The Space Show

Andrew Rennie for the Space Association of Australia

The Space Show is a one-hour radio program presented every Wednesday evening between 7.00 and 8.00 pm Australian Eastern Time by Andrew Rennie for 88.3 Southern FM and the Space Association of Australia Inc. The program aims to promote a public understanding of spaceflight and astronomy and to provide the public and members of the Space Association with up-to-date news, interviews and features of space-related events.

  1. 3 days ago

    2026.07.22 | Melbourne Space Program: ACRUX-2 and the Management of Ambiguity

    On The Space Show for Wednesday, 22 July 2026: The Melbourne Space Program student satellite project, ACRUX-2, at Melbourne University.  The Melbourne Space Program has the mission of developing future technology leaders by selecting highly talented university students and delivering an unparalleled learning experience through complex technology projects. The speakers are: Patrick Grave, CEO, Melbourne Space Program, University of MelbourneMaxwell Jones, ACRUX-2 Team LeadNadun Udawela & Antony Thomas, Communications Subsystem teamShazin Saifullah, Systems EngineerDaniel Digby, Team Lead, Computer SubsystemsAhmed Al-Dulimi & Sophia Chiang, Camera & Earth Observation Systems Viki Huang, Chassis & Deployment team(Recorded by The Space Show at the University of Melbourne, 25 August 2022)

    2026.07.22 | Melbourne Space Program: ACRUX-2 and the Management of Ambiguity

  2. 6 days ago

    2026.07.15 | Vale Derryn Hinch: 9/02/1944 – 10/07/2026

    On The Space Show for Wednesday, 15 July 2026: Remembering Derryn Hinch: Friend of the Space Association of Australia To mark the death of Derryn Hinch in Melbourne at age 82, a playing of the recording of his commentary of the launch of Apollo 11, almost 57 years to the day. Space Show News: Soyuz MS29 launches to the International Space Station Australian Space Industry 2026 – Part 2:  * Cocos Island tracking station to support Gaganyaan spaceflights. * Gilmour Space appoints Pam Melroy to its board of directors. * Starfish Space's Otter Pup 2 satellite to use Gilmour Space's Elara Sat MMS-1 satellite as a rendezvous and proximity operations target. * Fleet Space to use its Exosphere platform to help French Government agency BRGM make an inventory of France's subsurface mineral resources. Rocket Lab: * Rocket Lab uses its Electron rocket to launch the Victus Haze satellite for the U.S. Space Force in a record brief time. * Rocket Lab to buy Iridium Communications Incorporated; Electron to launch the TSIS-2 satellite and two PolSIR satellites for NASA in 2027, and later the Aspera and LOXSAT craft. Kamo'oalewa & Torifune: * China's Tianwen 2 spacecraft has reached the asteroid Kamo'oalewa for a sampling mission. * Japan's Hayabusa 2 has made a high-speed pass of asteroid Torifune whilst en route to asteroid 1998 KY26.

    2026.07.15 | Vale Derryn Hinch: 9/02/1944 – 10/07/2026

  3. 14 July

    2026.07.08 | The Sky is the Limit: Arthur C. Clarke speculates on the uses of satellites in mass communication + The Karman Project – Part 3

    On The Space Show for Wednesday, 8 July 2026: Space Show News: Swift Boost Mission Launched NASA has contracted Katalyst Space of Flagstaff, Arizona, to boost the altitude of its sinking Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Swift is NASA’s astrophysics multitool, capable of quickly observing a wide range of cosmic objects in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light. Update: On-Orbit Checkouts in Progress for Mission to Boost NASA’s Swift satellite. The Western Australian Optical Ground Station with Sascha Schediwy, International Centre for Radio Astronomy, Perth  On September 11 2021, the University of Western Australia finished installing the first space laser optical ground station in the Southern Hemisphere and named it the Western Australian Optical Ground Station (WAOGS). It is only the first in a planned network of optical ground stations across Australia and New Zealand. (Recorded at a meeting of the Space Association of Australia in Melbourne) Turn Back Time: * The Sky is the Limit — A fascinating 1966 panel discussion on the use of satellites in mass communication, moderated by Rex Keating and featuring Arthur C. Clarke, Dr Leonard Jaffe of NASA and Prof. N. I. Krikikoff, from the Institute of Radio Telecommunications in Moscow. The panel discusses the then nascent age of satellite communications and makes several predictions about the future of telecommunications that prove quite accurate. (Courtesy UNESCO) * Soyuz 21 — In 1976, the Soyuz 21 mission was terminated early due to human health factors. (Audio inserts courtesy VOA, BBC and NZBC) The Karman Project: Building a cooperative future in space - Part 3 The recollections of William Gerstenmaier (Vice President, Mission Assurance, SpaceX) about STS 1 Katherine Bennell (Capability, Robotics, Automation, Australian Space Agency, Adelaide) about discovering the Earth Jean-Jacques Dordain (former Director-General, ESA) on space as a common good Sera Markoff (Member, Event Horizon Team, University of Amsterdam) on the Event Horizon Telescope.

    2026.07.08 | The Sky is the Limit: Arthur C. Clarke speculates on the uses of satellites in mass communication + The Karman Project – Part 3

  4. 4 July

    2026.07.01 | The Karman Project: Building a cooperative future in space – Part 2

    On The Space Show for Wednesday, 1 July 2026: Swift Boost Mission Plans to launch the LINK satellite to reboost the Swift astrophysics satellite into a higher orbit. Launch delayed until tomorrow. (Inserts courtesy GSFC) NASA has contracted Katalyst Space of Flagstaff, Arizona, to boost the altitude of its sinking Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Swift is NASA’s astrophysics multitool, capable of quickly observing a wide range of cosmic objects in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light. A first-of-its-kind mission, a robotic servicing spacecraft called LINK, built by Katalyst Space, will launch into orbit aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket attached to the belly of the company’s Stargazer aircraft. After launch, LINK will attempt to rendezvous with, grapple, and slowly raise Swift’s altitude over several months, preventing it from re-entering Earth’s atmosphere later this year. If this daring mission is successful, it will be the first time a commercial robotic mission has captured a NASA spacecraft that is both uncrewed and not originally designed for servicing in space. Swift observations: NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is a satellite that studies gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe, and other cosmic objects and events. Swift houses three multi-wavelength telescopes, collecting data in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light.  * The Andromeda Galaxy (M31)  * Black hole snack attack Turn Back Time: Proton 3 satellite The 60th anniversary of the launch of the Soviet Union's Proton 3 scientific satellite by the new Proton launch vehicle. (Insert courtesy VOA) The Karman Project: Building a cooperative future in space⁠ – Part 2 The views of Ke Wang (Co-founder & Operations Director, The Karman Project) and Rogel Mari Sese (Astrophysicist, The Philippines). Listen to The Karman Project - The Space That Makes Us Human here: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wPiS151Xuz2RKTWlhSg4P⁠

    2026.07.01 | The Karman Project: Building a cooperative future in space – Part 2

  5. 25 June

    2026.06.24 | The Karman Project: Building a cooperative future in space – Part 1

    On The Space Show for Wednesday, 24 June 2026: Conversations at the Australian Space Research Conference:  * Capturing the first signal from Waratah Seed 1, the ride-share payloads aboard, and funding by the New South Wales Government with Patrick Oppel at CUAVA, School of Physics, Sydney University.  * The CUAVA 1, CUAVA 2 and Waratah Seed 1 satellites; funding CUAVA; collision avoidance using micro-thrusters with Xuelieng Bai, Satellite Engineer at CUAVA, School of Physics, Sydney University.   The Karman Project: Building a cooperative future in space – Part 1 The Karman Project is a non-profit foundation promoting peace and security in space through strategic international cooperation. The project aims to unite global decision-makers to drive urgent, collaborative action for a sustainable and peaceful future in space — recognising the core role of international cooperation in securing the space sector's prosperity and Earth's critical reliance on it. The organisation fosters trust, cooperation and independent dialogue among global leaders in tech, science, business, politics, the arts, and people in the space industry who want to make a positive impact on space. This episode features comments from the following: Katherine Bennell (Australian Space Agency)Hélène Huby (Co-founder & Chair, The Karman Project)Hannah Ashford (Director, The Karman Project)Feng Yan (Founder & CEO, Spacety)Chris Boshuizen (Co-founder, Planet)Jonathan Hofeller (Vice-President, Starlink, SpaceX).Listen to The Karman Project - The Space That Makes Us Human here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wPiS151Xuz2RKTWlhSg4P

    2026.06.24 | The Karman Project: Building a cooperative future in space – Part 1

  6. 19 June

    2026.06.17 | Turn Back Time: Gemini 9 and the ‘Angry Alligator'

    On The Space Show for Wednesday, 17 June 2026: Australian Space Research Conference:  * Iron Making on Mars with Dr Deddy Nababan, Postdoctoral Fellow at CSIRO Mineral Resources and a Swinburne University alum.  * Studying the Sun with balloons launched by a student team with Joseph George, Monash High Altitude Balloon team, Monash University, Clayton.  Artemis Lunar Science: Artemis II — Looking for electrostatic levitation of lofted Lunar dust and impact flashes Artemis I — The early results of BioSentinel with Dr Sergio Santa Maria, Principal Investigator of Space Bio Sciences at the NASA Ames Research Centre.  Lunar Science in the Artemis Era: The Space Show series in which we discuss the scientific investigation of the Moon and its environment in the Artemis era. (Episode 01 is here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/22gtgYHWhm9fJNJnaPJVw5) Turn Back Time:  * Gemini 9 and the ‘Angry Alligator'. (Inserts courtesy VOA)  * The OGO 3 satellite launched. (Insert courtesy VOA)  * An Able-Star rocket stage explosion becomes the first major space debris event with 321 tracked pieces.  * United Nations 'Moon Treaty' negotiations begin. (Inserts courtesy VOA)

    2026.06.17 | Turn Back Time: Gemini 9 and the ‘Angry Alligator'

  7. 14 June

    2026.06.10 | Artemis III: Apollo 9 Redux

    On The Space Show for Wednesday, 10 June 2026: Artemis III mission profile and crew unveiled: NASA’s announcement at the Johnson Space Centre, Houston, of the Artemis III mission profile and crew During Artemis III, the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft and its crew from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to low Earth orbit. After Orion's systems are checked out, the spacecraft will, for the first time, demonstrate rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions from one, or both, American commercial human landing systems in development by Blue Origin and SpaceX. Artemis III crew assignments are as follows:  * NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, Commander  * ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano, Pilot   * NASA astronaut Andre Douglas, Mission Specialist  * NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, Mission Specialist. The speakers at the announcement include: Jared Isaacman (NASA Administrator), Jeremy Parsons (Acting Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator, Artemis Program Manager), John Couluris (Senior Vice President, Lunar Permanence, Blue Origin), Jessica Jemsen (Integration Vice President, Customer Operations, SpaceX), Nicola Fox (Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA) and Joseph Aschbacher (Director General, ESA). (Inserts courtesy JSC, ESA)  Australian Space Research Conference:  * Space debris; IADC Committee; Australia tracking debris; and impacts with Gillian Altham, Civil Space Monitoring Team, Australian Space Agency, Adelaide.   * Radiation resilience in Trichoplax adhaerens (P53 homologue tumour depressor gene) with Jennifer Tinker, Honours Student at the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Bundoora.

    2026.06.10 | Artemis III: Apollo 9 Redux

  8. 10 June

    2026.06.03 | The Andy Thomas Space Foundation

    On The Space Show for Wednesday, 3 June 2026: The Andy Thomas Space Foundation with the Chair of the Foundation, Peter Nikoloff:  * What the Foundation is and what its aims and activities are.   * The 19th Australian Space Forum being organised for 21-22 July 2026, Adelaide, South Australia.   * The Kids In Space educational programme in primary schools.   * Nova Systems. Space Show News:   * Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket explodes on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base.   * Announcement of contract awards for NASA's Moon Base program; and how the explosion might affect the Moon Base mission schedule. (Inserts courtesy 6News, ABC, NASA)

    2026.06.03 | The Andy Thomas Space Foundation
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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

The Space Show is a one-hour radio program presented every Wednesday evening between 7.00 and 8.00 pm Australian Eastern Time by Andrew Rennie for 88.3 Southern FM and the Space Association of Australia Inc. The program aims to promote a public understanding of spaceflight and astronomy and to provide the public and members of the Space Association with up-to-date news, interviews and features of space-related events.

Information

  • Creator
    Andrew Rennie for the Space Association of Australia
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    276
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Andrew Rennie for the Space Association of Australia
  • Show Website
    The Space Show

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