Thu, Jan 21, 2021
If you need to capture highly technical imagery of your spacecraft as it reenters the Earth's atmosphere, look no further than CJ (Carey Scott) and the SCIFLI team at NASA Langley Research Center. Franklin Fitzgerald checks in with CJ to learn more about how SCIFLI works, the many assets in they are able to deploy, and their recent imaging of the Hayabusa 2 asteroid sample return down in Australia in 2020.
Fri, Feb 12, 2021
Our resident expert on Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) narrows her focus on the lunar landing with Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS). Michelle Munk and NASA EDGE's Blair Allen discuss the impact of lander rocket plumes during a lunar landing both in terms of crater formation and how regolith may be dispersed in the process.
Wed, Mar 17, 2021
Not only did Mars 2020 and Perseverance survive the seven minutes of terror during entry, descent, and landing on the surface of Mars, they also collected a lot of key performance data. NASA EDGE's Franklin Fitzgerald chats with Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrument 2 Project Manager Henry Wright about the latest success with Perseverance and how the MEDLI2 data will help future missions to Mars and other planets carry more mass and stay safe at the same time.
Fri, Mar 26, 2021
It is a huge challenge to send astronauts to the Moon, but it is also critical to bring them home safely. NASA EDGE's Blair Allen talks with Christine St. Germain, NASA's Test Director for Landing and Recovery at KSC, about the Orion Underway Recovery Tests (URT) for the Orion spacecraft. The URTs are complex simulations of how the Orion spacecraft performs in open water after landing at sea. Plus, both NASA and the NAVY practice multiple spacecraft recovery techniques in the process. Christine moves all of the chess pieces around to get the performance data from the URTs to help NASA engineers prepare the Orion for mission success from launch all the way to landing.
Mon, Apr 12, 2021
Perseverance is already collecting science on the surface of Mars, but MEDLI2 actually collected significant scientific data on the way to the surface. NASA EDGE Co-Host Franklin Fitzgerald talked with Mars Entry Descent and Landing Instrument 2 (MEDLI2) Principal Investigator Todd White about how NASA is continuing to learn about the very dramatic and mysterious transition through the Martian atmosphere all the way down to the surface. Basically, MEDLI studied and stuck the landing.
Wed, Apr 21, 2021
If you're looking to clear some space on the lunar surface, pick up some extra water, and break a few lunar travel distance records, look no further than the Lunar Pilot Excavator. Kurt Leucht, of Swamp Works at NASA Kennedy Space Center, explains how this latest tech demonstration mission will pave the way for NASA's permanent presence on the moon.
Wed, Apr 28, 2021
How did MEDLI2 get all of the incredible data during entry, descent, and landing on Mars? Look no further than the engineering. MEDLI2 Chief Engineer Chris Kuhl explains how overcoming several engineering challenges helped gather unprecedented data before Perseverance even began to roll.
Tue, May 25, 2021
Will the Orion get the data it needs from this third key drop test and remain the uncontested belly flop champion? Mark Baldwin from Lockheed Martin, explains how the massive amount of on board sensors collect data to help enhance Orion's performance as it prepares for eventual human space flight for the Artemis Program. The data will take some time to analyze, but check out the splashdown. We give Orion a 10.
Thu, Jun 3, 2021
How do you top higher and higher drop tests? You add an extreme swing test to your portfolio. In this test for the Orion Structural Test Article (STA), NASA will gather performance data by simulating landing in "extreme" conditions. Bryan Russ, Project Manager for the Orion Water Impact Tests at NASA Langley Research Center, takes us through the finer points of preparing for both increased angle and velocity for impact. And though NASA doesn't intend to land at this steep angle, the data will help engineers understand the Orion and its capabilities for future missions.
Mon, Oct 25, 2021
On September 27th, 2021 NASA EDGE provided live coverage of the Landsat 9 Tower Roll at Vandenberg Space Force Center in California. Deputy Project Scientist Bruce Cook, TIRS-2 Instrument Project Manager Jason Hair, NASA's Launch Services' own Mic Woltman, and more joined the show to share their insight into this incredible Earth observing mission.
Tue, Nov 16, 2021
On October 14th, 2021 NASA EDGE provided live coverage of the Lucy Rollout at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Several members of the Lucy team joined the show. Lucy Program Scientist Tom Statler, Deputy Project Systems Engineer Mike Sekerak, and L'Ralph Instrument Data Scientist Hannah Kaplan were live on set, while T2Cam Calibration Team and graduate student Amy Zhou joined virtually. Rounding out the latest on the rocket's trip to the pad, NASA's Launch Services Program very Mic Woltman kept us up to date on the final pre-launch status of this incredible planetary mission to the Trojan Asteroids.
Tue, Nov 16, 2021
Prior to the launch of the Laser Communication Relay Demonstration, the NASA EDGE Co-Host develops and tests his own version of laser communication as a proof of concept. While Chris and Franklin consider Blair's highly suspect beta version, the entire team looks at the history and development of NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) with multiple experts from Lincoln Labs and NASA.
Fri, Dec 3, 2021
On November 22, 2021 NASA EDGE provide coverage of the transition of the SpaceX Falcon 9 going vertical prior to the launch of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Associate Administrator Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, Planetary Science Division Director Lori Glaze, and NASA's Launch Services Program Office's Mic Woltman and more joined the show to discuss this amazing proof of concept mission for our planet's defense.
Sat, Dec 4, 2021
NASA EDGE talks NASA Heliophysics, NASA Solar Missions, Eclipses, and Space Weather as the perfect setup for exclusive, high-resolution footage of the 2021 Antarctic Total Solar Eclipse. Join Blair and Franklin as the talk with NASA Scientists Kelly Korreck, Michael Kirk, and Jesse Woodroffe before sharing this exclusive eclipse footage provided by the J. M. Pasachoff Antarctic Eclipse Expedition.
Thu, Dec 16, 2021
On December 8, 2021 NASA EDGE provided live coverage for the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. IXPE will give scientists around the world an unprecedented look at some of our galaxies most mysterious and complex objects, like Black Holes, Neutron Stars, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and more. Guests on the show include NASA Astrophysics Division Director Paul Hertz, IXPE Deputy Principal Investigator Brian Ramsey, IXPE Lead Mirror Scientist Stephen Bongiorno, IXPE Project Manager Randy Baggett, and NASA Launch Program Office's Mic Woltman.