Failure To Launch

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* m

*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 at any tier. Count the moons, d

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

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

*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 Ope

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 jour

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

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

*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 at any tier. For June’s bonus,

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'r

*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 stealth

*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 backr

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 join

NASA Railroad & Soyuz City (w. Gareth Dennis)

Alternate title: Railing Rockets. We're joined by Gareth Dennis, host of the RailNatter podcast, to talk about the intersections of rockets and trains. Gareth came prepar

*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.

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 att

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'r

*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.

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 Ar