Failure To Launch

Latest Episodes:

Part 1: Soyuz 11 Disaster (w/ Beyond the Breakers) Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

The story of the world's first space station is complicated, tragic, and incredibly stupid. Today, we're joined by Tanner and Taylor from @beyond_breakers to talk about it.

Follow Beyond the Breakers here!

Support FTL through Patreon and unlock new bonus content!

Sources:

- Salyut - The First Space Station: Triumph and Tragedy, Grujica Ivanovich (2008)

- Rockets and People Volume 4: The Moon Race, Boris Chertok (2013)

- Mir Hardware Heritage, NASA (1995)

Theme song by DJ Danarchy

*PREVIEW* Teens In The Universe (1974) Mar 29, 2024

Show notes

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest, join our patreon at any tier: https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch

Balloonomania (w. Nicholas Slayton) Mar 21, 2024

Show notes

The French were the first to fly and it made them really weird about balloons. This episode, we're joined by journalist @NSlayton to talk all about the first balloons and aeronauts.

Find Nicholas' work here and here!

Support FTL through Patreon and unlock new bonus content!

Sources:

- The Aeronauts, Donald Dale Jackson

- The Early History of Ballooning, Fraser Simons

Operation Argus: The Great America Death Cloud (w. Phrosphor) Mar 08, 2024

Show notes

What if America got so scared they let a Greek elevator repairman turn off the sky? In this episode, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris are joined by guest youtuber Phrosphor to talk all about Operation Argus, the Cold War plan to hide America under a radioactive death cloud.

Check out Phros' work here!

Support the show and unlock bonus content!

Sources:

Burning the sky: Operation Argus and the Untold Story of the Cold War Nuclear Tests in Outer Space. Mark Wolverton, 2018

The Soviet Death Star (w. Lions Led By Donkeys) Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

Iron Sky was alarmingly close to being a documentary. This week, Quinn is joined by Joe and Tom, the hosts of Lions Led By Donkeys to talk about all the ways the Soviets tried to put weapons in space. It involves far more flamingos than you'd expect.

Sources:

- Energiya-Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle, Bart Hendrickx

- RussianSpaceWeb.com, Anatoly Zak

*PREVIEW* Moscow-Cassiopeia (1973) Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest, join our patreon at any tier: https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch

Turns out there were a lot of Soviet space teen movies. And some of them are even good.

Sea Dragon Part 2: Bob Truax Feb 15, 2024

Show notes

Last time, we talked about the biggest rocket ever designed. This time, we're rejoined by guest Scott to talk about the lunatic who designed it, Bob Truax. Also making appearances in this story: Johnny Carson, Evel Knievel, Robert Goddard, and a tortilla baron.

Sources:

- Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition, Ed Regis

We've also got a patreon! If you want to support FTL and unlock bonus episodes, follow the link below!
https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch

Sea Dragon Part 1: The Big Dumb Booster Jan 24, 2024

Show notes

The 60s was a time for scientists and engineers to ask the tough questions. Questions like: what if a rocket was so big it was a railroad? This episode, we're joined by friend of the show and rocket engineer Scott to talk about Sea Dragon, the largest rocket ever designed.

*This was our longest recording ever and ran into a couple of technical problems so please excuse some muddiness here and there that we couldn't edit around.

We've also got a patreon! If you want to support the show and unlock bonus episodes, follow the link below!
https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch

*PREVIEW* Planet of the Storms (1962) Jan 12, 2024

Show notes

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest, join our patreon at any tier: https://www.patreon.com/posts/96333556?pr=true If you ever wanted to see a dude drill a venusian rabbit-lizard with a WW1-era handgun, we've got you covered.

Forgotten Cosmonauts Pt 2: Grigory Nelyubov Jan 12, 2024

Show notes

Couldn't have happened to a worse guy (still didn't deserve to be airbrushed). Today Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris start off 2024 by talking about Grigory Nelyubov, the cosmonaut who fell from grace and got written out of history for being an arrogant prick.

We've also got a patreon! If you want to support the show and unlock a new bonus episode, follow the link below! https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch

Sources:

- The First Soviet Cosmonaut Team, Colin Burgess

- The Cosmonauts Who Weren't There, James Oberg

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