The Next Astronauts Part IV: Risk

How It Happened

Axios

News, History, Politics

4.8 • 4.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 September 2021

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Axios space reporter Miriam Kramer learns how the Inspiration4 crew is grappling with risk, something every company in the space industry and all astronauts must confront. Kramer speaks with the crew, the parent of a crew member, and a former NASA safety expert about how memories of the Challenger explosion have shaped the way the space industry prepares astronauts for risk. In conversations with crew members Jared Isaacman and Chris Sembroski and with their spouses, Kramer explores how uniquely challenging it is for the parents of young children to prepare their families for a mission to space. Kramer travels to Bozeman, Montana to watch the Inspiration4 crew fly in fighter jets over the course of a festive weekend, intended to bring the crew's families together, where they all celebrated the upcoming launch and confronted the reality of its approach. Credits: The Next Astronauts is reported and produced by Miriam Kramer, Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin, and Alice Wilder. Dan Bobkoff is Executive Producer. Mixing, sound design, and music supervision by Alex Sugiura. Theme music and original score by Michael Hanf. Fact-checking and research by Jacob Knutson. Alison Snyder is a managing editor at Axios and Sara Kehaulani Goo is executive editor. Special thanks to Axios co-founders Mike Allen, Jim VandeHei and Roy Schwartz.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I think my first space memory was in first grade.
0:05.8	Kristen Brosky, it was 1986.
0:08.7	I remember they rolled in the TV cart, which, you know, as a kid in my age, you're rolling
0:15.0	in a TV cart with a VCR attached.
0:16.9	Like, oh man, it's going to be an awesome class day.
0:20.2	Everybody was so excited to see the first teacher in space and watch Kristen McCullough go
0:24.8	up.
0:25.8	This story of a high school teacher from New Hampshire was chosen to be the very first
0:30.2	private citizen in history to fly in space.
0:34.0	This documentary was made in the lead up to the mission.
0:37.1	Kristen McCullough became a celebrity.
0:39.3	This was meant to be the moment that signaled space was open to every day ordinary people
0:44.5	who had the big dream to fly.
0:46.8	This is also the story of thousands of America's children.
0:50.6	You already realize that their future is bound up for the future space exploration.
0:58.1	Space enthusiasm on the national level was waning by that point.
1:02.0	And so school kids were actually a huge part of the audience for this mid-morning launch.
1:07.2	We have main engine start, 4, 3, 2, 1, and lift off.
1:14.6	The lift off of the 25th state shuttle mission and it has cleared the tower.
1:20.8	But 73 seconds after launch, the challenger broke apart.
1:25.2	Obviously, a major malfunction.
1:29.2	I looked at the picture and it was a moment completely frozen in time.
	...

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