlled by hand controllers on extended arms, built to free an astronaut from tethers for maneuvering outside the shuttle.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912458Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:01:00 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTAstronaut Bruce McCandless floats untethered 320 feet from the shuttle with the MMU’s nitrogen jets dwindling-did he make it back in time? The MMU's nitrogen jets ran out with McCandless 320 feet from safety In this episode, we follow the...
The MMU's nitrogen jets ran out with McCandless 320 feet from safety

In this episode, we follow the seconds and years that led to Bruce McCandless becoming the astronaut who would don a nitrogen-powered Manned Maneuvering Unit and float free above Earth. We trace his lineage, naval and academic career, and the patient engineering and bureaucracy behind the MMU-what did that long preparation mean in the moment he drifted alone?

Person: Bruce McCandless II
Date: February 7, 1984
Event: Untethered EVA using the Manned Maneuvering Unit
Duration of astronaut wait: 17 years before first spaceflight
Background: Naval Academy graduate and electrical engineer who helped design the MMU

- Born Byron Willis McCandless on June 8, 1937, renamed Bruce McCandless II at 11 months, tying him to a two-generation Medal of Honor family legacy.
- Graduated Naval Academy in 1958, ranked second of 899, later earned an M.S, in electrical engineering from Stanford in 1965.
- Selected by NASA in April 1966 as part of Astronaut Group Five and served repeatedly as CAPCOM, including during Apollo 11’s lunar landing communications.
- Shifted roles from competing for shuttle pilot slots to becoming a mission specialist focused on designing, testing, and advocating for the MMU for years.
- The MMU was a rigid backpack using nitrogen propulsion, controlled by hand controllers on extended arms, built to free an astronaut from tethers for maneuvering outside the shuttle.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1514falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-radio-channel-he-opened-spoke-to-the-dead-and-bought-them-time--74912456
The radio channel he opened spoke to the dead - and bought them time

In this episode, we follow Frederick Hamilton Hauck from a destroyer in 1963 to the shuttle program and the quiet after Challenger. It covers how his background and NASA roles led him to a moment of unscripted human contact in orbit - and asks what made him the one they trusted with that job.

Person: Frederick Hamilton Hauck
Date: September 29, 1988
Event: Unscripted radio message from Space Shuttle Discovery
Period: 1978-1988
Case: Shuttle program silence after Challenger

- As a 22-year-old aboard USS Warrington, Hauck stood watch during the search for USS Thresher in April 1963 and learned how systems fail completely.
- He earned aviator wings in 1968, flew 114 combat/support missions in an A-6 Intruder, and attended Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River.
- Selected by NASA in January 1978, Hauck sat at the main table on his first day - a quiet authority noted by colleagues.
- He piloted STS-7 in June 1983 and commanded STS-51-A in November 1984, leading the first-ever space salvage to retrieve two dead satellites.
- After Challenger, Hauck served as NASA associate administrator for external relations, briefing Congress and managing the agency’s public posture during 972 days of grounded human spaceflight.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912456Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:01:21 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA veteran astronaut broadcasts to the dead from two hundred miles up-can NASA speak again after its silence? Did they make it in time? The radio channel he opened spoke to the dead - and bought them time In this episode, we follow Frederick...
The radio channel he opened spoke to the dead - and bought them time

In this episode, we follow Frederick Hamilton Hauck from a destroyer in 1963 to the shuttle program and the quiet after Challenger. It covers how his background and NASA roles led him to a moment of unscripted human contact in orbit - and asks what made him the one they trusted with that job.

Person: Frederick Hamilton Hauck
Date: September 29, 1988
Event: Unscripted radio message from Space Shuttle Discovery
Period: 1978-1988
Case: Shuttle program silence after Challenger

- As a 22-year-old aboard USS Warrington, Hauck stood watch during the search for USS Thresher in April 1963 and learned how systems fail completely.
- He earned aviator wings in 1968, flew 114 combat/support missions in an A-6 Intruder, and attended Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River.
- Selected by NASA in January 1978, Hauck sat at the main table on his first day - a quiet authority noted by colleagues.
- He piloted STS-7 in June 1983 and commanded STS-51-A in November 1984, leading the first-ever space salvage to retrieve two dead satellites.
- After Challenger, Hauck served as NASA associate administrator for external relations, briefing Congress and managing the agency’s public posture during 972 days of grounded human spaceflight.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1098falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-seattle-world-s-fair-model-forced-her-to-race-for-a-shuttle-seat--74912453
The Seattle World's Fair model forced her to race for a shuttle seat

In this episode, we follow a single arc from a childhood sighting of Sputnik in 1957 to a career spent making and certifying the Space Shuttle's ceramic heat-shield tiles, tracking the decisions and doors that led her toward orbit. What happened along the way as she moved from farm fields to laboratories to spacecraft?

Person: Bonnie Jeanne Dunbar
Date: 1957 (Sputnik sighting), 1962 (Seattle World's Fair), 1967 (entered University of Washington), 1971 (undergraduate degree), 1975 (master's degree)
Location: Outlook, Washington; University of Washington; Downey, California (tile factory)
Topic: Ceramic heat-shield tiles and Space Shuttle thermal protection
Event: Seeing Sputnik; visiting the Seattle World's Fair; working on silica fiber tiles; manufacturing tiles; later flying on five shuttle missions

- At eight, she stood alone on her family's forty acres in Outlook and tracked Sputnik with her naked eyes, practicing the patience of observation.
- At thirteen, a visit to the Seattle World's Fair and its Space Shuttle fixed her attention on science and engineering as a possible future.
- Despite a school counselor's suggestion that she marry a farmer, she enrolled in engineering at the University of Washington in 1967 and specialized in ceramic engineering.
- Recruited by Dean James I. Mueller, she worked on X-ray diffraction and foundational silica-fiber research that underpinned the shuttle's tile design.
- She spent years handmaking, testing, and filing quality reports for ceramic heat-shield tiles at a Downey factory before later strapping into the very spacecraft those tiles protected.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912453Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:01:31 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTAn eight-year-old in a Washington wheat field sees Sputnik and pursues engineering - did she make it onto the shuttle? The Seattle World's Fair model forced her to race for a shuttle seat In this episode, we follow a single arc from a childhood...
The Seattle World's Fair model forced her to race for a shuttle seat

In this episode, we follow a single arc from a childhood sighting of Sputnik in 1957 to a career spent making and certifying the Space Shuttle's ceramic heat-shield tiles, tracking the decisions and doors that led her toward orbit. What happened along the way as she moved from farm fields to laboratories to spacecraft?

Person: Bonnie Jeanne Dunbar
Date: 1957 (Sputnik sighting), 1962 (Seattle World's Fair), 1967 (entered University of Washington), 1971 (undergraduate degree), 1975 (master's degree)
Location: Outlook, Washington; University of Washington; Downey, California (tile factory)
Topic: Ceramic heat-shield tiles and Space Shuttle thermal protection
Event: Seeing Sputnik; visiting the Seattle World's Fair; working on silica fiber tiles; manufacturing tiles; later flying on five shuttle missions

- At eight, she stood alone on her family's forty acres in Outlook and tracked Sputnik with her naked eyes, practicing the patience of observation.
- At thirteen, a visit to the Seattle World's Fair and its Space Shuttle fixed her attention on science and engineering as a possible future.
- Despite a school counselor's suggestion that she marry a farmer, she enrolled in engineering at the University of Washington in 1967 and specialized in ceramic engineering.
- Recruited by Dean James I. Mueller, she worked on X-ray diffraction and foundational silica-fiber research that underpinned the shuttle's tile design.
- She spent years handmaking, testing, and filing quality reports for ceramic heat-shield tiles at a Downey factory before later strapping into the very spacecraft those tiles protected.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1258falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-letter-he-mailed-to-the-president-that-got-a-nomination-in-time--74912452
The letter he mailed to the President that got a nomination in time

In this episode, we follow Charles Frank Bolden Jr.’s journey from Columbia, South Carolina, through a blocked naval nomination to a presidential appeal and into the skies, tracing the decisions, training, and moments that shaped his path. What choices and chances turned a rejected seventeen-year-old into an astronaut whose voice would later be sent to Mars?

Person: Charles Frank Bolden Jr.
Date: August 28, 2012
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Event: Letter to President Lyndon B. Johnson requesting help with a naval academy nomination
Outcome detail: Nomination provided by Representative William L. Dawson of Chicago

- At 17, Bolden had the grades and drive for the U.S. Naval Academy but received no nomination from South Carolina’s delegation.
- He bypassed local politicians and mailed a letter directly to President Lyndon B. Johnson asking for assistance.
- Within weeks a military recruiter arrived at his family home and a nomination came from Representative William L. Dawson of Chicago.
- Bolden entered the Naval Academy with the class of 1968, became class president, and earned a B.S, in electrical science.
- After decade-long military aviation and test-pilot service, and recruitment efforts by Nichelle Nichols, Bolden was selected as a NASA astronaut in August 1981.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912452Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:01:37 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA man denied a naval nomination writes to the President and mails a plea that reaches Mars - did his letter make it in time? The letter he mailed to the President that got a nomination in time In this episode, we follow Charles Frank Bolden...
The letter he mailed to the President that got a nomination in time

In this episode, we follow Charles Frank Bolden Jr.’s journey from Columbia, South Carolina, through a blocked naval nomination to a presidential appeal and into the skies, tracing the decisions, training, and moments that shaped his path. What choices and chances turned a rejected seventeen-year-old into an astronaut whose voice would later be sent to Mars?

Person: Charles Frank Bolden Jr.
Date: August 28, 2012
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Event: Letter to President Lyndon B. Johnson requesting help with a naval academy nomination
Outcome detail: Nomination provided by Representative William L. Dawson of Chicago

- At 17, Bolden had the grades and drive for the U.S. Naval Academy but received no nomination from South Carolina’s delegation.
- He bypassed local politicians and mailed a letter directly to President Lyndon B. Johnson asking for assistance.
- Within weeks a military recruiter arrived at his family home and a nomination came from Representative William L. Dawson of Chicago.
- Bolden entered the Naval Academy with the class of 1968, became class president, and earned a B.S, in electrical science.
- After decade-long military aviation and test-pilot service, and recruitment efforts by Nichelle Nichols, Bolden was selected as a NASA astronaut in August 1981.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1242falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fuel-cell-pressure-that-plunged-to-65-psi-bought-them-only-one-day--74912450
The fuel-cell pressure that plunged to 65 PSI bought them only one day

In this episode, we follow the mission timeline aboard Gemini V as Cooper and Conrad confront a sudden fuel-cell pressure loss that forces NASA to re-prioritize systems and rethink the flight plan. The episode focuses on the technical failures, the decisions made in flight and on the ground, and the narrowing deadline that defines every move - how do they stretch one day into the hope of eight?

Person: Gordon Cooper
Person: Pete Conrad
Date: August 21, 1965
Event: Fuel-cell pressure drop from 850 PSI to 65 PSI
Location: Gemini V in low Earth orbit

- Launch at 9:59 AM on August 21, 1965 from a Titan II carrying two astronauts aiming for an eight-day mission.
- At T+13 seconds the rocket experienced a pogo oscillation that pushed acceleration to 0.38 g, blurring the crew's vision and thickening their voices.
- Four hours and twenty-two minutes after launch the fuel-cell pressure fell from 850 PSI and stabilized at 65 PSI, prompting Cooper to shut the cells down.
- Ground teams built and ran low-pressure tests, concluded the cells could operate at reduced pressure, and authorized an incremental restart under strict margins.
- With fuel cells at limited output, Mission Control ranked onboard systems by priority, cancelled the rendezvous pod chase, and imposed power and thermal restrictions that reshaped every procedure.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912450Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:01:43 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTTwo men in a cramped Gemini capsule watch fuel-cell pressure plunge to 65 PSI - did they make it in time? The fuel-cell pressure that plunged to 65 PSI bought them only one day In this episode, we follow the mission timeline aboard Gemini V as...
The fuel-cell pressure that plunged to 65 PSI bought them only one day

In this episode, we follow the mission timeline aboard Gemini V as Cooper and Conrad confront a sudden fuel-cell pressure loss that forces NASA to re-prioritize systems and rethink the flight plan. The episode focuses on the technical failures, the decisions made in flight and on the ground, and the narrowing deadline that defines every move - how do they stretch one day into the hope of eight?

Person: Gordon Cooper
Person: Pete Conrad
Date: August 21, 1965
Event: Fuel-cell pressure drop from 850 PSI to 65 PSI
Location: Gemini V in low Earth orbit

- Launch at 9:59 AM on August 21, 1965 from a Titan II carrying two astronauts aiming for an eight-day mission.
- At T+13 seconds the rocket experienced a pogo oscillation that pushed acceleration to 0.38 g, blurring the crew's vision and thickening their voices.
- Four hours and twenty-two minutes after launch the fuel-cell pressure fell from 850 PSI and stabilized at 65 PSI, prompting Cooper to shut the cells down.
- Ground teams built and ran low-pressure tests, concluded the cells could operate at reduced pressure, and authorized an incremental restart under strict margins.
- With fuel cells at limited output, Mission Control ranked onboard systems by priority, cancelled the rendezvous pod chase, and imposed power and thermal restrictions that reshaped every procedure.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1344falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-jammed-hatch-forced-mcdivitt-to-crank-the-gears-did-they-make-it--74912449
The jammed hatch forced McDivitt to crank the gears - did they make it?

In this episode, we follow James McDivitt and Ed White through Gemini IV’s tense hours: a failed rendezvous with a tumbling Titan stage, a risky EVA, and a jammed hatch that forces McDivitt to rely on practiced hand motions in bulky gloves. How did training, timing, and split-second decisions shape what happened next?

Person: James Alton McDivitt
Person: Edward H. White II
Event: Gemini IV EVA and hatch jam
Date: June 3-4, 1965
Location: 140-145 miles above the Pacific

- McDivitt and White flew a four-day mission that included a planned rendezvous with the tumbling Titan II upper stage.
- Repeated burns widened the gap; residual propellant pulses and orbital mechanics prevented a successful rendezvous.
- Engineers had documented a hatch-gear failure mode; McDivitt trained beforehand to force the gears by hand.
- While wearing pressurized gloves that reduced his grip, McDivitt manually operated the hatch so White could exit for the EVA.
- McDivitt photographed White during the spacewalk as White used a handheld maneuvering unit to drift away and return.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912449Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:01:50 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA jammed hatch could strand astronaut James McDivitt above the Pacific - can he crank frozen gears in time? The jammed hatch forced McDivitt to crank the gears - did they make it? In this episode, we follow James McDivitt and Ed White through...
The jammed hatch forced McDivitt to crank the gears - did they make it?

In this episode, we follow James McDivitt and Ed White through Gemini IV’s tense hours: a failed rendezvous with a tumbling Titan stage, a risky EVA, and a jammed hatch that forces McDivitt to rely on practiced hand motions in bulky gloves. How did training, timing, and split-second decisions shape what happened next?

Person: James Alton McDivitt
Person: Edward H. White II
Event: Gemini IV EVA and hatch jam
Date: June 3-4, 1965
Location: 140-145 miles above the Pacific

- McDivitt and White flew a four-day mission that included a planned rendezvous with the tumbling Titan II upper stage.
- Repeated burns widened the gap; residual propellant pulses and orbital mechanics prevented a successful rendezvous.
- Engineers had documented a hatch-gear failure mode; McDivitt trained beforehand to force the gears by hand.
- While wearing pressurized gloves that reduced his grip, McDivitt manually operated the hatch so White could exit for the EVA.
- McDivitt photographed White during the spacewalk as White used a handheld maneuvering unit to drift away and return.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1262falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-abraded-silver-wire-sparked-the-cabin-did-they-make-it-in-time--74912446
The abraded silver wire sparked the cabin-did they make it in time?

In this episode, we walk through the timeline and technical details of the January 27, 1967 plugs-out test that turned into a fatal cabin fire. We lay out the hardware, the decisions, and the moments that led up to the rupture to ask whether known risks were given enough weight.

Date: January 27, 1967
Event: plugs-out test (no fuel, pyrotechnics disabled)
Location: Command Module 012, Launch Complex 34
People: Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger Chaffee
Manufacturer: North American Aviation

- The command module arrived with a conditional airworthiness certificate listing 113 incomplete engineering changes and later accrued 623 more change orders.
- The cabin used a pure oxygen atmosphere pressurized to roughly 16.7 psi, a carryover practice from Mercury and Gemini.
- Crewmember Gus Grissom repeatedly warned about flammable materials, even hanging a lemon in the simulator as a complaint and confronting program management.
- Inside the lower-left cabin floor, a silver-plated copper wire with abraded Teflon insulation ran near a glycol coolant line that had a history of leaks.
- The plugs-out test had been running over five hours with intermittent communications when a voltage spike crossed the damaged wire and the wall ruptured seconds later.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912446Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:40:30 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA damaged silver-plated wire and a leaking glycol line ignite inside an oxygen-filled Apollo cabin - did they make it in time? The abraded silver wire sparked the cabin-did they make it in time? In this episode, we walk through the timeline and...
The abraded silver wire sparked the cabin-did they make it in time?

In this episode, we walk through the timeline and technical details of the January 27, 1967 plugs-out test that turned into a fatal cabin fire. We lay out the hardware, the decisions, and the moments that led up to the rupture to ask whether known risks were given enough weight.

Date: January 27, 1967
Event: plugs-out test (no fuel, pyrotechnics disabled)
Location: Command Module 012, Launch Complex 34
People: Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger Chaffee
Manufacturer: North American Aviation

- The command module arrived with a conditional airworthiness certificate listing 113 incomplete engineering changes and later accrued 623 more change orders.
- The cabin used a pure oxygen atmosphere pressurized to roughly 16.7 psi, a carryover practice from Mercury and Gemini.
- Crewmember Gus Grissom repeatedly warned about flammable materials, even hanging a lemon in the simulator as a complaint and confronting program management.
- Inside the lower-left cabin floor, a silver-plated copper wire with abraded Teflon insulation ran near a glycol coolant line that had a history of leaks.
- The plugs-out test had been running over five hours with intermittent communications when a voltage spike crossed the damaged wire and the wall ruptured seconds later.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1334falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-canadarm-lifted-unity-and-started-the-seven-hour-race-for-air--74912445
The Canadarm lifted Unity and started the seven‑hour race for air

In this episode, the mission of STS‑88 is presented: the shuttle Endeavour carrying Unity rendezvouses with the already-orbiting Russian module Zarya to begin the first physical assembly of the International Space Station. The episode follows the crew, the hardware and the ticking orbital clock-could forty connectors installed by two spacewalkers in seven hours be enough?

Mission: STS‑88
Date: December 4-15, 1998
Location: Low Earth orbit, ~240 miles altitude
Person: Commander Robert Cabana; Pilot Frederick Sturckow; Mission Specialists Jerry Ross, James Newman, Nancy Currie, Sergei Krikalev
Object: Unity (Node One) and Zarya (Dawn)

- Unity arrived at Kennedy Space Center June 23, 1997 and sat sealed with placards pointing to unbuilt corridors.
- Zarya launched from Baikonur on a Proton in November 1998 and began orbiting before Endeavour lifted.
- Endeavour launched December 4, 1998 at 03:35:34 with a six‑person crew tasked to rendezvous and connect two modules.
- Nancy Currie operated the Canadarm to lift Unity from the shuttle bay while Ross and Newman prepared for multiple spacewalks.
- The assembly depended on two suited astronauts installing forty connectors and cables during a roughly seven‑hour EVA while orbital timing grew tighter each revolution.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912445Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:40:26 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Canadarm lifts a U.S. node toward a lone Russian module 240 miles up - six crew race a shrinking window. Did they make it in time? The Canadarm lifted Unity and started the seven‑hour race for air In this episode, the mission of STS‑88 is...
The Canadarm lifted Unity and started the seven‑hour race for air

In this episode, the mission of STS‑88 is presented: the shuttle Endeavour carrying Unity rendezvouses with the already-orbiting Russian module Zarya to begin the first physical assembly of the International Space Station. The episode follows the crew, the hardware and the ticking orbital clock-could forty connectors installed by two spacewalkers in seven hours be enough?

Mission: STS‑88
Date: December 4-15, 1998
Location: Low Earth orbit, ~240 miles altitude
Person: Commander Robert Cabana; Pilot Frederick Sturckow; Mission Specialists Jerry Ross, James Newman, Nancy Currie, Sergei Krikalev
Object: Unity (Node One) and Zarya (Dawn)

- Unity arrived at Kennedy Space Center June 23, 1997 and sat sealed with placards pointing to unbuilt corridors.
- Zarya launched from Baikonur on a Proton in November 1998 and began orbiting before Endeavour lifted.
- Endeavour launched December 4, 1998 at 03:35:34 with a six‑person crew tasked to rendezvous and connect two modules.
- Nancy Currie operated the Canadarm to lift Unity from the shuttle bay while Ross and Newman prepared for multiple spacewalks.
- The assembly depended on two suited astronauts installing forty connectors and cables during a roughly seven‑hour EVA while orbital timing grew tighter each revolution.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1171falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-puncture-in-apt-s-glove-leaked-for-six-hours-did-they-make-it--74912441
The puncture in Apt's glove leaked for six hours - did they make it?

In this episode, we follow the tense contingency EVA on STS-37 when Jerome Apt and Jerry Ross went outside Atlantis to fix the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory’s stuck antenna. The story traces the decisions, equipment, and timing that led to a hidden puncture in Apt’s right glove and asks how close the mission came to catastrophe.

Person: Jerome Apt
Event: STS-37 contingency EVA to deploy Compton Gamma Ray Observatory antenna
Date: April 7, 1991
Location: Space Shuttle Atlantis, low Earth orbit
Duration outside: 5 hours 57 minutes

- Ground controllers at Goddard sent six commands to deploy the observatory’s high-gain antenna; none moved it.
- Engineers used the Canadarm to shake the antenna boom from the cargo bay before calling a contingency EVA.
- Neither Apt nor Ross had performed an in-flight EVA before; both trained in the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator.
- A technician later found a puncture in the pressure bladder of Apt’s right glove during postflight equipment inspection.
- The glove’s breach was sealed during the mission by the hand’s position and a thin silk comfort liner, not a backup system or an alarm.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912441Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:40:22 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTJerome Apt floats outside Atlantis with a punctured glove for nearly six hours during a contingency EVA - did they make it in time? The puncture in Apt's glove leaked for six hours - did they make it? In this episode, we follow the tense...
The puncture in Apt's glove leaked for six hours - did they make it?

In this episode, we follow the tense contingency EVA on STS-37 when Jerome Apt and Jerry Ross went outside Atlantis to fix the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory’s stuck antenna. The story traces the decisions, equipment, and timing that led to a hidden puncture in Apt’s right glove and asks how close the mission came to catastrophe.

Person: Jerome Apt
Event: STS-37 contingency EVA to deploy Compton Gamma Ray Observatory antenna
Date: April 7, 1991
Location: Space Shuttle Atlantis, low Earth orbit
Duration outside: 5 hours 57 minutes

- Ground controllers at Goddard sent six commands to deploy the observatory’s high-gain antenna; none moved it.
- Engineers used the Canadarm to shake the antenna boom from the cargo bay before calling a contingency EVA.
- Neither Apt nor Ross had performed an in-flight EVA before; both trained in the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator.
- A technician later found a puncture in the pressure bladder of Apt’s right glove during postflight equipment inspection.
- The glove’s breach was sealed during the mission by the hand’s position and a thin silk comfort liner, not a backup system or an alarm.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1220falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-spacecraft-burned-an-extra-minute-of-fuel-did-it-reach-toutatis--74912440
The spacecraft burned an extra minute of fuel - did it reach Toutatis?

In this episode, we follow a near-miss between a repurposed Chinese spacecraft and a seven-kilometer contact binary that had been lost to science for fifty-five years. The story traces the asteroid’s rediscovery, its chaotic orbit driven by resonances with Earth and Jupiter, and the narrowing window of certainty that makes every close approach a high-stakes calculation - did the spacecraft make contact in time?

Date: December 13, 2012
Person: Christian Pollas
Designation: 1934 CT / 1989 AC (Toutatis)
Size: 7 kilometers (contact binary)
Lyapunov horizon: ~50 years

- A faint streak on a 1934 glass plate received the provisional designation 1934 CT and then disappeared from observations.
- In 1989, Christian Pollas recovered the object at the Caussols observatory and it was later named Toutatis.
- Toutatis is an Apollo-group, Mars-crossing asteroid in a 4:1 resonance with Earth and 3:1 with Jupiter, creating chaotic orbital behavior.
- The Lyapunov horizon for Toutatis, including terrestrial planets, is about fifty years, after which small orbital uncertainties grow exponentially.
- On December 13, 2012, a Chinese spacecraft passed 3.2 kilometers from the tumbling rock after being repurposed to approach an object it was never designed to encounter.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912440Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:40:18 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Chinese spacecraft burned extra fuel during a close pass of asteroid Toutatis - did the flyby actually reach Toutatis? The spacecraft burned an extra minute of fuel - did it reach Toutatis? In this episode, we follow a near-miss between a...
The spacecraft burned an extra minute of fuel - did it reach Toutatis?

In this episode, we follow a near-miss between a repurposed Chinese spacecraft and a seven-kilometer contact binary that had been lost to science for fifty-five years. The story traces the asteroid’s rediscovery, its chaotic orbit driven by resonances with Earth and Jupiter, and the narrowing window of certainty that makes every close approach a high-stakes calculation - did the spacecraft make contact in time?

Date: December 13, 2012
Person: Christian Pollas
Designation: 1934 CT / 1989 AC (Toutatis)
Size: 7 kilometers (contact binary)
Lyapunov horizon: ~50 years

- A faint streak on a 1934 glass plate received the provisional designation 1934 CT and then disappeared from observations.
- In 1989, Christian Pollas recovered the object at the Caussols observatory and it was later named Toutatis.
- Toutatis is an Apollo-group, Mars-crossing asteroid in a 4:1 resonance with Earth and 3:1 with Jupiter, creating chaotic orbital behavior.
- The Lyapunov horizon for Toutatis, including terrestrial planets, is about fifty years, after which small orbital uncertainties grow exponentially.
- On December 13, 2012, a Chinese spacecraft passed 3.2 kilometers from the tumbling rock after being repurposed to approach an object it was never designed to encounter.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1476falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-last-signal-that-died-forty-five-seconds-before-impact-did-it-make-earth--74912437
The last signal that died forty-five seconds before impact-did it make Earth?

In this episode, we follow the mission arc of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft from its planning and political fights through its twenty-year journey to Saturn and the deliberate decision to end it in Saturn's atmosphere. The episode covers the technical risks, the human stakes, and the choices that led engineers to plan a controlled destruction - but what drove them to that final signal and decision?

Person: Cassini-Huygens spacecraft
Date: September 15, 2017, 11:55:46 UTC
Distance: 1,400,000,000 kilometers
Mass at launch: 5,600 kilograms
Plutonium: 33 kilograms in three RTGs

- Two agencies, NASA and ESA, began joint studies in 1984 and assigned the orbiter and probe the names Cassini and Huygens.
- The spacecraft measured 6.8 meters tall, carried 14 kilometers of wiring, and hosted 12 scientific instruments including synthetic aperture radar.
- Solar power was impossible at Saturn; mission power came from three RTGs containing 33 kg of plutonium dioxide.
- Budget fights in 1992 and 1994 nearly canceled the mission; ESA’s 15% funding commitment kept it alive.
- Cassini used gravity assists - two near-Venus flybys, Earth, and Jupiter - to reach Saturn without extra propellant.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912437Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:40:14 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA spacecraft sent a final signal one billion four hundred million kilometers from Earth - did Cassini make it? The last signal that died forty-five seconds before impact-did it make Earth? In this episode, we follow the mission arc of the...
The last signal that died forty-five seconds before impact-did it make Earth?

In this episode, we follow the mission arc of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft from its planning and political fights through its twenty-year journey to Saturn and the deliberate decision to end it in Saturn's atmosphere. The episode covers the technical risks, the human stakes, and the choices that led engineers to plan a controlled destruction - but what drove them to that final signal and decision?

Person: Cassini-Huygens spacecraft
Date: September 15, 2017, 11:55:46 UTC
Distance: 1,400,000,000 kilometers
Mass at launch: 5,600 kilograms
Plutonium: 33 kilograms in three RTGs

- Two agencies, NASA and ESA, began joint studies in 1984 and assigned the orbiter and probe the names Cassini and Huygens.
- The spacecraft measured 6.8 meters tall, carried 14 kilometers of wiring, and hosted 12 scientific instruments including synthetic aperture radar.
- Solar power was impossible at Saturn; mission power came from three RTGs containing 33 kg of plutonium dioxide.
- Budget fights in 1992 and 1994 nearly canceled the mission; ESA’s 15% funding commitment kept it alive.
- Cassini used gravity assists - two near-Venus flybys, Earth, and Jupiter - to reach Saturn without extra propellant.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1222falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-funding-vote-that-stalled-okeanos-before-it-ever-launched--74912435
The funding vote that stalled OKEANOS before it ever launched

In this episode, we walk through the OKEANOS mission concept, its engineering roots in IKAROS, and the funding timeline that decided its fate. What did the proposal promise to learn about Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, and how did a single budget vote alter that trajectory?

Person: Project team at JAXA's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Date: Funding vote April 2019; IKAROS separation May 21, 2010; IKAROS sail deployed July 2010
Location: Jupiter Trojan asteroids (L4 and L5); mission concept at JAXA
Topic: OKEANOS solar-sail sample-return mission concept

- IKAROS demonstrated attitude-controlled solar-sail flight using a 14 m polyimide membrane with liquid-crystal panels to vary reflectivity.
- OKEANOS was designed as an oversized solar sail mission (1,600 m²) scaled from IKAROS to reach, orbit, and return samples from Jupiter’s Trojan swarms.
- The mission shifted from being a Europa-Jupiter companion to a standalone Trojan sample-return after the original Laplace mission was canceled.
- Scientists argued a returned Trojan sample would provide isotopic and volatile chemistry (e.g., hydrogen-to-deuterium ratios) to distinguish competing formation hypotheses.
- The project’s critical clock was the funding cycle; despite detailed peer-reviewed designs and mass/watt accounting, a budget decision in April 2019 halted construction.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912435Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:40:11 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA hundred-meter-class solar sail and a team racing a funding deadline to bring back the first Trojan asteroid samples - did they make it in time? The funding vote that stalled OKEANOS before it ever launched In this episode, we walk through the...
The funding vote that stalled OKEANOS before it ever launched

In this episode, we walk through the OKEANOS mission concept, its engineering roots in IKAROS, and the funding timeline that decided its fate. What did the proposal promise to learn about Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, and how did a single budget vote alter that trajectory?

Person: Project team at JAXA's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Date: Funding vote April 2019; IKAROS separation May 21, 2010; IKAROS sail deployed July 2010
Location: Jupiter Trojan asteroids (L4 and L5); mission concept at JAXA
Topic: OKEANOS solar-sail sample-return mission concept

- IKAROS demonstrated attitude-controlled solar-sail flight using a 14 m polyimide membrane with liquid-crystal panels to vary reflectivity.
- OKEANOS was designed as an oversized solar sail mission (1,600 m²) scaled from IKAROS to reach, orbit, and return samples from Jupiter’s Trojan swarms.
- The mission shifted from being a Europa-Jupiter companion to a standalone Trojan sample-return after the original Laplace mission was canceled.
- Scientists argued a returned Trojan sample would provide isotopic and volatile chemistry (e.g., hydrogen-to-deuterium ratios) to distinguish competing formation hypotheses.
- The project’s critical clock was the funding cycle; despite detailed peer-reviewed designs and mass/watt accounting, a budget decision in April 2019 halted construction.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1471falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/meters-of-air-how-a-missile-turned-space-into-shrapnel--74912432
Meters of Air: How a Missile Turned Space Into Shrapnel

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led a forty-year-old defunct satellite to become a dense debris field and the operational choices that put crewed stations in its path. What decisions and technologies turned a passive object into an active hazard, and how close did the ISS come to catastrophe?

Person: Kosmos-1408
Date: November 15, 2021; January 18, 2022
Location: Low Earth Orbit; Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Event: Russian direct-ascent antisatellite missile strike
Status: Satellite destroyed; 1,790 catalogued fragments

- A 1,750 kg Tselina-derived signals-intelligence satellite launched in 1982 and operated beyond its six-month design life before going silent with no propulsion.
- Kosmos-1408 remained in a roughly 645-679 km, 82.5° inclination orbit for 39 years, crossing the ISS orbital band thousands of times.
- At ~02:50 UTC on Nov 15, 2021, a Nudol (A-235) missile launched from Plesetsk and struck the inert satellite, fragmenting it into at least 1,790 trackable pieces.
- Radar and commercial trackers (Numerica, Slingshot Aerospace, LeoLabs) reported the primary fragment count within hours while noting many smaller, untrackable shards likely remained.
- On Jan 18, 2022, two objects in that debris field passed within 14.5 meters of one another while traveling at nearly 7 km/s, underscoring the persistent collision risk.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912432Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:40:06 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA dead Soviet satellite and a Russian missile clash near the ISS, sending shrapnel into orbit - did they make it through? Meters of Air: How a Missile Turned Space Into Shrapnel In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led a...
Meters of Air: How a Missile Turned Space Into Shrapnel

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led a forty-year-old defunct satellite to become a dense debris field and the operational choices that put crewed stations in its path. What decisions and technologies turned a passive object into an active hazard, and how close did the ISS come to catastrophe?

Person: Kosmos-1408
Date: November 15, 2021; January 18, 2022
Location: Low Earth Orbit; Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Event: Russian direct-ascent antisatellite missile strike
Status: Satellite destroyed; 1,790 catalogued fragments

- A 1,750 kg Tselina-derived signals-intelligence satellite launched in 1982 and operated beyond its six-month design life before going silent with no propulsion.
- Kosmos-1408 remained in a roughly 645-679 km, 82.5° inclination orbit for 39 years, crossing the ISS orbital band thousands of times.
- At ~02:50 UTC on Nov 15, 2021, a Nudol (A-235) missile launched from Plesetsk and struck the inert satellite, fragmenting it into at least 1,790 trackable pieces.
- Radar and commercial trackers (Numerica, Slingshot Aerospace, LeoLabs) reported the primary fragment count within hours while noting many smaller, untrackable shards likely remained.
- On Jan 18, 2022, two objects in that debris field passed within 14.5 meters of one another while traveling at nearly 7 km/s, underscoring the persistent collision risk.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1274falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-thirty-seven-foot-approach-that-left-no-room-for-error--74912430
The thirty-seven-foot approach that left no room for error

In this episode, we follow James Wetherbee’s path from carrier decks to the left seat of Space Shuttle missions and the moment he flew Discovery to within thirty-seven feet of Mir. We trace the preparations, the risks of orbital proximity at reentry speeds, and the decisions that defined those approaches - how do you execute perfection when there is no second chance?

Person: James Wetherbee Wetherbee
Date: February 1995
Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Event: Thirty-seven-foot approach to Mir
Background: 125 night carrier landings; 5 shuttle command landings

- Wetherbee began as a Naval Aviator, flying the A-7E from 1977-1980 and logging 125 night carrier landings.
- He accumulated over 7,000 flight hours across 20 aircraft types and 345 total carrier landings before joining NASA in 1984.
- His first shuttle flight was as pilot on STS-32 aboard Columbia (Jan 9, 1990), a mission that retrieved the Long Duration Exposure Facility.
- He commanded Columbia on STS-52 (Oct 1992) before taking the left seat for Discovery on STS-63 (Feb 1995).
- On STS-63, Discovery closed to thirty-seven feet of Mir for a historic, non-docking station-keeping maneuver that required split-second precision.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912430Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:40:01 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA commander inches Discovery to station-keep thirty-seven feet over Mir - one wrong input means collision - did they make it in time? The thirty-seven-foot approach that left no room for error In this episode, we follow James Wetherbee’s path...
The thirty-seven-foot approach that left no room for error

In this episode, we follow James Wetherbee’s path from carrier decks to the left seat of Space Shuttle missions and the moment he flew Discovery to within thirty-seven feet of Mir. We trace the preparations, the risks of orbital proximity at reentry speeds, and the decisions that defined those approaches - how do you execute perfection when there is no second chance?

Person: James Wetherbee Wetherbee
Date: February 1995
Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Event: Thirty-seven-foot approach to Mir
Background: 125 night carrier landings; 5 shuttle command landings

- Wetherbee began as a Naval Aviator, flying the A-7E from 1977-1980 and logging 125 night carrier landings.
- He accumulated over 7,000 flight hours across 20 aircraft types and 345 total carrier landings before joining NASA in 1984.
- His first shuttle flight was as pilot on STS-32 aboard Columbia (Jan 9, 1990), a mission that retrieved the Long Duration Exposure Facility.
- He commanded Columbia on STS-52 (Oct 1992) before taking the left seat for Discovery on STS-63 (Feb 1995).
- On STS-63, Discovery closed to thirty-seven feet of Mir for a historic, non-docking station-keeping maneuver that required split-second precision.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1082falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-thirty-seven-diary-pages-fell-from-orbit-did-they-land-in-time--74912428
The thirty-seven diary pages fell from orbit - did they land in time?

In this episode, we follow the facts of a shuttle disaster and the puzzling fate of personal objects taken into orbit. The story traces what Ramon brought with him, what returned, and the questions those choices raise about memory and loss.

Person: Ilan Ramon
Date: February 1, 2003
Location: East Texas and debris field across Texas and Louisiana
Event: Space Shuttle Columbia breakup during STS-107 mission
Object: Thirty-seven pages of Ramon’s handwritten diary recovered

- Ramon trained nearly five years at Johnson Space Center and flew as a payload specialist on STS-107 with a multispectral camera for desert aerosol research.
- He carried a portable archive: a miniature Torah from Bergen-Belsen, a microfiche Torah, a barbed-wire mezuzah, a dollar from Rabbi Schneerson, and Petr Ginz’s Moon Landscape drawing.
- The shuttle disintegrated during reentry at roughly eighteen times the speed of sound; about forty percent of the shuttle’s contents were recovered from a vast debris field.
- Thirty-seven water-stained, microbe-damaged pages of Ramon’s diary survived extreme heat and freezing air and were later examined by forensic specialists at the Israel Museum.
- The curator who began restoring the pages said existing physical laws could not readily explain why the diary pages survived while other items, including Ginz’s drawing, did not.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912428Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:58 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTAboard Columbia, Ilan Ramon watched diary pages fall from 60 km above East Texas - a single archive survives; did they land in time? The thirty-seven diary pages fell from orbit - did they land in time? In this episode, we follow the facts of a...
The thirty-seven diary pages fell from orbit - did they land in time?

In this episode, we follow the facts of a shuttle disaster and the puzzling fate of personal objects taken into orbit. The story traces what Ramon brought with him, what returned, and the questions those choices raise about memory and loss.

Person: Ilan Ramon
Date: February 1, 2003
Location: East Texas and debris field across Texas and Louisiana
Event: Space Shuttle Columbia breakup during STS-107 mission
Object: Thirty-seven pages of Ramon’s handwritten diary recovered

- Ramon trained nearly five years at Johnson Space Center and flew as a payload specialist on STS-107 with a multispectral camera for desert aerosol research.
- He carried a portable archive: a miniature Torah from Bergen-Belsen, a microfiche Torah, a barbed-wire mezuzah, a dollar from Rabbi Schneerson, and Petr Ginz’s Moon Landscape drawing.
- The shuttle disintegrated during reentry at roughly eighteen times the speed of sound; about forty percent of the shuttle’s contents were recovered from a vast debris field.
- Thirty-seven water-stained, microbe-damaged pages of Ramon’s diary survived extreme heat and freezing air and were later examined by forensic specialists at the Israel Museum.
- The curator who began restoring the pages said existing physical laws could not readily explain why the diary pages survived while other items, including Ginz’s drawing, did not.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1232falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fuel-gauge-that-forced-a-last-minute-docking-decision--74912427
The fuel gauge that forced a last-minute docking decision

In this episode, the story follows a shuttle crew and the ISS commander as they face an unexpected fuel-gauge failure during rendezvous and must decide whether to attempt docking. It traces the technical choices, crew roles, and the procedural pressure of making a split-second call in orbit-what do they risk to try?

Date: November 7, 2007
Person: Pamela Ann Ann
Event: Shuttle rendezvous and docking decision
Location: 220 miles above Earth
Mission: STS-92 / STS-112 (missions referenced in career timeline)

- Two spacecraft, Discovery and the International Space Station, close enough that crews could see each other through the windows during rendezvous.
- For the first time, two women held simultaneous command of crewed vehicles in orbit at the moment of rendezvous.
- Pamela Ann’s flight experience included KC-10 tanker combat hours, test pilot school, and roles on assembly missions STS-92 and STS-112.
- Ann led the Columbia Reconstruction Team and served as deputy project manager on the crew survival investigation before returning to flight status.
- The crews faced a fuel-gauge anomaly during final approach that required an unplanned, last-minute docking decision under strict procedural constraints.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912427Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:54 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA shuttle pilot spots a faulty fuel gauge during final approach to the ISS, forcing an urgent, last-minute docking decision-did they make it in time? The fuel gauge that forced a last-minute docking decision In this episode, the story follows a...
The fuel gauge that forced a last-minute docking decision

In this episode, the story follows a shuttle crew and the ISS commander as they face an unexpected fuel-gauge failure during rendezvous and must decide whether to attempt docking. It traces the technical choices, crew roles, and the procedural pressure of making a split-second call in orbit-what do they risk to try?

Date: November 7, 2007
Person: Pamela Ann Ann
Event: Shuttle rendezvous and docking decision
Location: 220 miles above Earth
Mission: STS-92 / STS-112 (missions referenced in career timeline)

- Two spacecraft, Discovery and the International Space Station, close enough that crews could see each other through the windows during rendezvous.
- For the first time, two women held simultaneous command of crewed vehicles in orbit at the moment of rendezvous.
- Pamela Ann’s flight experience included KC-10 tanker combat hours, test pilot school, and roles on assembly missions STS-92 and STS-112.
- Ann led the Columbia Reconstruction Team and served as deputy project manager on the crew survival investigation before returning to flight status.
- The crews faced a fuel-gauge anomaly during final approach that required an unplanned, last-minute docking decision under strict procedural constraints.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1218falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-nasa-instrument-that-waited-in-the-tent-ran-out-of-its-mission-clock--74912423
The NASA instrument that waited in the tent ran out of its mission clock

In this episode, we follow the life and last climb of Karl Gordon Henize, tracing his path from a farm in Ohio to the Space Shuttle and back toward the mountain he loved. We present the people, decisions, and logistics that put a piece of NASA hardware inside a nylon shelter at the edge of the atmosphere and ask what happened next.

Person: Karl Gordon Henize
Date: July 29, 1985 (Space Shuttle flight STS-51-F)
Location: Tent at 22,000 feet on the north face of Everest
Event: NASA instrument carried to mountain but never used
Occupation: Astronomer, Astronaut

- He built his own telescopes as a boy on a dairy farm outside Cincinnati and earned a Boy Scout astronomy merit badge.
- Academic path: B.A, in Mathematics (1947), M.S, in Astronomy (1948), Ph.D, in Astronomy (1954), then observatory and university research positions.
- Passed NASA’s age cutoff when first applying, reapplied after the age limit was abolished, and was selected as a scientist-astronaut at age 40.
- Flew as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle Challenger, STS-51-F (Spacelab-2) on July 29, 1985, after 18 years of waiting.
- He carried a flight-built NASA instrument to a high-altitude tent on Everest, where the device remained unused while he died twelve days before his 67th birthday.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912423Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:50 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA NASA engineer hauls an unused flight instrument to a tent on Everest - did they make it in time? The NASA instrument that waited in the tent ran out of its mission clock In this episode, we follow the life and last climb of Karl Gordon Henize,...
The NASA instrument that waited in the tent ran out of its mission clock

In this episode, we follow the life and last climb of Karl Gordon Henize, tracing his path from a farm in Ohio to the Space Shuttle and back toward the mountain he loved. We present the people, decisions, and logistics that put a piece of NASA hardware inside a nylon shelter at the edge of the atmosphere and ask what happened next.

Person: Karl Gordon Henize
Date: July 29, 1985 (Space Shuttle flight STS-51-F)
Location: Tent at 22,000 feet on the north face of Everest
Event: NASA instrument carried to mountain but never used
Occupation: Astronomer, Astronaut

- He built his own telescopes as a boy on a dairy farm outside Cincinnati and earned a Boy Scout astronomy merit badge.
- Academic path: B.A, in Mathematics (1947), M.S, in Astronomy (1948), Ph.D, in Astronomy (1954), then observatory and university research positions.
- Passed NASA’s age cutoff when first applying, reapplied after the age limit was abolished, and was selected as a scientist-astronaut at age 40.
- Flew as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle Challenger, STS-51-F (Spacelab-2) on July 29, 1985, after 18 years of waiting.
- He carried a flight-built NASA instrument to a high-altitude tent on Everest, where the device remained unused while he died twelve days before his 67th birthday.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1253falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-final-draco-frame-froze-did-liciacube-reach-dimorphos-in-time--74912422
The final DRACO frame froze - did LICIACube reach Dimorphos in time?

In this episode, we follow the last minutes before impact: the solitary DRACO camera transmitting three-centimeter-per-pixel imagery, LICIACube separating to capture a brief flyby, and the race to measure how a kinetic impact altered an asteroid's orbit. What crucial evidence might be hidden in that final frame, and could LICIACube get the shots needed?

Person: Mission - DART
Date: Impact - September 26, 2022
Location: Dimorphos (Didymos system)
Instrument: DRACO camera
Companion: LICIACube CubeSat

- DRACO was DART's only scientific instrument, sending images until the transmission stopped.
- LICIACube separated 15 days before impact and had only minutes of flyby time to image the event.
- Didymos is a binary asteroid; Dimorphos is ~160 meters across and orbits its primary every 11 hours, 55 minutes.
- DART struck at about 22,530 km/h to change Dimorphos’s orbit so ground telescopes could detect the shift.
- During cruise, DART’s ion thruster drew ~100 amperes-four times the expected current-raising concerns but not halting the mission.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912422Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:46 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA vending-machine-sized spacecraft slams into Dimorphos with only a tiny Italian CubeSat watching - did LICIACube get close enough to record it? The final DRACO frame froze - did LICIACube reach Dimorphos in time? In this episode, we follow the...
The final DRACO frame froze - did LICIACube reach Dimorphos in time?

In this episode, we follow the last minutes before impact: the solitary DRACO camera transmitting three-centimeter-per-pixel imagery, LICIACube separating to capture a brief flyby, and the race to measure how a kinetic impact altered an asteroid's orbit. What crucial evidence might be hidden in that final frame, and could LICIACube get the shots needed?

Person: Mission - DART
Date: Impact - September 26, 2022
Location: Dimorphos (Didymos system)
Instrument: DRACO camera
Companion: LICIACube CubeSat

- DRACO was DART's only scientific instrument, sending images until the transmission stopped.
- LICIACube separated 15 days before impact and had only minutes of flyby time to image the event.
- Didymos is a binary asteroid; Dimorphos is ~160 meters across and orbits its primary every 11 hours, 55 minutes.
- DART struck at about 22,530 km/h to change Dimorphos’s orbit so ground telescopes could detect the shift.
- During cruise, DART’s ion thruster drew ~100 amperes-four times the expected current-raising concerns but not halting the mission.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1276falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-tracking-relay-satellite-that-bought-them-time--74912420
The Tracking Relay Satellite That Bought Them Time

In this episode, we follow Michael Allen Baker’s path from carrier decks to the commander’s seat of Atlantis and into the awkward cooperation of Shuttle‑Mir. It traces the technical, procedural, and cultural steps he took to make high‑stakes joint operations work - and asks what it took to keep everything calm and functional in orbit.

Person: Michael Allen Baker
Date: January 12, 1997
Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis
Mission: Shuttle‑Mir resupply
Posting: Director of Operations, Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

- Baker logged 5,400 flight hours across roughly 50 aircraft types before becoming an astronaut.
- After Challenger, his first NASA assignment redesigned shuttle landing and deceleration systems.
- He served as CAPCOM for eleven missions, becoming the clear, calm voice from Mission Control.
- As pilot he flew STS-43 and STS-52, deploying TDRS and LAGEOS-II and testing critical technologies.
- He spent seven months at Star City in 1995 coordinating operations between NASA and the Russian program.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912420Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:42 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Navy pilot turned shuttle commander ferries supplies to a Russian station-can his quiet discipline keep a risky partnership intact? The Tracking Relay Satellite That Bought Them Time In this episode, we follow Michael Allen Baker’s path from...
The Tracking Relay Satellite That Bought Them Time

In this episode, we follow Michael Allen Baker’s path from carrier decks to the commander’s seat of Atlantis and into the awkward cooperation of Shuttle‑Mir. It traces the technical, procedural, and cultural steps he took to make high‑stakes joint operations work - and asks what it took to keep everything calm and functional in orbit.

Person: Michael Allen Baker
Date: January 12, 1997
Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis
Mission: Shuttle‑Mir resupply
Posting: Director of Operations, Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

- Baker logged 5,400 flight hours across roughly 50 aircraft types before becoming an astronaut.
- After Challenger, his first NASA assignment redesigned shuttle landing and deceleration systems.
- He served as CAPCOM for eleven missions, becoming the clear, calm voice from Mission Control.
- As pilot he flew STS-43 and STS-52, deploying TDRS and LAGEOS-II and testing critical technologies.
- He spent seven months at Star City in 1995 coordinating operations between NASA and the Russian program.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1183falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-urine-collector-leaked-and-started-a-fourteen-day-survival-clock--74912419
The urine collector leaked and started a fourteen‑day survival clock

In this episode, we follow the tight, methodical preparations and improvisations that shaped a high‑stakes Gemini mission. The story traces how routine training, design choices, and an unexpected equipment failure turned a planned endurance test into a live experiment in cramped survival and orbital rendezvous-what decisions did the crew and NASA make as problems stacked up?

Person: Frank Borman
Person: Jim Lovell
Date: December 4, 1965
Event: Gemini Seven fourteen‑day mission and rendezvous plan change
Problem: Urine collection device failure and leak on day two

- Two astronauts confined to about the volume of a car's front seat for fourteen days as part of a human endurance test in orbit.
- Extensive preflight routines included medicated shampoo and rehearsed waste‑packing techniques to cope with prolonged close quarters.
- An Agena target vehicle exploded on October 25, 1965, forcing NASA to redesign the plan so Gemini Seven would act as the passive rendezvous target.
- Gemini Seven launched December 4, 1965, reached a near‑circular orbit around 162 nautical miles, and was expected to maintain that orbit without correction.
- On mission day two the urine collection device failed and leaked, forcing the crew to clean, repack, and improvise solutions inside the confined capsule.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912419Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:38 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTTwo men float one foot apart in orbit as a leaking urine collector starts a fourteen‑day survival clock-can they last long enough for rendezvous? The urine collector leaked and started a fourteen‑day survival clock In this episode, we follow the...
The urine collector leaked and started a fourteen‑day survival clock

In this episode, we follow the tight, methodical preparations and improvisations that shaped a high‑stakes Gemini mission. The story traces how routine training, design choices, and an unexpected equipment failure turned a planned endurance test into a live experiment in cramped survival and orbital rendezvous-what decisions did the crew and NASA make as problems stacked up?

Person: Frank Borman
Person: Jim Lovell
Date: December 4, 1965
Event: Gemini Seven fourteen‑day mission and rendezvous plan change
Problem: Urine collection device failure and leak on day two

- Two astronauts confined to about the volume of a car's front seat for fourteen days as part of a human endurance test in orbit.
- Extensive preflight routines included medicated shampoo and rehearsed waste‑packing techniques to cope with prolonged close quarters.
- An Agena target vehicle exploded on October 25, 1965, forcing NASA to redesign the plan so Gemini Seven would act as the passive rendezvous target.
- Gemini Seven launched December 4, 1965, reached a near‑circular orbit around 162 nautical miles, and was expected to maintain that orbit without correction.
- On mission day two the urine collection device failed and leaked, forcing the crew to clean, repack, and improvise solutions inside the confined capsule.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1362falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cassette-tape-cued-a-woman-s-voice-did-they-make-reentry--74912416
The cassette tape cued a woman's voice - did they make reentry?

In this episode, we follow the setup and unfolding of a long-gestating prank recorded before launch and played during Skylab Three’s fifty-one-day mission. The episode traces Owen Garriott’s life, training, and the exacting patience behind timing a cassette to catch Mission Control off guard - but will the timing work as planned?

Person: Owen Kay Garriott
Person: Helen Mary Walker Garriott
Person: Date: September 10, 1973; November 22, 1930
Event: Playback of prerecorded cassette during Skylab Three mission
Location: Mission Control, Houston

- Owen Garriott carried a small audio cassette aboard Skylab, recorded by his wife, Helen, before launch.
- Helen’s taped lines described fires below, a sunrise above the atmosphere, and a casual apology to CapCom Robert Crippen addressing him by name.
- Garriott spent fifty-one days timing the prank, synchronizing the tape to a morning pass when Mission Control’s CapCom would be Robert Crippen.
- Garriott’s background in ionospheric physics and radio communications shaped how he planned the tape’s transmission and reception.
- The playback occurred during a standard communication pass on September 10, 1973, while the three-man Skylab crew followed their orbital routine.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912416Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:33 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA woman's voice comes from a capsule with no woman aboard, and a tape from Earth forces ground and crew to ask: did they make reentry? The cassette tape cued a woman's voice - did they make reentry? In this episode, we follow the setup and...
The cassette tape cued a woman's voice - did they make reentry?

In this episode, we follow the setup and unfolding of a long-gestating prank recorded before launch and played during Skylab Three’s fifty-one-day mission. The episode traces Owen Garriott’s life, training, and the exacting patience behind timing a cassette to catch Mission Control off guard - but will the timing work as planned?

Person: Owen Kay Garriott
Person: Helen Mary Walker Garriott
Person: Date: September 10, 1973; November 22, 1930
Event: Playback of prerecorded cassette during Skylab Three mission
Location: Mission Control, Houston

- Owen Garriott carried a small audio cassette aboard Skylab, recorded by his wife, Helen, before launch.
- Helen’s taped lines described fires below, a sunrise above the atmosphere, and a casual apology to CapCom Robert Crippen addressing him by name.
- Garriott spent fifty-one days timing the prank, synchronizing the tape to a morning pass when Mission Control’s CapCom would be Robert Crippen.
- Garriott’s background in ionospheric physics and radio communications shaped how he planned the tape’s transmission and reception.
- The playback occurred during a standard communication pass on September 10, 1973, while the three-man Skylab crew followed their orbital routine.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1028falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-t-minus-31-clock-freeze-stalled-the-last-shuttle-s-only-rescue-window--74912415
The T‑minus‑31 clock freeze stalled the last shuttle's only rescue window

In this episode, we follow the final countdown on Launch Pad 39A and the cascade of engineering and policy choices that framed the last Space Shuttle flight. The episode traces how decades-old hardware, delayed funding, and a reduced four‑person crew created a single narrow rescue window - and asks whether the teams could meet it.

Event: T‑minus‑31 clock freeze
Mission: STS‑135 (final flight) with Atlantis
Crew: Christopher Ferguson; Doug Hurley; Sandy Magnus; Rex Walheim
Contingency: STS‑335 rescue mission (authorized but unfunded until Feb 2011)
Hardware detail: ET‑122 damaged in Hurricane Katrina; ET‑138 flown instead

- Every onboard clock stopped at thirty‑one seconds before liftoff on Launch Pad 39A.
- NASA cut the crew to four so they could survive aboard the ISS long enough for a possible rescue.
- STS‑335 existed as a contingency in law before it had budgeted funding or a clear hardware plan.
- Four Sokol pressure suits were custom‑fitted and stowed aboard the station in case Americans had to evacuate via Soyuz.
- Atlantis launched with a left solid‑rocket‑booster cylinder that first flew on STS‑1 and an external tank swap driven by Katrina damage and long program timelines.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912415Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:30 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTAt T‑minus‑31 seconds every clock on Launch Pad 39A froze and the last shuttle’s rescue window hung on a single decision-did they have time to fix it? The T‑minus‑31 clock freeze stalled the last shuttle's only rescue window In this episode, we...
The T‑minus‑31 clock freeze stalled the last shuttle's only rescue window

In this episode, we follow the final countdown on Launch Pad 39A and the cascade of engineering and policy choices that framed the last Space Shuttle flight. The episode traces how decades-old hardware, delayed funding, and a reduced four‑person crew created a single narrow rescue window - and asks whether the teams could meet it.

Event: T‑minus‑31 clock freeze
Mission: STS‑135 (final flight) with Atlantis
Crew: Christopher Ferguson; Doug Hurley; Sandy Magnus; Rex Walheim
Contingency: STS‑335 rescue mission (authorized but unfunded until Feb 2011)
Hardware detail: ET‑122 damaged in Hurricane Katrina; ET‑138 flown instead

- Every onboard clock stopped at thirty‑one seconds before liftoff on Launch Pad 39A.
- NASA cut the crew to four so they could survive aboard the ISS long enough for a possible rescue.
- STS‑335 existed as a contingency in law before it had budgeted funding or a clear hardware plan.
- Four Sokol pressure suits were custom‑fitted and stowed aboard the station in case Americans had to evacuate via Soyuz.
- Atlantis launched with a left solid‑rocket‑booster cylinder that first flew on STS‑1 and an external tank swap driven by Katrina damage and long program timelines.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1241falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pinhole-leaked-trapped-air-and-the-tether-arced-before-they-made-it--74912412
The pinhole leaked trapped air and the tether arced before they made it

In this episode, we follow the five-hour deployment of the Tethered Satellite System on Space Shuttle Columbia and the cascade of technical details that governed what happened when a flaw in the tether activated in orbit. What went wrong during the final kilometers of payout, and how could a factory defect beat all ground tests?

Mission: STS-75
Vehicle: Space Shuttle Columbia
Payload: Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1R)
Goal: 20.7 kilometers deployment
Failure point: 19 kilometers deployed, 1,700 meters short

- The tether was a multilayer cable: copper core, porous Nomex nylon, Teflon-like insulation, Kevlar sheath, outer Nomex jacket.
- A porous nylon core trapped microscopic air pockets during manufacture that were invisible in preflight inspections.
- During payout, bending and pressure exposed pinholes, releasing trapped gas into the gap between core and insulation.
- At roughly 3,500 volts, the released gas ionized, forming a plasma arc that burned through the tether from the inside.
- Ground sensors showed nominal voltage and current up to 19 km because no instrument monitored an internal plasma forming within the cable.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912412Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:26 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA pinhole in Columbia’s tether let trapped air ignite into a plasma arc - did they make it to twenty point seven kilometers in time? The pinhole leaked trapped air and the tether arced before they made it In this episode, we follow the five-hour...
The pinhole leaked trapped air and the tether arced before they made it

In this episode, we follow the five-hour deployment of the Tethered Satellite System on Space Shuttle Columbia and the cascade of technical details that governed what happened when a flaw in the tether activated in orbit. What went wrong during the final kilometers of payout, and how could a factory defect beat all ground tests?

Mission: STS-75
Vehicle: Space Shuttle Columbia
Payload: Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1R)
Goal: 20.7 kilometers deployment
Failure point: 19 kilometers deployed, 1,700 meters short

- The tether was a multilayer cable: copper core, porous Nomex nylon, Teflon-like insulation, Kevlar sheath, outer Nomex jacket.
- A porous nylon core trapped microscopic air pockets during manufacture that were invisible in preflight inspections.
- During payout, bending and pressure exposed pinholes, releasing trapped gas into the gap between core and insulation.
- At roughly 3,500 volts, the released gas ionized, forming a plasma arc that burned through the tether from the inside.
- Ground sensors showed nominal voltage and current up to 19 km because no instrument monitored an internal plasma forming within the cable.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1326falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-solder-joint-that-failed-four-hours-out-almost-cost-them-reentry--74912410
The solder joint that failed four hours out almost cost them reentry

In this episode, we follow the four hours before Columbia's touchdown when a microscopic manufacturing defect turned into an in‑flight emergency. The episode traces the lead-up to the failure, the mission's unusual history before launch, and the decisions that had to be made under severe uncertainty - could the crew and controllers keep the shuttle flying long enough to land safely?

Person: Commander John Young
Date: December 8, 1983
Location: Columbia orbiter, ~400 kilometers above Earth
Event: General Purpose Computer number one failed during reentry preparations
Mission: STS-9, ten‑day Spacelab flight with six crew

- The launch had been scrubbed in October for a confirmed SRB nozzle defect, forcing the entire stack to be rolled back and disassembled before Columbia flew.
- Columbia returned to the pad November 8 and launched November 28 with the largest six‑person crew to date, including the first non‑NASA and first West German shuttle fliers.
- Inside the payload bay sat Spacelab One with 72 experiments, and the mission was extended by a day after running well in orbit.
- The shuttle’s flight computers used a five‑GPC architecture: four synchronized primaries plus an independent backup with different code and hardware.
- A microscopic solder joint on a GPC circuit board fractured after ten days of reaction‑control thruster vibration, and GPC 1 failed about four hours before reentry.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912410Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:22 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA tiny solder joint fails aboard Columbia 400 km up, one GPC dies and the crew faces a cascading systems crisis - did they make it home in time? The solder joint that failed four hours out almost cost them reentry In this episode, we follow the...
The solder joint that failed four hours out almost cost them reentry

In this episode, we follow the four hours before Columbia's touchdown when a microscopic manufacturing defect turned into an in‑flight emergency. The episode traces the lead-up to the failure, the mission's unusual history before launch, and the decisions that had to be made under severe uncertainty - could the crew and controllers keep the shuttle flying long enough to land safely?

Person: Commander John Young
Date: December 8, 1983
Location: Columbia orbiter, ~400 kilometers above Earth
Event: General Purpose Computer number one failed during reentry preparations
Mission: STS-9, ten‑day Spacelab flight with six crew

- The launch had been scrubbed in October for a confirmed SRB nozzle defect, forcing the entire stack to be rolled back and disassembled before Columbia flew.
- Columbia returned to the pad November 8 and launched November 28 with the largest six‑person crew to date, including the first non‑NASA and first West German shuttle fliers.
- Inside the payload bay sat Spacelab One with 72 experiments, and the mission was extended by a day after running well in orbit.
- The shuttle’s flight computers used a five‑GPC architecture: four synchronized primaries plus an independent backup with different code and hardware.
- A microscopic solder joint on a GPC circuit board fractured after ten days of reaction‑control thruster vibration, and GPC 1 failed about four hours before reentry.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1265falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dead-thruster-that-began-the-seven-hour-countdown--74912409
The dead thruster that began the seven‑hour countdown

In this episode, we follow the descent and early hours of the Philae lander as engineers and mission controllers watch a seven-hour fall toward comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with critical systems already compromised. The episode traces the decisions, hardware issues, and narrow power budget that framed the landing - could the lander survive long enough to send back science?

Person: Philae
Event: Separation and seven-hour descent
Date: 12 November 2014 (Spacecraft Event Time) / 15 November 2014 (UTC contact at 00:08)
Location: Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Battery: Primary 1000 watt-hours; designed for ~60 hours

- Philae separated from Rosetta and began a seven-hour uncorrectable descent toward a comet with almost no gravity.
- The cold-gas thruster meant to push Philae onto the surface failed in pre-separation tests on 11-12 November 2014.
- Harpoon anchors flagged as unreliable in vacuum testing as early as 2013 remained the primary backup despite known issues.
- Philae weighed 100 kilograms, carried 16 instruments, and depended on a non-rechargeable primary battery and limited solar panels for first science.
- The lander transmitted a complete chemical profile in the initial 64 hours that its primary battery would allow, but its fate depended on landing location and sunlight.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912409Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:18 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA 100-kg lander drops toward a 4-km comet - did Philae make contact in time before its battery died? The dead thruster that began the seven‑hour countdown In this episode, we follow the descent and early hours of the Philae lander as engineers...
The dead thruster that began the seven‑hour countdown

In this episode, we follow the descent and early hours of the Philae lander as engineers and mission controllers watch a seven-hour fall toward comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with critical systems already compromised. The episode traces the decisions, hardware issues, and narrow power budget that framed the landing - could the lander survive long enough to send back science?

Person: Philae
Event: Separation and seven-hour descent
Date: 12 November 2014 (Spacecraft Event Time) / 15 November 2014 (UTC contact at 00:08)
Location: Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Battery: Primary 1000 watt-hours; designed for ~60 hours

- Philae separated from Rosetta and began a seven-hour uncorrectable descent toward a comet with almost no gravity.
- The cold-gas thruster meant to push Philae onto the surface failed in pre-separation tests on 11-12 November 2014.
- Harpoon anchors flagged as unreliable in vacuum testing as early as 2013 remained the primary backup despite known issues.
- Philae weighed 100 kilograms, carried 16 instruments, and depended on a non-rechargeable primary battery and limited solar panels for first science.
- The lander transmitted a complete chemical profile in the initial 64 hours that its primary battery would allow, but its fate depended on landing location and sunlight.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1350falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-strela-boom-jammed-the-cosmonauts-forced-it-open-with-seconds-of-air-left--74912406
The Strela boom jammed - the cosmonauts forced it open with seconds of air left

In this episode, we follow Yuri Usachov’s career through Mir missions, collisions, commercial stunts, and high-stakes spacewalks to a single moment when two men worked outside the station with the planet beneath them. We trace the lead-up to a nineteen-minute EVA that combined routine assembly, improvised repairs, and an unexpected corporate photo op - what decisions mattered in those final minutes?

Person: Yuri Vladimirovich Usachov
Event: Strela cargo boom jam during EVA
Date: 20 May 1996 (Pepsi can EVA) and 26 April 1996 (Priroda docked); mission launches 8 Jan 1994 and 21 Feb 1996
Location: Mir space station, low Earth orbit
Duration: Nineteen-minute spacewalk (shortest of Usachov’s career); six EVAs on 1996 mission

- Usachov trained for years, serving as backup for multiple missions before launching on Soyuz TM-18 on 8 January 1994.
- On 14 January 1994, departing Soyuz TM-17 struck Mir’s Kristall module twice, prompting station-wide inspections that found no visible damage.
- During the 1996 mission with Yuri Onufriyenko they performed six EVAs, installing a Strela boom, moving a solar array, and adding exterior handrails.
- On 20 May 1996 they staged a filmed Pepsi can float: an inflated aluminum-and-nylon model positioned against Earth for a commercial that was never broadcast.
- When one antenna refused to open, the cosmonauts forced it by hand during a brief, urgent EVA while monitoring dwindling air supplies.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912406Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:14 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTTwo cosmonauts pry open a stuck Strela boom by hand during a tense EVA over Earth - did they get it unclipped before their remaining air ran out? The Strela boom jammed - the cosmonauts forced it open with seconds of air left In this episode, we...
The Strela boom jammed - the cosmonauts forced it open with seconds of air left

In this episode, we follow Yuri Usachov’s career through Mir missions, collisions, commercial stunts, and high-stakes spacewalks to a single moment when two men worked outside the station with the planet beneath them. We trace the lead-up to a nineteen-minute EVA that combined routine assembly, improvised repairs, and an unexpected corporate photo op - what decisions mattered in those final minutes?

Person: Yuri Vladimirovich Usachov
Event: Strela cargo boom jam during EVA
Date: 20 May 1996 (Pepsi can EVA) and 26 April 1996 (Priroda docked); mission launches 8 Jan 1994 and 21 Feb 1996
Location: Mir space station, low Earth orbit
Duration: Nineteen-minute spacewalk (shortest of Usachov’s career); six EVAs on 1996 mission

- Usachov trained for years, serving as backup for multiple missions before launching on Soyuz TM-18 on 8 January 1994.
- On 14 January 1994, departing Soyuz TM-17 struck Mir’s Kristall module twice, prompting station-wide inspections that found no visible damage.
- During the 1996 mission with Yuri Onufriyenko they performed six EVAs, installing a Strela boom, moving a solar array, and adding exterior handrails.
- On 20 May 1996 they staged a filmed Pepsi can float: an inflated aluminum-and-nylon model positioned against Earth for a commercial that was never broadcast.
- When one antenna refused to open, the cosmonauts forced it by hand during a brief, urgent EVA while monitoring dwindling air supplies.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1416falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-ten-millimeter-tube-waited-on-mars-would-anyone-arrive-in-time--74912404
The ten‑millimeter tube waited on Mars - would anyone arrive in time?

In this episode we recount how a cancelled NASA mission left a precise cache of sealed Martian rock cores on the surface and how its specifications survived budget cuts into a later rover design. The story traces the decisions, designs, and engineers who built those ten‑millimeter tubes and asks whether a future spacecraft will complete the intended handshake.

Mission: MAX-C
Person: engineers and Mars advocates
Date: April 2011 (cancellation); December 2012 (Mars 2020 announced)
Location: Mars surface
Component: 10 mm × 50 mm sealed sample tubes (thirty‑eight specified)

- Engineers added a simple cache system to Curiosity design in 2007, then removed it in 2008 after Phoenix exposed contamination and dust issues.
- MAX-C (Mars Astrobiology Explorer‑Cacher) was developed in 2009-2010 to drill 10×50 mm cores, seal them with pressed‑in caps, and store 38 tubes across multiple sites.
- MAX-C was formally cancelled in April 2011 amid budget and partnership breakdowns, and NASA later withdrew from ExoMars in February 2012.
- Public, congressional, and scientific pushback led NASA to reinstate a Mars program and announce Mars 2020 in December 2012, carrying an identical tube geometry and cache concept.
- Perseverance adopted the 10 mm × 50 mm sealed‑tube specification and placed sealed drill cores in individual sleeves on Mars, matching the handshake MAX‑C engineers had designed.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912404Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:10 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA thumb‑wide titanium tube on Mars holds a sealed rock core from a cancelled mission-will anyone ever return to retrieve the 38 waiting samples? The ten‑millimeter tube waited on Mars - would anyone arrive in time? In this episode we recount how...
The ten‑millimeter tube waited on Mars - would anyone arrive in time?

In this episode we recount how a cancelled NASA mission left a precise cache of sealed Martian rock cores on the surface and how its specifications survived budget cuts into a later rover design. The story traces the decisions, designs, and engineers who built those ten‑millimeter tubes and asks whether a future spacecraft will complete the intended handshake.

Mission: MAX-C
Person: engineers and Mars advocates
Date: April 2011 (cancellation); December 2012 (Mars 2020 announced)
Location: Mars surface
Component: 10 mm × 50 mm sealed sample tubes (thirty‑eight specified)

- Engineers added a simple cache system to Curiosity design in 2007, then removed it in 2008 after Phoenix exposed contamination and dust issues.
- MAX-C (Mars Astrobiology Explorer‑Cacher) was developed in 2009-2010 to drill 10×50 mm cores, seal them with pressed‑in caps, and store 38 tubes across multiple sites.
- MAX-C was formally cancelled in April 2011 amid budget and partnership breakdowns, and NASA later withdrew from ExoMars in February 2012.
- Public, congressional, and scientific pushback led NASA to reinstate a Mars program and announce Mars 2020 in December 2012, carrying an identical tube geometry and cache concept.
- Perseverance adopted the 10 mm × 50 mm sealed‑tube specification and placed sealed drill cores in individual sleeves on Mars, matching the handshake MAX‑C engineers had designed.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1180falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/when-a-wwii-carrier-recovered-john-glenn-and-almost-triggered-armageddon--74912403
When a WWII Carrier Recovered John Glenn - and Almost Triggered Armageddon

In this episode, we follow the USS Randolph across two April firsts separated by nineteen years: one a daring at-sea repair that sent her back into battle, the other a storm that ripped an elevator and crew into the Atlantic. How did a single ship survive such extremes, and what choices were made when repair, risk, and rescue collided?

Ship: USS Randolph
Date: April 1, 1945; April 1, 1964
Location: Ulithi Atoll; off Cape Henry, Virginia
Event: At-sea repairs; elevator failure overboard in storm
Person: Lieutenant Commander Samuel Humphreys

- Laid down May 10, 1943, launched June 28, 1944, commissioned October 9, 1944, an Essex-class long-hull carrier built at Newport News.
- On March 11, 1945, a Japanese Frances aircraft struck Randolph at Ulithi, killing 27 and destroying flight-deck supports and an elevator framework.
- Humphreys proposed and led an audacious at-sea structural repair using USS Jason, 29 tons of steel and salvaged Japanese I-beams to restore catapult and flight operations.
- Repairs finished April 1, 1945 - the same morning the Okinawa invasion began - allowing Randolph to rejoin combat without returning to the U.S.
- On April 1, 1964, in a storm off Cape Henry, elevator number three tore free, carrying a Grumman S-2 Tracker, a tractor, and five men into the ocean; three were rescued, two were not, and the elevator was never recovered.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912403Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:06 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA carrier off Cape Henry loses a steel elevator, an aircraft, and five men in a storm - did the USS Randolph make it back in time to save them? When a WWII Carrier Recovered John Glenn - and Almost Triggered Armageddon In this episode, we follow...
When a WWII Carrier Recovered John Glenn - and Almost Triggered Armageddon

In this episode, we follow the USS Randolph across two April firsts separated by nineteen years: one a daring at-sea repair that sent her back into battle, the other a storm that ripped an elevator and crew into the Atlantic. How did a single ship survive such extremes, and what choices were made when repair, risk, and rescue collided?

Ship: USS Randolph
Date: April 1, 1945; April 1, 1964
Location: Ulithi Atoll; off Cape Henry, Virginia
Event: At-sea repairs; elevator failure overboard in storm
Person: Lieutenant Commander Samuel Humphreys

- Laid down May 10, 1943, launched June 28, 1944, commissioned October 9, 1944, an Essex-class long-hull carrier built at Newport News.
- On March 11, 1945, a Japanese Frances aircraft struck Randolph at Ulithi, killing 27 and destroying flight-deck supports and an elevator framework.
- Humphreys proposed and led an audacious at-sea structural repair using USS Jason, 29 tons of steel and salvaged Japanese I-beams to restore catapult and flight operations.
- Repairs finished April 1, 1945 - the same morning the Okinawa invasion began - allowing Randolph to rejoin combat without returning to the U.S.
- On April 1, 1964, in a storm off Cape Henry, elevator number three tore free, carrying a Grumman S-2 Tracker, a tractor, and five men into the ocean; three were rescued, two were not, and the elevator was never recovered.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1182falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cfes-patent-that-bought-him-a-seat-and-raced-the-clock--74912402
The CFES patent that bought him a seat - and raced the clock

In this episode, we follow Charles David Walker’s path from Bedford, Indiana to the Space Shuttle as a McDonnell Douglas employee who bought his own flight seat. We trace the CFES program, the patent that put him on the manifest, and the technical and bureaucratic hurdles that shaped his race against time.

Person: Charles David Walker
Event: Space Shuttle Discovery flight carrying the CFES
Date: August 30, 1984
Topic: Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) / Electrophoresis System in Space (EOS)
Status: Patent US 4,394,246 issued July 19, 1983; Walker listed as co-holder

- Walker was hired by McDonnell Douglas in 1977 to work on shuttle propulsion before joining the EOS team developing CFES.
- The CFES was tested across STS-4, STS-6, STS-7 and STS-8 with ground teams relaying messages through a three-person chain.
- McDonnell Douglas filed and received a patent for the electrophoresis apparatus with flow control while the device was already flying in orbit.
- NASA rejected Walker’s 1978 astronaut application, but McDonnell Douglas paid $40,000 to mount him as a payload specialist.
- Walker logged ~40 reduced-gravity flights and T-38 training so he could operate the CFES directly on Discovery.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912402Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:39:02 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA patent co-holder climbs into Discovery to operate a CFES in orbit - can he beat the clock to prove commercial biomanufacturing works? The CFES patent that bought him a seat - and raced the clock In this episode, we follow Charles David...
The CFES patent that bought him a seat - and raced the clock

In this episode, we follow Charles David Walker’s path from Bedford, Indiana to the Space Shuttle as a McDonnell Douglas employee who bought his own flight seat. We trace the CFES program, the patent that put him on the manifest, and the technical and bureaucratic hurdles that shaped his race against time.

Person: Charles David Walker
Event: Space Shuttle Discovery flight carrying the CFES
Date: August 30, 1984
Topic: Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) / Electrophoresis System in Space (EOS)
Status: Patent US 4,394,246 issued July 19, 1983; Walker listed as co-holder

- Walker was hired by McDonnell Douglas in 1977 to work on shuttle propulsion before joining the EOS team developing CFES.
- The CFES was tested across STS-4, STS-6, STS-7 and STS-8 with ground teams relaying messages through a three-person chain.
- McDonnell Douglas filed and received a patent for the electrophoresis apparatus with flow control while the device was already flying in orbit.
- NASA rejected Walker’s 1978 astronaut application, but McDonnell Douglas paid $40,000 to mount him as a payload specialist.
- Walker logged ~40 reduced-gravity flights and T-38 training so he could operate the CFES directly on Discovery.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1310falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-t-38-chase-plane-that-warned-them-before-the-runway-blackout--74912401
The T-38 chase plane that warned them before the runway blackout

In this episode, we follow the career and final flight of Robert Franklyn Overmyer, tracing his path from Ohio steel country to Marine pilot, test pilot, astronaut and shuttle commander, and then to the small propeller kit plane he was flying before disaster. We outline the decisions, roles and moments that led him back into the cockpit and ask what sequence of choices and events produced that March day over Duluth.

Person: Robert Franklyn Overmyer
Date: March 22, 1996
Location: Duluth, Minnesota
Occupation: Test pilot, astronaut, shuttle commander
Flight hours: more than 7,500

- Born July 14, 1936 in Lorain, Ohio and raised in Westlake, Ohio; honored with a historical marker in Clague Park.
- Studied physics at Baldwin-Wallace College (graduated 1958) then joined the Marines in January 1958, flying with VMA-214 and Marine Maintenance Squadron 17.
- Earned a master’s in aeronautics from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1964, then trained at Edwards Air Force Base and the Air Force Test Pilot School.
- Selected for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory in 1966, transferred to NASA astronaut Group 7 in 1969, served on Skylab support and as CAPCOM for Apollo 17 and Apollo-Soyuz.
- Flew as T-38 chase pilot for Shuttle ALT tests and served as Deputy Vehicle Manager for Columbia; piloted STS-5 (1982) and commanded STS-51-B (1985) before the fatal kit-aircraft flight.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912401Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:58 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA veteran T-38 chase pilot radios a warning as a test aircraft pitches - did the warning come in time to stop the runway blackout? The T-38 chase plane that warned them before the runway blackout In this episode, we follow the career and final...
The T-38 chase plane that warned them before the runway blackout

In this episode, we follow the career and final flight of Robert Franklyn Overmyer, tracing his path from Ohio steel country to Marine pilot, test pilot, astronaut and shuttle commander, and then to the small propeller kit plane he was flying before disaster. We outline the decisions, roles and moments that led him back into the cockpit and ask what sequence of choices and events produced that March day over Duluth.

Person: Robert Franklyn Overmyer
Date: March 22, 1996
Location: Duluth, Minnesota
Occupation: Test pilot, astronaut, shuttle commander
Flight hours: more than 7,500

- Born July 14, 1936 in Lorain, Ohio and raised in Westlake, Ohio; honored with a historical marker in Clague Park.
- Studied physics at Baldwin-Wallace College (graduated 1958) then joined the Marines in January 1958, flying with VMA-214 and Marine Maintenance Squadron 17.
- Earned a master’s in aeronautics from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1964, then trained at Edwards Air Force Base and the Air Force Test Pilot School.
- Selected for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory in 1966, transferred to NASA astronaut Group 7 in 1969, served on Skylab support and as CAPCOM for Apollo 17 and Apollo-Soyuz.
- Flew as T-38 chase pilot for Shuttle ALT tests and served as Deputy Vehicle Manager for Columbia; piloted STS-5 (1982) and commanded STS-51-B (1985) before the fatal kit-aircraft flight.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1175falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-canadarm-grabbed-a-21-400-pound-satellite-did-columbia-make-it-home--74912399
The Canadarm grabbed a 21,400‑pound satellite - did Columbia make it home?

In this episode, we follow the path that led David Low from systems engineer to shuttle astronaut and Canadarm operator. The episode covers his training, the mission to retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility, and the decisions and maneuvers that shaped that risky retrieval - did the crew get LDEF into Columbia?

Person: G. David Low
Event: LDEF retrieval
Vehicle: Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-32)
Mass: 21,400 pounds
Role: Canadarm operator

- David Low trained specifically on the Canadarm and served as CAPCOM for four missions before his first flight.
- Columbia launched STS-32 in January 1990 with the primary objective of capturing the tumbling Long Duration Exposure Facility.
- LDEF had been in orbit since April 1984 after Challenger’s loss postponed its retrieval and its orbit began decaying.
- The Canadarm extended fifteen meters to grapple LDEF, a retrieval that set the record for the heaviest object handled by the arm.
- Low’s background spans JPL spacecraft systems work, multiple engineering degrees, and a long career of missions and spacewalks leading up to this capture.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912399Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:54 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA veteran astronaut must use the Canadarm to capture a 21,400‑pound tumbling satellite and bring it aboard Columbia - did they make it home? The Canadarm grabbed a 21,400‑pound satellite - did Columbia make it home? In this episode, we follow...
The Canadarm grabbed a 21,400‑pound satellite - did Columbia make it home?

In this episode, we follow the path that led David Low from systems engineer to shuttle astronaut and Canadarm operator. The episode covers his training, the mission to retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility, and the decisions and maneuvers that shaped that risky retrieval - did the crew get LDEF into Columbia?

Person: G. David Low
Event: LDEF retrieval
Vehicle: Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-32)
Mass: 21,400 pounds
Role: Canadarm operator

- David Low trained specifically on the Canadarm and served as CAPCOM for four missions before his first flight.
- Columbia launched STS-32 in January 1990 with the primary objective of capturing the tumbling Long Duration Exposure Facility.
- LDEF had been in orbit since April 1984 after Challenger’s loss postponed its retrieval and its orbit began decaying.
- The Canadarm extended fifteen meters to grapple LDEF, a retrieval that set the record for the heaviest object handled by the arm.
- Low’s background spans JPL spacecraft systems work, multiple engineering degrees, and a long career of missions and spacewalks leading up to this capture.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1146falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-shuttle-s-four-hundred-maneuvers-in-eleven-days-ran-out-of-fuel--74912398
The Shuttle's four-hundred maneuvers in eleven days ran out of fuel?

In this episode, we follow the mission that pushed Space Shuttle Endeavour to perform four hundred precise orbital corrections and the man whose life led him there. What decisions, tests, and moments of pressure shaped this mission and its crew?

Mission: STS-59
Commander: Sidney McNeill Gutierrez
Launch Date: April 9, 1994
Duration: Eleven days
Photographs: Fourteen thousand

- Gutierrez grew up in Albuquerque and planned to return there after the mission.
- Endeavour carried a powerful radar able to see through clouds, jungle canopy, and the Earth's surface.
- The mission completed 183 orbits and collected data equivalent to 26,000 encyclopedias.
- Gutierrez logged over 4,500 flight hours across ~30 aircraft types and more than 550 parachute jumps.
- After Challenger, Gutierrez served as action officer coordinating investigations and recertification of shuttle systems.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912398Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:50 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA shuttle commander from Albuquerque must guide a risky orbital mission to deliver a radar payload - did they make it in time? The Shuttle's four-hundred maneuvers in eleven days ran out of fuel? In this episode, we follow the mission that...
The Shuttle's four-hundred maneuvers in eleven days ran out of fuel?

In this episode, we follow the mission that pushed Space Shuttle Endeavour to perform four hundred precise orbital corrections and the man whose life led him there. What decisions, tests, and moments of pressure shaped this mission and its crew?

Mission: STS-59
Commander: Sidney McNeill Gutierrez
Launch Date: April 9, 1994
Duration: Eleven days
Photographs: Fourteen thousand

- Gutierrez grew up in Albuquerque and planned to return there after the mission.
- Endeavour carried a powerful radar able to see through clouds, jungle canopy, and the Earth's surface.
- The mission completed 183 orbits and collected data equivalent to 26,000 encyclopedias.
- Gutierrez logged over 4,500 flight hours across ~30 aircraft types and more than 550 parachute jumps.
- After Challenger, Gutierrez served as action officer coordinating investigations and recertification of shuttle systems.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1289falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-sesame-bagel-that-kept-him-fed-until-the-final-hatch-closed--74912395
The Sesame Bagel That Kept Him Fed Until the Final Hatch Closed

In this episode, we follow Gregory Chamitoff from a Montreal childhood decision to a life spent training and building toward long-duration missions on the International Space Station. The episode covers his 2008 and 2011 missions, the chess games played across 400 km, the Fairmount Bagels he brought into orbit, and the last assembly tasks that would complete the station - did he get to touch the final piece from outside?

Person: Gregory Chamitoff
Location: International Space Station; Montreal
Date: June-November 2008; May 16, 2011
Event: Chess games across orbit, long-duration mission, final ISS assembly mission
Item: Eighteen sesame bagels from Fairmount Bagels

- A six-year-old in Montreal watched Apollo land and decided to "go," then pursued engineering degrees at Cal Poly, MIT, and UC Berkeley.
- He packed eighteen sesame bagels from his cousin's Montreal bakery and brought them aboard a shuttle for a 160-day 2008 mission.
- While orbiting, he played organized chess with Mission Control, the board drifting by a porthole with Earth’s curvature visible.
- He carried a student-built SPHERES prototype into orbit - a small free-flying robot designed to test autonomous navigation inside a module.
- In 2011 he flew on STS-134 aboard Endeavour for the last shuttle flight, assigned tasks tied to finishing the ISS assembly.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912395Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:46 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTAn astronaut carries sesame bagels and a velcro chessboard into orbit as the ISS nears its final hatch - did he reach the exterior in time? The Sesame Bagel That Kept Him Fed Until the Final Hatch Closed In this episode, we follow Gregory...
The Sesame Bagel That Kept Him Fed Until the Final Hatch Closed

In this episode, we follow Gregory Chamitoff from a Montreal childhood decision to a life spent training and building toward long-duration missions on the International Space Station. The episode covers his 2008 and 2011 missions, the chess games played across 400 km, the Fairmount Bagels he brought into orbit, and the last assembly tasks that would complete the station - did he get to touch the final piece from outside?

Person: Gregory Chamitoff
Location: International Space Station; Montreal
Date: June-November 2008; May 16, 2011
Event: Chess games across orbit, long-duration mission, final ISS assembly mission
Item: Eighteen sesame bagels from Fairmount Bagels

- A six-year-old in Montreal watched Apollo land and decided to "go," then pursued engineering degrees at Cal Poly, MIT, and UC Berkeley.
- He packed eighteen sesame bagels from his cousin's Montreal bakery and brought them aboard a shuttle for a 160-day 2008 mission.
- While orbiting, he played organized chess with Mission Control, the board drifting by a porthole with Earth’s curvature visible.
- He carried a student-built SPHERES prototype into orbit - a small free-flying robot designed to test autonomous navigation inside a module.
- In 2011 he flew on STS-134 aboard Endeavour for the last shuttle flight, assigned tasks tied to finishing the ISS assembly.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1291falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pressure-valve-that-filled-the-cabin-nearly-killed-them--74912394
The pressure valve that filled the cabin nearly killed them

In this episode, we follow the flight and the technical backstory that led two incompatible spacecraft to link up in orbit and what went wrong during reentry. We trace the engineering choices, the crew dynamics, and one overlooked warning that could have stopped the catastrophe - but did it arrive soon enough?

Date: July 24, 1975
Event: Apollo-Soyuz docking and return
Person: Vance Brand
Person: Alexei Leonov
System: cabin pressure and valve mechanism

- Two spacecraft-an Apollo command module and a Soyuz-docked after years of political and technical negotiation using Bill Creasy’s APAS collar to allow crew transfer.
- The Apollo cabin operated at ~5 psi of pure oxygen while the Soyuz used ~15 psi of a nitrogen-oxygen mix, creating critical compatibility challenges for crew transfer.
- During the nine-day mission the crews shared food, language, and jokes, then prepared to reenter Earth’s atmosphere with routines set to guarantee a safe splashdown.
- In the final four minutes of reentry a simple pressure valve began admitting a toxic cloud into the Apollo cabin, incapacitating Vance Brand and imperiling the other two astronauts.
- The chain of decisions and design histories stretching back to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the 1962 Dryden-Blagonravov talks shaped how these incompatible systems were forced to work together.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912394Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:42 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTIn 1975 a valve began filling the Apollo cabin with toxic gas-did the crew make it out alive in time? The pressure valve that filled the cabin nearly killed them In this episode, we follow the flight and the technical backstory that led two...
The pressure valve that filled the cabin nearly killed them

In this episode, we follow the flight and the technical backstory that led two incompatible spacecraft to link up in orbit and what went wrong during reentry. We trace the engineering choices, the crew dynamics, and one overlooked warning that could have stopped the catastrophe - but did it arrive soon enough?

Date: July 24, 1975
Event: Apollo-Soyuz docking and return
Person: Vance Brand
Person: Alexei Leonov
System: cabin pressure and valve mechanism

- Two spacecraft-an Apollo command module and a Soyuz-docked after years of political and technical negotiation using Bill Creasy’s APAS collar to allow crew transfer.
- The Apollo cabin operated at ~5 psi of pure oxygen while the Soyuz used ~15 psi of a nitrogen-oxygen mix, creating critical compatibility challenges for crew transfer.
- During the nine-day mission the crews shared food, language, and jokes, then prepared to reenter Earth’s atmosphere with routines set to guarantee a safe splashdown.
- In the final four minutes of reentry a simple pressure valve began admitting a toxic cloud into the Apollo cabin, incapacitating Vance Brand and imperiling the other two astronauts.
- The chain of decisions and design histories stretching back to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the 1962 Dryden-Blagonravov talks shaped how these incompatible systems were forced to work together.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1237falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dust-cover-that-choked-an-engine-and-the-clock-that-started-the-abort--74912391
The dust cover that choked an engine - and the clock that started the abort

In this episode, we follow a split-second decision on a Titan II pad that started a launch clock and left two astronauts breathing pure oxygen as an untested eject system waited. What choices did Walter Schirra and the ground teams make when alarms and a running clock collided with unknown risks?

Person: Walter Schirra
Person: Thomas Stafford
Person: Frank Borman
Person: Jim Lovell
Date: December 12, 1965
Location: Titan II launch pad

- A liftoff clock started one and a half seconds into ignition, a protocol meant to trigger ejection if the rocket left the pad.
- Schirra chose not to pull the D-ring while the cabin remained at 15-16 psi of pure oxygen and the ejection seats were untested under those conditions.
- Initial telemetry showed an electrical plug dropout that suggested a false liftoff signal, but engineers kept digging through data and hardware.
- A Martin-Marietta technician discovered a plastic dust cover blocking oxidizer flow in gas generator plumbing, causing engine two to lose thrust.
- Mission planners had already rewritten the objective after Agena failed, turning Gemini Six into Gemini Six-A to rendezvous with Gemini Seven in orbit.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912391Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:38 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA dust cover left in a rocket engine forces a near-launch abort and a decision that could have detonated two men-did they pull the eject ring? The dust cover that choked an engine - and the clock that started the abort In this episode, we follow...
The dust cover that choked an engine - and the clock that started the abort

In this episode, we follow a split-second decision on a Titan II pad that started a launch clock and left two astronauts breathing pure oxygen as an untested eject system waited. What choices did Walter Schirra and the ground teams make when alarms and a running clock collided with unknown risks?

Person: Walter Schirra
Person: Thomas Stafford
Person: Frank Borman
Person: Jim Lovell
Date: December 12, 1965
Location: Titan II launch pad

- A liftoff clock started one and a half seconds into ignition, a protocol meant to trigger ejection if the rocket left the pad.
- Schirra chose not to pull the D-ring while the cabin remained at 15-16 psi of pure oxygen and the ejection seats were untested under those conditions.
- Initial telemetry showed an electrical plug dropout that suggested a false liftoff signal, but engineers kept digging through data and hardware.
- A Martin-Marietta technician discovered a plastic dust cover blocking oxidizer flow in gas generator plumbing, causing engine two to lose thrust.
- Mission planners had already rewritten the objective after Agena failed, turning Gemini Six into Gemini Six-A to rendezvous with Gemini Seven in orbit.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1266falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-blank-card-that-proved-a-pilot-s-worth--74912389
The blank card that proved a pilot's worth

In this episode, we follow the winding path that led Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. from expulsion and learning struggles to the cockpit of cutting‑edge jets and the astronaut corps. What decisions, missteps, and stubborn gambles pushed him back toward space despite official disqualification?

Person: Charles Conrad Jr.
Date: June 2, 1930 (birth); November 1969 (Moon photograph)
Location: Philadelphia; Paoli Airfield; Patuxent River; Albuquerque; Moon
Event: Failed eleventh‑grade exams and expulsion; selection for astronaut testing; Mercury Seven medical exams
Occupation: Navy test pilot; Apollo astronaut

- Expelled after failing eleventh‑grade exams, Conrad was sent to a new school funded by his uncle and later graduated from the Darrow School.
- He earned a full scholarship to Princeton, completed an aeronautical engineering degree, and wrote a 200‑page thesis on a jet trainer.
- At fifteen he worked at Paoli Airfield for access to planes, soloed cross‑country at sixteen, repaired a mechanical fault himself, and earned his pilot’s certificate before finishing high school.
- By 1958 he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School alongside Wally Schirra and Jim Lovell, moving into high‑risk flight testing.
- During NASA’s Mercury medicals he treated psychological tests as a joke and famously turned a blank Rorschach card face down, refusing to project an image.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912389Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:34 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Navy test pilot declared unfit for space fights to stay in NASA - five years, a blank card, and one photograph on the Moon. The blank card that proved a pilot's worth In this episode, we follow the winding path that led Charles "Pete" Conrad...
The blank card that proved a pilot's worth

In this episode, we follow the winding path that led Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. from expulsion and learning struggles to the cockpit of cutting‑edge jets and the astronaut corps. What decisions, missteps, and stubborn gambles pushed him back toward space despite official disqualification?

Person: Charles Conrad Jr.
Date: June 2, 1930 (birth); November 1969 (Moon photograph)
Location: Philadelphia; Paoli Airfield; Patuxent River; Albuquerque; Moon
Event: Failed eleventh‑grade exams and expulsion; selection for astronaut testing; Mercury Seven medical exams
Occupation: Navy test pilot; Apollo astronaut

- Expelled after failing eleventh‑grade exams, Conrad was sent to a new school funded by his uncle and later graduated from the Darrow School.
- He earned a full scholarship to Princeton, completed an aeronautical engineering degree, and wrote a 200‑page thesis on a jet trainer.
- At fifteen he worked at Paoli Airfield for access to planes, soloed cross‑country at sixteen, repaired a mechanical fault himself, and earned his pilot’s certificate before finishing high school.
- By 1958 he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School alongside Wally Schirra and Jim Lovell, moving into high‑risk flight testing.
- During NASA’s Mercury medicals he treated psychological tests as a joke and famously turned a blank Rorschach card face down, refusing to project an image.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1170falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-rigid-seal-that-burned-weeks-from-their-lifeline--74912387
The Rigid Seal That Burned Weeks From Their Lifeline

In this episode, we follow the sequence of launch attempts, technical fixes, and mounting time pressure around Space Shuttle Endeavour’s June-July 2009 mission. We track how a small mechanical part and a shrinking consumables margin forced repeated decisions that reshaped the flight plan and raised a single urgent question: how many scrubs could the mission survive?

Person: Launch director Mike Leinbach
Date: June 13, 2009
Event: Hydrogen leak at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP)
Location: Kennedy Space Center
Topic: Repeated scrubs and timeline pressure due to GUCP seal failures

- At 00:26 on June 13, sensors detected hydrogen leaking from the GUCP; the countdown stopped 47 minutes before the window closed.
- Engineers traced the leak to a rigid seal on the hydrogen vent plate, slightly out of alignment and releasing invisible gas.
- Discovery had experienced an identical GUCP leak in March 2009; the root cause related to the rigid seal’s behavior under load.
- Teams replaced the rigid seal with a flexible design after a July 1 tanking test showed the new seal held under pressurization.
- Multiple delays followed: weather and lightning on July 10, and three separate T‑minus nine minute scrubs across July 11-13 that consumed mission margin tied to station lithium hydroxide supplies.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912387Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:30 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA misaligned seal leaks hydrogen under a midnight sky, halting Endeavour’s launch and eating the mission clock-did they make it in time? The Rigid Seal That Burned Weeks From Their Lifeline In this episode, we follow the sequence of launch...
The Rigid Seal That Burned Weeks From Their Lifeline

In this episode, we follow the sequence of launch attempts, technical fixes, and mounting time pressure around Space Shuttle Endeavour’s June-July 2009 mission. We track how a small mechanical part and a shrinking consumables margin forced repeated decisions that reshaped the flight plan and raised a single urgent question: how many scrubs could the mission survive?

Person: Launch director Mike Leinbach
Date: June 13, 2009
Event: Hydrogen leak at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP)
Location: Kennedy Space Center
Topic: Repeated scrubs and timeline pressure due to GUCP seal failures

- At 00:26 on June 13, sensors detected hydrogen leaking from the GUCP; the countdown stopped 47 minutes before the window closed.
- Engineers traced the leak to a rigid seal on the hydrogen vent plate, slightly out of alignment and releasing invisible gas.
- Discovery had experienced an identical GUCP leak in March 2009; the root cause related to the rigid seal’s behavior under load.
- Teams replaced the rigid seal with a flexible design after a July 1 tanking test showed the new seal held under pressurization.
- Multiple delays followed: weather and lightning on July 10, and three separate T‑minus nine minute scrubs across July 11-13 that consumed mission margin tied to station lithium hydroxide supplies.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1273falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-b-channel-temperature-sensor-tripped-rsls-and-cost-forty-two-days--74912385
The B‑channel temperature sensor tripped RSLS and cost forty‑two days

In this episode, we lay out the moment the shuttle stopped one second before liftoff and the chain of technical and managerial responses that followed. We track the hardware, the rules that forced engine swaps, and the ticking clock that threatened the SRL‑2 science window.

Person: Mission specialist Daniel Bursch
Date: August 18, 1994
Location: Pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center
Event: RSLS abort at T‑1.9 seconds
Component: Main Engine Three High Pressure Oxidizer Turbopump (HPOT) serial 2032

- At T‑1.9 seconds all three main engines were firing while the hold‑down bolts remained engaged and the vehicle did not lift.
- The RSLS automated abort cut engines when the B‑channel turbopump temperature sensor crossed 867 K, a threshold encoded in the launch software.
- The HPOT in Engine Three was new to flight (first flight) and spins at 28,120 RPM, boosting LOX from 422 to 4,300 psi during start.
- Post‑abort rules mandated removal and inspection of every main engine after any post‑ignition RSLS, prompting engines to be taken from Atlantis and rescheduled processing across the program.
- The replaced engines returned Endeavour to Pad 39A forty‑two days later, while the SRL‑2 mission’s precise orbital window and the science it required loomed.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912385Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:26 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA temperature sensor on Main Engine Three tripped the abort at T‑1.9s, leaving astronauts on Pad 39A-can the mission still make its window? The B‑channel temperature sensor tripped RSLS and cost forty‑two days In this episode, we lay out the...
The B‑channel temperature sensor tripped RSLS and cost forty‑two days

In this episode, we lay out the moment the shuttle stopped one second before liftoff and the chain of technical and managerial responses that followed. We track the hardware, the rules that forced engine swaps, and the ticking clock that threatened the SRL‑2 science window.

Person: Mission specialist Daniel Bursch
Date: August 18, 1994
Location: Pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center
Event: RSLS abort at T‑1.9 seconds
Component: Main Engine Three High Pressure Oxidizer Turbopump (HPOT) serial 2032

- At T‑1.9 seconds all three main engines were firing while the hold‑down bolts remained engaged and the vehicle did not lift.
- The RSLS automated abort cut engines when the B‑channel turbopump temperature sensor crossed 867 K, a threshold encoded in the launch software.
- The HPOT in Engine Three was new to flight (first flight) and spins at 28,120 RPM, boosting LOX from 422 to 4,300 psi during start.
- Post‑abort rules mandated removal and inspection of every main engine after any post‑ignition RSLS, prompting engines to be taken from Atlantis and rescheduled processing across the program.
- The replaced engines returned Endeavour to Pad 39A forty‑two days later, while the SRL‑2 mission’s precise orbital window and the science it required loomed.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1426falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-explosive-bolts-that-let-enterprise-fall-and-left-haise-racing-the-clock--74912383
The explosive bolts that let Enterprise fall - and left Haise racing the clock

In this episode, we follow the Approach and Landing Tests at Edwards Air Force Base as engineers and pilots risk a never-before-tried separation of the shuttle Enterprise from its 747 carrier. The story traces the technical setup, the tension of live load-cell readings, and the stakes that tied the future of human spaceflight to a single release command.

Person: Fred Haise
Event: Approach and Landing Tests (ALT)
Location: Edwards Air Force Base, Mojave Desert
Date: February-October 1977 (tests); August 18, 1977 (flight described)
Aircraft: Space Shuttle Enterprise and modified Boeing 747 with three explosive-bolt attachment points

- Engineers fitted three load cells to the attachment points and monitored tension in real time during mated climbs.
- The 747 carried a mounting structure with a longer nose strut that tilted Enterprise’s nose up, increasing angle of attack for separation.
- Captive-inert and captive-active flights validated handling and systems before attempting a free, unpowered glide.
- At separation, Enterprise’s lift could actually hold the 747 aloft, making the explosive bolts the sole mechanism preventing a dangerous aerodynamic coupling.
- Fred Haise, veteran of Apollo 13, sat in the cockpit of an orbiter that had never flown free, awaiting a gauge’s permission to fall.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912383Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:22 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTFred Haise straps into Enterprise atop a 747 at Edwards, the explosive bolts primed-can the prototype shuttle separate and glide to safety? The explosive bolts that let Enterprise fall - and left Haise racing the clock In this episode, we follow...
The explosive bolts that let Enterprise fall - and left Haise racing the clock

In this episode, we follow the Approach and Landing Tests at Edwards Air Force Base as engineers and pilots risk a never-before-tried separation of the shuttle Enterprise from its 747 carrier. The story traces the technical setup, the tension of live load-cell readings, and the stakes that tied the future of human spaceflight to a single release command.

Person: Fred Haise
Event: Approach and Landing Tests (ALT)
Location: Edwards Air Force Base, Mojave Desert
Date: February-October 1977 (tests); August 18, 1977 (flight described)
Aircraft: Space Shuttle Enterprise and modified Boeing 747 with three explosive-bolt attachment points

- Engineers fitted three load cells to the attachment points and monitored tension in real time during mated climbs.
- The 747 carried a mounting structure with a longer nose strut that tilted Enterprise’s nose up, increasing angle of attack for separation.
- Captive-inert and captive-active flights validated handling and systems before attempting a free, unpowered glide.
- At separation, Enterprise’s lift could actually hold the 747 aloft, making the explosive bolts the sole mechanism preventing a dangerous aerodynamic coupling.
- Fred Haise, veteran of Apollo 13, sat in the cockpit of an orbiter that had never flown free, awaiting a gauge’s permission to fall.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1206falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-doctor-who-performed-emergency-surgery-on-a-live-solar-array--74912382
A space station reaches orbit already wounded. Its protective shield has ripped away during launch, one solar wing is completely gone, and the other is pinned shut by twisted metal while temperatures inside Skylab climb dangerously high. Two weeks later, America’s first physician in space floats outside beside Pete Conrad carrying an improvised twenty-five-foot cutting tool. Joseph Kerwin is about to perform something that looks less like spacecraft maintenance than emergency surgery—on the only solar array keeping the station alive. What happens if one cut goes wrong?

The doctor sent to study the human body ended up operating on the spacecraft itself

In this episode, we follow Joseph Kerwin from his selection as one of NASA’s scientist-astronauts to the crisis that greeted Skylab’s first crew in May 1973. We trace the launch damage that left the station overheated and underpowered, the failed first attempt to free its surviving solar wing, and the June 7 spacewalk in which Kerwin and Pete Conrad approached the jammed array with tools assembled from equipment already aboard. At the center is a repair no crew had ever attempted in orbit, asking how a physician trained to make precise decisions under pressure helped save not a patient, but America’s first space station.

Person: Joseph P. Kerwin, M.D.
Date: June 7, 1973
Location: Skylab, low Earth orbit
Mission: Skylab 2
Event: Emergency EVA to free Skylab’s jammed solar array wing
Status: Solar wing successfully deployed; Skylab restored to sufficient electrical power for continued operations

* Skylab launched on May 14, 1973, but aerodynamic forces tore away its micrometeoroid and thermal shield, ripped off one solar array wing entirely, and left the other trapped beneath debris from the damaged shield.
* Without the protective shield, temperatures inside the station rose as high as approximately 126°F, while the loss of solar power threatened Skylab’s experiments and its ability to support the planned missions.
* Kerwin was a physician and former Navy flight surgeon who became the first American medical doctor to travel into space when Skylab 2 launched on May 25, 1973.
* During the crew’s first approach to Skylab, Paul Weitz attempted to cut away the obstruction from the Apollo spacecraft while Kerwin physically held him by the legs, but the improvised effort failed to release the solar wing.
* Engineers on the ground then developed a new repair procedure. Kerwin and Conrad assembled a long pole from multiple sections, attached a heavy-duty cable cutter, and used a rope system that allowed them to operate the tool while positioned away from the jammed structure.
* On June 7, Kerwin anchored himself to Skylab and positioned the cutter around the metal strap holding the solar wing closed. After the obstruction was cut and the astronauts applied force to the array, the wing suddenly deployed and began generating electrical power.
* The repair spacewalk lasted 3 hours and 25 minutes and was then the longest Earth-orbital EVA ever completed. More importantly, freeing the array restored enough power to support Skylab’s experiments and helped make the station’s two later record-setting missions possible.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912382Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:17 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Doctor Who Performed Emergency Surgery On A Live Solar Array A space station reaches orbit already wounded. Its protective shield has ripped away during launch, one solar wing is completely gone, and the other is pinned shut by twisted metal...
A space station reaches orbit already wounded. Its protective shield has ripped away during launch, one solar wing is completely gone, and the other is pinned shut by twisted metal while temperatures inside Skylab climb dangerously high. Two weeks later, America’s first physician in space floats outside beside Pete Conrad carrying an improvised twenty-five-foot cutting tool. Joseph Kerwin is about to perform something that looks less like spacecraft maintenance than emergency surgery—on the only solar array keeping the station alive. What happens if one cut goes wrong?

The doctor sent to study the human body ended up operating on the spacecraft itself

In this episode, we follow Joseph Kerwin from his selection as one of NASA’s scientist-astronauts to the crisis that greeted Skylab’s first crew in May 1973. We trace the launch damage that left the station overheated and underpowered, the failed first attempt to free its surviving solar wing, and the June 7 spacewalk in which Kerwin and Pete Conrad approached the jammed array with tools assembled from equipment already aboard. At the center is a repair no crew had ever attempted in orbit, asking how a physician trained to make precise decisions under pressure helped save not a patient, but America’s first space station.

Person: Joseph P. Kerwin, M.D.
Date: June 7, 1973
Location: Skylab, low Earth orbit
Mission: Skylab 2
Event: Emergency EVA to free Skylab’s jammed solar array wing
Status: Solar wing successfully deployed; Skylab restored to sufficient electrical power for continued operations

* Skylab launched on May 14, 1973, but aerodynamic forces tore away its micrometeoroid and thermal shield, ripped off one solar array wing entirely, and left the other trapped beneath debris from the damaged shield.
* Without the protective shield, temperatures inside the station rose as high as approximately 126°F, while the loss of solar power threatened Skylab’s experiments and its ability to support the planned missions.
* Kerwin was a physician and former Navy flight surgeon who became the first American medical doctor to travel into space when Skylab 2 launched on May 25, 1973.
* During the crew’s first approach to Skylab, Paul Weitz attempted to cut away the obstruction from the Apollo spacecraft while Kerwin physically held him by the legs, but the improvised effort failed to release the solar wing.
* Engineers on the ground then developed a new repair procedure. Kerwin and Conrad assembled a long pole from multiple sections, attached a heavy-duty cable cutter, and used a rope system that allowed them to operate the tool while positioned away from the jammed structure.
* On June 7, Kerwin anchored himself to Skylab and positioned the cutter around the metal strap holding the solar wing closed. After the obstruction was cut and the astronauts applied force to the array, the wing suddenly deployed and began generating electrical power.
* The repair spacewalk lasted 3 hours and 25 minutes and was then the longest Earth-orbital EVA ever completed. More importantly, freeing the array restored enough power to support Skylab’s experiments and helped make the station’s two later record-setting missions possible.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>849falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/wrong-mountain-how-apollo-16-proved-the-moon-lied--74912380
NASA sends Apollo 16 into the lunar highlands expecting astronauts to stand on the remains of ancient volcanoes. From orbit, Stone Mountain and the surrounding Descartes terrain look like structures built by thick lava, while the smoother Cayley Plains appear to be another kind of volcanic deposit. John Young and Charlie Duke land there in April 1972, drive more than twenty kilometers, and begin breaking open the rocks. Almost immediately, the prediction starts collapsing. The mountains are not giving them lava. They are giving them shattered rock welded together by impacts. What happens when astronauts reach the exact place scientists chose—and discover that the Moon has been telling a completely different geological story?

The mountain looked volcanic from Earth until astronauts picked it up piece by piece

In this episode, we follow Apollo 16 from the geological assumptions that selected the Descartes landing site to the moment field observations and returned samples overturned them. We trace Young and Duke across the Cayley Plains, Stone Mountain, North Ray Crater, and the surrounding highlands as they search for the volcanic rocks planners expected to find, only to encounter breccias created by enormous impacts. The mission became a demonstration of why exploring another world in person mattered: Apollo 16 did not confirm the map scientists had constructed from photographs—it forced them to rewrite it.

Mission: Apollo 16
Crew: John W. Young, Charles M. Duke Jr., Thomas K. Mattingly II
Date: April 16–27, 1972
Location: Descartes Highlands, Moon
Event: Geological exploration of the Cayley and Descartes formations
Expected Geology: Volcanic plains and volcanic highland deposits
Discovery: Returned samples were dominated by impact-generated breccias rather than the predicted volcanic rocks

* NASA selected the Descartes Highlands because Apollo 16 would be the first landing devoted entirely to the lunar highlands, which cover far more of the Moon than the dark mare regions explored during most earlier Apollo missions.
* Before launch, geological interpretations based on telescopic and orbital photographs treated both major targets as probably volcanic: the Cayley Plains were compared with deposits formed by relatively fluid material, while the Descartes mountains were interpreted as structures produced by more viscous volcanic flows.
* Young and Duke landed aboard Orion on April 21, 1972, and completed three lunar excursions totaling more than twenty hours outside while using the Lunar Roving Vehicle to explore the surrounding terrain.
* The crew collected approximately 95 kilograms—209 pounds—of lunar material from multiple stations, including samples associated with Stone Mountain, North Ray Crater, and the Cayley Plains.
* Instead of the expected volcanic rocks, the collection was dominated by feldspathic breccias: fragments of older lunar crust shattered, mixed, and compacted by enormous impact events. NASA’s later sample catalog states that it became apparent even during the mission that the principal materials were not volcanic.
* Sample 65015, collected near Stone Mountain, is an impact-melt rock, while sample 67015 from North Ray Crater is a coarse impact breccia containing angular fragments of still older lunar material.
* The discovery did more than prove one landing-site prediction wrong. It strengthened the interpretation that enormous basin-forming impacts had excavated and redistributed vast quantities of lunar crust, meaning terrain that resembled volcanic construction from orbit could actually be the product of catastrophic bombardment.
* Apollo 16 therefore became scientifically valuable precisely because its prediction failed: the astronauts reached the “wrong mountain” expecting volcanism and returned with evidence that forced lunar geologists to rethink how much of the Moon’s ancient highlands had been constructed, shattered, and rearranged by impacts.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912380Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:14 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTWrong Mountain: How Apollo 16 Proved the Moon Lied NASA sends Apollo 16 into the lunar highlands expecting astronauts to stand on the remains of ancient volcanoes. From orbit, Stone Mountain and the surrounding Descartes terrain look like structures...
NASA sends Apollo 16 into the lunar highlands expecting astronauts to stand on the remains of ancient volcanoes. From orbit, Stone Mountain and the surrounding Descartes terrain look like structures built by thick lava, while the smoother Cayley Plains appear to be another kind of volcanic deposit. John Young and Charlie Duke land there in April 1972, drive more than twenty kilometers, and begin breaking open the rocks. Almost immediately, the prediction starts collapsing. The mountains are not giving them lava. They are giving them shattered rock welded together by impacts. What happens when astronauts reach the exact place scientists chose—and discover that the Moon has been telling a completely different geological story?

The mountain looked volcanic from Earth until astronauts picked it up piece by piece

In this episode, we follow Apollo 16 from the geological assumptions that selected the Descartes landing site to the moment field observations and returned samples overturned them. We trace Young and Duke across the Cayley Plains, Stone Mountain, North Ray Crater, and the surrounding highlands as they search for the volcanic rocks planners expected to find, only to encounter breccias created by enormous impacts. The mission became a demonstration of why exploring another world in person mattered: Apollo 16 did not confirm the map scientists had constructed from photographs—it forced them to rewrite it.

Mission: Apollo 16
Crew: John W. Young, Charles M. Duke Jr., Thomas K. Mattingly II
Date: April 16–27, 1972
Location: Descartes Highlands, Moon
Event: Geological exploration of the Cayley and Descartes formations
Expected Geology: Volcanic plains and volcanic highland deposits
Discovery: Returned samples were dominated by impact-generated breccias rather than the predicted volcanic rocks

* NASA selected the Descartes Highlands because Apollo 16 would be the first landing devoted entirely to the lunar highlands, which cover far more of the Moon than the dark mare regions explored during most earlier Apollo missions.
* Before launch, geological interpretations based on telescopic and orbital photographs treated both major targets as probably volcanic: the Cayley Plains were compared with deposits formed by relatively fluid material, while the Descartes mountains were interpreted as structures produced by more viscous volcanic flows.
* Young and Duke landed aboard Orion on April 21, 1972, and completed three lunar excursions totaling more than twenty hours outside while using the Lunar Roving Vehicle to explore the surrounding terrain.
* The crew collected approximately 95 kilograms—209 pounds—of lunar material from multiple stations, including samples associated with Stone Mountain, North Ray Crater, and the Cayley Plains.
* Instead of the expected volcanic rocks, the collection was dominated by feldspathic breccias: fragments of older lunar crust shattered, mixed, and compacted by enormous impact events. NASA’s later sample catalog states that it became apparent even during the mission that the principal materials were not volcanic.
* Sample 65015, collected near Stone Mountain, is an impact-melt rock, while sample 67015 from North Ray Crater is a coarse impact breccia containing angular fragments of still older lunar material.
* The discovery did more than prove one landing-site prediction wrong. It strengthened the interpretation that enormous basin-forming impacts had excavated and redistributed vast quantities of lunar crust, meaning terrain that resembled volcanic construction from orbit could actually be the product of catastrophic bombardment.
* Apollo 16 therefore became scientifically valuable precisely because its prediction failed: the astronauts reached the “wrong mountain” expecting volcanism and returned with evidence that...]]>1370falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-denied-conrad-the-moon-he-broke-america-s-altitude-record-instead--74912378
Pete Conrad wanted Gemini 11 to do something far more audacious than another Earth-orbit mission: he had hoped for a flight around the Moon. NASA rejected the idea. So in September 1966, Conrad and Richard Gordon docked with an Agena target vehicle on their very first orbit, fired its powerful engine, and climbed higher than any humans had ever traveled without leaving Earth orbit. At apogee, the planet curved beneath them from 853 miles up. If NASA would not let Conrad go to the Moon yet, how far could he push the mission they actually gave him?

The Moon was off-limits—so Conrad took Gemini higher than any Earth-orbiting crew had ever gone

In this episode, we follow Pete Conrad from his unrealized hope of sending Gemini beyond Earth orbit to the demanding three-day mission that became Gemini 11. We trace the first-orbit rendezvous with Agena, Dick Gordon’s exhausting spacewalk, the engine burn that hurled the docked spacecraft to a record altitude, and an experimental tether maneuver that produced the first tiny artificial-gravity effect in space, asking how Conrad turned a mission that stopped short of the Moon into one of Gemini’s most technically ambitious demonstrations.

Person: Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr.
Date: September 12–15, 1966
Location: Earth orbit; maximum apogee approximately 853 miles / 1,374 kilometers
Mission: Gemini XI
Event: Record-setting high-altitude Earth orbit using the Agena target vehicle
Status: Highest altitude achieved by a crewed non-lunar mission, a record that still stands

* Conrad had hoped for a Gemini mission that would travel around the Moon, but NASA kept Gemini focused on developing the rendezvous, docking, EVA, and orbital techniques required for Apollo.
* Gemini 11 launched on September 12, 1966, with Conrad as command pilot and Richard Gordon as pilot, rendezvousing and docking with its Agena target vehicle during the spacecraft’s first orbit—only about ninety-four minutes after liftoff.
* The maneuver was directly relevant to Apollo because astronauts leaving the lunar surface would eventually need to rendezvous rapidly with a command module already orbiting the Moon.
* On September 14, the crew fired the Agena’s primary engine for approximately twenty-six seconds, raising Gemini 11’s apogee to about 853 miles above Earth and breaking the previous crewed altitude record.
* From that height Conrad and Gordon could see an unusually pronounced curvature of the planet; Conrad described the view as spectacular as the spacecraft passed high above Australia.
* After two revolutions at extreme altitude, the Agena engine was fired again to lower the spacecraft back toward its normal orbit, proving that the maneuver had been a controlled engineering experiment rather than simply a bid for a record.
* Gemini 11 later remained tethered to the Agena while Conrad initiated a slow rotation around their common center of gravity, generating a tiny artificial-gravity effect—the first such demonstration performed by crewed spacecraft.
* Conrad eventually reached the Moon after all: three years later he commanded Apollo 12 and became the third human to walk on its surface, turning the astronaut once denied a Gemini lunar flight into the commander of NASA’s second successful lunar landing.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912378Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:10 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThey Denied Conrad the Moon — He Broke America’s Altitude Record Instead Pete Conrad wanted Gemini 11 to do something far more audacious than another Earth-orbit mission: he had hoped for a flight around the Moon. NASA rejected the idea. So in...
Pete Conrad wanted Gemini 11 to do something far more audacious than another Earth-orbit mission: he had hoped for a flight around the Moon. NASA rejected the idea. So in September 1966, Conrad and Richard Gordon docked with an Agena target vehicle on their very first orbit, fired its powerful engine, and climbed higher than any humans had ever traveled without leaving Earth orbit. At apogee, the planet curved beneath them from 853 miles up. If NASA would not let Conrad go to the Moon yet, how far could he push the mission they actually gave him?

The Moon was off-limits—so Conrad took Gemini higher than any Earth-orbiting crew had ever gone

In this episode, we follow Pete Conrad from his unrealized hope of sending Gemini beyond Earth orbit to the demanding three-day mission that became Gemini 11. We trace the first-orbit rendezvous with Agena, Dick Gordon’s exhausting spacewalk, the engine burn that hurled the docked spacecraft to a record altitude, and an experimental tether maneuver that produced the first tiny artificial-gravity effect in space, asking how Conrad turned a mission that stopped short of the Moon into one of Gemini’s most technically ambitious demonstrations.

Person: Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr.
Date: September 12–15, 1966
Location: Earth orbit; maximum apogee approximately 853 miles / 1,374 kilometers
Mission: Gemini XI
Event: Record-setting high-altitude Earth orbit using the Agena target vehicle
Status: Highest altitude achieved by a crewed non-lunar mission, a record that still stands

* Conrad had hoped for a Gemini mission that would travel around the Moon, but NASA kept Gemini focused on developing the rendezvous, docking, EVA, and orbital techniques required for Apollo.
* Gemini 11 launched on September 12, 1966, with Conrad as command pilot and Richard Gordon as pilot, rendezvousing and docking with its Agena target vehicle during the spacecraft’s first orbit—only about ninety-four minutes after liftoff.
* The maneuver was directly relevant to Apollo because astronauts leaving the lunar surface would eventually need to rendezvous rapidly with a command module already orbiting the Moon.
* On September 14, the crew fired the Agena’s primary engine for approximately twenty-six seconds, raising Gemini 11’s apogee to about 853 miles above Earth and breaking the previous crewed altitude record.
* From that height Conrad and Gordon could see an unusually pronounced curvature of the planet; Conrad described the view as spectacular as the spacecraft passed high above Australia.
* After two revolutions at extreme altitude, the Agena engine was fired again to lower the spacecraft back toward its normal orbit, proving that the maneuver had been a controlled engineering experiment rather than simply a bid for a record.
* Gemini 11 later remained tethered to the Agena while Conrad initiated a slow rotation around their common center of gravity, generating a tiny artificial-gravity effect—the first such demonstration performed by crewed spacecraft.
* Conrad eventually reached the Moon after all: three years later he commanded Apollo 12 and became the third human to walk on its surface, turning the astronaut once denied a Gemini lunar flight into the commander of NASA’s second successful lunar landing.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business...]]>1276falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-navigated-by-starlight-the-man-who-saved-apollo-13--74912377
An oxygen tank explodes more than two hundred thousand miles from Earth, crippling Apollo 13 and forcing Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise into the lunar module Aquarius. The spacecraft still has an engine—but an engine is useless if they cannot determine exactly where it is pointing. Normally Lovell would identify navigation stars through the optical telescope. Now sunlight reflects from thousands of fragments and clouds surrounding the damaged spacecraft, making false stars appear everywhere. If he aligns the guidance system to the wrong point of light, the burn meant to save them could send Apollo 13 farther off course. How do you navigate home when the stars themselves seem to have disappeared?

The explosion blinded Apollo 13’s normal navigation system—so Lovell had to find another sky to follow

In this episode, we follow Commander Jim Lovell through the navigation crisis that followed the Apollo 13 explosion, from the emergency transfer of guidance information out of the dying command module to the improvised celestial references that kept Aquarius pointed toward Earth. We trace the debris field that made normal star sightings unreliable, the use of the Sun as an alignment reference, and the manual attitude corrections that demanded Lovell keep Earth fixed in the spacecraft window while the lunar module engine fired, asking how basic celestial navigation became one of the final safeguards between three astronauts and permanent loss in space.

Person: James A. Lovell Jr.
Date: April 13–17, 1970
Location: Cislunar space, between Earth and the Moon
Mission: Apollo 13
Event: Emergency guidance alignment and manual navigation after the oxygen-tank explosion
Navigation References: Sun, Earth, Moon, and transferred inertial-platform alignment
Status: Crew returned safely to Earth on April 17, 1970

* When Apollo 13’s oxygen tank exploded on April 13, the command module Odyssey began losing electrical power, forcing the crew to shut it down and use the lunar module Aquarius as an emergency lifeboat.
* Before Odyssey lost power completely, the astronauts transferred its inertial guidance alignment into Aquarius. Lovell later described preserving that alignment as one of the mission’s crucial early turning points.
* Normal lunar-module navigation relied on identifying known stars through the Alignment Optical Telescope, but sunlight reflecting from debris and vented material around Apollo 13 produced so many bright points that genuine stars became extremely difficult to distinguish.
* Mission Control developed an alternate alignment procedure using the Sun. Lovell maneuvered Aquarius to the predicted attitude and sighted the Sun through the optical system; the resulting alignment was found to be less than half a degree from the expected position.
* Apollo 13 also required manual course corrections with many normal guidance functions unavailable. During one critical burn, Lovell used Earth’s illuminated limb in the spacecraft window as a visual reference while Haise controlled another axis and Swigert timed the engine firing.
* These procedures were especially difficult because Aquarius had been designed to land two astronauts on the Moon, not navigate three men and a docked command module through deep space back to Earth.
* The crew eventually used sightings of the Sun, Moon, and Earth rather than conventional stellar observations to maintain and verify spacecraft orientation while Mission Control calculated the trajectory from the ground.
* Apollo 13 splashed down safely in the Pacific on April 17, transforming a failed lunar landing into one of NASA’s defining rescue stories—and showing that when computerized navigation became unreliable, Lovell’s understanding of spacecraft attitude and celestial references could still help point the crew home.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912377Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:06 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTHe Navigated By Starlight: The Man Who Saved Apollo 13 An oxygen tank explodes more than two hundred thousand miles from Earth, crippling Apollo 13 and forcing Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise into the lunar module Aquarius. The spacecraft...
An oxygen tank explodes more than two hundred thousand miles from Earth, crippling Apollo 13 and forcing Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise into the lunar module Aquarius. The spacecraft still has an engine—but an engine is useless if they cannot determine exactly where it is pointing. Normally Lovell would identify navigation stars through the optical telescope. Now sunlight reflects from thousands of fragments and clouds surrounding the damaged spacecraft, making false stars appear everywhere. If he aligns the guidance system to the wrong point of light, the burn meant to save them could send Apollo 13 farther off course. How do you navigate home when the stars themselves seem to have disappeared?

The explosion blinded Apollo 13’s normal navigation system—so Lovell had to find another sky to follow

In this episode, we follow Commander Jim Lovell through the navigation crisis that followed the Apollo 13 explosion, from the emergency transfer of guidance information out of the dying command module to the improvised celestial references that kept Aquarius pointed toward Earth. We trace the debris field that made normal star sightings unreliable, the use of the Sun as an alignment reference, and the manual attitude corrections that demanded Lovell keep Earth fixed in the spacecraft window while the lunar module engine fired, asking how basic celestial navigation became one of the final safeguards between three astronauts and permanent loss in space.

Person: James A. Lovell Jr.
Date: April 13–17, 1970
Location: Cislunar space, between Earth and the Moon
Mission: Apollo 13
Event: Emergency guidance alignment and manual navigation after the oxygen-tank explosion
Navigation References: Sun, Earth, Moon, and transferred inertial-platform alignment
Status: Crew returned safely to Earth on April 17, 1970

* When Apollo 13’s oxygen tank exploded on April 13, the command module Odyssey began losing electrical power, forcing the crew to shut it down and use the lunar module Aquarius as an emergency lifeboat.
* Before Odyssey lost power completely, the astronauts transferred its inertial guidance alignment into Aquarius. Lovell later described preserving that alignment as one of the mission’s crucial early turning points.
* Normal lunar-module navigation relied on identifying known stars through the Alignment Optical Telescope, but sunlight reflecting from debris and vented material around Apollo 13 produced so many bright points that genuine stars became extremely difficult to distinguish.
* Mission Control developed an alternate alignment procedure using the Sun. Lovell maneuvered Aquarius to the predicted attitude and sighted the Sun through the optical system; the resulting alignment was found to be less than half a degree from the expected position.
* Apollo 13 also required manual course corrections with many normal guidance functions unavailable. During one critical burn, Lovell used Earth’s illuminated limb in the spacecraft window as a visual reference while Haise controlled another axis and Swigert timed the engine firing.
* These procedures were especially difficult because Aquarius had been designed to land two astronauts on the Moon, not navigate three men and a docked command module through deep space back to Earth.
* The crew eventually used sightings of the Sun, Moon, and Earth rather than conventional stellar observations to maintain and verify spacecraft orientation while Mission Control calculated the trajectory from the ground.
* Apollo 13 splashed down safely in the Pacific on April 17, transforming a failed lunar landing into one of NASA’s defining rescue stories—and showing that when computerized navigation became unreliable, Lovell’s understanding of spacecraft attitude and celestial references could still help point...]]>1537falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-crossed-space-three-times-why-nasa-never-gave-him-wings--74912376
Before Joe Engle ever joined NASA, he had already crossed the United States Air Force’s official boundary of space three separate times in the X-15. On one flight he climbed to 280,600 feet, high enough to see the black sky above the curved Earth and become the youngest American pilot then qualified as an astronaut. Yet the wings recognizing those flights did not come from NASA. Engle had reached space as a military test pilot, years before he would ride a conventional spacecraft into orbit. How did a man become an astronaut before NASA ever made him one?

The rocket plane took him into space three times—but the wings on his uniform belonged to the Air Force

In this episode, we follow Joe Engle from the dangerous X-15 program at Edwards Air Force Base to NASA’s astronaut corps, tracing sixteen rocket-plane flights, three journeys above the Air Force’s fifty-mile space boundary, and the unusual path that made him an astronaut before he ever flew an orbital mission. We follow his selection for Apollo, the lunar landing assignment he lost, his role in proving the Space Shuttle could fly like an aircraft, and his eventual return to space aboard Columbia, asking where the boundary really lies between test pilot and astronaut when a man can cross into space without ever reaching orbit.

Person: Joe H. Engle
Date: 1963–1965 (X-15 flights); June 29, 1965 (highest X-15 flight)
Location: Edwards Air Force Base and the high atmosphere above the western United States
Vehicle: North American X-15
Event: Three flights above the U.S. Air Force’s 50-mile astronaut threshold
Recognition: Qualified for U.S. Air Force astronaut wings before joining NASA
Status: Selected by NASA in 1966; later flew STS-2 and STS-51-I

* Engle entered the X-15 program as a U.S. Air Force test pilot in 1963 and ultimately flew the rocket-powered research aircraft sixteen times, operating a vehicle capable of reaching hypersonic speeds and altitudes at the edge of space.
* On June 29, 1965, Engle flew the X-15 to approximately 280,600 feet, or more than fifty-three miles above Earth, making him the youngest pilot at the time to qualify for astronaut status under the Air Force definition.
* Three of Engle’s sixteen X-15 flights exceeded fifty miles, the altitude used by the U.S. military for awarding astronaut wings, meaning he had technically traveled into space three times before NASA selected him as an astronaut in 1966.
* The distinction behind the title is institutional: NASA did not award Engle those original wings because the X-15 flights were conducted while he was an Air Force pilot. The United States Air Force officially recognized him as a military astronaut.
* Engle later served as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 14 and was originally positioned for Apollo 17, but geologist Harrison Schmitt replaced him when NASA decided the final lunar mission should include a professional scientist.
* After Apollo, Engle became one of the key pilots in the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests, flying Enterprise during atmospheric glide tests that demonstrated the winged spacecraft could safely return to a runway.
* In November 1981, Engle commanded STS-2, the second orbital Space Shuttle mission and the first reuse of a crewed orbital spacecraft, personally flying portions of Columbia’s reentry using techniques rooted in his X-15 experience.
* He returned to orbit as commander of STS-51-I in 1985, giving him an unusual career spanning rocket-plane spaceflight, Apollo-era lunar training, experimental Shuttle testing, and operational orbital missions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912376Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:02 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTHe Crossed Space Three Times—Why NASA Never Gave Him Wings Before Joe Engle ever joined NASA, he had already crossed the United States Air Force’s official boundary of space three separate times in the X-15. On one flight he climbed to 280,600 feet,...
Before Joe Engle ever joined NASA, he had already crossed the United States Air Force’s official boundary of space three separate times in the X-15. On one flight he climbed to 280,600 feet, high enough to see the black sky above the curved Earth and become the youngest American pilot then qualified as an astronaut. Yet the wings recognizing those flights did not come from NASA. Engle had reached space as a military test pilot, years before he would ride a conventional spacecraft into orbit. How did a man become an astronaut before NASA ever made him one?

The rocket plane took him into space three times—but the wings on his uniform belonged to the Air Force

In this episode, we follow Joe Engle from the dangerous X-15 program at Edwards Air Force Base to NASA’s astronaut corps, tracing sixteen rocket-plane flights, three journeys above the Air Force’s fifty-mile space boundary, and the unusual path that made him an astronaut before he ever flew an orbital mission. We follow his selection for Apollo, the lunar landing assignment he lost, his role in proving the Space Shuttle could fly like an aircraft, and his eventual return to space aboard Columbia, asking where the boundary really lies between test pilot and astronaut when a man can cross into space without ever reaching orbit.

Person: Joe H. Engle
Date: 1963–1965 (X-15 flights); June 29, 1965 (highest X-15 flight)
Location: Edwards Air Force Base and the high atmosphere above the western United States
Vehicle: North American X-15
Event: Three flights above the U.S. Air Force’s 50-mile astronaut threshold
Recognition: Qualified for U.S. Air Force astronaut wings before joining NASA
Status: Selected by NASA in 1966; later flew STS-2 and STS-51-I

* Engle entered the X-15 program as a U.S. Air Force test pilot in 1963 and ultimately flew the rocket-powered research aircraft sixteen times, operating a vehicle capable of reaching hypersonic speeds and altitudes at the edge of space.
* On June 29, 1965, Engle flew the X-15 to approximately 280,600 feet, or more than fifty-three miles above Earth, making him the youngest pilot at the time to qualify for astronaut status under the Air Force definition.
* Three of Engle’s sixteen X-15 flights exceeded fifty miles, the altitude used by the U.S. military for awarding astronaut wings, meaning he had technically traveled into space three times before NASA selected him as an astronaut in 1966.
* The distinction behind the title is institutional: NASA did not award Engle those original wings because the X-15 flights were conducted while he was an Air Force pilot. The United States Air Force officially recognized him as a military astronaut.
* Engle later served as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 14 and was originally positioned for Apollo 17, but geologist Harrison Schmitt replaced him when NASA decided the final lunar mission should include a professional scientist.
* After Apollo, Engle became one of the key pilots in the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests, flying Enterprise during atmospheric glide tests that demonstrated the winged spacecraft could safely return to a runway.
* In November 1981, Engle commanded STS-2, the second orbital Space Shuttle mission and the first reuse of a crewed orbital spacecraft, personally flying portions of Columbia’s reentry using techniques rooted in his X-15 experience.
* He returned to orbit as commander of STS-51-I in 1985, giving him an unusual career spanning rocket-plane spaceflight, Apollo-era lunar training, experimental Shuttle testing, and operational orbital missions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content...]]>1240falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-bolted-a-121-pound-cap-they-still-didn-t-find-the-hole--74912374
A seven-ton Progress cargo ship slams into Mir’s Spektr module during a manual docking test, crushing a solar array, buckling a radiator, and opening the station to vacuum. The crew hears air escaping and seals Spektr before the rest of Mir can depressurize. For months, astronauts search inside and outside the dead module for the puncture. Then Atlantis arrives carrying a 121-pound Solar Array Cap built for a future repair attempt. Engineers have designed a way to cover the suspected breach—but they still cannot say exactly where the hole is. How do you repair a spacecraft when you know it is leaking but cannot find the wound?

They built the patch before they could prove where the station had been punctured

In this episode, we follow the Mir crisis from the June 25, 1997 collision with Progress M-34 through the desperate attempts to restore power, locate the pressure leak, and recover the crippled Spektr module. We trace internal and external spacewalks, inspections of damaged radiators and solar-array mounts, and the STS-86 mission that delivered a 121-pound Solar Array Cap for a possible sealing operation. At the center is an engineering nightmare: Mir could survive with Spektr isolated, but restoring the module required finding a breach that refused to reveal itself.

Station: Mir
Module: Spektr
Date: June 25–October 1997
Location: Low Earth orbit
Event: Progress M-34 collision, Spektr depressurization, and attempted repair preparations
Repair Hardware: 121-pound / 55-kilogram Solar Array Cap
Status: Spektr remained depressurized and isolated for the remainder of Mir’s operational life

* On June 25, 1997, Mir commander Vasily Tsibliyev was manually controlling the unmanned Progress M-34 during a redocking test when the cargo spacecraft approached too quickly and collided first with a Spektr solar array and then with the module itself.
* The impact damaged the solar array and radiator and breached Spektr’s pressure hull. The crew heard the escaping air and rapidly isolated the module, preventing the entire Mir complex from depressurizing.
* Closing Spektr created another emergency because electrical cables from its solar arrays passed through the hatch. The crew had to disconnect them before sealing the module, sharply reducing the station’s available electrical power.
* On August 22, Anatoly Solovyev and Pavel Vinogradov entered the depressurized Spektr wearing spacesuits, restored electrical connections through a modified hatch, and searched for evidence of the leak, but they could not identify the puncture from inside.
* On September 6, Solovyev and NASA astronaut Michael Foale spent six hours outside Mir inspecting suspected impact areas, damaged radiator structures, and the base of the solar array. They narrowed the likely location but still found no obvious hole.
* During STS-86, Scott Parazynski and Vladimir Titov performed a five-hour, one-minute spacewalk on October 1 and attached a 121-pound Solar Array Cap to Mir’s docking module for possible later use in sealing the suspected breach.
* The cap was essentially repair hardware waiting for a target. Engineers believed the leak was probably associated with the damaged solar-array attachment area, but uncertainty over the precise location and character of the breach prevented a straightforward external repair.
* Spektr was never fully repressurized. It remained sealed off from the inhabited portion of Mir, making the episode one of the strangest spacecraft-repair problems of the Shuttle-Mir era: engineers successfully built and delivered a patch for a hole they could never confidently expose.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912374Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:37:58 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThey Bolted a 121-Pound Cap — They Still Didn't Find the Hole A seven-ton Progress cargo ship slams into Mir’s Spektr module during a manual docking test, crushing a solar array, buckling a radiator, and opening the station to vacuum. The crew hears...
A seven-ton Progress cargo ship slams into Mir’s Spektr module during a manual docking test, crushing a solar array, buckling a radiator, and opening the station to vacuum. The crew hears air escaping and seals Spektr before the rest of Mir can depressurize. For months, astronauts search inside and outside the dead module for the puncture. Then Atlantis arrives carrying a 121-pound Solar Array Cap built for a future repair attempt. Engineers have designed a way to cover the suspected breach—but they still cannot say exactly where the hole is. How do you repair a spacecraft when you know it is leaking but cannot find the wound?

They built the patch before they could prove where the station had been punctured

In this episode, we follow the Mir crisis from the June 25, 1997 collision with Progress M-34 through the desperate attempts to restore power, locate the pressure leak, and recover the crippled Spektr module. We trace internal and external spacewalks, inspections of damaged radiators and solar-array mounts, and the STS-86 mission that delivered a 121-pound Solar Array Cap for a possible sealing operation. At the center is an engineering nightmare: Mir could survive with Spektr isolated, but restoring the module required finding a breach that refused to reveal itself.

Station: Mir
Module: Spektr
Date: June 25–October 1997
Location: Low Earth orbit
Event: Progress M-34 collision, Spektr depressurization, and attempted repair preparations
Repair Hardware: 121-pound / 55-kilogram Solar Array Cap
Status: Spektr remained depressurized and isolated for the remainder of Mir’s operational life

* On June 25, 1997, Mir commander Vasily Tsibliyev was manually controlling the unmanned Progress M-34 during a redocking test when the cargo spacecraft approached too quickly and collided first with a Spektr solar array and then with the module itself.
* The impact damaged the solar array and radiator and breached Spektr’s pressure hull. The crew heard the escaping air and rapidly isolated the module, preventing the entire Mir complex from depressurizing.
* Closing Spektr created another emergency because electrical cables from its solar arrays passed through the hatch. The crew had to disconnect them before sealing the module, sharply reducing the station’s available electrical power.
* On August 22, Anatoly Solovyev and Pavel Vinogradov entered the depressurized Spektr wearing spacesuits, restored electrical connections through a modified hatch, and searched for evidence of the leak, but they could not identify the puncture from inside.
* On September 6, Solovyev and NASA astronaut Michael Foale spent six hours outside Mir inspecting suspected impact areas, damaged radiator structures, and the base of the solar array. They narrowed the likely location but still found no obvious hole.
* During STS-86, Scott Parazynski and Vladimir Titov performed a five-hour, one-minute spacewalk on October 1 and attached a 121-pound Solar Array Cap to Mir’s docking module for possible later use in sealing the suspected breach.
* The cap was essentially repair hardware waiting for a target. Engineers believed the leak was probably associated with the damaged solar-array attachment area, but uncertainty over the precise location and character of the breach prevented a straightforward external repair.
* Spektr was never fully repressurized. It remained sealed off from the inhabited portion of Mir, making the episode one of the strangest spacecraft-repair problems of the Shuttle-Mir era: engineers successfully built and delivered a patch for a hole they could never confidently expose.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights...]]>1320falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-skull-that-rode-hubble-silent-witness-in-discovery-s-highest-orbit--74912372
Discovery climbs higher than any Space Shuttle has ever flown, carrying the Hubble Space Telescope toward an orbit more than 380 miles above Earth. Hidden far below the famous telescope, inside a middeck locker, is another passenger: an eleven-pound human skull cut into sections, packed with more than one hundred radiation detectors, reassembled, and covered in tissue-like plastic. It has no name, no voice, and no living body attached to it. Yet on Hubble’s historic flight, this skull is there to answer a question every future astronaut will face: how much radiation actually reaches the human brain in space?

The telescope looked outward into the universe while a dead human skull measured what space was doing to the people inside

In this episode, we follow the strange journey of NASA’s “phantom head” from laboratory preparation to three Space Shuttle missions, culminating aboard Discovery during STS-31 and the deployment of Hubble. We trace why scientists needed an actual human skull, how dosimeters were embedded at different depths inside it, and why Hubble’s unusually high orbit offered a valuable radiation environment to test. While the world watched Discovery release one of the most important telescopes ever built, an anonymous donor’s remains were quietly collecting data meant to protect astronauts on the much longer missions NASA hoped would someday follow.

Artifact: Human skull / “phantom head”
Date: April 24–29, 1990
Location: Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-31
Mission: Deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope
Experiment: In-flight Radiation Dose Distribution
Purpose: Measure radiation penetration through the human skull at multiple depths
Status: Third orbital flight of the skull; flown during the highest-altitude Space Shuttle mission then achieved

* The skull came from a person who had donated their body to science. NASA sources at the time said its relatively small size suggested that it was probably female, although the donor’s identity was not publicly known.
* Researchers cut the approximately eleven-pound skull into multiple sections, installed more than one hundred radiation-sensitive detectors throughout it, reassembled it, and surrounded it with plastic designed to approximate human soft tissue.
* The experiment was designed to determine how much ionizing radiation penetrated the head and how the dose changed at different depths—information relevant to astronauts spending longer periods in orbit or eventually traveling toward the Moon and Mars.
* The skull had already flown aboard Discovery on STS-28 in August 1989 and Atlantis on STS-36 in February 1990, allowing researchers to collect measurements under different orbital conditions before its third flight.
* On April 24, 1990, it launched aboard Discovery with Hubble on STS-31. The shuttle entered an orbit around 613–615 kilometers above Earth and briefly reached roughly 621 kilometers, about 386 miles—the highest altitude ever reached by a Space Shuttle orbiter.
* Radiation exposure varies with altitude and orbital inclination, so Discovery’s exceptionally high Hubble trajectory gave researchers a different radiation environment from the skull’s previous missions.
* While Hubble was deployed from Discovery’s payload bay on April 25 to begin observing distant stars and galaxies, the skull remained inside the crew cabin collecting measurements invisible to the public spectacle outside.
* The contrast made STS-31 an unusually symbolic mission: Hubble was designed to measure ancient light crossing the universe, while only meters away human remains were being used to measure one of the invisible hazards that would determine how far living humans could safely follow.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74912372Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:37:54 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Skull That Rode Hubble: Silent Witness in Discovery's Highest Orbit Discovery climbs higher than any Space Shuttle has ever flown, carrying the Hubble Space Telescope toward an orbit more than 380 miles above Earth. Hidden far below the famous...
Discovery climbs higher than any Space Shuttle has ever flown, carrying the Hubble Space Telescope toward an orbit more than 380 miles above Earth. Hidden far below the famous telescope, inside a middeck locker, is another passenger: an eleven-pound human skull cut into sections, packed with more than one hundred radiation detectors, reassembled, and covered in tissue-like plastic. It has no name, no voice, and no living body attached to it. Yet on Hubble’s historic flight, this skull is there to answer a question every future astronaut will face: how much radiation actually reaches the human brain in space?

The telescope looked outward into the universe while a dead human skull measured what space was doing to the people inside

In this episode, we follow the strange journey of NASA’s “phantom head” from laboratory preparation to three Space Shuttle missions, culminating aboard Discovery during STS-31 and the deployment of Hubble. We trace why scientists needed an actual human skull, how dosimeters were embedded at different depths inside it, and why Hubble’s unusually high orbit offered a valuable radiation environment to test. While the world watched Discovery release one of the most important telescopes ever built, an anonymous donor’s remains were quietly collecting data meant to protect astronauts on the much longer missions NASA hoped would someday follow.

Artifact: Human skull / “phantom head”
Date: April 24–29, 1990
Location: Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-31
Mission: Deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope
Experiment: In-flight Radiation Dose Distribution
Purpose: Measure radiation penetration through the human skull at multiple depths
Status: Third orbital flight of the skull; flown during the highest-altitude Space Shuttle mission then achieved

* The skull came from a person who had donated their body to science. NASA sources at the time said its relatively small size suggested that it was probably female, although the donor’s identity was not publicly known.
* Researchers cut the approximately eleven-pound skull into multiple sections, installed more than one hundred radiation-sensitive detectors throughout it, reassembled it, and surrounded it with plastic designed to approximate human soft tissue.
* The experiment was designed to determine how much ionizing radiation penetrated the head and how the dose changed at different depths—information relevant to astronauts spending longer periods in orbit or eventually traveling toward the Moon and Mars.
* The skull had already flown aboard Discovery on STS-28 in August 1989 and Atlantis on STS-36 in February 1990, allowing researchers to collect measurements under different orbital conditions before its third flight.
* On April 24, 1990, it launched aboard Discovery with Hubble on STS-31. The shuttle entered an orbit around 613–615 kilometers above Earth and briefly reached roughly 621 kilometers, about 386 miles—the highest altitude ever reached by a Space Shuttle orbiter.
* Radiation exposure varies with altitude and orbital inclination, so Discovery’s exceptionally high Hubble trajectory gave researchers a different radiation environment from the skull’s previous missions.
* While Hubble was deployed from Discovery’s payload bay on April 25 to begin observing distant stars and galaxies, the skull remained inside the crew cabin collecting measurements invisible to the public spectacle outside.
* The contrast made STS-31 an unusually symbolic mission: Hubble was designed to measure ancient light crossing the universe, while only meters away human remains were being used to measure one of the invisible hazards that would determine how far living humans could safely follow.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our...]]>1268falsefull