Houston We Have a Podcast

In part two of this special edition of the podcast, John Hansen and Greg Wiseman take the first crack at repairing the only machine capable of playing back the voice recordings of Apollo 11 flight controllers, and they soon find out they're going to need some help. HWHAP Episode 89.

In this special edition of the podcast, the voices of the people who saved a piece of American spaceflight history tell the tale of reviving an obsolete piece of audio equipment that was vital to digitizing the voice recordings of the Apollo 11 flight controllers in Houston. HWHAP Episode 88.

Dr. Andy Feinberg and Dr. Steve Platts discuss the history and details behind the Twins Study. The experts reveal some of the findings from the multi-year endeavor packed with 10 different investigations. HWHAP Episode 87.

Jonathan Abary, Pathways program manager, and Alexis Vance, Pathways intern in the crew and thermal systems division, discuss the Pathways internship program at NASA Johnson Space Center. HWHAP Episode 86.

Prominent local business leaders Cindy DeWease, William Harris, and Bob Mitchell discuss how the presence of the Johnson Space Center in Houston impacts the community and vice versa. HWHAP Episode 85.

Steve Barsi, European Service Module Propulsion Subsystem Manager, discusses the Orion spacecraft’s propulsion system, how it works and why it's suited for deep space travel. HWHAP Episode 84.

Spacewalk experts Tara Jochim and Art Thomason discuss the intense planning over months and sometimes years that goes into the complicated choreography of a spacewalk. HWHAP Episode 83.

NASA Astronaut Christina Koch and her husband, Bob Koch, discuss Christina's path to becoming an astronaut—her childhood in North Carolina, her education, and her work at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and in remote locations all around the world—as she gets ready to make the first spaceflight of her career. HWHAP Episode 82.

Mohammed Saibu and Juan Carlos Lopez, who are pursuing leadership roles at NASA through a program called FIRST, discuss some of the challenges of leadership and how this program will build successful leaders who will be the ones to put boots on our nearest celestial neighbors. HWHAP Episode 81.

Steve Stich, Deputy Manager for Commercial Crew, discusses how we are once again launching astronauts from American soil. Stich talks about the astronauts flying in the commercial crew spacecrafts, the upcoming test missions, and the role of private industry in the future of human spaceflight. HWHAP Episode 80.

John Lewis, Orion ECLS (Environmental Control and Life Support) system manager, discusses how the Orion spacecraft will keep the crew inside comfortable – and more importantly, alive – during a mission into deep space. HWHAP Episode 79.

Expert guests from the Apollo program reveal more behind the challenges faced to successfully land humans on the Moon in less than three years after the tragic Apollo 1 fire. HWHAP Episode 78.

Vanessa Wyche, Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center, leads a panel discussion with key players of the Apollo program to learn critical lessons that can be applied to NASA’s future human spaceflight missions to the Moon and Mars. HWHAP Episode 77.

On the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 launch, resident historian Dr. Jennifer Ross-Nazzal recounts one of the most significant missions in human spaceflight history, featuring interviews with Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman and Bill Anders. HWHAP Episode 76.

Matt Lemke, Orion avionics, power and software deputy manager, discusses how Orion is radiation-hardened so the systems inside can withstand the harsh environment of space. HWHAP Episode 75.

NASA Astronaut Anne McClain discusses her journey to space, from her education, her time in the Army as an aviator, and her training to become an astronaut. HWHAP Episode 74.

Jerry Ross, former NASA astronaut, talks about the first mission to assemble the International Space Station and his experience conducting the mission's three spacewalks. The milestone shuttle mission STS-88 brought the Unity module to join Zarya, the first element of the space station. HWHAP Episode 73.

Doug Drewry, former FGB Program Manager, discusses leading the joint U.S and Russian teams during the development and launch of Zarya, the first element of the International Space Station, for its 20th anniversary in space. HWHAP Episode 72.

John Gruener and Dr. Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, planetary scientist and historian, respectively, team up to discuss both the science and history of the Apollo program, the Moon, and the Johnson Space Center. HWHAP Episode 71.

Dr. Lucie Low, Scientific Program Manager at the National Institutes of Health, talks about tiny devices the size of the thumb drive that replicate the structure and function of human organs. Low discusses the importance of testing these devices in space. HWHAP Episode 70.

Dr. Greg Holt, Navigation Lead for the Orion spacecraft, discusses how the vehicle finds its way through deep space and communicates with Earth along the way. HWHAP Episode 69.

Bob Jacobs, Bert Ulrich, and Bill Barry share stories of NASA working closely with filmmakers on features and documentaries. The cast and crew of "First Man" and family members of the real astronauts portrayed in the film also share their perspective on human spaceflight. HWHAP Episode 68.

For NASA’s 60th Anniversary, Houston We Have a Podcast took to the stage with science fiction writers Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and publishing agent DongWon Song, as well as NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren to discuss how real science and science fiction have influenced each other. HWHAP Episode 67.

Ronny Baccus, Orion structures and thermal protection system functional area manager, discusses how Orion deals with temperatures around 5,000°F when screaming back into Earth's atmosphere at 25,000 miles per hour. HWHAP Episode 66.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and his wife, Lt. Col. Catie Hague, talk about Nick’s journey to becoming an astronaut, his education, and his time in the U.S Air Force. The couple discusses how their family is prepared for the journey ahead. HWHAP Episode 65.

Dr. Steve Johnson, Senior Scientist of the Space Radiation Analysis Group, discusses what's being done right now to document radiation exposure, not only to ensure our astronauts stay healthy, but to understand weather in space. HWHAP Episode 64.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Johnson Space Center Director Mark Geyer describe the mission and direction of America's space agency after a visit from Vice President Mike Pence. The two agency leaders discuss commercialization, human missions to the Moon, and the difference between NASA and Space Force. HWHAP Episode 63.

Jon Olansen and Jenny Devolites, leads for the Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) crew module and AA-2 launch abort vehicle test mission, discuss the critical test of the abort system if a failure were to happen while the Space Launch System rocket was ascending. HWHAP Episode 62.

Dr. Brian Crucian, a biological studies and immunology expert, discusses the hazard of hostile and closed environments in space. Crucian serves as the principal investigator for a NASA functional immune study. This is part five of the five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. HWHAP Episode 61.

Dr. Peter Norsk, Senior Research Director and Element Scientist at Baylor College of Medicine based here at NASA, describes the hazard of altered gravity fields and its effects on the human body. This is part four of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. HWHAP Episode 60.

Dr. Erik Antonsen, element scientist and emergency physician, discusses the hazard of traveling farther away from Earth an ever before, especially how to provide appropriate medical care with limited resources and challenging communications. This is part three of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. HWHAP Episode 59.

Dr. Tom Williams leads a research team that looks into isolation and confinement, focusing on habitability and behavioral health and performance risks to spaceflight. This is part two of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. HWHAP Episode 58.

Dr. Zarana Patel, a portfolio lead scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center, is responsible for management and scientific oversight of degenerative tissue risk of space radiation. This is part one of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. HWHAP Episode 57.

Dr. Mike Barratt, NASA astronaut, physician and a flight surgeon, shares his story of living in space. Barratt addresses five hazards of human spaceflight and why these challenges need to be addressed to make deep-space missions successful. HWHAP Episode 56.

John Gruener and Steve Hoffman discuss in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), the ability to find and use natural resources beyond Earth. HWHAP Episode 55.

Tabi Taliwaku Kalisa, program manager of NASA's Small Business Programs, shares how NASA helps small businesses to get involved in space exploration and scientific discovery by working with them from the spark of an idea to literally being a part of the space industry. HWHAP Episode 54.

Dr. Stan Love, NASA astronaut and all-around smart guy, flew to the International Space Station in 2008 and has worked on a number of flight analog programs to understand how to conduct deep-space missions. Love explores the challenges that will need to be tackled to make a mission to Mars successful. HWHAP Episode 53.

Houston, We Have a Podcast celebrates its first year. Gary Jordan (host) sits down with Alex Perryman (audio) and Dan Huot (co-host) to reminisce about their favorite moments and incredible guests. HWHAP Episode 52.

Harry Roberts, Flight Operation Supervisor for the Aircraft Operations Division out at Ellington Field Airport, talks about aeronautics at NASA. Roberts describes the operations out at Ellington Field and the aircraft itself that helped to make human spaceflight possible. HWHAP Episode 51.

Dr. Sarah Wallace talks about her instrumental role in sequencing DNA for the very first time in space. DNA sequencing can be used for things in space from monitoring the crew members' health to identifying microbes, and potentially detecting life in the solar system. HWHAP Episode 50.

Kathy Lueders, Manager of the Commercial Crew Program, gives us a brief history of the program, how it started, and where it is now. Leuders talks about the 2 commercial companies, Boeing and SpaceX, and their space vehicles that will carry astronauts into low Earth orbit. HWHAP Episode 49.

Ryan Zeigler, a planetary scientist and the lunar sample curator, talks about the moon rocks brought to Earth during Apollo, the facilities that keep them, and what were still learning from them. HWHAP Episode 48.

Serena Auñón-Chancellor shares her story about becoming an astronaut from her education in engineering and medicine to her time at NASA as a flight surgeon. Auñón-Chancellor discusses her training and expectations before her first trip to space. HWHAP Episode 47.

For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we team up with our Asian Employee Resource Group to share the stories from 4 guests on their unique paths coming to NASA from different backgrounds. HWHAP Episode 46.

Annette Moore, the Director of Information Resources and the Chief Information Officer at the Johnson Space Center, tells us about data and information in space as well as the tech we use for human spaceflight operations, including space station imagery and how it's changed over time. HWHAP Episode 45.

Jeff Fox, Chief Engineer of the Rapid Prototype Lab at the Johnson Space Center, tells the history and evolution of displays and controls in the space shuttle. Fox reveals details behind some of the new displays that are being designed to fly on the Orion spacecraft. HWHAP Episode 44

Dr. Scott Smith, NASA nutritionist and the manager for nutritional biochemistry, discusses the differences in the way astronauts have to eat in space versus the way we eat here on Earth. HWHAP Episode 43.

Paul Bookout and David Smith continue their conversation about the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V: The Space Launch System. The experts discuss the construction, testing, evolution and potential of the skyscraper-sized launch vehicle. HWHAP Episode 42

Paul Bookout and David Smith talk about the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V: The Space Launch System. The experts discuss what the rocket is made of, where it will go, and what will be inside. HWHAP Episode 41

Colonel TJ Creamer shares his story from humble beginnings in the military to tweeting from the International Space Station. Creamer describes his transition as the first and only individual to be both an astronaut and a flight director. HWHAP Episode 40.