Casual Space

Impulse Space is partnering with Relativity Space to perform the first ever commercial landing on the red planet! Places in space, like Mars, are being viewed as potential destinations that can support the expansion of human presence in the inner solar system. Impulse Space and Relativity Space's mission to Mars is a step forward for the entire community interested in the benefits that space can bring to humans on Earth. Today, Impulse Space's COO and industry leader Barry Matsumori explains how Impulse is working to make this history-making mission possible, and deliver the first commercial payload to the surface of another planet by 2024! About Barry Matsumori: Barry Matsumori is an industry veteran that has been an executive leader at SpaceX, Virgin Orbit, and most recently as CEO at BridgeComm. Currently, Mr. Matsumori serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Impulse Space. In his own words, Mr. Matsumori shares, "I started my career in space at General Dynamics Space Systems in 1985 and worked on early satellites in the late 1980s. In 1993, I started at Qualcomm and worked on the ground side of Globalstar for a few years before moving into cellular communications.I have developed and implemented business and technology strategies as well as overseen operations at these companies. At BridgeComm, I led the refocus of the company strategy as well as being named in a number of optical communication technology patents." At Impulse Space, Mr. Matsumori serves as the Chief Operating Officer, and is responsible for all the operating functions including business development, people, finance and mission management. More about Impulse Space and the designed mission to partner with Relativity Space: https://www.impulsespace.com/ The integrated Cruise Vehicle, Entry Capsule, and Mars Lander developed by Impulse Space will launch in 2024 on the Relativity Terran R launch vehicle. After traveling through interplanetary space for over half a year, the Cruise Vehicle will inject the Entry Capsule into the correct landing trajectory and detach. The Entry Capsule will use the proven combination of heatshield and parachute to slow down enough to safely deploy the Mars Lander into freefall. The lander will then perform a propulsive landing using purpose-built engines developed in-house at Impulse Space, completing the first commercial payload delivery to the surface of another planet.

Robert Feierbach returns as our special guest this week on the podcast and announces his new endeavors as President of Maritime Launch USA, Inc., the US affiliate of the Canadian commercial spaceport based in Nova Scotia, and, Robert unveils his new business, 0-G Launch, a Washington-DC based company deploying a fleet of specially-modified commercial aircraft to provide high-precision microgravity flights and horizontal air-launch services to the fast-growing aerospace industry, and shares his plans as the Founder and CEO. Robert Feierbach, is a FOTH (friend of the show) and known as a well-recognized space industry expert! He has an impressive track record in groundbreaking satellite technologies and services around the world. During the past 25 years, he held CEO/CCO/VP leadership positions at Echostar in the Netherlands, SES Global in Luxembourg, various Eutelsat / ViaSat partnerships in France, Italy and the USA, Hughes Network Systems' International Division, Space Systems Loral (Maxar), and SpaceX, the private rocket company, for which he was instrumental in acquiring $600M in early launch contracts. Woah. Mr. Feierbach holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science Applications from the University of Utah, and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Robert speaks seven languages fluently and has lived and traveled across the Planet. Yep. 7 languages, and a very interesting love for a very specific kind of music… find out more in this episode of Casual Space! Where to find Robert: www.maritimelaunch.comwww.0-GLaunch.comwww.G-Space.comhttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm13106063/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm

"We are in a space renaissance right now, but with that comes new challenges. This is especially true for spacesuits." Will Green is a Ph.D. student at the University of North Dakota. He is collaborating on research with NASA that is centered on applying breakthrough technologies to push the boundaries of what is possible with spacesuits. Will has taken part in analog missions at UND's Inflatable Lunar/Martian Analog Habitat as a mission commander and an EVA ground control officer. Will's previous research experience includes Lunar and Martian dust mitigation strategies, robotic testing of spacesuit joints, high-performance textile research for spacesuits and military applications, and inventing an exoskeleton for the Army Research Laboratory. You know, Casual space suit stuff to chat about on Casual Space. 😉 Follow Will and his work on Instagram at: spacesuit_will And enjoy this clip: Beth and Will talk about how claustrophobic wearing spacesuits can be… and we loved watching this BBC reporter "have a moment" with his spacesuit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3AXhN3Wo0g

Martynas Fedotovas and Nika Chinchaladze are space entrepreneurs and CEOs of Altair Enterprises LLC - a space education & research organization that enables people to pursue careers in the space industry - and the organizers of the International Space Convention 2022 - the biggest space industry business event in the Caucasus region. They also Co-authored the book - Space Business 101: 7 Steps to Position Yourself in the Next Trillion Dollar Industry. On this episode, Beth and Nicholas and Martynas discuss what it's like to be a space startup, what it takes to succeed, and why ethics should always be at the heart of the work as you go and grow. Where to find Nicholas and Martynas: www.altairenterprises.comand www.altairenterprises.store BONUS: Nicholas and Martynas would like to give Casual Space Podcast listeners free online tickets to ISC 2022! When registering use this 100% discount coupon code: CASUALSPACE Apply your special code at this link: https://www.altairenterprises.store/product-page/attendee-experience About International Space Convention 2022: ISC 2022 is a hybrid event where you can attend in-person or online and get an exclusive 3-day access to over 95 lectures from over 100 world-renowned space industry speakers and experts, ranging from government space agencies to private space companies discussing everything from new rising trends to advances and concepts in space industry, including: Earth and Deep Space Observation, SatCom and Data Analysis, Human Space Missions, Space Law and Regulations, Commercial Space Travel, Financial Outlook of the Space Industry, Funding Opportunities for the Emerging Space Start-Ups and many more great topics. CEOs and Founders of Altair Enterprises - Space Education Company. Organizers of the International Space Convention 2022 - one of the biggest annual business conferences.Authors of Space Business 101: 7 Steps to Position Yourself in the Next Trillion Dollar IndustryPodcast Hosts of Altair Insights Podcast - Where Space Meets Business

Do you have a story? A story about space that you've been thinking about for some time? Your story has the potential to change the way we explore space, but opportunities to share your story have been limited, challenging, and undiscovered. Until today. Today, a simple story will fly to space, changing how we explore it. Your story. Right here, right now. www.storiesofspace.com Listen to this episode as Beth personally invites you to fly your story to space. Humans have imagined what space exploration might look like for years and put their imagination into stories – from science fiction books to movies. These stories sparked the actual development of space transportation systems, stations, and exploration missions. Even the constellations we enjoy at night have their own unique tales. The Stories of Space Project™ collects your story and carries it on a satellite launched from historic Cape Canaveral, FL, in June 2023. The satellite will deliver this unique payload to the International Space Station, where it will be exposed to the harshness of space for six months and then returned to Earth. The STORIES Project™ (Story SD cards Testing and On-board Research on the International Space Station Experiment and Survey) will not only fly stories to space but will also help determine ideal data storage hardware for future commercial space applications. The Stories of Space Project™ is a rare opportunity for you to share your personal space narrative. Each week, one of the submitted pieces flown in space will be selected and debuted worldwide on the Casual Space Podcast, where we will read your entire story. This experience makes space accessible to everyone and will change how we explore space—one story at a time. Learn more and submit your story at www.storiesofspace.com FOLLOW updates and more at all the STORIES of Space socials! Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/stories-of-space-project/about/?viewAsMember=true Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/storiesofspaceproject/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Stories-of-Space-Project-105943768899733 Also, check out Aegis Aerospace from episode 164: https://www.bethmund.com/casual-space-podcast/category/EPISODE+146

This week, NASA has announced that they are moving towards the first launch attempt for the Artemis I mission with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft currently in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA is currently targeting launch for no earlier than Monday, Aug. 29, at 8:33 a.m. EDT during a 2 hour window!!!!! So, Dean and Beth dig right in to the who, what, where, when, why and how of NASA's Space Launch System on this week's episode of the Casual Space Podcast! NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) is the world's most powerful rocket and the backbone of NASA's human lunar exploration program (check out this reference guide ASAP: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/sls_reference_guide_2022_v2_508_0.pdf). No other rocket can send astronauts and the Orion spacecraft directly to the Moon for the Artemis missions. SLS provides an unmatched capability to deliver greater mass and volume than any current launch vehicle for both human and robotic exploration of the Moon, Mars, and the outer planets. SLS was established by the NASA Authorization Act of 2010. The program was created at Marshall in 2011 and received funding in FY2012. SLS is the world's first exploration-class launch vehicle since the Apollo Program's Saturn V. Along with SLS, NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate is developing the EGS and the Orion spacecraft for crew. Orion, managed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, is a spacecraft designed to carry astronauts on exploration missions into deep space. EGS has converted facilities at Kennedy into a next-generation spaceport capable of supporting launches by multiple types of vehicles. More about NASA's SLS: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

Big dreams start at Space Camp. The kids and family recipients from the Cosmic Odyssey scholarship program are joined by Inspiration4 astronaut Chris Sembroski in this creative conversation. Together, we discuss how our experiences can be put into the next Space Camp movie! From who's in mission control and on the rocket to where we're going to explore- we giggle through creating our own space exploration adventure based on our training at Space Camp! We feel our team would be qualified- we've got the Top Gun award-winning recipient aviator, 5 former Space Camp attendees (including two trainers, two Hall of Fame recipients, a former VP of Space Camp and one astronaut) and several of the most brave, strong and impressive cancer-surviving kids and their families. Your heart will soar listening to the Kent and Herbert family share their special memories of experiencing Space Camp together in this episode of Casual Space. Here's more info about the Auston Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer: https://www.hatcherfoundation.org/ And here's more about the Cosmic Odyssey Scholarship: https://www.hatcherfoundation.org/spacecamp About Space Camp: www.spacecamp.com Space Camp opened on June 13, 1982, launching what is now an internationally recognized STEM camp with more than one million alumni from all 50 states and 150 international locations. While in Huntsville, Beth and hundreds of alumni and Space Camp supporters will gather to celebrate AND witness the induction of the next class of Space Camp Hall of Fame members. These alumni have made significant contributions in their fields and we look forward to honoring them, featuring outstanding alumni and a fireside chat with members of the Inspiration4 team, the first all-civilian space flight, led by Jared Isaacman, a 1995 Aviation Challenge graduate. Jeffrey Kluger, Editor at Large for TIME magazine, moderating the discussion. Learn more at: https://rocketcenterfoundation.org/about/ About Space Camp Hall of Fame Inductees: https://www.spacecamp.com/about/halloffame About the Inspiration4 Team: https://inspiration4.com/crew Jared Isaacman (Aviation Challenge Mach I, 1995) Chris Sembroski (Space Camp counselor 2001) Hayley Arceneaux (Friend of Space Camp) Dr. Sian Proctor (Friend of Space Camp) About the Zero-G Flight experience: www.gozerog.com

Author and astronomer John Read is back with a BEAUTIFUL new book, Learn to Stargaze for Kids https://www.learntostargaze.com/books, and we're talking about what's within the James Webb images, and comparing some of them against Hubble. As always, there's a lot to learn (so much fun)! During the second half of our conversation, John helps walk us through all of the super-easy ways we can find some specific constellations in our summer night sky. Enjoy John's stargazing tips here on the Casual Space Podcast, along with his amazingly resourceful site, https://www.learntostargaze.com/. About John Read: Shortly after receiving his pilot's license as a Royal Canadian Air Cadet, John dropped out of Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University to pursue a degree (and career) in Corporate Finance. A few years later, his wife bought him a twelve-inch Dobsonian Telescope for Christmas (to be fair, she got leather boots). He joined the Mount Diablo Astronomical Society, volunteering as many as four nights per week under California's cloudless skies. John is the host of the Learn To Stargaze YouTube channel and a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. In 2020, he graduated with a degree in astrophysics from Saint Mary's University and was presented with an RASC award for Excellence in Science Communication. He is currently a student at Johns Hopkins University, working on his Master's in Space Systems Engineering.

Brad West will have to eat the same food, do the same exercise, contain and restrict his social circles, conduct similar experiments, tasks, and basically copy everything his twin brother Brent will do…while in space…for more than 500 days… simulating the same amount of time it will take for humans to get to Mars- and helping to prepare humans to explore Mars. Why would Brad and Brent do this? It's all part of the proposed "Twin Orbit Study" that you're about to discover right here, on the Casual Space Podcast. The commercialization of space (SpaceX, Axiom Space, Blue Origin) brings new opportunities to study astronauts, including identical twins, on industry‐led space stations with unprecedented detail. Extremely long‐duration microgravity will be the new normal when we travel into deep space, starting with Mars, and our success will be a test of health endurance in several respects. First, given the great distances, there will be very limited support from Earth once the mission begins. Second, the space weather (and radiation) is an order of magnitude more challenging. Third, the behavioral and cognitive challenges for such long missions will place an unprecedented strain on the crew. Although NASA, ESA, JAXA, ROSCOSMOS, and others are building a large knowledge base to address these challenges through missions on the International Space Station, very few crew have been studied in weightlessness for durations over six months, and more data from longer missions is critically needed. Which makes for a perfect opportunity for The Twin Orbit study team, who are proposing a brand new, long‐duration Twins Study (building from the NASA Twins Study), and will work to accomplish four main goals: Conduct Scientific Research for Biomedical Discovery and Testing New Hypotheses Develop and Deploy New Technologies for Crew Health and Mission Maintenance Develop Crew Health Operating Procedures Applicable for Long‐duration and Deep Space Missions Inspire the Next Generation of Explorers Learn More About Twin Orbit here: https://www.twinorbit.com/ About Brent West, in his own words: "It was the Cosmos TV series that initially captured my interest...I saw the first episode in high school in the late 1980's, and since that time I have always been fascinated with all-things space. I knew I wanted to be an astronaut after I saw the movie Apollo 13 in the summer of 1995. I focused on my purpose and what I wanted to do and be involved with. At the time, I was a young LTjg (Lieutenant Junior Grade) onboard my first submarine, USS PINTADO (SSN-672). Brent West, Commander, U.S. Navy, earned his master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from University of Michigan in 2001 and worked in the Space Physics Research Laboratory as a student research assistant to help design a small student-led satellite project. Brent also worked as a flight controller at Johnson Space Center from 2001 – 2003 in ECLSS (Environmental Control and Life Support Systems and earned his PhD in Physics from George Mason University in 2012, studying X-ray pulsars. About Brad West: Brad West graduated from Winnebago High School in Winnebago, Illinois in 1990. He attended Illinois State University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in sociology in 1994 and a Master of Science degree in education administration in 1996. Soon after receiving his master's degree, Brad moved to Richmond, Virginia to work as a Career Systems Manager/Advisor at Virginia Commonwealth University. He moved to Orlando, Florida in the spring of 1998, at the behest of a best friend who was working at Disney, and took employment in information technology at the Universal Orlando Resort. He loved the atmosphere and the energy of Universal and Orlando and worked there until the spring of 2004.Brad was accepted into the Doctor of Philosophy program in Higher Education Administration at the University of Florida in 2004. Upon starting the program, he worked as a graduate assistant in the Graduate School under the supervision of Associate Dean of the Graduate School. There, he became enamored with the many fields of graduate and doctoral education. After finishing program coursework, he worked several years in information technology at the University of Florida. Doctoral candidacy followed, and ultimately obtained a PhD in Higher Education Administration in 2013 with a focus on factors that influence doctoral time-to-degree in graduate education. Today, Brad is living in Southern Florida and working in information technology for a large national health care system. He enjoys traveling, visiting friends in the Florida keys, music, sports, anything NASA, and meeting new people. About Chris Mason Dr. Christopher E. Mason is a geneticist and computational biologist who has been a Principal Investigator and Co-investigator of many NASA missions and projects. He is a Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, with affiliate appointments at the Meyer Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Information Society Project (ISP) at Yale Law School, and the Consortium for Space Genetics at Harvard Medical School. Here's what to do next: Check out Chris's new book; The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds https://www.amazon.com/Next-500-Years-Engineering-Worlds/dp/0262543842/ref=asc_df_0262543842/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=533430521017&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10374932519418788990&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1028099&hvtargid=pla-1424157036884&psc=1 Reach out here with questions; info@twinorbit.com

In just DAYS (July 12, 2022), NASA will release the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope for the WORLD to enjoy …and Dean and Beth are on the edge of their seats (making bets on what we're about to see) and what it will mean for space exploration when we look further into the universe than ever before. The world's largest and most complex space science observatory will now begin six months of commissioning in space! At the end of commissioning, Webb will deliver its first images. Webb carries four state-of-the-art science instruments with highly sensitive infrared detectors of unprecedented resolution. Webb will study infrared light from celestial objects with much greater clarity than ever before. The premier mission is the scientific successor to NASA's iconic Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, built to complement and further the scientific discoveries of these and other missions. AT THE TIME OF THIS RECORDING, THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS NOT YET RELEASED FROM NASA, but check out what NASA has planned to look at in the universe! HERE IS THE LIST! NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), will soon reveal unprecedented and detailed views of the universe, with the upcoming release of its first full-color images and spectroscopic data. Below is the list of cosmic objects that Webb targeted for these first observations, which will be released in NASA's live broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, July 12. Each image will simultaneously be made available on social media as well as on the agency's website. These listed targets below represent the first wave of full-color scientific images and spectra the observatory has gathered, and the official beginning of Webb's general science operations. They were selected by an international committee of representatives from NASA, ESA, CSA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. Carina Nebula. The Carina Nebula is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, located approximately 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. Nebulae are stellar nurseries where stars form. The Carina Nebula is home to many massive stars, several times larger than the Sun. WASP-96 b (spectrum). WASP-96 b is a giant planet outside our solar system, composed mainly of gas. The planet, located nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth, orbits its star every 3.4 days. It has about half the mass of Jupiter, and its discovery was announced in 2014. Southern Ring Nebula. The Southern Ring, or "Eight-Burst" nebula, is a planetary nebula – an expanding cloud of gas, surrounding a dying star. It is nearly half a light-year in diameter and is located approximately 2,000 light years away from Earth. Stephan's Quintet: About 290 million light-years away, Stephan's Quintet is located in the constellation Pegasus. It is notable for being the first compact galaxy group ever discovered in 1877. Four of the five galaxies within the quintet are locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters. SMACS 0723: Massive foreground galaxy clusters magnify and distort the light of objects behind them, permitting a deep field view into both the extremely distant and intrinsically faint galaxy populations. About James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope's revolutionary technology will study every phase of cosmic history—from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe. Webb's infrared telescope will explore a wide range of science questions to help us understand the origins of the universe and our place in it. Webb will directly observe a part of space and time never seen before. Webb will gaze into the epoch when the very first stars and galaxies formed, over 13.5 billion years ago. Ultraviolet and visible light emitted by the very first luminous objects has been stretched or "redshifted" by the universe's continual expansion and arrives today as infrared light. Webb is designed to "see" this infrared light with unprecedented resolution and sensitivity. Webb will also be a powerful tool for studying the nearby universe. Scientists will use Webb to study planets and other bodies in our solar system to determine their origin and evolution and compare them with exoplanets, planets that orbit other stars. Webb will also observe exoplanets located in their stars' habitable zones, the regions where a planet could harbor liquid water on its surface, and can determine if and where signatures of habitability may be present. Using a technique called transmission spectroscopy, the observatory will examine starlight filtered through planetary atmospheres to learn about their chemical compositions. ALL THE JWST Resources: https://webb.nasa.gov/index.html And at the end of the show, we talked about LIGO. Here's a great explanation of what LIGO is: https://fb.watch/aOmq7h_PkW/ About Dean BS Technical Photography MS Astrophysics NASA MER Mars program NASA Public Relations Astronomy instructor & lecturer Where to find Dean: www.TritionCollege.edu/Cernan www.HarperCollege.edu https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-mikolajczyk-63125389/