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  • The MMU's nitrogen jets ran out with McCandless 320 feet from safety

    The MMU's nitrogen jets ran out with McCandless 320 feet from safety
    2026/09/10
    Astronaut 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 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.
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    25 分
  • The radio channel he opened spoke to the dead - and bought them time

    The radio channel he opened spoke to the dead - and bought them time
    2026/09/09
    A 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 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.
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    18 分
  • The Seattle World's Fair model forced her to race for a shuttle seat

    The Seattle World's Fair model forced her to race for a shuttle seat
    2026/09/08
    An 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 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.
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    21 分
  • The letter he mailed to the President that got a nomination in time

    The letter he mailed to the President that got a nomination in time
    2026/09/07
    A 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 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.
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    21 分
  • The fuel-cell pressure that plunged to 65 PSI bought them only one day

    The fuel-cell pressure that plunged to 65 PSI bought them only one day
    2026/09/06
    Two 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 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.
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    22 分
  • The jammed hatch forced McDivitt to crank the gears - did they make it?

    The jammed hatch forced McDivitt to crank the gears - did they make it?
    2026/09/05
    A 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 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.

    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.
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    21 分
  • The abraded silver wire sparked the cabin-did they make it in time?

    The abraded silver wire sparked the cabin-did they make it in time?
    2026/09/04
    A 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 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.
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    22 分
  • The Canadarm lifted Unity and started the seven‑hour race for air

    The Canadarm lifted Unity and started the seven‑hour race for air
    2026/09/04
    A 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 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.

    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.
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    20 分