Ep. 806: Mission Tech Series: Thrusters

Astronomy Cast Ep. 808: Mission Tech Series: Nuclear Rockets Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Streamed live on Oct 27, 2026. Once again, chemical rockets are ubiquitous but not as powerful as other propulsion ideas. And one big idea that's been around for decades is using the power of nuclear fission to generate much more thrust for a rocket. Today let's talk about nuclear rockets!

Astronomy Cast Ep. 807: Mission Tech Series: Ion Drives Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Streamed live on Oct 27, 2026. The majority of rockets use a chemical propulsion system, but there are other ideas, fancy ideas that sound like they came from science fiction. But they're real and they work! Today we'll talk about ion engines, used by tie fighters everywhere!

Streamed live 18 Oct 2026. Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Today we continue looking at space exploration technologies. This time we will examine thrusters, which can reorient a spacecraft and help it maneuver in space. Maximum flexibility but you need to bring along some propellant. Smarter Every Day's YouTube video: I Was SCARED To Say This To NASA... (But I said it anyway) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoJsPvmFixU

Spinney things! Streamed live 18 Oct 2026. Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Our journey through space exploration technology continues! Today we look at the things that spin: gyros, reaction wheels, servos. Newton's laws are large and in charge today as spinning has a very useful benefit when you're in weightlessness! Today we are going to understand the nemesis of space exploration missions everywhere, get to the bottom of this, how these things works, why they fail, and maybe what's being done about it, or maybe not!

Ad-Free thanks to your support at patreon.astronomycast.com! Instead of sending up an entire space station for every mission, you can just send up a tiny can filled with astronauts. But that takes docking. And today we're gonna talk about what it takes to connect two spacecraft together. How to keep a cargo safe to get into orbit, and how to get in and out of your spacecraft without killing everyone! Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Streamed live on Oct 3, 2026. Mission Tech Part 3.

Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Streamed on October 3, 2026. Today our series continues with our deep dive into rockets, their engines & stages. We fall into the tyranny of the rocket equation and discover what it takes to escape Earth's gravity and head off into deep space. We removed all ads from the show. We need to get to 1,500 patrons to keep it this way. We need your support!

Help us keep Astronomy Cast ad-free: https://patreon.com/astronomycast We removed all ads from the show. We need to get to 1500 patrons to keep it this way. We need your support! Streamed live on Sep 21, 2026 Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay Today we begin a new series on rockets and spacecraft, dealing with each of their components. It's a big job, so it'll take us a bunch of episodes to get through. Today let's do an introduction about what we're gonna talk about in this series: rockets from tip to tail, soup to nuts.

Help us keep Astronomy Cast ad-free: https://patreon.com/astronomycast We removed all ads from the show. We need to get to 1500 patrons to keep it this way. We need your support! Streamed live on Sep 7, 2026. Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) This show is supported through people like you on Patreon.com/AstronomyCast Today we do the sequel to our 2-part series. We jump to the end of the Universe, and all the major moments that will occur from now until the heat death of the Universe. The end of everything. - The fate & future of the Milky Way - Cosmic isolation - The cosmic microwave background - The end of star formation - The degenerate era - Proton decay and entropy - Black hole evaporation & entropy - Alternate endings, cosmic rip, new beginnings - Closing thoughts and updates

After 20 years, it's time to make some changes. With your patronage we can ditch the ads & turn up the science. Please join our Patreon community at patreon.astronomycast.com

Streamed live on Sep 7, 2026. Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) This show is supported through people like you on Patreon.com/AstronomyCast To celebrate our 20th season, we thought we'd go back right to the beginning… of everything. Let's wind the clock back to the earliest moments of the Universe, where we'll measure time in fractions of a second. As the foundational laws of physics were laid down and we experience the repercussions to this day!