On this episode of Talking Space with Mark Ratterman and Dr Kat Robison we have an excellent interview from Mark with Kennedy Space Center’s Dr Kristin Smith and Kathy Rice, both of whom are in KSC's weather office. Special thanks to KSC’s public affairs team, especially Mary MacLaughlin, who make it possible to bring interviews like this to our listeners. Mark talks with Kristin and Kathy about NASA’s Tropospheric Doppler Radar Wind Profiler (TDRWP) which monitors weather in the upper atmosphere like upper level winds (which we all know are very important on launch days). Kathy and Kristin explain how users, from NASA to SpaceX, utilize this important data and how it differs from other tools, such as weather balloons. The data from TDRWP is publicly available. Also, check out this link for info on how it was tested with ham radio operators and this site for more info on the whole system at KSC.
Mark and Kat also have a brief chat (and please forgive her technical difficulties!) about a few space news topics before the interview. Kat shares about a history making series of launches in Australia at the Arnhem Space Centre (ASC) in the Northern Territory. The series of three sounding rocket launches to study astrophysics were the first NASA launches from a fully commercial spaceport and were undertaken in partnership with Equatorial Launch Australia. She and Mark also discuss the first deep field image from JWST, which includes light from one galaxy which traveled 13.1 billion years to JWST’s mirrors. Find out more and see the rest of JWST’s first images here.
Show recorded: 7-24-2022
Hosts: Mark Ratterman & Dr. Kat Robison
Special Guests: Dr. Kristin Smith and Kathy Rice
Episode 302: Rocked to the Lunar Core
Episode 301: A Quick Rollback to Ignite Season 3
Episode 243: Closing the Year with OpenLuna
Episode 242: Tanks Again
Episode 241: Puff, the Magic Dragon/Falcon 9
Episode 240: We're #1...Well, NASA Is
Episode 239: All I Want for Christmas is my Two SRBs to Ignite
Episode 238: Who's a Cute Little Black Hole?
Episode 237: Jinx! You Owe Me a Launch!
Episode 236: Talking Space Tries
Episode 235: Stop, Drop, and Suborbital Flight
Episode 234: And We're ARF
Episode 233: Go With the Flow
Episode 232: Lights, Camera, AMS
Episode 231: Around the World in 47 Minutes
Episode 230: Happy Birthday Talking Space!
Episode 229: Tribbles...in...SpaceUp
Episode 228: Rock 'n' Roll Maneuver
Episode 227: Long Distance Voyagers
Episode 226: Are Near Earth Objects 'Rusty'?
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