The RocketLab Contract Started a Clock That Starved Their Paychecks

A faulty valve trips the countdown at Cape Canaveral as Discovery prepares to launch Hubble-did they clear the tower?The faulty valve tripped the countdown-would Discovery clear the tower?In this episode, we follow the tense final hours before Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS-31 launch, the mission that would carry the Hubble Space Telescope and a layered skull packed with radiation dosimeters into record-setting altitude. We trace crew changes, technical setbacks, and the specific decisions that shaped the countdown-would the launch proceed?Mission: STS-31Date: April 24, 1990 (launch time noted April 24, 1990 12:33:51)Payloads: Hubble Space Telescope; skull dosimeter (5 kilograms, sliced into 10 layers)Altitude: 613-621 kilometers target orbitCrew: Loren Shriver (commander), Charles Bolden (pilot), Bruce McCandless, Kathryn Sullivan, Steven Hawley- A human skull instrument, weighing five kilograms and cut into ten horizontal layers, was installed in a mid-deck storage compartment to map radiation penetration at depth.- The primary payload, the 24,000-pound Hubble Space Telescope, had been delayed years by Challenger and mission redesignations; its deployment was now STS-31 aboard Discovery.- John Young, originally assigned to the Hubble mission (then STS-61-J on Atlantis), was reassigned after Challenger; Loren Shriver was named commander of the rebuilt crew.- Discovery and Columbia stood on neighboring pads at Kennedy Space Center during rollout, marking the program’s visible return to flight operations.- On April 10, 1990, the countdown hit T-minus four minutes when a sensor flagged a faulty valve, prompting a launch scrub and manual overrides in the ensuing launch attempts.Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7290100© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A carry-on-sized box in Jezero Crater made oxygen from Mars air - but every molecule vanished; did MOXIE prove we can produce 25 tonnes on Mars?When a Carry-On Box Made Oxygen on Mars - And It VanishedIn this episode, we follow the little machine called MOXIE and the engineers who sent it to Mars to test making oxygen from the thin carbon-dioxide atmosphere. We lay out the experiment, the scale it was meant to prove, and the question that haunts every crewed Mars plan: can in‑situ oxygen production scale to twenty‑five metric tons?Instrument: MOXIELocation: Jezero CraterDate: Box 20, 2021Method: Solid oxide electrolysis at 800 °CObjective: Demonstrate oxygen production and scalability to support return oxidizer needs- MOXIE weighed 17 kilograms and consumed about 300 watts, roughly a household iron’s power draw.- The device heated ceramic cells to 800 °C to strip oxygen ions from Martian CO2 and produce molecular O2.- On its first runs it produced 5.37 grams of oxygen, aiming for ten runs of 6-10 g/hr at ≥90% purity.- The broader mission goal: determine whether technology can scale from grams to the 25 metric tons of oxygen a Mars ascent vehicle would need.- Engineers from JPL, Arizona State, MIT, Imperial College and Haystack Observatory designed MOXIE to test operation through Mars conditions and rover power limits.Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7290100© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A Soviet balloon must inflate over Venus before a 200‑second clock runs out, but a pressure sensor delays it-did they make it in time?A pressure sensor triggered soil tests mid‑fall and burned the balloon's clockIn this episode, we follow the Vega One mission’s descent to Venus and the five critical minutes that decided whether a balloon would float or fail. The episode traces the timed inflation sequence, the unexpected activation of soil instruments, and the real-time limits that left controllers blind - what happened during those two hundred seconds?Mission: Vega OneDate: 11-13 June 1985Location: Venus night sidePayload: balloon and landerCollaborators: Soviet engineers and French CNES scientists- Engineers packed a nine‑metre teflon‑coated mylar balloon into a suitcase‑sized canister to inflate automatically during descent.- The inflation sequence had fixed intervals: drogue parachute, 15s to unfold, 15s to start gas, 40s partial fill, 100s working pressure, 200s full deployment.- The lander and balloon had a single, nonrepeatable window to deploy while descending through an unmeasured, turbulent night atmosphere.- A pressure sensor misinterpreted ambient atmospheric pressure as surface contact and triggered the lander’s soil analysis instruments mid‑air.- Radio lag meant Earth controllers received transmissions after the critical inflation clock had already run its course.Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7290100© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A private space company secures federal authorization for a lunar mission, but a ticking clock and dwindling funds threaten their ambitious spaceflight.The RocketLab Contract Started a Clock That Starved Their PaychecksThis episode explores the story of Moon Express, a private space company that aimed to send a commercial mission to the Moon. It delves into the company's early successes and the mounting pressures that challenged their groundbreaking ambitions.Person: Robert Richards, Naveen Jain, Barney PellDate: July 2018Location: Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 17Company: Moon ExpressEvent: Launch towers demolished- Moon Express was incorporated in August 2010 on the campus of NASA's Ames Research Center.- Within two months of incorporation, NASA signed a data-purchase contract with Moon Express worth up to ten million dollars.- In December 2012, Moon Express acquired Rocket City Space Pioneers, gaining engineer Tim Pickens as Chief Propulsion Engineer.- In December 2013, Moon Express unveiled the MX-one, a 250-kilogram spacecraft designed for lunar missions.- On September 30, 2015, Moon Express signed a contract with Rocket Lab for three launches aboard the Electron rocket, with the first launch targeted for 2017.Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7290100© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A Chinese interceptor strikes a defunct weather satellite 865 km up - did they make it in time?The SC‑19 slammed into FY‑1C and made 150,000 pieces stay in orbitIn this episode, we lay out the timeline and mechanics of a kinetic anti-satellite test that shattered a decades-old weather satellite and created the largest artificial debris field in history. How did a single intercept transform one payload into an enduring hazard for everything left in orbit?Date: January 11, 2007Event: Kinetic anti-satellite interceptPerson: Lieutenant General Michael Maples (named the SC-19)Location: ~865 kilometers altitude (launch region: Xichang area)Object: FY-1C weather satellite (launched May 1999)- FY-1C was a defunct polar-orbiting weather satellite, operational 1999-around 2007 and still in a known, trackable orbit.- The weapon, designated SC-19, used a modified DF-21 airframe with an infrared imaging seeker and carried no explosive payload; its kill mechanism was pure kinetic energy.- Two prior test attempts (July 7, 2005 and February 6, 2006) failed to intercept the target before the January 2007 success.- The intercept occurred at an approximate closing velocity of 8 km/s in a head-on trajectory, producing immediate structural disintegration and about 150,000 pieces of debris.- Tracking through 2016-2019 attributed thousands of ISS-threatening fragments to this single morning, and projections show many fragments will remain in orbit for decades.Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7290100© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A NASA engineer races a thirty-one-month clock after Challenger - did Discovery launch in time?The Thirty-One‑Month Deadline That Forced Discovery to Fly on TimeIn this episode, we follow Richard Truly’s path from naval aviator to the NASA leader tasked with returning the shuttle to flight after Challenger. The episode covers the technical fixes, management choices, and the ticking thirty-one-month timetable that governed every decision - did they meet that deadline?Person: Richard Harrison TrulyEvent: Challenger accident and shuttle return-to-flightDate: January 28, 1986; September 29, 1988Location: Kennedy Space CenterRole: Associate Administrator for Space Flight- Truly drafted a checklist of engineering fixes and review processes in March 1986 to address the failures that led to Challenger.- The internal target for returning the shuttle to flight was thirty-one months from the Challenger accident.- Key fixes included a complete redesign of the solid rocket motor joint and formal completion of critical items and maintenance reviews.- Discovery’s launch occurred thirty-two months after Challenger, with each checklist item closed before liftoff.- Truly watched Discovery lift off from the launch control center after leading the program’s technical and procedural rebuild.Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7290100© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A veteran astronaut rides a robotic arm to patch a live solar array on the ISS-did he make it in time?The robotic arm swung him ninety feet out and the clock beganIn this episode, we follow Scott Parazynski from a childhood launch that set his course to the moment he climbs onto a robotic arm to repair a live solar array. The episode traces the mission timeline, the improvised tools and the escalating technical risk-what choices did the team make under that pressure?Person: Scott ParazynskiDate: May 20, 2009; mission STS-120 in October 2007 referencedLocation: International Space Station, South Col referenced as analogyEvent: Repair of a torn, electrified solar array during EVAStatus: Arm extended to full length; astronaut at tip 90 feet from airlock- He was too tall for an early spacecraft configuration, delaying his path to NASA until a later vehicle change.- By STS-120 he had logged over eight weeks in space across four flights and was one of NASA’s most experienced spacewalkers.- A solar array tore during deployment and began shredding under continuous electrical load, creating an urgent power margin risk.- Ground engineers improvised a repair tool from wire ties, aluminum strips and onboard materials with a specific required operator position.- The robotic arm extended to its full length, placing Parazynski at the tip, inches from an energized panel with no prior procedure for that exact configuration.Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7290100© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A Delta II fragment heads for the International Space Station, forcing a crew into a cramped escape capsule - did they make it?A Delta II fragment struck the station's path and forced them into the escape capsuleIn this episode, we follow the sequence of events on March 12, 2009, when orbital debris from a 1993 Delta II rocket endangered the International Space Station and forced its crew into an escape capsule. The episode traces the days leading up to the close approach and the skills and decisions that mattered - what happened next hangs in the balance.Person: Yury Valentinovich LonchakovDate: March 12, 2009Event: Delta II rocket upper stage fragment close approachLocation: International Space Station (400 kilometers above Earth)Role: Flight engineer and Soyuz commander- A piece of metal launched in 1993 as a Delta II upper stage drifted for sixteen years before approaching the station.- At 16:38 UTC on March 12, the fragment was close enough that three people aboard the station sealed into an escape capsule.- Lonchakov’s upbringing by field geologist parents and training emphasized patience and improvisation in remote, constrained situations.- Lonchakov’s flight history: pilot school (1986), 1,400+ military flight hours, 526 parachute jumps, and selection to the cosmonaut corps in 1997.- Earlier in the mission, an external experiment (Expose-R) activated but produced no telemetry, prompting a rapid ground-side investigation.Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7290100© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A shuttle commander uses the Canadarm to free ice from Discovery and races the deorbit window. Did they make it in time?The Canadarm knocked the ice free and bought them the deorbit windowIn this episode, we follow Henry Hartsfield from decades of waiting and exacting preparation to the moment he takes command of Discovery and faces an unplanned threat in orbit. The episode reconstructs the decisions, tools, and tensions as the crew works against a closing deorbit window - what happens next hangs on a robotic arm and split-second choices.Person: Henry Warren Hartsfield Jr.Date: August 1984Location: Space shuttle Discovery, payload bayEvent: Ice accumulation on orbiter exterior; use of Remote Manipulator SystemGroup: Crew nicknamed themselves the Icebusters- Hartsfield logged 483 hours in space and commanded three missions over thirteen years before this flight.- Discovery’s maiden voyage, STS-41-D, developed dangerous ice buildup in the payload bay during August 1984.- With the deorbit window closing, Hartsfield chose to operate the Remote Manipulator System himself to remove ice.- The Canadarm was used to knock ice piece by piece, a procedure not covered by existing checklists or ground plans.- The crew adopted the informal name “Icebusters,” signaling the on-the-spot, test-pilot ethos they brought to solving the hazard.Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7290100© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A shuttle commander watches onboard computers cut engines on the pad, then faces a pad fire and emergency evacuation-did they make it in time?The onboard computer cut engines four seconds into ignition and forced an abortIn this episode, we follow Michael Lloyd Lloyd from decorated naval aviator to NASA astronaut as a launch abort on T-minus four seconds forces an unprecedented shutdown and a pad fire. The episode traces the buildup to that aborted launch and asks what the record reveals about risk, decision-making, and the crew’s next moves.Person: Michael Lloyd LloydDate: June 26, 1984Event: Shuttle launch abort at T-minus 4 secondsLocation: Kennedy Space Center launchpadMission: STS-41-D- Lloyd logged 315 combat departures and earned 32 Strike Flight Air Medals before age 27, a career built on repetition and precision.- He accumulated 5,000 flight hours, 28 aircraft types, and 400 carrier landings before joining NASA’s astronaut class of 1978.- Assigned to command STS-41-D after years as CAPCOM and support crew, Lloyd had been training for his first flight for six years.- On June 26, 1984 the main engines ignited, then onboard computers detected an anomaly and initiated a shutdown four seconds into ignition.- An unburned hydrogen residue ignited at the base of the launch structure, damaging the pad and forcing crew evacuation and mission delay.Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7290100© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].