The Space Above Us
JP Burke
A podcast about the history of NASA human spaceflight. New episodes every other Thursday. (ish)
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 9, 2023 • 30min
175 - STS-89 - The Last of the Mir 7 (Thomas to Mir)
Dave Wolf is ready to come home, which is good because Andy Thomas is ready to become the last NASA astronaut to live on Mir. So put on some nice headphones, pull up a chair next to the aquarium window, and relax with some spaceflight history as we kick off 1998! Show notes: https://thespaceabove.us/episodes/ep175_sts-89 The Space Above Us website: https://thespaceabove.us Support the show: https://thespaceabove.us/donate TSAU Patreon: https://patreon.com/thespaceabove.us
Feb 20, 2023 • 39min
174 - STS-87 - Stranded SPARTAN (USMP-4, SPARTAN mishap)
On STS-87 we've got a bunch of material science in the payload bay, a free-flying satellite, a camera that fell out of Star Wars, and 645,500 friends! We also get to the bottom of a significant mishap. Here's the link to that AERCam video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtmQyAifHj0 Show notes: https://thespaceabove.us/episodes/ep174_sts-87 The Space Above Us website: https://thespaceabove.us Support the show: https://thespaceabove.us/donate TSAU Patreon: https://patreon.com/thespaceabove.us
Feb 2, 2023 • 28min
173 - NASA-6 Part 2 - Stuck Between A Hatch And A Cold Place (Wolf on Mir)
Dave Wolf's stint on Mir is going pretty smoothly, but when he performs his first EVA we find cause to go on a mini deep dive into the history of the station's airlock. That's definitely not ominous, right? Show notes: https://thespaceabove.us/episodes/ep173_nasa-6_pt2 The Space Above Us website: https://thespaceabove.us Support the show: https://thespaceabove.us/donate TSAU Patreon: https://patreon.com/thespaceabove.us
Jan 14, 2023 • 26min
172 - NASA-6 Part 1 - Infinite Job List (Wolf on Mir)
After much back and forth on the ground, it has been decided that Dave Wolf will remain on Mir for his full mission. So what does he do while he's up there? And who's that in the window?? Show notes: https://thespaceabove.us/episodes/ep172_nasa-6_pt1 The Space Above Us website: https://thespaceabove.us Support the show: https://thespaceabove.us/donate TSAU Patreon: https://patreon.com/thespaceabove.us
Dec 18, 2022 • 28min
171 - STS-86 - Does He Stay Or Does He Go Now? (Wolf to Mir)
Dave Wolf didn't think he was going to Mir for another six months, but when Russia decides Wendy Lawrence is too short, schedules change. Though if Congress has anything to say about it, Wolf might not be going anywhere after all. Also, "MEEP!" Show notes: https://thespaceabove.us/episodes/ep171_sts-86 The Space Above Us website: https://thespaceabove.us Support the show: https://thespaceabove.us/donate TSAU Patreon: https://patreon.com/thespaceabove.us
Dec 4, 2022 • 30min
170 - STS-85 - The World's Biggest Birthday Candles (CRISTA-SPAS, MFD)
It's Kent Rominger's birthday, so what better way to celebrate than launching into space? Along the way we'll send CRISTA-SPAS out for one last adventure, try out a Japanese robot arm, take pictures of comets, and try to avoid Blue Screens of Death. By the way, I did hit a BSOD while editing the episode, but luckily no data was lost! Show notes: https://thespaceabove.us/episodes/ep170_sts-85 The Space Above Us website: https://thespaceabove.us Support the show: https://thespaceabove.us/donate TSAU Patreon: https://patreon.com/thespaceabove.us
Nov 20, 2022 • 26min
169 - STS-94 - Deja Crew (MSL-1 Reflight)
The crew, payload, and orbiter of STS-94 all have unfinished business in low earth orbit thanks to a busted fuel cell on STS-83. Let's kick the tires, light the fires, and then light around 200 more fires, but carefully. Show notes: https://thespaceabove.us/episodes/ep169_sts-94 The Space Above Us website: https://thespaceabove.us Support the show: https://thespaceabove.us/donate TSAU Patreon: https://patreon.com/thespaceabove.us
Nov 4, 2022 • 30min
168 - NASA-5 Part 2 - The Specter of Progress (Foale on Mir)
Spektr has been sealed off from the rest of Mir and the station's attitude is back under control, but there's still a lot of work left to do. Can the crew regain access to Spektr's solar panels? What happens to laptops left in a vacuum? And who knew that you actually should bring a knife to a space fight! Show notes: https://thespaceabove.us/episodes/ep168_nasa-5_pt2 The Space Above Us website: https://thespaceabove.us Support the show: https://thespaceabove.us/donate TSAU Patreon: https://patreon.com/thespaceabove.us
Oct 22, 2022 • 38min
167 - NASA-5 Part 1 - A Crash Course in Long Duration Spaceflight (Foale on Mir)
Mike Foale is replacing Jerry Linenger on Mir for NASA's next long duration mission on the Russian space station. After the raging fire and near-collision by a Progress resupply ship on NASA-4, surely things will settle down for a while on NASA-5.. right? Show notes: https://thespaceabove.us/episodes/ep167_nasa-5_pt1 The Space Above Us website: https://thespaceabove.us Support the show: https://thespaceabove.us/donate TSAU Patreon: https://patreon.com/thespaceabove.us
Oct 6, 2022 • 15min
Supplemental 8 - My Second Rocket Launch (SpaceX C2+)
It turns out the NASA-5 episode was taking a little more time than I anticipated, can't imagine why. But since I'll be on vacation next week, I would have had to slip by TWO weeks. Rather than leave you all hanging, I have a story about my second rocket launch, along with a little review of early SpaceX history. Plus a trip to Waffle House! Show notes: https://thespaceabove.us/episodes/s08_my_second_rocket_launch The Space Above Us website: https://thespaceabove.us Support the show: https://thespaceabove.us/donate TSAU Patreon: https://patreon.com/thespaceabove.us
