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  • The cameras that stayed on Discovery showed it cracking

    The cameras that stayed on Discovery showed it cracking
    2026/10/30
    Diagnostic cameras on Discovery's external tank captured cracking metal - why did the shuttle's final flight keep being delayed?

    The cameras that stayed on Discovery showed it cracking

    This episode details the challenges faced by Space Shuttle Discovery during its final mission, STS-133, as engineers race against time to address unprecedented issues. It explores the series of technical problems that threatened to ground the most experienced spacecraft ever built.

    Mission: STS-133
    Spacecraft: Space Shuttle Discovery
    Original Launch Date: September 16, 2010
    Actual Launch Date: February 24, 2011
    Crew: Six astronauts

    - Engineers bolted diagnostic cameras to Discovery's external fuel tank to monitor cracking during the countdown, intending to remove them before launch.
    - The STS-133 mission, also known as Utilization and Logistics Flight Five, was tasked with delivering the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module.
    - Delays began with a monomethyl hydrazine leak detected by a "fishy smell" from the Orbital Maneuvering System propellant line.
    - A subsequent hydrogen leak at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate stopped fueling, revealing an internal seal compression issue.
    - Inspection teams later found cracks in the spray-on foam insulation and two nine-inch cracks in stringer S-72, one of the tank's aluminum-lithium ribs.

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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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    22 分
  • The towline a sailor threw saved ET‑70 - and bought him a house in time

    The towline a sailor threw saved ET‑70 - and bought him a house in time
    2026/10/29
    A sailor towed a lost Space Shuttle external tank from a hurricane - seven months later it faced a courtroom fight. Did they make it in time?

    The towline a sailor threw saved ET‑70 - and bought him a house in time

    In this episode, we follow the chain of events linking a November hurricane, a maritime salvage case, and NASA’s first Shuttle‑Mir docking mission. The episode traces the decisions, engineering limits, and human moves that had to hold together for ET‑70 and Atlantis to make a rendezvous in orbit.

    Person: Robert Gibson
    Event: STS‑71 (Shuttle‑Mir docking mission)
    Object: ET‑70 external tank
    Date: November 1994 (hurricane), mid‑1995 (launch)
    Location: Atlantic Ocean (salvage), Mir/Low Earth Orbit

    - A tanker crew on the Cherry Valley found and towed the orange external tank adrift after Hurricane Gordon swept it from a barge.
    - NASA filed a salvage claim that led to a courtroom fight; a judge initially awarded $6.4 million, later reduced on appeal to $4.125 million.
    - One sailor split his share with crewmates and used his portion to buy a house he called “the house that NASA bought.”
    - Engineers prepared a manual R‑Bar approach requiring the shuttle to close at 33 millimeters per second when Robert Gibson took control at 800 meters.
    - Atlantis and Mir had to rendezvous with tolerances measured in millimeters while both tumbled together at orbital velocity.

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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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    19 分
  • The speedbrakes oscillated and forced Columbia to stop by inches

    The speedbrakes oscillated and forced Columbia to stop by inches
    2026/10/28
    An astronaut crew fights to stop Columbia on a White Sands runway as speedbrakes oscillate during a high-speed landing - did they make it in time?

    The speedbrakes oscillated and forced Columbia to stop by inches

    In this episode, we follow the final minutes of STS-3’s landing at White Sands where the shuttle’s systems, the incomplete autoland software, and the crew’s split roles collide. What choices and improvisations did Jack Lousma and Gordon Fullerton make as the approach became the only shot at bringing Columbia safely to a stop?

    Person: Jack Lousma
    Person: Gordon Fullerton
    Event: Landing at White Sands
    Date: March 30, 1982
    Topic: Autoland system limitations

    - The autoland software was aboard Columbia to collect data but was not capable of an autonomous safe stop.
    - Kennedy Space Center was ruled out because the runway was wet; Edwards exceeded wind limits, leaving White Sands as the sole option.
    - At 46 meters altitude the landing gear deployed with Columbia traveling 509 km/h, turning the approach into a high-energy final.
    - The crew’s division of duties-Lousma managing energy from the left seat, Fullerton calling the runway from the right-shaped real-time responses.
    - White Sands’ gypsum dust penetrated tiles and cavities, creating an unexpected physical and technical complication during and after landing.

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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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    20 分
  • The boulder-strewn surface that shrank their departure window to a race against fuel

    The boulder-strewn surface that shrank their departure window to a race against fuel
    2026/10/27
    A sample-return capsule lands in the Australian desert with asteroid rocks, and the Hayabusa2 team races the clock. Did they make it in time?

    The boulder-strewn surface that shrank their departure window to a race against fuel

    In this episode, we follow the Hayabusa2 mission from proposal to arrival at asteroid Ryugu and the sudden discovery that upends plans. What choices did the team make when Ryugu's surface proved far rockier than expected, and how did a tightening departure window change everything?

    Person: Makoto Yoshikawa
    Date: December 5, 2020
    Event: Sample return capsule landing at Woomera Test Range
    Spacecraft: Hayabusa2
    Target: Asteroid 162173 Ryugu

    - Yoshikawa proposed a follow-up mission to Hayabusa with a more distant target, a complex sampling sequence, and an impactor, winning approval in August 2010.
    - The mission budget was set at 16.4 billion yen, roughly $149 million at the time of estimation.
    - Hayabusa2 launched December 3, 2014, used four ion engines producing ~28 millinewtons each, and performed an Earth gravity assist in December 2015.
    - Ryugu arrived June 27, 2018, and imagery revealed a surface densely covered in multi-meter boulders, not the flat terrain the team expected.
    - The densely boulder-strewn surface forced months of extra reconnaissance and delayed the first sampling attempt, narrowing a fixed departure window tied to orbital mechanics and fuel.

    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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    23 分
  • The single wrong character that shut down Phobos‑1's sun lock-was there time?

    The single wrong character that shut down Phobos‑1's sun lock-was there time?
    2026/10/26
    A wrong character told Phobos‑1 to shut its thrusters, and engineers raced to stop a sun lock slipping away. Did they make it in time?

    The single wrong character that shut down Phobos‑1's sun lock-was there time?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of decisions, design choices, and human procedures that let one character in a maintenance upload execute a ground-only routine on a deep-space craft. The episode traces the Phobos program’s goals, the flight computer’s built‑in test command, and the ticking clock once the wrong character was sent - could human process and protocol avert disaster?

    Person: Engineers and operators who handled Phobos‑1 uplinks
    Date: August 29-30, 1988 (wrong character uploaded); September 2, 1988 (spacecraft stopped answering)
    Event: Phobos‑1 received a maintenance command that shut down attitude control thrusters
    Platform: One F flight computer with firmware-stored ground-test routine in read-only memory
    Payload: Instruments from 14 nations including CNES infrared spectrometer and Swedish ASPERA

    - The Phobos program aimed for orbital operations and lander deployment on Mars’s moon Phobos, carrying international instruments and the novel PROP‑F lander.
    - The one F flight computer included a ground-testing routine in ROM that, if executed, disables three‑axis attitude control.
    - Replacing the flight computer to remove that routine was technically possible but incompatible with the launch schedule, so the routine remained in firmware.
    - The operational safeguard relied on human discipline: the specific character string that would trigger the routine was never to be sent.
    - On the night of August 29-30, 1988, a maintenance upload contained a single wrong character; the transmission reached Phobos‑1, and the command executed.

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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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    21 分
  • The restartable Agena engine relit after coast - did the spy payload live?

    The restartable Agena engine relit after coast - did the spy payload live?
    2026/10/25
    A restartable Agena engine fires again after a coast above Earth-one spy payload hangs in orbit; did they make it in time?

    The restartable Agena engine relit after coast - did the spy payload live?

    In this episode, we trace the Agena from a cancelled weapons project to a standardized orbital workhorse and follow its role carrying both NASA experiments and secret military payloads. What happened on the flight when the engine reignited after coast, and what did it mean for the classified satellite it carried?

    Person: Lawrence Edwards
    Date: 1959-1987 (program flight history)
    Location: Earth orbit
    Topic: Agena restartable engine and classified payloads

    - The Agena evolved from the cancelled Weapons System 117L upper stage, repurposed and built by Lockheed.
    - The Agena-B introduced the near-miraculous capability to restart its Bell 8096-derived engine after coasting in orbit.
    - The Bell 8096 lineage traces back to engineering work on a cancelled rocket-propelled nuclear warhead pod, including propellant chemistry of IRFNA and UDMH.
    - In 1962, Lawrence Edwards pushed to standardize the design, producing the Agena-D which flew unchanged for 25 years.
    - Of 365 flights, 33 carried NASA payloads with public records; 332 carried classified military payloads whose records remain largely sealed.

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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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    22 分
  • Segment Fifty-One flashed, claiming Friendship 7's heat shield - and time ran out

    Segment Fifty-One flashed, claiming Friendship 7's heat shield - and time ran out
    2026/10/24
    A single console light in Mercury Control claims Friendship 7’s heat shield during John Glenn’s return-did Mission Control stop a fireball in time?

    Segment Fifty-One flashed, claiming Friendship 7's heat shield - and time ran out

    In this episode, we follow the tense hours of John Glenn's 1962 Mercury-Atlas Six flight from prelaunch delays to a life-or-death sensor reading during reentry. The episode traces the decisions inside Mercury Control and asks whether the team could act fast enough to save him.

    Person: John Glenn Glenn
    Date: February 20, 1962
    Spacecraft: Friendship 7 (Spacecraft Number Thirteen)
    Controller: Don Arabian
    Mission Directors: Chris Kraft, Walter Williams

    - Prelaunch: seven weeks of delays, faulty bolts, ice fog, and a defective hatch that cost forty-two minutes.
    - Launch timeline: Glenn entered the capsule at 06:11 ET, ignition at 09:47 ET after multiple scrubs and a heart rate reading of 110 bpm.
    - In-orbit: three orbits planned; a small warning appeared on the first orbit and stayed unresolved.
    - Critical moment: at 4 hours 33 minutes into flight, Segment Fifty-One lit, indicating the heat shield had unlatched.
    - Decision room: Don Arabian reran checks, then Flight Director Chris Kraft and Mission Director Walter Williams confronted the impossible readout.

    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 Pressurized Mating Adapter stalled outside - did they make it?

    The Pressurized Mating Adapter stalled outside - did they make it?
    2026/10/23
    A veteran astronaut floats outside the station to move a Pressurized Mating Adapter-did they make it in time?

    The Pressurized Mating Adapter stalled outside - did they make it?

    In this episode, we follow the mission that turned an ordinary logistics task into an endurance legacy. The story tracks James Voss’s path from a boy in Alabama to an astronaut assigned a long, precise spacewalk that would test training, patience, and procedure-what happened next?

    Person: James Voss
    Date: March 8, 2001
    Event: Relocation of the Pressurized Mating Adapter
    Duration referenced: Eight hours and fifty-six minutes
    Mission: STS-101 (Discovery)

    - Voss grew up in Opelika, Alabama, raised by his grandparents with an early fascination for the sky.
    - He worked as a Vehicle Integration Test Engineer and joined the Challenger investigation after the January 28, 1986 disaster.
    - Selected as an astronaut candidate in June 1987 and qualified as a mission specialist in August 1988.
    - Previous EVAs: six hours on STS-69 (1995) and six hours with Jeff Williams on STS-101 (2000) installing hardware on the station.
    - On March 8, 2001, Discovery crew assigned Voss and a partner to move the Pressurized Mating Adapter from one docking port to another during a planned spacewalk.

    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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    17 分