Robert Smith shares the story of how the astronomical community decided upon the JWST as the follow-up to the Hubble Space Telescope, the coalition politics required for mega-projects like Hubble and JWST, and how that dynamic shapes modern science. Dr. Smith holds a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. He  is a professor at the University of Alberta. His book, The Space Telescope: A Study of NASA, Science, Technology, and Politics, was released in 1989. Discover more here:https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/robert-smith-jwst-big-science

Robert Smith shares the story of how the astronomical community decided upon the JWST as the follow-up to the Hubble Space Telescope, the coalition politics required for mega-projects like Hubble and JWST, and how that dynamic shapes modern science. Dr. Smith holds a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. He&nbsp; is a professor at the University of Alberta. His book, The Space Telescope: A Study of NASA, Science, Technology, and Politics, was released in 1989. Discover more here:<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/0804-2021-spe-sarah-scoles-pentagon-ufo-report"> </a><a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/robert-smith-jwst-big-science">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/robert-smith-jwst-big-science</a>

Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our Solar System and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts who are taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy and Bruce Betts as they dive deep into space science and exploration. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway where the future of the US space program hangs in the balance. Visit planetary.org/radio for an episode guide and much more.

Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our Solar System and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts who are taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy and Bruce Betts as they dive deep into space science and exploration. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway where the future of the US space program hangs in the balance. Visit planetary.org/radio for an episode guide and much more.

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our solar system and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye, the Science Guy, and Bruce Betts, chief scientist for The Planetary Society, as they dive deep into the latest space news. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway with Casey Dreier and Jack Kiraly to discuss the politics of space exploration in the US and advocacy actions you can take to support the missions that matter. Visit planetary.org/radio for the space trivia contest, an episode guide, and much more.

Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our solar system and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye, the Science Guy, and Bruce Betts, chief scientist for The Planetary Society, as they dive deep into the latest space news. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway with Casey Dreier and Jack Kiraly to discuss the politics of space exploration in the US and advocacy actions you can take to support the missions that matter. Visit planetary.org/radio for the space trivia contest, an episode guide, and much more.

Science historian Robert Smith describes how NASA's new flagship space observatory came to be.

Space Policy Edition: JWST and the politics of mega-science (with Robert Smith)

Four astronauts — Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — are on their way around the Moon, on a journey that will take them farther from Earth than any human has gone before. This week on Planetary Radio, we bring you the sounds of launch day and the voices of the people who lived it.

You’ll hear from the engineers who built the spacecraft, including Mark Tobias, chief engineer at Northrop Grumman, Jan-Henrik Horstmann, European Service Module team leader at ESA, and Debbie Korth, deputy manager of NASA's Orion Program. U.S. Representative Mike Haridopolos and Senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly share their perspectives from the ground. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk reflects on what it means for Canada to have one of their own heading to deep space for the very first time. NASA Chief Exploration Scientist Jake Bleacher and Lisa Carnell, director of Biological and Physical Sciences at NASA's Science Mission Directorate, break down some of the research happening on this mission. NASA astronaut Steve Bowen shares what it feels like to watch a crew launch knowing exactly what they're about to experience. And Joel Kearns, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration, reflects on what this moment means for the future of human spaceflight.

Plus, Planetary Society Science Editor Asa Stahl and Digital Community Manager Ambre Rose Trujillo, share what it was actually like to be there on launch day. And Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins us for What's Up, with a look at what we've learned about the Moon since the Apollo era.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-artemis-ii-launch

Four astronauts &mdash; Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen &mdash; are on their way around the Moon, on a journey that will take them farther from Earth than any human has gone before. This week on Planetary Radio, we bring you the sounds of launch day and the voices of the people who lived it.
You&rsquo;ll hear from the engineers who built the spacecraft, including Mark Tobias, chief engineer at Northrop Grumman, Jan-Henrik Horstmann, European Service Module team leader at ESA, and Debbie Korth, deputy manager of NASA's Orion Program. U.S. Representative Mike Haridopolos and Senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly share their perspectives from the ground. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk reflects on what it means for Canada to have one of their own heading to deep space for the very first time. NASA Chief Exploration Scientist Jake Bleacher and Lisa Carnell, director of Biological and Physical Sciences at NASA's Science Mission Directorate, break down some of the research happening on this mission. NASA astronaut Steve Bowen shares what it feels like to watch a crew launch knowing exactly what they're about to experience. And Joel Kearns, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration, reflects on what this moment means for the future of human spaceflight.
Plus, Planetary Society Science Editor Asa Stahl and Digital Community Manager Ambre Rose Trujillo, share what it was actually like to be there on launch day. And Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins us for What's Up, with a look at what we've learned about the Moon since the Apollo era.
Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-artemis-ii-launch">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-artemis-ii-launch</a>

Four astronauts are on their way around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. This week on Planetary Radio we bring you the sounds of launch day and the voices of the people who made it happen.

Artemis II launches to the Moon

What makes Cape Canaveral the center of U.S. spaceflight? The answer is a fascinating mix of geography, military strategy, Cold War politics, and a fair amount of historical accident.

In this episode of the Space Policy Edition of Planetary Radio, host Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Stephen C. Smith, author and writer behind the Substack The Space Pundit, to discuss his book Return to Launch: Florida and America's Space Industry. A longtime Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex communicator and Merritt Island resident, Smith brings a unique perspective to the story of how a remote Florida peninsula became the gateway to the Cosmos.

The conversation spans the full arc of Cape Canaveral's history, from captured Nazi V-2 rockets fired off a concrete slab in 1950, the Apollo era's dramatic economic boom and bust, and the rise of commercial spaceflight. Along the way, Smith and Dreier explore why Mexico's president inadvertently shaped U.S. launch site selection, how eminent domain built a spaceport, and what Space Florida did to help break the region's cycle of economic dependence on government programs.

What makes Cape Canaveral the center of U.S. spaceflight? The answer is a fascinating mix of geography, military strategy, Cold War politics, and a fair amount of historical accident.
In this episode of the Space Policy Edition of Planetary Radio, host Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Stephen C. Smith, author and writer behind the Substack The Space Pundit, to discuss his book Return to Launch: Florida and America's Space Industry. A longtime Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex communicator and Merritt Island resident, Smith brings a unique perspective to the story of how a remote Florida peninsula became the gateway to the Cosmos.
The conversation spans the full arc of Cape Canaveral's history, from captured Nazi V-2 rockets fired off a concrete slab in 1950, the Apollo era's dramatic economic boom and bust, and the rise of commercial spaceflight. Along the way, Smith and Dreier explore why Mexico's president inadvertently shaped U.S. launch site selection, how eminent domain built a spaceport, and what Space Florida did to help break the region's cycle of economic dependence on government programs.

Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Stephen C. Smith, author of Return to Launch and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex communicator, to explore how a remote Florida peninsula became the heart of U.S. spaceflight.

Space Policy Edition: Return to Launch — Cape Canaveral's unlikely history

Artemis II is the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17, and riding alongside the crew is one of the most ambitious biology experiments ever sent to space. It's called AVATAR, short for A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response: tiny organ chips grown from the astronauts' own cells, flying the same trajectory around the Moon, exposed to the same deep-space radiation and microgravity as the crew themselves. Lisa Carnell, director of NASA's Biological and Physical Sciences Division, explains what this experiment could mean for the future of human exploration.

Then, Alain Maury, asteroid hunter and Planetary Society Shoemaker Near-Earth Object grant recipient, tells the story of how his MAPS survey in Chile's Atacama Desert spotted a faint, fuzzy object that turned out to be something extraordinary. C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is a sungrazing comet now falling toward the Sun on a path that will bring it within 162,000 kilometers (100,000 miles) of the solar surface on April 4th. If it survives that encounter, it could become one of the most spectacular comets in decades.

And finally, Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins us for What's Up, including how to spot the comet yourself, if it makes it through.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-avatar-and-sungrazer

Artemis II is the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17, and riding alongside the crew is one of the most ambitious biology experiments ever sent to space. It's called AVATAR, short for A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response: tiny organ chips grown from the astronauts' own cells, flying the same trajectory around the Moon, exposed to the same deep-space radiation and microgravity as the crew themselves. Lisa Carnell, director of NASA's Biological and Physical Sciences Division, explains what this experiment could mean for the future of human exploration.
Then, Alain Maury, asteroid hunter and Planetary Society Shoemaker Near-Earth Object grant recipient, tells the story of how his MAPS survey in Chile's Atacama Desert spotted a faint, fuzzy object that turned out to be something extraordinary. C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is a sungrazing comet now falling toward the Sun on a path that will bring it within 162,000 kilometers (100,000 miles) of the solar surface on April 4th. If it survives that encounter, it could become one of the most spectacular comets in decades.
And finally, Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins us for What's Up, including how to spot the comet yourself, if it makes it through.
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-avatar-and-sungrazer">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-avatar-and-sungrazer</a>

Lisa Carnell, Director of NASA's Biological and Physical Sciences Division, explains AVATAR, the experiment flying organ chips grown from astronaut cells on Artemis II. Then, asteroid hunter Alain Maury tells the story of discovering a sungrazing comet that could become one of the most spectacular in decades.

Space Policy Edition: JWST and the politics of mega-science (with Robert Smith)

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