Skip to content
The Orbital Mechanics Podcast podcast artwork

The Orbital Mechanics Podcast

by David Fourman, Ben Etherington, and Dennis Just

Science

Every week we cover the latest spaceflight news, discuss past, current and future exploration efforts, and take a look at upcoming events. Tune in to hear about how humans get to space, how they stay in space and how unmanned craft reach farther and farther into the universe around us.

From the show's RSS feed, refreshed Apr 8, 2026. Source feed.

Subscribe Bookmark

Episodes

  1. Episode 511: LOS

    — We won’t be restocking T-shirts, but feel free to find a print company you like and use our logos to make your own! Please do not use our logos for any other purpose without permission. (drive.google.com) — Posters have been added to the store (theorbitalmechanics.com/store) — There’s still a...

  2. Episode 510.2: Abort Abort Abort

    Well, after last week's short episode, I suspect that a lot of you anticipated this short episode would be coming out. I'm going to use some language that David, Dennis, and I have agreed represents our intentions. Please don't, like, take this too far, but we have decided to sunset the main…

    more

  3. Episode 510.1: Hold hold hold

    Weird, short episode here, but it still feels weird to not start the show by saying “and I’m Ben.” So, we’ve had a personal emergency here on the crew. All three of us are fine, and we will let you know more about what’s happened, but for right now, this week’s episode is delayed. Hopefully it’ll...

  4. Episode 510: Leakspin

    Spaceflight News — Starship Block 2: 0 for 3 (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) — Block 3 Update (nasaspaceflight.com) Short & Sweet — Xodiac flies final time (arstechnica.com) — China successfully tests vertical-takeoff vertical-landing rocket (cgtn.com) This Week in Spaceflight History ii May 24,...

  5. Episode 509: Hungry Hopping Hippos

    Spaceflight News — Neutron update (spacenews.com) Short & Sweet — China announces mission to Venus (ieee.org) Tianhe to be expanded (spacenews.com) This Week in Spaceflight History — 14 May, 1973. Launch of Skylab (historicspacecraft.com) (PDF: nasa.gov) — Next week (5/20 - 5/26) in 1962: Kickin’...

  6. Episode 508: North of Antarctica

    Spaceflight News — Firefly Nozzle Anomaly (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) Short & Sweet — Efforts continue to rescue Lunar Trailblazer (spacenews.com) — ISS avoids space debris (space.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections — From the intro: Kosmos 482’s parachutes dangling out? (space.com) This Week...

  7. Episode 507: Prolate Marshmallow

    Spaceflight News — Sierra Space impact test (asdnews.com) — Atmos reentry test of PHOENIX-1 (spacenews.com) (europeanspaceflight.com) Short & Sweet — Kosmos 482’s deorbit update (sattrackcam.blogspot.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections — Blue Origin tank failure? (HT ArcadeEngineer:...

  8. Episode 506: ISS at Risk

    Spaceflight News — The Riskiest Period of ISS’ Existence (spacenews.com) — Enginefest — Latitude (europeanspaceflight.com) — Pangea Aerospace (europeanspaceflight.com) — Venus Aerospace (prnewswire.com) Short & Sweet — Building destroyed in explosion at Northrop Grumman test site (space.com) —…

    more

  9. Episode 505: Confirming Isaacman

    Spaceflight News — Confirming Isaacman (spacenews.com) (law.cornell.edu) (aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org) — One of the Lunar Terrain Vehicles unveiled (lunaroutpost.com) Short & Sweet — New addition to DSN (space.com) — DOD hires Astroscale (satellitetoday.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections — From...

  10. Episode 504: Mark Soyuzworth

    Spaceflight News — Two more PAMs (spacenews.com) (sam.gov) Short & Sweet — Fram2 launches and lands (arstechnica.com) (space.com) — SpinLaunch turns to broadband (spacenews.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections — From the intro: Starliner shakeup (spaceflightnow.com) — From Espen Urkedal: FTS vs...

  11. Episode 503: DOWNLINK -- Joseph Marlin

    Spaceflight News — Security Space (arstechnica.com) (spacenews.com) Interview -- Joseph Marlin, Deputy Chief Engineer, Blue Ghost Lunar Program — linkedin.com/in/josephmarlin — fireflyspace.com This Week in Spaceflight History — Apr 4, 1983. Launch of STS-6 (americaspace.com) — Next week (4/8 -...

  12. Episode 502: Still Sticking

    Spaceflight News — Still sticking with Starliner (spacenews.com) (aviationweek.com) (spacenews.com) Short & Sweet — Starlab starts new phase (space.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections — Blaise via email: SRTM gravity gradients This Week in Spaceflight History — March 31, 1972: Launch of Kosmos...

  13. Episode 501: MSR China

    Spaceflight News — China’s Mars Sample Return open to International Cooperation (cgtn.com) (spacenews.com) Short & Sweet — Several Russian sats on the move (sattrackcam.blogspot.com) (defence-blog.com) — X-37B lands after record-breaking mission (arstechnica.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections…

    more

  14. Episode 500: Quincentennial

    Spaceflight News — IM-2 lunar landing (intuitivemachines.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (intuitivemachines.com) (youtube.com) Short & Sweet — Voyager turns off further instruments (space.com) — A Falcon 9 loses a leg (spacenews.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections —...

  15. Episode 499: Wicked Shimmy

    Spaceflight News — Starship TF7 bounced to pieces (Paywall: aviationweek.com) (spacenews.com) Short & Sweet — Two payloads on IM-2 launch suffering problems on-orbit (spacenews.com) — Space capsule lands in Australia while first rocket readies to launch (spacenews.com) (abc.net.au) — Xona…

    more

  16. Episode 498: Decimation

    Spaceflight News — Stoke Space reveals Andromeda 2 (stokespace.com) Short & Sweet — Long March 8A completes first flight (spacenews.com) — Germany provides funds for new launch facility (europeanspaceflight.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections — From the intro: Blue Origin Layoffs…

    more

  17. Episode 497: Frustrating Frustum

    Spaceflight News — The most amazing little rocket that will have ever built (spacenews.com) (aas.org) (aas.org) (aas.org) (PDF: hou.usra.edu) Short & Sweet — Starbase Update (nasaspaceflight.com) — Thales Alenia to build an airlock (europeanspaceflight.com) Vast reschedules Haven-1…

    more

  18. Episode 496: Next-Gen Corner Cube

    Spaceflight News — Blue Ghost M1 (americaspace.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (fireflyspace.com) (gsfc.nasa.gov) (baas.aas.org) (hou.usra.edu) Short & Sweet — Starliner investigation nears completion (spacenews.com) — AstroForge announces first target (space.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections —…

    more

  19. Episode 495: NICER than orange slices

    Spaceflight News — NICER repair on EVA 91 (nasaspaceflight.com) (svs.gsfc.nasa.gov) (science.nasa.gov) (svs.gsfc.nasa.gov) (heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov) Short & Sweet — ESA to vote on future of Space Rider spacecraft (europeanspaceflight.com) — China hops higher, maybe (spacenews.com) (bilibili.com)...

  20. Episode 494: Debris Cross-Range

    Spaceflight News — Starship FT-7 (nasaspaceflight.com) (spacenews.com) (bsky.app/profile/derekdotspace.bsky.social) (space.com) (spacenews.com) Short & Sweet — ISRO successfully docks in space (spacenews.com) — RFA granted license for vertical launch from UK (europeanspaceflight.com) Questions,...

  21. Episode 493: Two Satellites Enter! Five Satellites Leave!

    Thanks to Dennis O for naming this week’s episode! Spaceflight News — Mars Sample Return redesign (spaceflightnow.com) (spacenews.com) Short & Sweet — China tests mission extension tech on-orbit (spacenews.com) — X-37B’s latest mission passes one-year in space (space.com) — Pale Blue Propulsion...

  22. Episode 492: Lotta Scoopin'

    Spaceflight News — Starship TF-7 (spacenews.com) (ringwatchers.com) (spacex.com) (twitter.com) Short & Sweet — India launches space docking demo mission (nasaspaceflight.com) (space.com) (en.wikipedia.org) (isro.gov.in) — Launches gaining frequency (spacenews.com) This Week in Spaceflight History…

    more

  23. Episode 491: Everest Space

    Spaceflight News — K2 Space wins contract (spaceinsider.tech) (spacenews.com) (addtheegg.com) Short & Sweet — Contracts awarded for NASA’s Near Space Network (spacenews.com) — Record breaking spacewalk set by Shenzhou-19 crew (spacenews.com) — Crew-10 delayed (spacenews.com) This Week in...

  24. Episode 490: PhageX

    Spaceflight News — Orion’s heat shield (americaspace.com) (nasa.gov) Short & Sweet — Tests of Russian Orbital Station core module announced (interfax.com) — Ingenuity’s Crash Investigation (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) (youtube.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections — Joel Rogers via email: Young...

  25. Episode 489: Swirl Domination

    Spaceflight News — Swirl-dominated chambers (payloadspace.com) (https://www.sierraspace.com) (Pic, from researchgate.net) (PDF: nasa.gov) Short & Sweet — So long Sutherland Spaceport (satellitetoday.com) Further delays to Artemis program announced (spacenews.com) This Week in Spaceflight History…

    more

  26. Episode 488: Chonky Copter

    Spaceflight News — Epsilon can’t stop exploding (space.com) (youtu.be) (PDF: jaxa.jp) — A Dragonfly on a Falcon Heavy (satellitetoday.com) Short & Sweet — Old spaceport, newish rocket (europeanspaceflight.com) — New rocket, new spaceport (spacenews.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections — From the...

  27. Episode 487: What's that smell?

    Spaceflight News — Global grasshoppers — Russia’s hopper (arstechnica.com) — EU’s hopper (europeanspaceflight.com) Short & Sweet — Omani spaceport looks to launch next month (www.thenationalnews.com) — China tests inflatable spacecraft on orbit (news.cgtn.com) (space.com) (spacenews.com) —…

    more

  28. Episode 486: 300mm of Mercury

    Spaceflight News — Zvezda leak disagreement (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (arstechnica.com) Short & Sweet — NGR is in the building! (spacenews.com) — Bye bye ABL (from launch anyway) (arstechnica.com) This Week in Spaceflight History — 24 Nov, 1970. Launch of Kosmos 379 (astronautix.com)...

  29. Episode 485: Shuttle Sandwich

    Spaceflight News — CRS-2 extended (spacenews.com) (sam.gov) Short & Sweet — Gilmour ups and Bowen downs (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) — LignoSat to be deployed from ISS (popsci.com) (nanosats.eu) — Long March 9: Starship (arstechnica) Questions, Comments, Corrections — From the intro: LEO…

    more

  30. Episode 484: Runaway Ramp

    Spaceflight News — Shenzhou-19 reaches Tiangong (spaceflightnow.com) — Mirror platform for Tiangong (news.cgtn.com) (youtube.com) — Low-cost Tiangong cargo S/C (spacenews.com) — “Kinetica-2 [selected] as top launcher choice” (twitter.com/cas_space) — Crewed moon rover (spacenews.com)...

  31. Episode 483: 100 Abort Criteria

    Spaceflight News — Starship Flight 5 Review “Leaked” (spacenews.com) (twitter.com/elonmusk) (spacenews.com) (HT DennisO: x.com/StarshipGazer) Short & Sweet — Crew-8 post-landing medical issue (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (blogs.nasa.gov) — Companies to bring commercial launch to Ireland...

  32. Episode 482: Geostationary Explosive Orbit

    Thanks to Dennis O for naming this week’s episode! Spaceflight News — Intelsat 33e loses power and blows up (spacenews.com) (x.com/S4S_SDA) (reddit.com) Short & Sweet — Sirius Space hot fire (europeanspaceflight.com) — A Firefly to launch a Jackal (satellitetoday.com) Questions, Comments,...

  33. Episode 481: Deorbit Strategies

    Spaceflight News — Worries about ISS making a splash (spacenews.com) (PDF: nasa.gov) (spacenews.com) (space.com) Short & Sweet — X-37B to perform aerobraking maneuver (defenseone.com) — Rocket Lab wins Mars Sample Return concept award (spacenews.com) — Vast unveils details on Haven-1...

  34. Episode 480: Phenolic Burnthrough

    Spaceflight News -- Vulcan anomaly (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) (spaceflightnow.com) (spacenews.com) (twitter.com/dwisecinema) (spacenews.com) Short & Sweet -- Voyager 2 turns off science instrument (inverse.com) -- Super bright Qianfan satellites (spacenews.com) -- NASA reduces rate of ISS leak...

  35. Episode 479: VIPER Sting

    Spaceflight News -- VIPER opinions (spacenews.com) (sam.gov) Short & Sweet -- Chinese lunar spacesuit revealed (cgtn.com) (space.com) -- Upper stage anomaly grounds Falcon 9 (space.com) (spacenews.com) -- MaiaSpace moves in (spacenews) This Week in Spaceflight History -- 2 Oct, 1921. Birth of…

    more

  36. Episode 478: ISRO Audit

    Spaceflight News -- ISRO rising (spacenews.com) Short & Sweet -- Iran successfully launches research satellite (almayadeen.net) -- Ariane 6 software fix (spacenews.com) -- Yutu 2 turns six (space.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections -- From the intro: Sirius Space will launch from Australia...

  37. Episode 477: Land Ahoy

    Spaceflight News -- Landspace lands (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) Short & Sweet -- New Glenn to attempt landing (HT Chris Radcliff: https://twitter.com/davill) -- Chang’e-6 extended mission (spacenews.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections -- From the intro: Polaris Dawn spacewalk (spacenews.com)...

  38. Episode 476: Qrbital MeQaniQs

    Spaceflight News -- BepiColombo insertion delayed (europeanspaceflight.com) (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) (esa.int) Short & Sweet -- EscaPADE DelAYED (spacenews.com) -- Starliner Returned (arstechnica.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) -- Vega’s final launch (satellitetoday.com)…

    more

  39. Episode 475: Falcon Crunch

    Spaceflight News -- B1062 lost (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (youtube.com) (HT ArcadeEngineer: twitter.com) Short & Sweet -- Intuitive Machines selected for lunar South Pole mission (spacenews.com) -- Stoke Space wins contract to prototype cargo...

  40. Episode 474: Another Six Months

    Spaceflight News -- Starliner crew to return on Dragon (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) Short & Sweet -- EscaPADE arrives in Florida (spacenews.com) -- SLS gets bumped up a block (spacenews) -- RFA first stage lost in test-firing anomaly (arstechnica.com) (spacenews.com)...

  41. Episode 473: DOWNLINK--Rocket Lab's EscaPADE Team

    Spaceflight News -- First polar-orbiting crewed mission announced (spacenews.com) (arstechnica.com) Short & Sweet -- New solid rocket game in town (breakingdefense.com) (spacenews.com) -- Spaceport Rundown (flyingmag.com) (europeanspaceflight.com) (cnbc.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections…

    more

  42. Episode 472: Megadebris

    Spaceflight News -- Megadebris? (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (slingshot.space) Short & Sweet -- NEOWISE ends operations (space.com) (spaceflightnow.com) -- Starliner still stuck at Station (spaceflightnow) Questions, Comments, Corrections -- From Upcoming Spaceflight Events: -- JUICE Earth…

    more

  43. Episode 471: Rubber Baby Whipple Bumper

    Spaceflight News -- ADRAS-J rendezvous (HT Zach: twitter.com/CRD2_JAXA) (astroscale.com) (PDF: astroscale.com VIA astroscale.com) Short & Sweet -- POLARIS spaceplane startup back on track (europeanspaceflight.com) -- Dawn does docking (spacenews.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections -- From the...

  44. Episode 470: DOWNLINK--Martin Frederick

    Spaceflight News -- Falcon 9 Return to Flight (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) Short & Sweet -- ABL Static fire failure (spacenews.com) -- Starliner Debugging (spacenews.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections -- The RAX bug was caused by differing clocks...

  45. Episode 469: Runk

    Spaceflight News -- NASA nixes VIPER (spacenews.com) (newscientist.com) European Short & Sweet -- Ariane 6 may carry crew (europeanspaceflight.com) -- Europe announces RAMSES mission to Apophis (arstechnica.com) (esa.int) -- Themis gets delayed (europeanspaceflight.com) This Week in Spaceflight...

  46. Episode 468: Upper Stage Downer

    Spaceflight News -- Falcon 9 Failure (spacenews.com) (spaceflightnow.com) -- Ariane 6 anomaly (europeanspaceflight.com) (spaceflightnow.com) -- Hyperbola-1 mishap (spacenews.com) Short & Sweet -- Europa Clipper faces last-minute obstacle (space.com) -- Dawn gets green light for spaceplane tests...

  47. Episode 467: DOWNLINK--MSI-DFAT

    Spaceflight News -- Luch (Olymp) 2 “caught” snooping (sattrackcam.blogspot.com) (sattrackcam.blogspot.com) (russianspaceweb.com) (thespacereview.com) Short & Sweet -- The Poles make it to space! (europeanspaceflight.com) -- ISRO announces major size increase to Indian space station...

  48. Episode 466: All Aboard?

    Spaceflight News -- The Vulcan train is leaving the station (spacenews.com) Short & Sweet -- Starliner’s extended-er ISS stay (spacenews.com) -- A not-so-static test fire (spacenews.com) -- Resurs P1 breaks up (spacenews.com) Questions, Comments, Corrections -- From the intro: (americaspace.com)...

  49. Episode 465: Reflown Don

    Spaceflight News -- Long March 10 hot firing (spacenews.com) (weixin.qq.com) (youtube.com) (spacenews.com) -- Latest taikonaut class selected (space.com) Short & Sweet -- ESA gets involved in Vega C’s transfer (europeanspaceflight.com) -- Ariane 6 gets dressed (spacenews.com) -- Starliner’s...

  50. Episode 464: Starliner Seep

    Spaceflight News -- Starliner OFT (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (HT deltaV: twitter.com/cbs_spacenews) (twitter.com/SciGuySpace) -- Suni Williams gave a tour on orbit (HT Dennis O: youtube.com) Short &...

View all 300 episodes →

About this show

Every week we cover the latest spaceflight news, discuss past, current and future exploration efforts, and take a look at upcoming events. Tune in to hear about how humans get to space, how they stay in space and how unmanned craft reach farther and farther into the universe around us.

Hosted by

David Fourman, Ben Etherington, and Dennis Just

Categories

Science Medicine Natural

Frequently asked questions

How many episodes does The Orbital Mechanics Podcast have?

The Orbital Mechanics Podcast has 300 episodes on PodParley. The most recent episode was published on July 9, 2025.

What is The Orbital Mechanics Podcast about?

Every week we cover the latest spaceflight news, discuss past, current and future exploration efforts, and take a look at upcoming events. Tune in to hear about how humans get to space, how they stay in space and how unmanned craft reach farther and farther into the universe around us.

How often does The Orbital Mechanics Podcast release new episodes?

The Orbital Mechanics Podcast publishes weekly, based on its 300 episodes since June 2019.

Who hosts The Orbital Mechanics Podcast?

The Orbital Mechanics Podcast is created and hosted by David Fourman, Ben Etherington, and Dennis Just.
Link copied