In this episode I speak with Dr Moriba Jah, an Associate Professor and the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Moriba Jah is the director for Computational Astronautical Sciences and Technologies (CAST), a group within the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. He is also the Lead for the Space Security and Safety Program at the Robert Strauss Center for International Security...
Feb 03, 2020•39 min
In this episode, I bring you part 2 of my conversation with NASA Sagan Fellow Dr Benjamin Pope, a conversation ostensibly about space movies, but at this point so off the rails that I’m almost embarrassed to give it that title. We launch straight in after having watched Grimes’ music video ‘we appreciate power’ and our chat quickly devolves to AI apocalypse as the logical end to industrial capitalism. Any opinions expressed by me on this podcast are my own and do not represent the views of any o...
Dec 22, 2019•47 min
In this episode, I bring you part 1 of a relaxed, wide-ranging and delectable conversation with fan-favourite and good friend Dr Benjamin Pope. Ben has a PhD in Astrophysics from Oxford University and is currently a NASA Sagan Fellow at NYU researching exoplanets. In this episode, Ben and I tackle an in-advisably large number and bewilderingly wide range of Space movies. Do either of us have qualifications in film studies? No, but Ben won University Challenge and I took Drama in year 11, so that...
Dec 15, 2019•46 min
In this episode, we get technical. I catch up with Dr Francis Bennet, a researcher from the Australian National University who works on Lasers, adaptive optics, and quantum electronics and is currently based out of Mt Stromlo. Our conversation ranges from space situational awareness (SSA) and riding bicycles, to making your own chocolate while fixing the kitchen sink, to photon entanglement and encryption. Make yourself a cup of tea and settle in for a good old fashioned chat. Patreon: www.patre...
Dec 08, 2019•31 min
In this episode I chat to space lawyer Donna Lawler, the Principal at Azimuth Advisory, a firm which provides advice and assistance to Governments and businesses who are engaged in space activities. Donna is a commercial space lawyer with decades of experience working with Optus Satellite, and other Aussie space companies. We talk about the intricacies of space contracts, current developments in the Australian space industry, and what the Moon Agreement might mean for Australian companies who wa...
Dec 01, 2019•37 min
In part 2 of my conversation with Dr Vince Houghton, the chief historian and curator at the international spy museum in Washington DC, we continue to delve into the intersections between technology, espionage, and society. If you haven't heard part 1, listen to that one first! http://spaceaustralia.com/opinions/space-junk-space-espionage-dr-vince-houghton-part-1 Dr Houghton specializes in military and intelligence history, with specific expertise on late-WWII and early-Cold War eras. He is a vet...
Nov 24, 2019•37 min
In this week's episode, I interrupt the normal scheduling to bring you a special episode on space and bushfires. It seems that despite the technological advances that space has brought, we are still at the whim of nature when it comes to natural disasters. Or are we? To help me answer this question, I tracked down the best expert I know to tell me about the ongoing bushfire situation in Australia, and how space enabled technologies can assist efforts to predict, manage, and assess the impact of ...
Nov 17, 2019•26 min
In this episode, I chat to Dr Vince Houghton, the chief historian and curator of the International Spy Museum in DC and the host of their podcast 'SpyCast' about Space Espionage, and Space-enabled spying. Dr Houghton specializes in military and intelligence history, with specific expertise on late-WWII and early-Cold War eras. He is a veteran of the US army and served in the Balkans before receiving his Masters and PhD in Diplomatic and Military History from the University of Maryland. We talk a...
Nov 10, 2019•42 min
In this episode, Meaghan Munro and I talk about the future of space in Australia and internationally. Meaghan is an aerospace engineering student who founded the Monash University rocketry team and is chairing the Australian Youth Aerospace Association (AYAA) Space Futures conference in Adelaide, Australia in 2020. This episode is a wild ride in which we discuss what it feels like to launch a rocket, where Australia will be in 50 years (in Space, we hope!) and why millennials ought to listen to ...
Nov 02, 2019•39 min
In this episode, Secure World Foundation Space Lawyer Chris Johnson and I branch out from our discussion on the tardigrades on the Moon to chat about the benefits of using robots for space exploration, whether it's possible to interpret space law in a non-anthropocentric manner, and what it means to use space sustainably. We also touch on astropolitics and archaeology, because why not? Media mentioned include: The Three Body Problem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three-Body_Problem_(novel) P...
Oct 13, 2019•24 min
In this episode, Chris Johnson from the Secure World Foundation joins me to do a deep dive on the curious news about an Israeli spacecraft crash landing onto the moon, and potentially releasing thousands of little critters called tardigrades onto the lunar surface. We ask such important questions as 'what is a tardigrade?', explore the ins and outs of international planetary protection laws, and explain why, even though it's highly unlikely the tardigrades will ever manage to colonise the moon, ...
Sep 05, 2019•36 min
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, I tracked down Dylan O'Donnell, one of Australia's leading amateur astrophotographers, in beautiful Byron Bay. Dylan is also the creator of the 'Star Stuff' festival. In this episode we speak about astronomy, the state of science in Australia, the power of space to inspire, and the rising mistrust in science and authority more generally. We also chat about the ethics of technological development, Musk's StarLink satellites, and whether...
Jul 20, 2019•1 hr 1 min
In this episode I talk with Daniel Porras, a Space Security Fellow at UNIDIR, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. Daniel focuses on political and legal issues surrounding space security and, in particular, the progressive development of sustainable norms of behaviour for space. We talk about space weaponization, space debris, and India's recent ASAT test. Daniel's full bio can be found here: http://www.unidir.org/about/staff/daniel-porras In the spirit of disarmament, Daniel h...
Apr 01, 2019•47 min
In this podcast, I chat to Professor Steven Freeland, international space law expert and current Dean of Law at Western Sydney University, about the challenges and opportunities posed by the international legal regime that governs our activities in space. What is international law? how does it work? How do advances in technology drive or impede its efficacy? Where does Australia fit into the international space community? And why is it irresponsible to talk about weapons in space? We tackle it a...
Mar 30, 2019•1 hr 11 min
In this episode I sit down with Dr Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). Malcolm's research focuses on defence strategy and capability development, military technology, and the future of warfare. In this episode we talk about the importance of space to national security, what a hybrid cyber / space war might look like, and what space activities by Russia, the USA and a rising China mean for Australia's strategic future. This episode was recorded at ...
Mar 22, 2019•40 min
In this episode I talk with Ben Piggott, a submariner and Communications and Information Warfare Officer with the Royal Australian Navy. Ben did his undergraduate degree in Chemistry and recently completed his Masters of Space Operations at UNSW Canberra. He is Secretary of the Australian Youth Aerospace Association and on the Future Strategic Leaders Committee of the Institute for Regional Security. We discuss phase zero, submarines, space weaponry, thought-collectives, and the future of warfar...
Dec 24, 2018•46 min
In September 2018 the 69th annual International Astronautical Congress was held in Bremen, Germany. In this episode I take you through the event from start to finish, with music from the opening ceremony and interviews with international attendees. There is a particular focus on the Australian Space Agency. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/space-junk-podcast . Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/space-junk-podcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...
Oct 21, 2018•42 min
Part 2 of my conversation with visiting NASA Sagan Fellow and exoplanet-studying astrophysicist Dr Ben Pope is a lot like a Jane Austen novel. We unpack our prejudice against the Humanity Star and Musk's space Tesla, we spend a lot of time talking about money and the elite, and ultimately find common ground in our mutual embarrassment about Australia's obsession with STEM. We hope you enjoy this wild ride through politics, philosophy, sociology and stolen biccies. Ben did his undergraduate degre...
Sep 14, 2018•58 min
In this episode I sit down with visiting NASA Sagan Fellow, Dr Ben Pope, to talk about Space Force. What is it, and why is there such controversy? In a wide ranging conversation that covers history, politics, art, science and sociology, we discuss everything from communist cowboys to our vision for the future of Australia's new Space Agency. Ben did his undergraduate degree in Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Sydney. He then completed a PhD at Balliol College, Oxford, where he most ...
Aug 20, 2018•59 min
