SOME ITEMS BROADCAST DURING 2020

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
compiled by Andrew Rennie

BROADCAST
DATE
SUBJECT DESCRIPTION
January 1 Anniversary Songs A set of songs to celebrate the space anniversaries of 2019.
Janaury 8 Anniversary Songs A set of songs to celebrate the space anniversaries of 2019.
January 15 Away With the Galahs The Space Show goes off with the galahs to investigate, in song, topics such as flat-earth, fake moon-landings, alien faces on Mars, anti-NASAism, and other whacky concepts. But as you listen, just remember Ira Gershwin's line from Porgy and Bess: "It Ain't Necessarily So."
January 29 Galileo A musical journey with the Galileo spacecraft from launch through to the end of mission at Jupiter.
February 26 Katherine Johnson Marking the death of aerospace technologist Katherine Johnson, one of the human computers who was featured in the movie Hidden Figures.
February 26 Second Man The story of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step onto the Moon.
March 11 Perseverance The theme joining the items was perseverance. The naming of the Mars 2020 rover as "Perseverance"; the perseverance of our news team in preparing their weekly report; the perseverance of the Australis Oscar 5 team in building their satellite; the perseverance of Victoria's Lead Scientist in advocating this state's involvement in the space industry; the perseverance of Anthony Murfett, the Deputy Head of the Australian Space Agency in getting the nascent agency on its feet; and the perseverance of the InSight Mars lander team, as exemplified by Australian engineer Mark Fittock, in first building the craft and now trying to persuade the recalcitrant 'mole' to dig.
Listen or download (39 min 4 s - 37.5 MB) N.B. Some programme elements and photographs available separately on the Spaceshow 2020 Lecture and Spaceshow 2020 Interview pages.
Listen or download Rover naming only (11 min 46 s - 11.3 MB)
March 25 Al Worden Tribute Remembering Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden in words by Tina Stagg and song.
Listen or download (8 min 24 s - 8.1 MB)
April 8 Apollo 13 Marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, told in capcoms, recording of VOA shortwave radio, music and poetry.
Listen or download with poetry and songs redacted from the 40 minute feature. (11 min 2 s - 10.6 MB)
April 22 Dongfanghong 1 Marking the 50th anniversary of the launch of China's first satellite by playing a recording from Radio Peking announcing the launch and playing some of the music broadcast by the satellite.
Listen or download (10 min 6 s - 9.7 MB)
April 29 Apollo 13 in Popular Culture Some examples of how Apollo 13 has been expressed in song and poetry.
April 29 Earth Day 2020 Marking this year's Earth Day. (Insert courtesy ESA)
May 6 Hubble at 30 - Part 1 Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. Included Fred Watson's explantion of why stars twinkle; Fred Whipple's 1959 discussion of the future of space telescopes; the naming of the telescope; a biography of Edwin Hubble; comments by the crew of STS 31 about launching Hubble; and some music and poetry.
Listen or download (33 min 43 s - 32.4 MB)
May 13 XZF Spacecraft and Sky News Australia Setting out the facts about the Chinese spacecraft XZF-SC compared to how it was reported on Sky News Australia.
Listen or download (12 min 20 s - 11.8 MB)
May 13 Hubble at 30 - Part 2 Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. Included some contemporary reports of how the telescope was repaired, some early findings, a poem, a song and the prospects for the future of the telescope.
Listen or download (27 min 7 s - 26.0 MB)
May 20 Hubble at 30 - Part 3 Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. Included a contemporary report of early findings, a poem, a song and a summary of Hubble doscoveries.
Listen or download (28 min 25 s - 27.3 MB)
May 27 Behnkin and Hurley An interview with astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley. (Inserts courtesy NASA)
May 27 Hubble at 30 - Part 4 Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. Included NASA Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen's announcement of the naming of the WFIRST after Nancy Roman, the science goals of the James Webb Space Telescope and the Roman Space Telescope, how a coronograph works, and the first part of an interview with Nancy Roman. (Inserts courtesy NASA and GSFC)
Listen or download (18 min 26 s - 17.7 MB)
June 3 Hubble at 30 - Part 5 An interview with Nancy Roman, the 'mother' of the Hubble Space Telescope. (Inserts courtesy GSFC)
Listen or download (28 min 58 s - 27.8 MB)
June 10 Hubble at 30 - Part 6 The cultural aspects of the Hubble Space Telescope, as evident in song and poetry.
Listen or download (25 min 24 s - 24.4 MB)
June 17 Rocket Lab launches Australia's M2 Pathfinder Satellite Description of the payloads on the Electron rocket; the aborted countdown on June 11; a listen back to the early history of Rocketlab - the Ātea 1 and Peter Beck's experiments; Russell Boyce (Director, UNSW Canberra Space, Canberra) describes the M2 Pathfinder; the launch commentary; and the orbital parameters classified. (Inserts coutesy Rocket Lab and RNZ)
* Listen or download (36 min 43 s - 35.3 MB)
* View image
June 24 Hubble at 30 - Part 7 The cultural aspects of the Hubble Space Telescope, as evident in song, drama and poetry.
Listen or download (32 min 58 s - 31.6 MB)
July 1 Defence Strategic Update 2020 Spending over the next decade on Australian Defence Force space will be seven billion dollars, with up to an extra $6.4 billion over the following decade.
Listen or download (3 min 57 s - 3.8 MB)
July 15 Asian Mars Missions The UAE's Hope and China's Tianwen 1 missions to Mars due to be launched. Also, details of the Long March 5 rocket. (Inserts courtesy Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, Arab News, CNA, GCTN, CCTV)
Listen or download (38 min 31 s - 37.0 MB)
July 15 STS 71 Digital Camera - 25th Anniversary The first Shuttle-Mir mission marked the first use a Kodak Colour digital camera in space.
Listen or download (7 min 15 s - 7.0 MB)
July 22 Asian Mars Missions Underway The launch of the UAE's Hope and preparations for tomorrow afternoon's launch of China's Tianwen 1 missions to Mars. (Inserts courtesy Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, GCTN)
July 29 Aria, A.R.I.A. and Apollo 13 The difference between a musical aria and the Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft. The Apollo 13 atmospheric reentry. Stan Anderson, former Facilities Manager for ARIA recounts his experiences and explains how the Apollo tracking network supported the lunar missions. The story of Apollo 13 told in parody and song. (Inserts courtesy VOA, JSC. Talk recorded at Sandringham College)
* Listen or download full programme (54 min 59 s - 52.8 MB)
* Listen or download Stan Anderson's talk only/a> (26 min 27 s - 25.4 MB)
August 5 Happy Returns Part One The return of the Demo 2 Endeavour spacecraft from the International Space Station.
August 5 Happy Returns Part Two Marking the 60th anniversary of the first recovery of an object from orbit, a recounting of the Corona story, the loss of Discoverer 2, the comedy of errors surrounding the retrieval of the Discoverer 13 capsule, the following Discoverer 14 and its impact on photoreconnaissance from space. (Inserts courtesy NRO and Lockheed)
Listen or download (41 min 37 s - 40.0 MB)
August 12 The Sun, NASA and ESA's Solar Orbiter From our archive NASA solar research and then the discovery this year of 'campfires' on the solar surface by the Solar Orbiter. (Inserts courtesy NASA and ESA)
August 12 Hubble at 30 - Part 8 Series final, further exploring the cultural aspects of the Hubble Space Telescope, as evident in song, drama and poetry.
Listen or download (32 min 32 s - 31.2 MB)
August 19 A Woke Tale The dropping of the nickname "Eskimo", the 'discovery' of Ophiuchus and the "Mighty Quinn."
Listen or download (22 min 22 s - 21.5 MB)
August 19 ESA Missions A summary of some of the past and present projects undertaken by the European Space Agency. (Inserts courtesy ESA)
August 26 Rosetta & Philae The story of Philae, first lost then found on Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Some of the scientific findings by the Rosetta mission. (Inserts courtsy ESA)
September 9 Earth 1 To start of our Earth series, a description of the Jason 3, SWOT, Sentinel 3A, Sentinel 3B and 3B satellites, with the theme of ocean topography. Also Earth Observations From Space, in which Peter May (Head Of Research, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne) describes the Bureau's legislated responsibilies; improving forecasts; numerical modelling and the inputs; the Himawari satellite; ionospheric effects; northern verses southern hemisphere accuracy; reseach and applications; and partnerships. (Insert recorded at 16th Australian Space Research Conference, Story Hall, RMIT University, Melbourne)
Listen or download (34 min 43 s - 33.3 MB)
September 16 Earth 2 As part of our Earth series, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gives a description of the Earth as he saw it from space. The Calipso, Tempo, Sentinel 4 and SAC-D satellites are described. Also Earth Observation - An Industry Perspective, a panel discussion recorded at the Space Industry Asscociation of Australia, Southbank.
Listen or download (49 min 35 s - 47.6 MB)
September 23 "Spacefarers" Book Reviews by Peter Aylward (President, Space Association of Australia) and Andrew Rennie (The Space Show) of Christopher Wanjek's book "Spacefarers", published in 2020 by Harvard University Press. Also details of the 2020 September on-line meeting of the Space Association, at which Wanjek will give a presentation.
* Listen or download (32 min 18 s - 31.0 MB)
* View image
September 23 Southern Launch at Koonibba Coverage of the twin firings of Dart rockets in South Australia. (Audio inserts courtesy Southern Launch)
Listen or download (12 min 10 s - 11.8 MB)
September 23 Earth 3 As part of our Earth series, a description of the 'Plankton, Aerosols, Clouds and ocean Ecosystems' (PACE) satellite. Also an item by Fred Watson. (Inserts coutesy GSFC)
Listen or download (11 min 54 s - 11.4 MB)
October 7 Federal Budget 2020 Treasurer Josh Frydenberg dilivers the Budget, followed by an analysis of the space aspects of this year's Budget.
Listen or download (7 min 9 s - 6.9 MB)
October 7 Hayabusa 2 Plans Plans for the return of the samples of asteroid Ryugu to Woomera on December 6, and the extended mission of Hayabusa 2 to asteroids 2001 CC21 and 1998 KY26.
Listen or download (8 min 26 s - 8.1 MB)
October 7 Cosmos Part One Marking the 40th anniversary of the Cosmos television series.
Listen or download (23 min 21 s - 22.4 MB)
October 14 OSIRIS-REx One week ahead of the touch-and-go sample collection from asteroid Bennu, a description of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and its scientific mission. (Inserts courtesy GSFC)
October 21 OSIRIS-REx Touch and Go This morning's events as the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected a sample from the surface of asteroid Bennu. (Inserts courtesy NASA)
October 21 Cosmos Part Two Marking the 40th anniversary of the Cosmos television series.
Listen or download (34 min 46 s - 33.4 MB)
October 28 OSIRIS-REx Touch and Go The post 'touch and go' press conference for the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's sample collection from the surface of asteroid Bennu. Sample now being stowed into capsule. (Inserts courtesy GSFC)
October 28 Moon Water & Artemis Accords The announcement that water has been detected in Clavius Crater and the signing of the Artemis Accords, by which signatory nations, including Australia, agree to abide by a set of guiding principles in their lunar activities. (Inserts courtesy NASA)
Listen or download (40 min 45 s - 39.1 MB)
November 4 Cosmos Part Three Marking the 40th anniversary of the Cosmos television series. Includes a New Zealand interview with Carl Sagan, and an introduction to the 2020 Cosmos : Possible Worlds series.
Listen or download (51 min 25 s - 49.4 MB)
November 11 Dragon Crew 1 and Shannon Walker NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, the wife of Australian former astronaut Andy Thomas, ready to fly as one of four crew members on the Dragon Crew 1 mission to the International Space Station. (Inserts courtesy GSFC)
Listen or download (7 min 9 s - 6.9 MB)
November 11 SGR 1935+2154 The detection of x-ray flashes and a fast radio burst from a magetar some 30 000 light years away in our Milky Way. Pointed out an error in a report in the Herald-Sun newspaper.
Listen or download (5 min 55 s - 5.7 MB)
November 11 Rocket Lab to launch Gnome Chompski and APSS-1 Plans for Rocket Lab to launch an artwork and a student-built satellite from New Zealand.
Listen or download (5 min 54 s - 5.7 MB)
November 11 OSIRIS-REx stows sample How the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft stowed the sample of asteroid Bennu, and what the sampling operation taught us about the nature of Bennu's composition. (Inserts courtesy GSFC)
Listen or download (11 min 53 s - 11.4 MB)
November 11 Earth 4 Using factual reports, poetry and music, how satellites are monitoring our home planet. Tonight Sentinel 6, ALOS-2, VNREDSAT-1, and Landsat. (Inserts courtesy NASA & ESA)
N.B. This fourth episode was incorrectly identified on-air as the third.
Listen or download (23 min 23 s - 22.6 MB)
November 18 Enrico Palermo A profile of Enrico Palermo, who has been selected as the second Head of the Australian Space Agency.
Listen or download (8 min 46 s - 8.4 MB)
November 18 The Lady and the Dragon The launch of the Crew 1 mission with the Crew Dragon spacecraft "Resilience", and Shannon Walker's chat with the Voice of America. (Inserts courtesy NASA & VOA)
Listen or download (7 min 34 s - 7.3 MB)
November 18 Earth 5 Using factual reports, poetry and music, how satellites are monitoring our home planet. Tonight SWOT, GeoCARB, OCO-3, Michael Jackson, Leland Melvin, and SORCE.
Listen or download (35 min 17 s - 33.9 MB)
November 25 Chang'e 5 The launch of the Chang'e 5 lunar sampling mission. (Inserts courtesy CGTN)
November 25 Rocket Lab Return To Sender The launch of the 16th Electron rocket and the recovery of the first stage. Payload included Gnome Chompski artwork and APSS-1, a student-built satellite from the University of Auckland. (Insert courtesy Rocket Lab)
November 18 Earth 6 Using factual reports, poetry and music, how satellites are monitoring our home planet. Tonight the Sentinel 6 Michael Freilich sea level measuring satellite.
Listen or download (35 min 30 s - 34.1 MB)
December 2 Chang'e 5 The past week's activities of the Chang'e 5 lunar sampling mission, including this morning's landing on Oceanus Procellarum.
December 2 Hayabusa 2 The planned landing of the Hayabusa 2 asteroid sampling capsule on Sunday morning in the Woomera Prohibited Area.
December 2 Earth 7 Using factual reports, poetry and music, how satellites are monitoring our home planet. Tonight iceberg A-68A approaches South Georgia Island; the Sentinel 6 Michael Freilich sea level measuring satellite; the second Joint Polar System Satellite and Athena; Arctic rivers melting sea ice monitored by Terra; Stephen Hawking and Earth Day; Cloudsat; Cartosat 2F and Kanopus 5-3 near collision; and Cartosat 2D.
Listen or download (39 min 0 s - 37.4 MB)
December 9 Gemini 6A and Gemini 7 A fun look back 55 years to the Gemini 6A and the Gemini 7 orbital rendezvous missions with astronauts Wally Schirra, Tom Stafford, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell. Included: "Hello Wally" by Jack Jones; constellation Urine-us (urine dump over Canarvon, Western Australia); the UFO "Jingle Bells" harmonica prank; the version of "Jingle Bells" sung for the crew of Gemini 7; and "The Reluctant Astronaut" by comedians Bill Dana and Wally Schirra. (Inserts courtesy JSC and KSC)
Listen or download (46 min 2 s - 44.2 MB)