Episode 24: Rocket Science 2—On a Mission for Good

Assateague Voices

This month, Assateague Voices celebrates NASA November, with a three-part series on the RockOn and RockSat-C and -X education programs at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. These programs draw higher education students from around the country to Wallops every summer, to fly experiments of their own design aboard Wallops sounding rockets. In this episode, we talk with Jonathan Herberger, a double-major senior at Northern Nazarene University in Idaho. Together with his student team and faculty advisors, Jonathan is conducting Project Daedelus, which may one day make space safer and life better here on earth. We spoke shortly before the RockSat-X launch with his experiment on board. We discussed performing complex tasks in microgravity, clearing space debris, reusable rocketry, and advancing civilization without destroying it. We also spoke a second time about the challenges that come with rocket science, lessons learned, and the role of the Wallops program in helping young scientists advance.

Here's our episode.

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE:

Jonathan Herberger: https://jonathanherberger.com

Project Daedelus: https://jonathanherberger.com/projects

Space Debris

Stuff in Space real-time space debris tracker: https://sky.rogue.space

Kessler Syndrome: https://www.space.com/kessler-syndrome-space-debris

Clean Space Initiative, ESA: https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Clean_Space

NASA Orbital Space Debris Program: https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/photo-gallery/

Washington Post, "Space Junk is Out of Control": 49gzRF5

Reusable Rocketry

The Rise of Reusable Rocketry: https://www.kdcresource.com/insights/the-rise-of-reusable-rockets-transforming-the-economics-of-space-travel/

Stoke Space: https://www.stokespace.com

Rocket Lab Reusable Rockets: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/launch/reusable-rockets/

Blue Origin New Shepard: https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard

Space-X Falcon 9: https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-9/