Hosted by Jason Snell and Stephen Hackett.
Liftoff is a fortnightly podcast about space, the universe, and everything. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand the latest developments as explained by enthusiastic space fans Stephen Hackett and Jason Snell.
Subscribe
Navigation
Links
Latest Episodes
#133: The World’s Most Expensive WeWork
September 22nd, 2020 · 60 minutes
The recent announcement of phosphine being detected in Venus' atmosphere could have a major effect on future scientific missions, so Jason is excited about space blimps again. Then, Stephen walks through NASA's most recent Artemis roadmap, and the guys discuss what the future of the program could look like if the White House changes hands next yea…
#132: In the Shadow of Artemis
September 8th, 2020 · 50 minutes
In the Utah desert, Northrop Grumman has tested a full-sized SLS SRB, while the future of work in low-Earth orbit is being debated. On Mars, InSight's troubles continue and 17 billion light years-away, two black holes have collided.
#131: Windex for Rockets
August 25th, 2020 · 45 minutes
It's a busy week on Florida's Space Coast, and supernovas are in the news. Thankfully the two won't cross paths. Neither will Earth and an asteroid the day before Election Day in the United States.
#130: A Salted Almond in Space
August 11th, 2020 · 40 minutes
Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have splashed down after their historic mission to the ISS, and SpaceX's finally gotten a Starship test article to hop in Texas and the OSIRIS-REx team is gearing up for their sample return flight. Also: Ceres' bright spots, government contracts and an update on the SLS.
#129: Dirt in a Soccer Ball
July 28th, 2020 · 38 minutes
Mars 2020 is set to launch in just a few days, and should be followed by the splashdown of the Commercial Crew Demo-2 mission. Elsewhere, Virgin Galactic has shown off the interior of its space tourism craft, and we remember Rene Carpenter.
#128: Summer of Mars
July 14th, 2020 · 52 minutes
There are three missions bound for Mars launching this month, and Jason walks through them each. Then, Stephen gives a NASA budget update and the two get into some space law ... and guidelines.
#127: Wormy Space Coin
June 30th, 2020 · 46 minutes
This week: black holes doing weird black hole things, a progress report on the SLS and a discussion of how some of NASA's facilities should be renamed.
#126: Astronauts are Really Good at Moving
June 15th, 2020 · 40 minutes
The crew of Demo-2 are likely working on orbit until August, while here on the ground, COVID-19 is taking its toll on NASA schedules. Also: a conversation about CLPS and Gateway, as well as NASA's new Director of Human Spaceflight, Kathy Lueders.
#125: A Sparkly Dinosaur
June 2nd, 2020 · 49 minutes
The age of Commercial Crew has arrived, with Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken arriving at the International Space Station safely after riding a Falcon 9 there this weekend. Also: tiny CubeSats can do big things and Tom Cruise may be taking a trip.
#124: Space Koozie
May 19th, 2020 · 43 minutes
The Artemis Accords have been unveiled, but will their adoption be hurt by their rollout? Could Starship be more useful as a refueling station than a lander? Jason and Stephen get into these questions and more this fortnight.