Space Policy Edition: Return to Launch — Cape Canaveral's unlikely history

Space Policy Edition: Return to Launch — Cape Canaveral's unlikely history

What makes Cape Canaveral the center of U.S. spaceflight? The answer is a fascinating mix of geography, military strategy, Cold War politics, and a fair amount of historical accident.

In this episode of the Space Policy Edition of Planetary Radio, host Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Stephen C. Smith, author and writer behind the Substack The Space Pundit, to discuss his book Return to Launch: Florida and America's Space Industry. A longtime Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex communicator and Merritt Island resident, Smith brings a unique perspective to the story of how a remote Florida peninsula became the gateway to the Cosmos.

The conversation spans the full arc of Cape Canaveral's history, from captured Nazi V-2 rockets fired off a concrete slab in 1950, the Apollo era's dramatic economic boom and bust, and the rise of commercial spaceflight. Along the way, Smith and Dreier explore why Mexico's president inadvertently shaped U.S. launch site selection, how eminent domain built a spaceport, and what Space Florida did to help break the region's cycle of economic dependence on government programs.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episoder(1329)

Starman: Looking back on a life exploring the Solar System

Starman: Looking back on a life exploring the Solar System

Gentry Lee spent nearly five decades at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and in that time he helped shape some of the most ambitious missions in the history of space exploration. A new documentary, “...

11 Mar 1h 1min

Space Policy Edition: Is there really a space race between the US and China?

Space Policy Edition: Is there really a space race between the US and China?

Is the United States really in a new space race with China? Or is that framing missing the bigger picture? In this Space Policy Edition of Planetary Radio, Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The P...

6 Mar 1h 8min

Artemis update: NASA reshapes the road back to the Moon

Artemis update: NASA reshapes the road back to the Moon

NASA has announced a major restructuring of the Artemis program, reshaping the roadmap for returning humans to the Moon. At a February 27 press conference, agency leadership addressed the rollback of ...

4 Mar 58min

Did an impact trigger cryovolcanism on Umbriel?

Did an impact trigger cryovolcanism on Umbriel?

Could a single ancient impact have briefly transformed one of the Solar System’s darkest moons into a cryovolcanic world? When Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986, it captured the only close-up images ...

25 Feb 59min

Book Club Edition: Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts’ latest for kids

Book Club Edition: Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts’ latest for kids

They informed and entertained together throughout the first 20 years of Planetary Radio. Listen in as the Society’s chief scientist and book club edition host Mat Kaplan share the mic once again for a...

20 Feb 56min

A new chapter at The Planetary Society: Jennifer Vaughn becomes CEO

A new chapter at The Planetary Society: Jennifer Vaughn becomes CEO

This week on Planetary Radio, we mark a major leadership transition at The Planetary Society. Host Sarah Al-Ahmed sits down with Bill Nye, outgoing chief executive officer and newly appointed chief am...

18 Feb 59min

Where did Earth’s water come from? Clues hidden in Apollo Moon dust

Where did Earth’s water come from? Clues hidden in Apollo Moon dust

Where did Earth’s water come from? In this episode of Planetary Radio, we explore how scientists are answering that question by studying a remarkably well-preserved record of the early Solar System: l...

11 Feb 1h 2min

Space Policy Edition: What a NASA Authorization bill actually does

Space Policy Edition: What a NASA Authorization bill actually does

What does a NASA authorization bill actually do, and why does it matter? In this episode of Space Policy Edition, we dig into one of the most misunderstood but powerful tools Congress uses to shape th...

6 Feb 1h

Populært innen Vitenskap

fastlegen
tingenes-tilstand
jss
rekommandert
rss-nysgjerrige-norge
liberal-halvtime
forskningno
sinnsyn
villmarksliv
fjellsportpodden
rss-paradigmepodden
rss-overskuddsliv
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
kvinnehelsepodden
rss-rekommandert
nordnorsk-historie
rss-bondevennen
rss-inn-til-kjernen-med-sunniva-rose
tidlose-historier
abels-tarn