Kennedy Space Center landing

On STS-97 the Space Shuttle is delivering its heaviest ISS payload yet: the P6 truss. We’ll climb high above the payload bay, consider some strange analogies, and both slack off and tense up. [Click for more..]

On STS-106, we finally get to meet Zvezda, the Russian service module for the International Space Station. We also meet some new faces, decrypt some mission designations, move a bunch of equipment, and perform an EVA that may or may not be a milestone. [Click for more..]

On STS-101 we’ve got a slick new cockpit to show off, a pile of launch delays, a ton or two of new equipment and supplies and some floppy disks in the payload bay. [Click for more..]

On STS-99 we’ll be studying the Earth in a whole new dimension, using fancy radar tricks to scan nearly the entire planet in 3D! Close and lock your visors and put on your 3D glasses now! [Click for more..]

The Hubble Space Telescope couldn’t wait until the year 2000 for a visit, while the Space Shuttle’s computers couldn’t handle the year 2000 at all. With the clock ticking, will the crew of STS-103 be able to save the new year for scientists everywhere? [Click for more..]

On STS-93 we’ve got a ton of stuff to do in a mission lasting less than five days. We’ll break another glass barrier, we’ll put the redundancy of the Space Shuttle Main Engines to the test, and we’ll explore the universe in a whole new part of the spectrum. [Click for more..]

On the first resupply mission to the ISS we’ve got tons of stuff to transfer, a disco ball to deploy, and a surprising number of quotations from Dan Barry! We’ll also celebrate the video games and websites of the late 1990s. [Click for more..]

The ISS era is upon us! Let’s learn about Zarya, the first module of the International Space Station, and bring it a buddy: Unity! With a Russian and an American module flying, the ISS will be born. [Click for more..]

On STS-95 we’ve got the return of SPARTAN, the return of SPACEHAB, and the return of.. John Glenn! Let’s do some science and learn how the 77 year old former astronaut found himself once again whizzing around in orbit. [Click for more..]

On STS-91 we’ll try out a new external tank, learn a little physics, and find out what Mir upper management thinks about the state of the space station. Oh, we’ll also bring Andy Thomas home and wave farewell to Mir forever. [Click for more..]

On STS-90 we’ve got dozens of nervous system experiments to get through, we’ll play some catch, take a whirl in the crazy chair, and we’ll wonder where NASA got 2000 crickets. [Click for more..]

On STS-89 we head up to Mir to retrieve Dave Wolf and drop off Andy Thomas. Along the way we’ll relax by looking at some fish, mind our checklists, and wonder why the airlock hatch is stuck again. [Click for more..]

On STS-87 we’ve got a bunch of material science in the payload bay, a free-flying satellite, a camera that fell out of Star Wars, and 645,500 friends! We also get to the bottom of a significant mishap. [Click for more..]

Dave Wolf didn’t think he was going to Mir for another six months, but when Russia decides Wendy Lawrence is too short, schedules change. Though if Congress has anything to say about it, Wolf might not be going anywhere after all. [Click for more..]

It’s Kent Rominger’s birthday, so what better way to celebrate than launching into space? Along the way we’ll send CRISTA-SPAS out for one last adventure, try out a Japanese robot arm, take pictures of comets, and try to avoid Blue Screens of Death. [Click for more..]

The crew, payload, and orbiter of STS-94 have unfinished business in low earth orbit thanks to a busted fuel cell on STS-83. Let’s kick the tires, light the fires, and then light around 200 more fires, but carefully. [Click for more..]

On STS-84 we’ll deliver Mike Foale to Mir and bring Jerry Linenger back to Earth. We’ll also wonder how much Elektron really weighs, enjoy the music in the base block, and contemplate the mystical powers of a shouting Marine. [Click for more..]

New episode! The crew of STS-83 is ready for a 16 day flight aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, with Spacelab packed full of materials science experiments. So why did the flight end up only being 4 days long? [Click for more..]

On STS-82 we’ve got another ground-up rendezvous on our hands. But instead of flying to Mir, we’ll be visiting our old friend the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s been a few years since STS-61 fixed its optical flaw, and it’s due for an upgrade! [Click for more..]

On STS-81 we’ll deliver Jerry Linenger to his new orbital home, bring John Blaha back to Earth, throw some meat and cheese around in weightlessness, and try not to get lost in Mir’s darkened twist and turns. [Click for more..]

On STS-80 we’ve got free-flying payloads, troublesome EVAs, a bunch of rats, and a reentry to remember. Strap in for the longest flight of the entire shuttle program! Don’t worry, we’ll step outside for a breath of fresh vacuum. [Click for more..]

Shannon Lucid has been waiting for her ride home and John Blaha is ready to swap in as America’s next long duration spacefarer. We’ll also fix our SRBs, try to heat up some metal, and enjoy some barbecue in Atlantis. [Click for more..]

On STS-78 we’ve got a bunch of materials science, a bunch of muscles to study, and a bunch of wake-up songs to roll our eyes at. Let’s just hope we have enough fuel to make it to orbit in the first place! [Click for more..]

On STS-77 we’ve got some experimental technology to try out that if nothing else lead to some pretty wild visuals. We’ll also get some work done on SPACEHAB and wonder why Marc Garneau loves hanging out with Australians so much. [Click for more..]

On STS-75 we’ll take another try at the Tethered Satellite System. It didn’t work so great on STS-46, but with much of the same crew and it should be a snap. [Click for more..]

On STS-72 we’re going to deploy one spacecraft but retrieve two! We’ll also test out some new EVA techniques, bid farewell to a frequent flyer, and spin Koichi Wakata around until he stops smiling. [Click for more..]

We’ve docked at Mir before, but moving the Kristall module around is such a hassle. What if we could just make it a little longer so the shuttle could dock with it in its usual location? [Click for more..]

Columbia is back from the shop and is sporting some new upgrades, but seems reluctant to leave Earth on its 18th voyage. Once on orbit, we’ll do some science, learn why TV is good, and perform some magic tricks! [Click for more..]

Endeavour is back on the launch pad with two payloads to both deploy and retrieve. One of those payloads looks a whole lot like a gigantic frisbee, something that would be sure to get the attention of any dog (or dog crew) nearby. [Click for more..]

On STS-70 it’s time to complete the TDRSS constellation! Or at least the first generation. We’ll also resist putting fish eggs on crackers, buy some decoy owls, and wonder why so many people from Ohio are trying to escape Earth. [Click for more..]

Twenty years after the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, four years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and around a hundred days after the launch of Norm Thagard, it’s time to finally see a space shuttle dock with Mir. [Click for more..]

After all this talk about the Russian space station Mir, how about we take a close up look for ourselves? A REALLY close look. Space Shuttle Discovery won’t be the first Shuttle to dock with Mir, but it’ll come close! [Click for more..]

Space Shuttle Columbia is flying for the 17th time, carrying the International Microgravity Laboratory 2 payload. With fish, newts, and bubbles, it sounds more like a witch’s brew than an advanced research laboratory. [Click for more..]

Space Shuttle Columbia has been packed full of so many experiments you might think there are two different payloads back there.. and you’d be right! Let’s learn about fake-metal dendrites, how to stop the orbiter from glowing, and why the NASA ground crews think Pierre Thuot smells like garbage. [Click for more..]

Look out! There’s a Russian on the space shuttle! Oh, we invited him? Well alright then. On STS-60 we’re going to push some atoms out of the way, begin the partnership that would lead to the ISS, and wonder what it takes to get a Coke in Russia. [Click for more..]

The Hubble Space Telescope is in trouble. With the fate of the orbiting observatory, and maybe NASA itself, on the line, can the crew of STS-61 save the day? We’ll ride along in the latest episode of The Space Above Us. [Click for more..]

On STS-51 we’ve got a packed flight with an advanced communciation satellite, a new kick stage, the return of SPAS, an EVA and a sassy air traffic controller. I hope you don’t mind a little debris in the payload bay! [Click for more..]