Spexcast

The first all-civilian crew space mission is set to launch as Inspiration4. SPEXcast sits down to discuss the importance of this mission in the context of American space flight, commercial space flight, and private space flight. We discuss the crew selection and inside peeks into the SpaceX Crewed Spaceflight program via the Netflix documentary for the mission. We also explore how this mission will impact future crewed missions going forward.

After 10 months of exploratory work, NASA has selected SpaceX's Starship to return humans to the Moon. We analyze NASA's announcement and break down NASA's own Source Selection Document to understand how Blue Origin and Dynetics stacked up against SpaceX's proposal.

23 years after the first module of the International Space Station was launched into space, the station is getting another major upgrade! On January 11th, NASA announced 6 new advanced solar panels will be installed on the ISS starting later this year. These panels are much more efficient than the originals that were installed in the early 2000s, and will enable exciting new experiments on the ISS going forward. Today we dive into what makes these panels special, as well as the impact they will have on the ISS and its commercial successors.

On this episode, nTopology CEO Brad Rothenberg walks us through how generative design techniques and new engineering tools are changing the way we design spacecraft.

SpaceX's Starlink constellation claims to serve low-latency, high-bandwidth internet access to anyone in the United States with a Starlink base station. In New York, another company has a head start connecting businesses with high-speed internet. Shrihari Pandit is the CEO of Stealth Communications. His company serves gigabit internet to NYC over their own fiber optic network. On this episode, Shrihari takes us through the ins and outs of how LEO constellations like Starlink and Project Kuiper will play a role in delivering high speed internet to people across the globe.

This week on SPEXcast, Vice President of Special Projects & Brand at Virgin Orbit, Will Pomerantz, talks about the origins of Virgin Orbit, mentorship, and diversity in today's aerospace industry. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/78-will-pomerantz-virgin-orbit .

This week on SPEXcast, we discuss SpaceX's historic Demonstration Mission 2 for NASA as part of the Commercial Crew Program. We dive into how this mission will change NASA going forward, as well as the challenges and achievements SpaceX worked through over the past 10 years. Finally we look forward to the next big milestones for commercial spaceflight.

This week on SPEXcast, we discuss SpaceX's historic Demonstration Mission 2 for NASA as part of the Commercial Crew Program. We dive into how this mission will change NASA going forward, as well as the challenges and achievements SpaceX worked through over the past 10 years. Finally we look forward to the next big milestones for commercial spaceflight.

This week on SPEXcast, we discuss the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (or SPHEREx). It is a two year science mission designed to survey the cosmos in 96 color bands, mapping the whole sky once every 6 months, and all this data will be publicly available. The mission was recently selected by NASA’s Explorer program and is targeting a 2023 launch. Today on the show we are speaking with Dr. Michael Zemcov of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Dr. Zemcov is an assistant professor at the RIT Center for Detectors and one of 19 co-investigators for the SPHEREx mission.

This week on SPEXcast, we discuss NASA's announcement of Human Landing System contracts for three companies: Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Dynetics. We dive into the details behind NASA's decision, breaking down each proposal by technial merit, management organization, and price.

This week on SPEXcast, we analyze the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the space industry. OneWeb files for bankruptcy, Bigelow Aerospace fires all employees, and small launcher startups face an uncertain future.

This week on SPEXcast, we kickoff the year by recapping 2019 in space. Faris joins the team as an episode regular, and we also discuss what we anticipate will be the biggest stories and missions of 2020.

This week on SPEXcast we sit down with James Bultitude, Lead Engineer at Orbit Fab. Orbit Fab aims to build 'gas stations' in space, allowing spacecraft to refuel when they would otherwise be discarded. He talks through the challenges of in-space refueling as well as what it is like going from a mission proposal to functioning experiment on the ISS within 6 months.

This week on SPEXcast we recap Space'x first operational Starlink launch. SpaceX plans to build and launch thousands of Low Earrth Orbit satellites to provide satellite internet around the world. We break down the unique design considerations of the Starlink satellite and talk about the implications of the global constellation.

The Spaceport America Cup provides students from around the world a safe opportunity to practice the art of high-powered rocketry. University teams descend to the New Mexico desert for the week to present their technical achievements and battle the elements and plain-old rocket science problems to take flight. This week on SPEXcast we sit down to discuss Spaceport America 2019, including the highlights of the competition, the changes since 2018, and the future of this event as space engineering continues to grow in popularity . You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/spaceport-america-cup-2019 .

Whether it be NASA directives, FCC regulations or military operations in space, there's no doubt that policy has a significant impact on industry at every turn Today on SPEXcast we will take a closer look at space policy with Marcia Smith, the founder and editor of spacepolicyonline.com . You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/space-policy-marcia-smith .

This week on SPEXcast we dive into the scientific instruments that drive new discoveries. NASA’s Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation (DALI) selected 5 finalist projects for continued development. From neutron generators that can determine the composition of planets to lasers that can determine how old our solar system is, these new instruments promise exciting scientific potential if and when they fly on spacecraft in the future. NASA also selected the Atmospheric Waves Experiment as part of NASA’s heliophysics explorers program, which will go to the ISS to expand our understanding of airglow in Earth’s atmosphere. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/awe-dali-sunrise-lems-beca-crater-ssolve .

This week on SPEXcast, we dive into the exciting advancements and discoveries robotic science vehicles are making across the solar system. SpaceIL launched the first commercial lunar lander on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Also JAXA’s Hayabusa2 landed on its target asteroid Ryugu, shooting it with a bullet to collect samples for the next stage of its multi-year mission. Lastly, we remember Opportunity, one of the most prolific robotic explorers. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/spaceil-hayabusa2-orbex-mars-one .

This week on SPEXcast, we dive into NASA's manned spaceflight initatives. Commercial Crew is finally flying, albeit uncrewed. NASA also announced its follow up to the Commercial Crew development program with NextSTEP-2, a proposal to build manned lunar landers to support future Moon landings. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/commercial-crew-takes-flight .

This week on SPEXcast, we kick of 2019 with some of the biggest space stories of the year, so far. SpaceX has radically redesigned their BFR/ITS Mars rocket into the gleaming Starship and Super Heavy. Virgin Galactic reached space for the first time, and Stratolaunch backs out of the rocket development game. You can check out additional links and references at https://blog.spexcast.com/spacex-raptor-test-fire-virgin-galactic-flight .