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This is a podcast about all the mistakes, failures, and explosions that made space exploration possible.
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Shirtsleeve Spaceflight and the Soyuz 11 Catastrophe (w. SYDDOYWTW)
What do you have to worry about? Skin's mostly airtight. We collaborated with Somehow You Didn't Die On Your Way To Work (https://www.youtube.com/@SomehowYouDidntDiePodcast) to talk about that period in the 60s when the Soviets got so obses
Space Policy & the ISS (w. Nik Proxima)
The ISS is the greatest product of international space cooperation ever achieved. It is also a product of happening at exactly the right time to actually be possible. Today, we’re talking to space policy expert Nik Proxima (https://bsky.app
*PREVIEW* Second Sun (Modern Warfare 2)
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 (https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch) at any tier. A formative game from our childhoods, Call of D
The Trial of Georg Rickhey
In 1947, Georg Rickhey, General Director of Mittelwerk, was charged with war crimes. He was acquitted for lack of evidence.Today, Quinn and Chris are talking about Operation Paperclip and the deliberate efforts made by its staff to protect
*PREVIEW* Ulysses 1994XF04 (Ace Combat)
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 (https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch) at any tier. I do not much like the Federation of Central Us
Technofascism & Space
What with all the history talk, we haven't really yet tackled the space elephant in the room: that the space industry is increasingly run by billionaires and open fascists. So today, we're chatting with Ziggy (https://bsky.app/profile/thebi
*PREVIEW* The USSA Mars Shot Project (Fallout)
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 (https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch) at any tier. In the months before the Bombs Fell, the Americ
Flight of the Alberts [5th Anniversary Special]
Capsule: check. Monkey: check. Downers: check. To celebrate our 5th anniversary as a show, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris are going back to the well to talk about our first ever topic: Project Albert. Or “that time the US Government launched
Project 714 'Shuguang' (w. November Kelly)
In the summer of 1966, work at China’s top-secret space program ground to a halt as every worker spent every day putting up posters, making denunciations, and murdering each other. This week, Quinn, Chris, and Other Chris are joined by Nove
The Horrors of Early Space Food (w. Dr Kaveh Hoda)
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
*PREVIEW* LDSS Nauvoo (The Expanse)
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 (https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch) at any tier. Count the moons, duster! Today, Quinn (Belter),
Nuclear Rockets (w. Scooter)
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 (https:
Soyuz-23: Ice Fishing for Cosmonauts (w. Matt Lowne)
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 (https://bsky.app/profile/mattlowne.bsky.social) to talk a
*PREVIEW* Tatsumaki Class (w. Tex Talks Battletech)
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 pr
Moon Tank 2: Lunokhod 2 (w. Victoria Scott)
The guy who made the Ultima games owns a space tank. We’re back with auto journalist and podcaster Victoria Scott to keep talking Lunokhod. In Part 2, we go over the journey of Lunokhod 2, lives saved in the Chernobyl Disaster, and the post
Moon Tank: Lunokhod 1 (w. Victoria Scott)
In a desperate bid to one-up the American Apollo missions, the Soviets built nuclear Moon tanks. We’re joined by auto journalist and podcaster Victoria Scott for a series on the Soviet Lunokhod rovers. In Part 1, we talk about the three-pro
Burn Space Down: The Starfish Prime Shot
On July 9th, 1962, the US Navy lit space on fire from Hawaii to New Zealand and fried a quarter of all active satellites in orbit. This week, we’re joined by engineer and friend of the show Ian to talk about Starfish Prime, the largest nucl
*PREVIEW* The Lesson (1987)
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 (https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch) at any tier. For June’s bonus, we’re joined by Ani Mejlumyan
Deep Sea & Space (w. Dr Alan Jamieson)
The earliest manned spaceflights were universally cramped, uncomfortable, and dangerous. What if your job was to do that multiple times a year underwater? This week, we're joined by Dr. Alan Jamieson, an accomplished marine biologist, veter
*UNLOCKED* Gleipnir (Ace Combat X)
More Ace Combat announcements are coming out and we're very excited about that, so we're unlocking our bonus episode from earlier this year on the Gleipnir flying stealthing aircraftlasermissilebattlecarrier. The final boss of superweapon d
*PREVIEW* Despoiler Class (w. 40K Badcast)
This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon.
The Coup of OKB-1 (w. Joe Kassabian)
A lot of people know that the Soviets canceled their manned lunar program after losing the Moon Race to Apollo. What most don’t know is how that program ended: in a backroom, cloak-and-dagger palace coup that made one man the unquestioned K
NASA Cuts w. Gene Mikulka
In April 2026, while the crew of Artemis 2 was still travelling around the Moon, the Trump administration put forward a budget proposal to gut NASA. This week, we’re joined by space policy analyst and host of the Talking Space podcast, Gene
NASA Railroad & Soyuz City (w. Gareth Dennis)
Alternate title: Railing Rockets. We're joined by Gareth Dennis (https://bsky.app/profile/garethdennis.uk), host of the RailNatter podcast, to talk about the intersections of rockets and trains. Gareth came prepared with a wonderful story o
*PREVIEW* Gleipnir (Ace Combat X)
This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch).
Part 2: Viktor Ilyin, Would-Be Cosmonaut Assassin
The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a motorcycle. We're back for part 2 of our series on Viktor Ilyin and the story leading up to the attempted assassination of Leonid Brezhnev in 1969. Find our merch store
Alien Planet & Spec Bio (w. Jay Eaton)
What would alien life look like? Would it look shockingly like an Ho-229 jet fighter? Would it be best researched by an AI with the mind of a preschooler? This week, we're joined by comic artist and speculative biology enthusiast Jay Eaton
*PREVIEW* Mystery of the Third Planet (1981)
This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/failuretolaunch).
Part 1: Viktor Ilyin, Would-Be Cosmonaut Assassin
Cosmonaut Boris Volynov almost died twice in one week in January 1969. The first was when his Soyuz-5 capsule nearly burned up on reentry. The second was when a Soviet Army defector ambushed the motorcade carrying him, seven other cosmonaut
*UNLOCKED* Sunshine (2007)
ЩΉΛƬ DӨ YӨЦ ƧΣΣ? On audience request, this time we're reviewing 2007's Sunshine. It's got a great cast, a legendary soundtrack, good reviews, financial failure, and it made Cillian Murphy an atheist.
