Failure To Launch

The first space food was made by veterinarians instead of dieticians and was so bad that many astronauts chose to fast through their missions. And it could've been *so* much worse. This week, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris are talking to Dr Kaveh Hoda, gastroenterologist and host of the House of Pod podcast about the wonderful, disgusting world of astronaut kibble. 
Check out Kaveh's work here!
Tragically, Backstroke of the West appears to have been taken down
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Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community
SOURCES:
- Packing For Mars, Mary Roach
- Conference on Nutrition in Space and Related Waste Problems
FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, support Failure To Launch on Patreon at any tier.

Count the moons, duster! Today, Quinn (Belter), Chris (Martian), and Other Chris (Earther) are talking about the largest ship ever built by humans, the LDSS Nauvoo aka the OPAS Behemoth aka Medina Station. We cover its transformation from an ark for the faithful to a missile against the alien to a battleship for the Belt and to a crossroads between stars.

While most of NASA was focused on the Apollo Moon Program, a separate division was hard at work building then deliberately blowing up nuclear rocket cores all over Nevada. This week, we’re talking to train and nuclear knower Scooter about the weird and convoluted story of American nuclear rockets. 
Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community!
SOURCES:
- Nuclear propulsion: A vital technology for the exploration of Mars and the planets beyond, NASA 
- The NERVA Nuclear Rocket Reactor Program, W H Esselman
FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

A secret military space station, a rookie crew, a flaky autopilot, insufficient batteries, a freak winter storm, and a frozen lake. We’re joined by space and KSP youtuber Matt Lowne to talk about Soyuz-23, the only water touchdown of a Soviet spacecraft and how it very nearly killed its entire crew. 
Check out Matt’s videos here!
Find our merch store here
Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community
SOURCES:
- Soyuz: A Universal Spacecraft, Rex Hall
- Salyut-5: The Last Military Lab, Anatoly Zak
- https://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/soyuz-23-how-two-cosmonauts-almost-died-after-landing-back-on-earth/ 
FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, support Failure To Launch on Patreon at any tier.
In the wake of Operation:REVIVAL, House Kurita embarked on a crash WarShip development program to try and match the naval superiority of the Clans. Today, we are joined by Dr. Randolph P. Checkers, one of the Periphery’s finest historians, to discuss one product of this program, the ill-fated Tatsumaki Class destroyer.