The Space Above Us

A podcast about the history of NASA human spaceflight. New episodes every other Thursday.

132 - Hubble Mirror Flaw 04/29/2021

132 - Hubble Mirror Flaw With STS-61 ready to execute the first servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, let's learn about the overall structure of the observatory, what the flaw with its mirror was, and how that flaw came to be. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/18906167

131 - STS-58 04/15/2021

131 - STS-58 Columbia is on the launchpad and we've got a whole bunch of life science to get through. And just when you thought it was safe to drop the word "otolith" from your vocabulary. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/18733463

130 - STS-51 04/01/2021

130 - STS-51 We've got a packed flight with an advanced communciation satellite, a new kick stage, the return of SPAS, an EVA and a sassy air traffic controller. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/18562694

129 - Astronaut Dan Tani interview 03/18/2021

129 - Astronaut Dan Tani interview In this episode, rather than hearing me talk about STS-51, we talk to someone who worked on its primary payload: astronaut Dan Tani! We also chat a bit about some government job he had down in Houston. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/18371414

128 - STS-57 03/04/2021

128 - STS-57 Space Shuttle Endeavour is here with STS-57, which brings us a little piece of much of what the shuttle program has to offer. Satellite captures, EVAs, technology demonstrations, commercial space stuff, mysterious loud booming noises.. wait, mysterious loud booming noises? /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/18185306

127 - STS-55 02/18/2021

127 - STS-55 Germany is back together and back in orbit with their second shuttle flight, the D-2 Spacelab mission. I wonder what sort of science they have in store for us? We also wonder who's squeezing the bag under the middeck. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/17994305

126 - STS-56 02/04/2021

126 - STS-56 ATLAS is back in the payload bay for round two of the ongoing series of Earth observation missions. And TAGS gets some competition! /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/17815532

125 - STS-54 01/21/2021

125 - STS-54 TDRS-F needs a ride to orbit, NASA needs more EVA experience, and we all need to figure out what's up with soft x-rays. Good thing Endeavour's on the pad for its third flight! /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/17631386

124 - STS-53 01/07/2021

124 - STS-53 STS-53 is here and with it we've got a secret satellite, a fictional hot tub, and a space shuttle full of dogs. I promise that sentence will make sense at the end of the episode. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/17453759

123 - STS-52 12/24/2020

123 - STS-52 Space Shuttle Columbia has a disco ball, a container full of helium, and some cool glowing lights outside. Are we sure this isn't a party? /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/17317661

122 - STS-47 12/10/2020

122 - STS-47 What do you get when you mix four frogs, one hundred and eighty hornets, two carp, and a crew of seven astronauts? STS-47, the 50th Space Shuttle mission! /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/17137427

121 - STS-46 11/26/2020

121 - STS-46 Space Shuttle Atlantis has 20 kilometers of tether in the backseat.. but does it know how to use it? /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/16963640

120 - STS-50 11/12/2020

120 - STS-50 Columbia is hauling the US Microgravity Laboratory for almost two weeks, and Commander Richards wishes his wife left her cell phone on. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/16780892

119 - STS-49 10/29/2020

119 - STS-49 Space Shuttle Endeavour flies for the first time. But if we're going to capture this satellite, we're going to need all hands on deck. Or on payload bay. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/16594070

118 - Space Shuttle Endeavour 10/15/2020

118 - Space Shuttle Endeavour Before diving into the next mission, we take a quick detour to introduce a bunch of spacefarers, including one who will fly twenty-five times. We'll also learn a bit about why the next mission was necessary in the first place. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/16409957

117 - STS-45 10/01/2020

117 - STS-45 Atlantis is getting ready to fire photon torpedoes at Planet Earth! Well.. sort of. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/16228001

116 - STS-42 09/17/2020

116 - STS-42 Space Shuttle Discovery is packed with so much science it's practically bursting at the seams, but don't forget to take some time to look out the window! /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/16043771

115 - STS-44 09/03/2020

115 - STS-44 For a simple IUS-based deploy mission, I sure found a lot to say about this mission! We've got nuclear bombs, caterpillar men, pranks, and multiple near-collisions in the air and in space. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/15866525

114 - STS-48 08/20/2020

114 - STS-48 Discovery has the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite in the payload bay, and it's ready to learn all about the stratosphere and mesosphere! This episode was originally going to have a story about the mission commander trying to ski in space but I ran out of time! /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/15683288

113 - STS-43 08/06/2020

113 - STS-43 TDRS-E needs a ride to space, John Blaha is in command, and the middeck is full of science experiments. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/15435815

112 - STS-40 07/23/2020

112 - STS-40 It seems like this human spaceflight thing might be here to stay, so we better do some life sciences experiments and learn more about the impact of microgravity on the human body. Also, Space Shuttle Columbia carries more jellyfish into space than it ever has before. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/15319838

111 - STS-39 07/09/2020

111 - STS-39 Discovery has a payload bay full of multi-spectral instruments and is ready to perform an orbital ballet. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/15139463

110 - STS-37 06/25/2020

110 - STS-37 Atlantis has one heavy satellite to deploy, and the EVA crew has to evaluate some strange exercise devices in the payload bay. Sort of. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/14959109

109 - STS-35 06/11/2020

109 - STS-35 Columbia has a tricky time getting off the launchpad, but once it does, it performs some fancy astronomy that can only be done in space! /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/14779361

108 - STS-38 05/28/2020

108 - STS-38 STS-38 seems to be a run of the mill classified mission at first.. until someone discovers something flashing in GEO. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/14596769

107 - STS-41 05/14/2020

107 - STS-41 Ulysses has a long journey ahead of it, and it all starts on Space Shuttle Discovery and STS-41! /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/14413535

106 - STS-31 04/30/2020

106 - STS-31 The Hubble Space Telescope is finally here and it's about to rewrite the textbooks. If we can just get it to clear the payload bay in one piece. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/14211212

105 - STS-36 04/16/2020

105 - STS-36 Atlantis has something in its payload bay.. what it could be is anyone's guess! /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/14009741

104 - STS-32 04/02/2020

104 - STS-32 The Long Duration Exposure Facility has been waiting for its ride home for a while. Let's go catch it before it becomes the Short Duration Exposure to Reentry Conditions Facility. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/13813667

103 - STS-33 03/19/2020

103 - STS-33 We end up with a shorter episode thanks to another classified flight. But if you need a sweet new PC, I think Huey can hook you up. /episode/index/show/thespaceaboveus/id/13610735

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