Technofascism & Space

On January 28, 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on ascent during its 10th mission, killing seven space travellers. In this series, we’ll explore the historical context of the disaster, the life stories of its crew, how it happened, and the ways it changed how we explore space. In this first episode, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris cover the origins of the Space Shuttle Program, the nearly Soviet levels of politicking and corner-cutting that went into its development, and how the institutional problems that caused the Challenger Disaster were there from the beginning. Find our merch store hereSupport FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord communitySOURCES:Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, Adam HigginbothamThe Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA, Diane VaughanThe Challenger Decision, T.A. HeppenheimerChief Designers: Max Faget (False Steps)FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

In the wake of Operation:REVIVAL, House Kurita embarked on a crash WarShip development program to try and match the naval superiority of the Clans. Today, we are joined by Dr. Randolph P. Checkers, one of the Periphery’s finest historians, to discuss one product of this program, the ill-fated Tatsumaki Class destroyer. If you want a primer on Battletech, check out Tex’s video on Twycross or his guide to the Inner Sphere!FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

What do you have to worry about? Skin's mostly airtight. We collaborated with Somehow You Didn't Die On Your Way To Work to talk about that period in the 60s when the Soviets got so obsessed with cramming as many people into their spacecraft as possible, they ditched spacesuits as a concept. And then the consequences of that choice in 1971 with Soyuz-11. Find our merch store hereSupport FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord communityFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

The ISS is the greatest product of international space cooperation ever achieved. It is also a product of happening at exactly the right time to actually be possible. Today, we’re talking to space policy expert Nik Proxima about the history of the ISS. We cover its conception as a post-Cold War recycling program, why it continued to operate even as member nations became adversaries, and how space cooperation today is very different from 20 years ago. Check out Nik’s work here: Space Scout and Proxima: A Human Exploration of MarsFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, support Failure To Launch on Patreon at any tier. A formative game from our childhoods, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, has a very controversial moment that some have argued could negatively influence young minds. We are of course talking about the mission where you destroy the ISS with a hijacked nuclear missile. And to better explore the topic of space law and nuclear EMPs, we brought on space policy wonk Nik Proxima to talk about it!Check out Nik’s work here: Space Scout and Proxima: A Human Exploration of MarsFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

In 1947, Georg Rickhey, General Director of Mittelwerk, was charged with war crimes. He was acquitted for lack of evidence.Today, Quinn and Chris are talking about Operation Paperclip and the deliberate efforts made by its staff to protect post-war Nazis from justice and war crimes trials (conducted by other US military officers).  Find our merch store hereSupport FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord communitySOURCES:- Secret Agenda: The United States Government, Nazi Scientists, and Project Paperclip, 1945–1990, Linda Hunt- The Rocket and the Reich, Michael Neufeld- A History of the Dora Camp, Andre SellierFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, support Failure To Launch on Patreon at any tier.I do not much like the Federation of Central Usea (FCU). They’ve done some bad things. This week, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris cover Ulysses from discovery to impact to the decades of fallout we still live with today. How humanity faced a possible extinction event, how we came together to defend ourselves, and how every Shield against Ulysses was turned into a Sword for war. [This is an in-character episode covering the Ulysses Impact Event from the video game series Ace Combat. A big thank you to all the fans who contributed to the Journey Home singalong and Kilian Croghan for the episode art!]SOURCES:- Encyclopedia Strangereal- Last Christmas, Gaze Magazine (Jan 1, 1999)- Asteroid On Collision Course With Earth, Usea Today (Apr 21, 1996)- Titan Guns, Our Science (Sept 20, 1998)- The Twelve Colors of the Sky, Kei Nagase- Lines in the Sand: A Memoir, L. FoulkeFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

What with all the history talk, we haven't really yet tackled the space elephant in the room: that the space industry is increasingly run by billionaires and open fascists. So today, we're chatting with Ziggy, a post-graduate student studying fascist movements and their ties to scifi, on how reactionary movements in the past and present have co-opted space for their political ends. Find our merch store hereSupport FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord communityFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, support Failure To Launch on Patreon at any tier.In the months before the Bombs Fell, the American space program was preparing for its greatest challenge yet: reaching the Red Planet. But the program wasn't as innocent as it seemed. This week, Scribe Quintus is taking Chris and Other Chris through the history of the USSA's Mars Shot Project and the XMB Booster developed by ArcJet Systems.  A big thanks to Alex the OK, Nicholas Slayton, Angry Scooter, and Kelly of CIAS for contributing audiologs to this episode.FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

Capsule: check. Monkey: check. Downers: check. To celebrate our 5th anniversary as a show, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris are going back to the well to talk about our first ever topic: Project Albert. Or “that time the US Government launched a half dozen doped-up monkeys on captured Nazi V-2s”. Find our merch store hereSupport FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord communitySOURCES:- Animals in Space, Colin Burgess and Chris Dubbs- Packing for Mars, Mary Roach- A Brief History of Animals in Space, NASAFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy