In Episode 144 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik examine a duo of private lunar missions by Firefly Aerospace and ispace that launched this week, along with much more.
2025 marks the beginning of the Great Lunar Armada! A small collection of privately funded and government-supported orbiters, landers, and rovers are set to explore Luna Incognita this year, with acceleration expected thereafter.
We also delve into the recent Starship Flight 7—which culminated in the complete loss of the Starship upper stage—and the inaugural launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn mega-rocket, which achieved flight successfully but failed to land on the recovery vessel. Moreover, expect our familiar space dad joke and an update on how the LA fires are affecting NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, along with ways you can assist.
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Space highlights of the week
Model Falcon 9!
Lastly, were you aware that you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? The model rocket manufacturer Estes has released an impressive scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket which you can acquire now. This launchable model serves as a detailed replica of the Falcon 9 and is priced at $149.99. You can save 10%by entering the code IN-COLLECTSPACE during checkout, brought to you by our associates collectSPACE.com.
Details About This Week In Space
This Week in Space explores the contemporary era of space exploration. Each Friday, we delve deeply into an intriguing subject. What developments are occurring in the new competition for the moon and beyond? When will SpaceX truly transport individuals to Mars?
Accompany Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from Space.com as they address these inquiries and much more every Friday afternoon. You can join today on your preferred podcast platform.
Rod Pyle is a writer, journalist, TV producer, and Editor-in-Chief of Ad Astra magazine. He has authored 18 books concentrating on historical space events, exploration, and advancement, including Space 2.0, Innovation the NASA Way, Interplanetary Robots, Blueprint for a Battlestar, Amazing Stories of the Space Age, First On the Moon, and Destination Mars.
Previously, Rod produced various documentaries and short films for The History Channel, Discovery Communications, and Disney. He also contributed to visual effects for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the Battlestar Galactica remake, along with multiple sci-fi television pilots. His latest television credit includes the NatGeo documentary based on Tom Wolfe’s renowned book The Right Stuff.
Overseeing Space.com’s editorial vision, Tariq Malik has been the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com since 2019 and has reported on space news and science for 18 years. He became part of the Space.com team in 2001, initially as an intern and shortly thereafter as a full-time spaceflight journalist, focusing on human spaceflight, exploration, astronomy, and the night sky. He took on the role of managing editor for Space.com in 2009. As an on-camera presenter, he has covered space stories on CNN, Fox News, NPR, among others.
Tariq is an Eagle Scout (indeed, he received the Space Exploration merit badge), a veteran of Space Camp (attended four times as a child and once as an adult), and has experienced the ultimate “vomit comet” ride while reporting on zero-gravity fires. Prior to his role at Space.com, he worked as a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times, focusing on city and education reporting. He holds journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University.