Former NASA Astronaut Wendy Lawrence is a veteran both of the Untied States Navy and four NASA Space Shuttle missions – including the Return to Flight mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster. In today’s episode, she talks about how she had to stop thinking of Russians as Cold War enemy and start thinking of them as space-bound allies, how she mapped out her future into space as a teen, and the perspective that astronauts gain when they’re out there among the stars.
Welcome to the
Flight Deck Podcast
Listen to all of the Museum’s best aviation and aerospace stories on the Flight Deck Podcast, a podcast that makes history personal. Episodes released every other Tuesday. We hope you enjoy it!!
The Astronaut Image
November 21, 2019 / NASA, astronaut, Pete Conrad
Apollo 12 Astronaut Pete Conrad has a lot to live up to. NASA’s idea of the astronaut image meant that the astronauts needed to conform to specific ideas of the ideal American.
Failure is Not an Option: Jerrie Cobb and the First Women Astronaut Trainees, Part 2
July 10, 2019 / NASA, astronaut, Failure is not an Option, Jerrie Cobb
Jerrie Cobb and the women behind the Women in Space program unsuccessfully lobbied Congress in 1962 to include women in astronaut training, but they still led the way for women’s inclusion in the aerospace industry.
Failure is Not an Option: Interview with NASA Astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger
June 11, 2019 / Podcast, Space, NASA, astronaut, Storytelling, Failure is not an Option, Space Shuttle
Our interview with NASA astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, part of our series titled Failure is Not an Option, asks crowd sourced questions to reveal what life is like in space and how Dottie, as a woman astronaut, continues to inspire young women to pursue careers in STEM.
As the first installment of our “Failure Is Not An Option” summer series—an ode to people who have pushed the boundaries of space exploration, our interview with Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger includes questions that our listeners shared with us on social media and revealing answers from Dottie about astronaut bands, sw
SoYeon Yi Part III - From Backup to Primary Astronaut
April 16, 2019 / astronaut, Korea, Soeyon Yi, First Korean Astronaut
First Korean astronaut SoYeon Yi tells that story of determination that took her from backup astronaut to primary, securing her place in aerospace history.
Soyeon Yi, Part II: When a Wedding Singer Becomes an Astronaut
October 16, 2018 / astronaut, SpaceTravel, Korea, Soeyon Yi
Sometime between her third and fourth year of her PhD program, Yi’s research ground to a halt. Her experiments were failing, she wasn’t acquiring good data, and even her friends were asking whether or not she could, or should, continue.
SoYeon Yi, Part I: An Astronaut Education
September 18, 2018 / Engineering, astronaut, SpaceTravel, Korea
Did you have trouble figuring out your major when you were in college? If so, you already have one thing in common with the world’s first Korean astronaut, Soyeon Yi.
Surviving the Final Frontier
May 29, 2018 / Space, NASA, astronaut, SpaceTravel
Did you know that for every month you spend in space, you lose about 2% BMI? Neither did we until we talked to Tommy Gantz, one of our volunteers and resident space experts.
The Spacewalker
March 13, 2018 / Podcast, FlightDeck, Space, NASA, astronaut
Episode 1:
What’s it like repairing a billion-dollar solar panel while hurtling 4.67 miles per second through space?