On Episode 100 of This Week In Space, Tariq and Rod welcome back Dr. Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute to share what it's like to fly on a private spaceplane.
Alan, a planetary scientist and principal investigator of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond, launched on a suborbital spaceflight in November 2023 on Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity space plane. He dishes on what that experience is like, what it promises for future space science, and more.
Tariq and Rod also discuss Intuitive Machines' private Odysseus moon lander's farewell, a new air leak on the International Space Station, and when SpaceX may launch its Crew-8 mission to the ISS.
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Space news of the week
- Odysseus broke a leg on the moon, goes silent
- Air leak on the ISS
- SpaceX launching Crew-8 this weekend
- Alan Stern
- New Horizons extension since last talk
- Alan Stern's VG flight recap video
- Alan Stern focus on suborbital flight
- Photo of Alan in astronaut screening
- Alan's blog of Suborbital flight
- Blue Origin flight profile
- Space Perspective video capsule
Model Falcon 9!
Looking for a telescope to see planets and comets? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide.
Finally, did you know you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? Model rocket maker Estes' stunning scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket that you can pick up now. The launchable model is a detailed recreation of the Falcon 9 and retails for $149.99. You can save 10% by using the code IN-COLLECTSPACE at checkout, courtesy of our partners collectSPACE.com.
About This Week In Space
This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What's happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars?
Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from Space.com as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.
