The Orbital Mechanics Podcast

165

Every week we cover the latest spaceflight news, discuss past, current and future exploration efforts, and take a look at upcoming events. Tune in to hear about how humans get to space, how they stay in space and how unmanned craft reach farther and farther into the universe around us.

Recent Episodes
  • Episode 504: Mark Soyuzworth
    Apr 9, 2025 – 00:38:00
  • Episode 503: DOWNLINK -- Joseph Marlin
    Apr 2, 2025 – 01:21:46
  • Episode 502: Still Sticking
    Mar 26, 2025 – 00:48:11
  • Episode 501: MSR China
    Mar 19, 2025 – 00:43:17
  • Episode 500: Quincentennial
    Mar 12, 2025 – 00:55:45
  • Episode 499: Wicked Shimmy
    Mar 5, 2025 – 00:40:30
  • Episode 498: Decimation
    Feb 19, 2025 – 00:40:39
  • Episode 497: Frustrating Frustum
    Feb 12, 2025 – 01:16:34
  • Episode 496: Next-Gen Corner Cube
    Feb 5, 2025 – 01:02:07
  • Episode 495: NICER than orange slices
    Jan 29, 2025 – 01:00:49
  • Episode 494: Debris Cross-Range
    Jan 22, 2025 –
  • Episode 493: Two Satellites Enter! Five Satellites Leave!
    Jan 15, 2025 – 00:39:36
  • Episode 492: Lotta Scoopin'
    Jan 8, 2025 – 00:55:09
  • Episode 491: Everest Space
    Jan 1, 2025 – 00:42:41
  • Episode 490: PhageX
    Dec 18, 2024 – 00:38:19
  • Episode 489: Swirl Domination
    Dec 11, 2024 – 00:42:00
  • Episode 488: Chonky Copter
    Dec 4, 2024 – 00:44:07
  • Episode 487: What's that smell?
    Nov 27, 2024 – 00:40:57
  • Episode 486: 300mm of Mercury
    Nov 20, 2024 – 00:54:21
  • Episode 485: Shuttle Sandwich
    Nov 13, 2024 – 00:45:57
  • Episode 484: Runaway Ramp
    Nov 6, 2024 – 00:37:00
  • Episode 483: 100 Abort Criteria
    Oct 30, 2024 – 00:45:17
  • Episode 482: Geostationary Explosive Orbit
    Oct 23, 2024 – 00:54:30
  • Episode 481: Deorbit Strategies
    Oct 16, 2024 – 00:30:01
  • Episode 480: Phenolic Burnthrough
    Oct 9, 2024 – 00:55:07
  • Episode 479: VIPER Sting
    Oct 1, 2024 – 00:43:05
  • Episode 478: ISRO Audit
    Sep 25, 2024 – 00:35:37
  • Episode 477: Land Ahoy
    Sep 18, 2024 – 00:29:54
  • Episode 476: Qrbital MeQaniQs
    Sep 10, 2024 – 00:46:12
  • Episode 475: Falcon Crunch
    Sep 4, 2024 – 00:31:41
  • Episode 474: Another Six Months
    Aug 28, 2024 – 00:52:38
  • Episode 473: DOWNLINK--Rocket Lab's EscaPADE Team
    Aug 21, 2024 – 01:14:13
  • Episode 472: Megadebris
    Aug 14, 2024 – 00:31:29
  • Episode 471: Rubber Baby Whipple Bumper
    Aug 7, 2024 – 00:38:32
  • Episode 470: DOWNLINK--Martin Frederick
    Jul 31, 2024 – 01:24:25
  • Episode 469: Runk
    Jul 24, 2024 – 00:53:18
  • Episode 468: Upper Stage Downer
    Jul 17, 2024 – 00:33:31
  • Episode 467: DOWNLINK--MSI-DFAT
    Jul 10, 2024 – 01:26:10
  • Episode 466: All Aboard?
    Jul 3, 2024 – 00:32:46
  • Episode 465: Reflown Don
    Jun 26, 2024 – 00:25:19
  • Episode 464: Starliner Seep
    Jun 19, 2024 – 00:42:38
  • Episode 463: The Camera That Could
    Jun 12, 2024 – 00:47:33
  • Episode 462: Oh, Dear, No Moon
    Jun 5, 2024 – 00:37:09
  • Episode 461: DOWNLINK--Justin Fiaschetti
    May 29, 2024 – 01:23:56
  • Episode 460: 90 years, 105 km
    May 21, 2024 – 00:42:59
  • Episode 459: DOWNLINK--Adam Higginbotham
    May 15, 2024 – 01:22:49
  • Episode 458: Precise Ballpark
    May 8, 2024 – 00:53:00
  • Episode 457: DOWNLINK--Jeff Williams, Exum Instruments
    May 1, 2024 – 01:42:39
  • Episode 456: Now With Trailer
    Apr 24, 2024 – 01:09:39
  • Episode 455: Cabbage Ditch
    Apr 17, 2024 – 00:29:06
Recent Reviews
  • belegana nm
    Brag about fascist Israel
    Never will listen to this show again! Baby killers!
  • PaphsRgroovy
    It’s not just because they reference kerbal space program
    They’re smart, funny, and sometimes silly. Oh, and they cover topics that I think are cool.
  • msadesign
    Love these guys.
    I love these guys. And as hard as they work on interviews, I skip them. Audio is so poor because interviewees are on speakerphone. Too bad. Good info, but can’t listen. Five stars nonetheless.
  • not a happy rider
    Learning something new everyday
    Quite informative and always current on trending topics space topics which is important 🥹❤️
  • The S.K.P. Machine
    Star Woke
    Actual space flight events are less important to the hosts than leftist social justice agitprop. There’s nothing wrong with a leftist political podcast, it just shouldn’t masquerade as a space flight podcast.
  • DuckNewton97
    Rad podcast right here
    The this week in space history bit at the beginning of every show is the best part of my week and now that I'm caught up I'll be doing it every week. The space new is well covered and they cover news from all across the galaxy (and beyond)
  • Taylor S Marks
    Best Space Podcast
    Covers the (space) news, teaches you (space) stuff, and is entertaining at the same time. What isn’t there to like about it?
  • Mofroman007
    Everything you could ever want in a space podcast
    I realized that despite listening for years, I never actually wrote an actual review. The Orbital Mechanics is a fantastic project, by some really great and passionate people who care greatly about both the material and their listener base. Each episode gives a blend of both current, topical space news, and a dose of history and larger discussion of spaceflight and space exploration. The podcast is intentionally made to be both accessible to newcomers and still engaging to people who are very well versed in the material. Beyond that, the podcast has a small but passionate community where we play splashdown bingo, make community-hosted podcast segments, have RPG nights, and chat about current spaceflight news. Thank you for a great couple years of listening, and here's to many more years of success of this wonderful project.
  • ATPTourFan
    Not Always Well Researched
    Frustrating to listen to this podcast when they aren’t up to date and accurate on the subject matter. It is easy to monitor twitter/reddit/NSF these days to compile a better understanding of the happenings in space. This podcast should deliver best available accuracy but it does not.
  • TC Green
    Must listen for hardcore space nerds and casual ethiusits alike.
    I'm actually going back to their website to start at episode one because it is abosutley worth listening to David and Ben go over various space related topics (the Manipulators episode is an early highlight). If you're interested in space, especially the hardware, you can't skip this podcast. I only wish I had found them sooner.
  • Steveo05196
    Best Space Podcast
    One of my favorite parts of the week is getting to listent to this podcast. Fun, Positive, and very informative about current space flight events. The new Data Relay segment is also awesome teaching about various parts of spaceflight in great detail. Awesome show!
  • Noxium51
    Excellent podcast
    One of the best way to stay up to date on space news, very interesting and well paced
  • totallynotakerbal
    Space news
    Excellent podcast, you can tell that they love what they do.
  • The samsonator
    Superb 4-dimensional Podcast
    I just hit the halfway point catching up on the prior podcasts, so wanted to weigh in on this high-content offering. Ben and David provide a very captivating mix of spaceflight technology, history, and current events discussion with an impressive parade of interviews with engineers and managers working on the front lines of space. The result is a perfect mix for space geeks who want to learn more about both the details of space system designs and the operating processes behind the scenes that make them work. Get your space geek fix here!
  • James Maxy
    Listen to every episode or you'll miss out
    If you're looking for a technical space podcast, this is the one for you. Dave and Ben discuss spaceflight past and present to determine what may have been and what is yet to come. A tremendous amount of effort is put into having guests come on the show with backgrounds in both government spaceflight and private enterprise. Want to learn about reaction spheres? There's an episode for that. Want to nerd out about spacecraft fuel types and engine efficiency? There's a few episodes about that! The audio production quality of this podcast is second to none, so listening is always a pleasure. Download and listen every week, or you'll be sorry!
  • stev-o0232
    Love this podcast!
    I found this podcast a couple of months ago and my Tuesday's have never been the same. I can hardly wait for the next episode. I'm super busy and unable to do the research on my own to keep up with space news. This podcast keeps me up to date with current, future, and even past space news. Thanks Ben and David for all the time and effort. Keep up the good work.
  • Drums>Space:The Final Frontier
    **THIS IS THE PODCAST YOU'RE LOOKING FOR**
    A few months ago, I started taking more of an interest in space. Not just stars and astroids, but also about human (and the occasional dog/chimp) space flight. This podcast was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Not only does it do an amazing job of coving the occational historical spaceflight event, but also it keeps me up to date on spaceflight news (and how it relates to our history of exploring the cosmos)! I cannot recommend this podcast enough. Thanks guys for the phenomenal podcast, and keep up the great work!
  • mikeytown2
    Great podcast!
    You don't need to be a rocket surgeon to appreciate the high quality content.
  • MultiEntendre
    Phenomenal podcast
    I love the level of technical discussion in this podcast. It's a fantastic amount for the space/kerbal literate person who hasn't taken a single engineering course in their life. I feel like I've been looking for this podcast for a long time and now I have it! Thanks so much.
  • Pegeleus Dukes
    I'm learning a lot!
    Started with Ep1 maybe 2 months ago, currently on Ep22. I feel compelled to go in order, so you'll probably be well past 100 before I catch up. I'll catch up eventually (it was very weird listening to the episodes leading up to CRS-7 knowing what was going to happen). I've always been a big space fan, took some astronomy courses in college, big trekkie, currently an Elon Musk fanboy and therefore SpaceX fanboy. I think you guys do a great job of educating! You often assume a base level of knowledge from your listeners that I often don't posess, but that's okay, I look things up! Ben is super smart and David is the one I can relate to, although he definitely knows plenty more than me. Keep up the great work - just started pitching in on Patreon.
  • Joao Montenegro
    Fantastic podcast for space flight aficionados
    This is my favorite podcast! I learned a lot with you guys!
  • troyw
    Informative and fun space news podcast
    This duo deliver a great news roundup up of space news, fun history facts, and fantastic interviews. If your interested in space add this to your playlist!
  • Crusty_Sea_Dog
    The Name Says It All
    Current news in the world of spaceflight with an emphasis on rocket technology. They'll not only tell you what happened but how it happened as well.
  • Battlehawk4
    Space!
    One of my go-to space podcasts. The summary of the previous week in space flight history and upcoming launches are alone worth the listen. The authors are willing to admit when they get some space face wrong, which is really nice to learn as a team.
  • Eleven Point two
    Wonderful Balance of Engineering & Science
    Just found these guys a few weeks ago, and I’m working my way through 70 episodes. It’s like binge-watching on Netflix! It’s fun, informative, and sufficiently deep into specifics to keep me interested (my day job is developing software for planetary space missions). If you The Orbital Mechanics too, consider supporting them on Patreon as I did.
  • Barry argo
    Wingineering
    Very insightful podcast. I become more educated about spaceflight than I ever have been each week.
  • michaelwooley
    I can’t get enough
    These guys are terrific. I am an aspiring aerospace engineering student, and these guys are just terrific to listen to. I’m always bummed when a new episode ends and I can’t just keep listening. I’m about to re-start and listen to every episode from the beginning so that I can just keep on listening.
  • Steve at Starsend
    A very interesting podcast
    You might call this "the spaceflight news," but it's certainly much more than that. I've followed space programs with great interest since the Mercury days, and have had a long interest in the physical sciences including astronomy and astrophysics, but never knew much about the details of any of our space programs or those of other nations. Ben and David discuss current developments as well as historical ones, and go over specific topics of interest. I know now something about propellants, for instance. I listened to a few of the latest podcasts and then decided to go back to the beginning and listen to them all. My other podcasts are piling up because at the end of each of these, I decide to continue on with the next one. Most exciting, I think, is the ongoing commentary about the work being done by commercial companies. I'd heard about some of them, but never had any appreciation of the high level of the work that they do and of how much they have accomplished.
  • MrFresh2K10
    So excellent...
    David and Ben, what can I say but "fantastic". Being a systems engineer with 20 years on the commercial and satcom industry as well as being a young boy in the 60s (too young to remember the missions of the late 60s and 70s), I love this podcast. Keep up the great work. I look forward to every new episodes (as I catch up to those I missed over first 6 months of this year). Kudos!!
  • Everyday Astronaut (Tim Dodd)
    EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR
    I’ve been yearning for a much deeper look at spaceflight. I love that you guys cover topics in great detail. I have to say I almost miss the biweekly ones where the topics seemed to last longer where as the new show format feels like it’s mostly news, then an interview, this day in space and then sign off. I loved those super in depth topics. BUT they are still there just not as frequent. This podcast is so exactly what I wanted to listen to on my long drives. It makes me so happy I found it! Thanks guys!
  • Ronnie Tanner
    Great podcast and Space Engineering Content
    Great content that dives into the details of space flight and related topics. I like that topics covered transcend the basics to shed light on some really interesting details not covered by other space related podcasts. I hope that this team continues for a long time to come. I'm addicted.
  • Azma567
    Fellowship
    I just glad to find out I'm not the only space nerd out there. I love hearing space news while I'm at work. Just need to catch up to some of the more recent podcasts.
  • Bennydtown
    Great podcast for spaceflight geekery
    I really enjoy this podcast, particularly the more recent, shorter episodes.
  • Moto_Braaap
    Great Podcast
    As a former Spacex'er, I really enjoy this podcast. Very informative and up to date. Keeps me in the know for what's happening in the space industry on my drive to work. Whiiich allows me to spend my time on reddit instead of actually having to read space news. Great podcast. 10/10 would recommend.
  • BrianTlr15
    Awesome Podcast!
    Finally a news source that talks about moving forward and the steps we're taking to do so!
  • Noah Shirk
    One of the Most Entertaining and Informative Podcasts
    This show manages to show and explain hard to grasp and understand concepts and makes it wonderfully engaging. I encourage everyone to listen and support via their Patreon. Keep up the great work!
  • Chris Radcliff
    Great conversations about space hardware
    If, like me, you get excited by space hardware but look for a bit more substance in how it’s described, this podcast is a must-listen. David and Ben are unafraid to go into detail, whether the topic is a 40-year-old government program or the latest launch report. Better yet, they breathe life into even the tiniest aspects of spacecraft design, marveling at the clever ways engineers have solved problems in space. I always find myself itching to make something new after listening to this podcast. I love that they’re willing to speculate and share off-the-cuff ideas; it makes the show feel more like a good conversation with smart friends. Like with any conversation, the occasional factual error gets corrected eventually, and usually sparks an interesting conversation of its own.
  • Robert Mash
    Ballistic stuff guys!
    Thanks for this informative podcast fellas! I’ve learned a lot and look forward to more.
  • Dreedjr1
    Start Listening Now!
    Great podcast with lots of interesting topics and its awesomely going to a weekly format! Start listening now or you will miss out on all the latest news, interviews, and out of this world conversation.
  • Wilplatypus
    Love it
    spaccccce
  • AE 4 ME
    All in the Details
    Another aerospace engineer student here, love the detail and the accurate technical terminology used in each episode. The guys do their research well and it shows!
  • Engineer@large
    Great stuff for space nuts
    If you're a hard core space fan interested in the nuts, bolts, and physics behind space flight then this is the podcast for you!
  • NfkxjgahdNfwisuu
    This is my new favorite podcast
    Make sure to look at the show notes on their web site after you listen to the podcast. I usually end up seeing lots of interesting stuff from there too.
  • Munchmacucci
    Very informative and educational
    These guys are great, very easy to listen to and very informative. Love hearing all the little tid-bits the mainstream news doesn't cover. Great for anyone interested in space exploration and travel.
  • Bernem
    Excellent Space Podcast
    I discovered this podcast just a few episodes after it started and it quickly became one of my favorites. It is a great blend of space news and the science of rocketry and orbital mechanics. I've learned so much through this podcast and I'm always sad the off weeks when they don't release an episode.
  • ... jt
    Best podcast in the solar system
    Join the Click and Clack of Terran Homeworld as they discuss news and other topics related to spaceflight. (By the way, it should totally be Sol and Luna… personally I would go further and make everyone call Earth Sol-3, or better, Sol-c, in line with the exoplanet naming system!)
  • Nicholi417
    Great show
    I really enjoy listening to the show. They are super enthusiastic about space science and rockets. Thanks guys for doing a great show.
  • Xldpydghudphdpydlyslxlhvgupfyly
    A great space podcast
    I weekly must listen
  • cewsql
    DBA
    This is an awesome podcast that I always look forward to. I have a long commute into work and this podcast is one of the better ones I get - wish you guys could do them more often. I've always been interested in rocket launches & space ever since the early Apollo days.
  • Kastnerd
    Blast off!
    Orbital Mechanics is a great podcast, Has news and updates on recent space missions including rocket launches, deep space research. And best of all it has a good amount of the history of space technology. I listen while I drive and also while re-wiring some light switches. -Pete
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