This Week In Space podcast: Episode 101 — Nukes in Space
Starship’s Next Launch Date, Solar Eclipse Ahead, and Voyager 1 in Peril?
On Episode 101 of This Week In Space, Tariq and Space.com's Brett Tingley discuss the recent reports and delve into the history of the militarization of space by Russia, China, and the United States.
Russia is building a secret nuclear-powered space weapon, but what does that mean for the rest of us? Tariq and Brett delve into the history of nuclear weapons and reactors in space, as well as the existing international treaties governing weapons of mass destruction in orbit.
They also cover the week's top headlines, including SpaceX's upcoming Starship orbital launch attempt and NASA's continuing struggles to revive the Voyager 1 spacecraft.
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Space news of the week
- Who is Brett Tingley
- Atom Bombs in Space Are Back to Scare Us Again
- U.S. Warns Allies Russia Could Put a Nuclear Weapon Into Orbit This Year
- Russian plans for space-based nuclear weapon to target satellites spark concern in US Congress
- Defense Intelligence Agency Report Details Space-Based Threats From Competitors
- For Heaven’s Sake: Why Would Russia Want To Nuke Space?
- Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
- Operation Fishbowl
- Operation Fishbowl photos
- Starfish Prime
- Bold Orion (1959 ASAT test)
- Project Rover (nuclear rocket)
- Starship has a new launch date: March 14
- One month to the Great North American Solar Eclipse
- Voyager 1 on its last legs?
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About This Week In Space
This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What's happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars?
Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from Space.com as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.
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Rod Pyle is an author, journalist, television producer and Editor-in-Chief of Ad Astra magazine. He has written 18 books on space history, exploration, and development, including Space 2.0, Innovation the NASA Way, Interplanetary Robots, Blueprint for a Battlestar, Amazing Stories of the Space Age, First On the Moon, and Destination Mars
In a previous life, Rod produced numerous documentaries and short films for The History Channel, Discovery Communications, and Disney. He also worked in visual effects on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the Battlestar Galactica reboot, as well as various sci-fi TV pilots. His most recent TV credit was with the NatGeo documentary on Tom Wolfe's iconic book The Right Stuff.
Responsible for Space.com's editorial vision, Tariq Malik has been the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com since 2019 and has covered space news and science for 18 years. He joined the Space.com team in 2001, first as an intern and soon after as a full-time spaceflight reporter covering human spaceflight, exploration, astronomy and the night sky. He became Space.com's managing editor in 2009. As on-air talent has presented space stories on CNN, Fox News, NPR and others.
Tariq is an Eagle Scout (yes, he earned the Space Exploration merit badge), a Space Camp veteran (4 times as a kid, once as an adult), and has taken the ultimate "vomit comet" ride while reporting on zero-gravity fires. Before joining Space.com, he served as a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering city and education beats. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University.
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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.