Failure To Launch

The cosmonaut who cursed the Soviet Union as he burned alive. The friend who died to protect Yuri Gagarin. The lump of carbon in an open casket. There are a lot of stories out there about Vladimir Komarov and Soyuz 1, and most of them are lies. In this episode, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris go over what really happened to the first man to die during a spaceflight. Show Notes: Soyuz 1: The Death of Vladimir Komarov by Asif Siddiqi http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/histind/Soyuz1Land/SoyAtti.htm https://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz1.html https://www.drewexmachina.com/2017/04/26/soyuz-1-tragedy/

This episode, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris talk about the history of Space Hygiene and the worst space mission that everyone survived. Topics covered include: The Soviet and American test subjects who didn't bathe for science The Gemini 7 astronauts who stewed in their spacesuits for two weeks The Salyut cosmonauts who almost drowned using the first space shower Sources: Packing For Mars, Mary Roach https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/gemini7.htm

This episode we cover the history of the longest-running cooperation in space history, BION, as well as the endangered species it launched into space and the people who chained themselves to a door to shut it down. Sources: Animals in Space, Chris Dubbs & Colin Burgess NASA Institute for Biomedical Problems / Roscosmos

The Navy tries to launch a grapefruit into orbit, an Army general LARPs as a Bond villain, and America's first satellite launch comes down to the dumbest photo-finish in space history. Part 2/2 of our series on Project Vanguard, the US Navy's flawed satellite launch program. Sources: Red Moon Rising, Matthew Brzezinski Vanguard: A History, NASA

The story of probably the funniest and worst field in space science. We cover the history of space toilets from the Gemini "Defecation Glove" to the Shuttle Toilet-Blender. Show Notes - Packing For Mars, Mary Roach - How Do You Go To The Bathroom In Space, William R. Pogue

Project Vanguard, the US Navy's plan to put a satellite in orbit, isn't one of those space stories that's well-remembered and with good reason - it was a historic failure and a national embarrassment. Needless to say, we were interested. In this episode, America tries to beat the Soviets to orbit with three (3) competing space programs, Navy engineers discover possibly the most dangerous chemicals on the planet, and an unfinished, untested, underfunded, and mismanaged rocket is forced to perform "the wettest dry run in history". P.S. Thank you to Sarah from the It Came From The Sea podcast for the intro (the annoyed tone is intentional and hopefully not directed at us) Sources: Red Moon Rising, Matthew Brzezinski Ignition, John D. Clark Vanguard: A History, NASA

In this episode, we take a look into the idea of delivering mail by rocket. It's a story of colonialism, Nazis, scammers, stamp collectors, and possibly the dumbest/coolest conman of all time. 

Most people know about Laika the space dog or ham the astrochimp. What most people don't know about are the cyberpunk animals of the French Space Program. This episode, we explore CERMA, the Hammaguir launch site, and the various endangered animals France launched into space. Show Notes: Start of "Soviet September", where Quinn is banned from talking about the USSR or their space program for the next four (4) episodes, inclusive. Sources: Animals in Space: From Research Rockets to the Space Shuttle, Colin Burgess, 2007

The Soviets came up with some truly innovative ways to protect their cosmonauts and space stations. This episode, we dig through a layer of Cold War secrecy and cover-ups to bring you the history of space guns. From cosmonaut Alexei Leonov taking on a wolfpack with a 1.5lb handgun to the Space Shuttle kicking off a wave of stupid Soviet space weapons.

Part 2 of our 2 part series. In 1978, a Soviet spy satellite carrying weapons-grade uranium slammed into Canada's Northwest Territories. This episode, we talk about the scientists, soldiers, and psychics who signed on with Operation Morning Light to clean up the mess and why they failed. Content Warning: As with most things involving the Canadian government's treatment of First Nations people, a fair amount of racism. Sources: Leo Heaps, Operation Morning Light: Terror in Our Skies : the True Story of Cosmos 954 http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/trackind/RORSAT/RORSAT.html#References https://web.archive.org/web/20110929125210/http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/gamma/ml_e.php