Jake and Anthony are joined by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian to talk about Russia’s latest endangerment to the ISS—their anti-satellite operationthat resulted in a huge debris field—and about how Jonathan does all the excellent work he does tracking launches, satellites, and where everything in space is going.

Drinks

• Phelddagrif - Thodes Ale - Untappd
• Sátiro - Thodes Ale - Untappd
• Genmaicha
• Orangina | Sparkling Citrus Drink
• Anthony’s Gin & Tonic: half Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, half Schweppes Tonic, and a shitload of lime

Topics

• Off-Nominal - YouTube
• Episode 46 - Anti-Satellite Own Goal (with Jonathan McDowell) - YouTube
• Russia destroys satellite in ASAT test - SpaceNews
• 2021 Russian satellite intercept - YouTube
• Official ASAT - Anti Satellite Missile Mission / Mission Shakti Video by DRDO - YouTube
• Jonathan McDowell on Twitter: “Here is the orbit of ISS (blue) compared to that of the Ikar No. 39L satellite (cover name Kosmos-1408) (magenta) and the part of the orbit where the crew have been warned of possible collisions with a debris field (red). This shows Kosmos-1408 is a plausible candidate”
• Jonathan McDowell on Twitter: “The latest Starlink batch (Group 4-1) of 53 sats seems to include one dud - Starlink 3123 (red) is not orbit raising. (Green: deployment rods).”
• Jonathan McDowell on Twitter: “Another space collision of interest was the disintegration on 2020 Jul 12 of object 43673, an inert piece of a Japanese rocket. (Event - green; debris objects cataloged later - red; orbit height of 43673 itself - blue)”
• The edge of space: Revisiting the Karman Line - ScienceDirect
• Orbiting Frog Otolith - Wikipedia
• KSP History Part 66 - Orbiting Frog Otolith - Imgur
• International Cometary Explorer - Wikipedia
• KSP History Part 112 - ISEE-3 - post - Imgur

Picks

• Foundation | Apple TV+
• The Planet Factory: Exoplanets and the Search for a Second Earth by Elizabeth Tasker
• Asteroids: How Love, Fear, and Greed Will Determine Our Future in Space by Martin Elvis
• Unmanned Spaceflight.com

Follow Jonathan

• Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) / Twitter
• Jonathan's Space Report

Follow Jake

• WeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to Mars
• WeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | Twitter
• Jake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | Twitter

Follow Anthony

• Main Engine Cut Off
• Main Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | Twitter
• Anthony Colangelo (@acolangelo) | Twitter

Off-Nominal Merchandise

• Off-Nominal Logo Tee
• WeMartians Shop | MECO Shop