Today In Space

This week we lost Sir Patrick Stewart, at 86. For a lot of us he was the "measure of a man". And it's safe to say that without Captain Picard I would not have gone to school for an aerospace engineering degree, would not love space as much as I do, and this podcast wouldn't have started — never mind run regularly for over a decade now.
This episode is about what Sir Patrick Stewart and Captain Picard meant to me. Audio version of this episode of @TodayInSpacepod is available below. Video (link also below) premieres tonight at 8PM ET
Picard never led by the tip of the spear. He wasn't Kirk. There's a real business book about exactly this, "Make It So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek: The Next Generation," t was the first time I understood that a fictional character could change how you run a business and how you live your life. Affiliate link for the book is here if you are interested (https://link.amazon/B0au0xffL)
I talk about the leadership dynamics of the "Ready Room", the optimistic view of a Humanities AI future from Gene Roddenberry and Captain Picard, and how Partrick Stewart made me want to strive for creativity and was a pillar in my family. I close the episode with three quotes of his that really hit me.
I'd love to hear what he meant to you. Put it in the comments and let's honor his memory together — or email me at todayinspacepodcast@gmail.com if you'd rather.
May his memory be eternal.
Be well, stay safe, and stay curious.
SPREAD LOVE, SPREAD SCIENCE, AND STAY CURIOUS.
CHAPTERS
00:00 We lost Sir Patrick Stewart
01:13 Tell me what he meant to you
01:51 A pillar of leadership
02:16 Picard doesn't lead by the tip of the spear
02:43 "Make It So" — the leadership book
03:21 My first engineering job, and the mentor who made the connection
04:05 The Ready Room
05:06 Grunts, red shirts, and respect
05:37 How Picard handled conflict
06:49 Shakespeare, Ian McKellen, and the arts
07:35 The Starfleet mentality: become more human
08:33 Why this matters more as AI grows
09:49 My dad's VHS collection
10:43 Rest in peace, Sir Patrick
10:58 Three quotes that stayed with me
11:49 Go live life
THE THREE QUOTES, AND WHERE THEY'RE FROM
"We have powerful tools: openness, optimism, and the spirit of curiosity."
— Picard, Star Trek: Picard, S1E8 "Broken Pieces" (2020)
"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I'd rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again."
— Picard, Star Trek Generations (1994)
"What we leave behind is not as important as how we lived."
— Picard, Star Trek Generations (1994)\
Youtube ID: https://youtu.be/3_NYSHs098A
THE BOOK I MENTION
Make It So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek: The Next Generation — Wess Roberts, Ph.D. and Bill Ross, Pocket Books, 1995. Amazon Affiliate link - https://link.amazon/B0au0xffL
CORRECTIONS
A few things I want to get right. The leadership book came out in 1995, not 1994 — Pocket Books ran the first hardcover that September. And when I introduced the three quotes I said they were all Next Generation. The second and third are Picard in Star Trek Generations, which is the TNG cast, so that one's close enough. But the first — openness, optimism, and the spirit of curiosity — is from Star Trek: Picard, season one. Same captain, different log entry.
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What did Sir Patrick Stewart mean to you? Tell me in the comments.
#patrickstewart #captainpicard #startrek #thenextgeneration #makeitso #leadership #startrekpicard #spacepodcast #todayinspace

On this week's episode, it's storytime after a very fun but also challenging NYCC trip. My third cosplay was my most ambitious yet, and with that ambition came complexity and things out of control! I'll tell you about the challenges I went through getting to the Cosplay showcase last Saturday, but more importantly I'll share how the wisdom of Mark Watney from the Martian kept me grounded. I'll talk about the Engineer's mindset I used to stay calm, focus on the next problem, and science the shit out of this ambitious cosplay! Never give up, never surrender! 
Subscribe for more space, science, & stem mindset content, and let us know your thoughts on this flight in the comments below.
Timestamps:
00:00 The Five Week Cosplay Challenge
03:41 Unexpected Project Obstacles
06:18 Adapting the Build Plan
11:10 The Hotel Room Crunch
14:12 Comic Con Showcase Results
16:41 Lessons in Engineering Mindset
Pick up a copy of my first book "The Book of Uncommon-Sense 3D Printing" out now in hardcover and on Kindle: https://ag3dlabs.com/book
MORE TODAY IN SPACE https://todayinspace.net.
SKYE is free space news & mission tracking, and it runs every 30 minutes: https://todayinspace.net

Starship Flight 14 launched successfully! Watch the condensed replay of the liftoff and orbital insertion from our LIVE launch hangout. Subscribe and hit the bell to get notified the next time we go live and hangout with us in the chat.

This recap covers the latest Starship launch, showcasing the flight from initial liftoff through to the vehicle reaching orbit and deployed 26/26 Starlink Satellites that joined the Constellation.

For those following modern space exploration, this condensed sequence offers a clear look at the progress made by SpaceX. Seeing the vehicle reach its intended orbital flight goal and is a moment in modern space history. Next: More testing into orbit, more starlink deployments, and eventually the first orbital refueling demonstration!

Subscribe for weekly space updates, and let us know your thoughts on this flight in the comments below.
Starship Flight 14
Timestamps:
Overview (0:00)
Launch and Initial Ascent (12:54)
Booster Landing and Ship Status (21:20)
Orbital Insertion Decision (22:53)
Starlink V3 Payload Deployment (39:32)
Re-entry and Splashdown Mission End (83:16)
THE BOOK The Book of Uncommon-Sense 3D Printing is out now in hardcover and on Kindle: https://ag3dlabs.com/book
MORE TODAY IN SPACE https://todayinspace.net.
SKYE is free space news & mission tracking, and it runs every 30 minutes: https://todayinspace.net

This week, we're covering what's been trending in Space News for the last 5 days...and NASA HAS BEEN TASKED WITH BUILDING A U.S. SPACE ACADEMY! But how serious is this executive order and it's create a presidential commission? Could this be the start of our own Starfleet Academy or just the Presidents Legacy piece? We also get into the first U.S. military live-fly exercise in orbital dogfighting, and updates on where Starship Flight 14 stands.
Gathered by our AI Assistant SKYE and reported by your human host Spaceman Alex!
I'm Alex G. Orphanos, your space science podcast host and your favorite mad scientist.
Tell me what you think of the SKYE Report, and which segments to dig deeper into. Drop it in the comments or email us at todayinspacepodcast@gmail.com
Be well, stay safe, and stay curious.
SPREAD LOVE, SPREAD SCIENCE, AND STAY CURIOUS.
THE BOOK The Book of Uncommon-Sense 3D Printing is out now in hardcover and on Kindle: https://ag3dlabs.com/book MORE TODAY IN SPACE https://todayinspace.net
SKYE is free and it runs every 30 minutes: https://todayinspace.net
CHAPTERS
00:00 What SKYE is, and this week's report
01:13 The rundown — Sep 7 to 11
02:14 The big story: NASA tasked with a U.S. Space Academy
04:12 My take — a legacy piece until the funding shows up
05:00 Why there's still no real school for space
06:44 So many astronauts, so few seats
07:15 Starfleet Academy in San Francisco?
07:28 Isaacman's case for the academy
09:06 A first: orbital dogfighting in a live-fly exercise
10:28 Why Starlink matters to the military
11:48 My take — war, space, and who drives the conversation
12:24 Starship Flight 14 — no confirmed date yet
13:00 What to watch this week
13:33 Close
WATCH THIS WEEK (Eastern)
Mon Sep 14, 9:21pm — Vega-C with Sentinel-3C and FLEX
Tue Sep 15, 9:00pm — Falcon 9 with USSF-259
Wed Sep 16, 9:33am — Soyuz with Progress MS-35 to the station, docking Sat Sep 19 — live on NASA+: https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-video/progress-96-cargo-ship-docking/
Fri Sep 18, 8:15am — Starship Flight 14, the earliest date on the board, not yet confirmed
CORRECTIONS
I said Vega-C launches Tuesday and USSF-259 on Wednesday. Those are the UTC dates — in Eastern they fly Monday night and Tuesday night. And no source we could read calls Starship Flight 14 "the first orbital flight"; Launch Library 2 describes it as the first Starship flight to deploy satellites into stable low Earth orbit. Update: O3b mPower 11-13, underway as I recorded, launched successfully on Sunday.
SOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE
U.S. SPACE ACADEMY
NASA — President Trump signs executive order to create U.S. Space Academy
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/president-trump-signs-executive-order-to-create-us-space-academy/
NASA — NASA answers President's call to establish United States Space Academy
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-answers-presidents-call-to-establish-united-states-space-academy/
Jared Isaacman on X — the post I read from on air
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2098842327947317525
ORBITAL DOGFIGHTING
Space.com — US military practices orbital dogfighting in 1st-ever 'live fly' exercise in space
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/us-military-practices-orbital-dogfighting-in-1st-ever-live-fly-exercise-in-space
STARSHIP
NASASpaceflight — Starship Flight 14 Nears — So Where Is The Rocket?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIrpJvrgEvs
IMAGES: Alex G. Orphanos · NASA (U.S. Space Academy RFI cover) · U.S. Space Command / Christopher DeWitt
Youtube ID: https://youtu.be/YVDyFDBgFuE
#spaceacademy #nasa #spaceforce #starship #spacenews #isaacman #spacepodcast #todayinspace

This week, we're covering what's been trending in Space News for the last 8 days...and EUROPE FINALLY HAS ITS OWN RIDE TO ORBIT! A German company launched a commercial rocket to orbit from Norway — and almost nobody covered it, including SKYE on its first pass.
We also get into NASA's failed rescue of the Swift telescope, and a nuclear-powered spacecraft at the edge of the solar system that's on the chopping block. Space News gathered by our AI Assistant SKYE and reported by your human host Spaceman Alex! I'm Alex G. Orphanos, your space science podcast host and your favorite mad scientist.
Tell me what you think of the SKYE Report, and which segments to dig deeper into. If the New Horizons segment lands with you, the ask at the end is real — it worked last year.
SAVE NEW HORIZONS: https://www.science.org/content/article/nasa-s-new-horizons-mission-may-shut-down-two-instruments-over-lack-funding
WATCH our LIVE Launch Hangout for Roman Space Telescope: https://www.youtube.com/live/V3pipbUu3X0?si=5yUMqzM-kcf6O_2K
Be well, stay safe, and stay curious.
SPREAD LOVE, SPREAD SCIENCE, AND STAY CURIOUS.
THE BOOK The Book of Uncommon-Sense 3D Printing is out now in hardcover and on Kindle: https://ag3dlabs.com/book
MORE TODAY IN SPACE https://todayinspace.net
SKYE is free and it updates every 30 minutes: https://todayinspace.net
Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/QoLvWnAq8sw
CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome — what SKYE is and what this report does
00:35 The hook: Isar reaches orbit, and how it nearly got missed
01:10 The rundown — Aug 30 to Sep 6, six launches, six successes
01:31 SKYE's trends — lunar at 1.6x, down from last week's 11x
01:54 Roman Space Telescope launches, and our live hangout
02:23 Isar Aerospace — the launch from Andoya, and what ESA said
02:56 The Spectrum vehicle and its payload
03:07 My take — why Europe needs its own launch capability
04:12 How the story got buried, and the fix in SKYE
05:04 SKYE picks — Pallas-1's debut, and the Venus mission still grounded
05:48 What's next — Progress MS-35, MS-33, Long March, USSF-153
06:41 The Swift Observatory and the failed rescue 07:00 The Swift timeline, Aug 9 to Aug 31
07:28 Isaacman and Domagal-Goldman on taking smart risks
08:42 New Horizons — a nuclear spacecraft on the funding chopping block
09:20 What New Horizons is and where it is now 10:56 The ask — call your representatives
12:36 Close
WATCH THIS WEEK
Progress MS-35 docks with the station Friday the 11th at 18:37 UTC, and NASA is carrying it live. https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-video/progress-96-cargo-ship-docking/
SOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE
ISAR AEROSPACE ESA — Isar Aerospace achieves first launch to orbit from continental Europe https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Boost/Isar_Aerospace_achieves_first_launch_to_orbit_from_continental_Europe
Ars Technica — German company is first in Europe to launch a fully commercial orbital rocket https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/09/german-company-becomes-first-in-europe-to-launch-fully-commercial-orbital-rocket/
Via Satellite — PLD Space, Isar and RFA land ESA Launcher Challenge contracts https://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2026/08/27/pld-space-isar-aerospace-and-rocket-factory-augsburg-land-esa-contracts-in-launch-challenge/
SWIFT
Via Satellite — Katalyst LINK mission is unable to rescue NASA's Swift observatory https://www.satellitetoday.com/technology/2026/08/19/katalyst-link-mission-is-unable-to-rescue-nasa-swift-observatory/
Space.com — Swift restarts science work after the rescue mission fails https://www.space.com/space-exploration/missions/nasas-doomed-swift-space-telescope-restarts-science-work-after-rescue-mission-fails
NASA — Updates on next steps for the commercial Swift boost mission https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-updates-next-steps-for-commercial-swift-boost-mission/ NEW HORIZONS Science — New Horizons may shut down two instruments over lack of funding https://www.science.org/content/article/nasa-s-new-horizons-mission-may-shut-down-two-instruments-over-lack-funding
NASA — New Horizons mission page https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/
The Planetary Society — You just saved NASA's budget: the FY2026 outcome https://www.planetary.org/articles/advocacy-success-fy2026-nasa-budget
Full list with timestamps is pinned in the comments.
IMAGES: ESA / Isar Aerospace (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO) · NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI · NASA
#isaraerospace #newhorizons #swift #spacenews #esa #nasa #spacex #spacepodcast #todayinspace