16 Sunsets
By Antica & Telltale Studios
"16 Sunsets" is a captivating 10-part podcast series that explores the dramatic history of NASA's Space Shuttle program, crafted by the award-winning team behind "13 Minutes to the Moon." Hosted by renowned space storyteller Kevin Fong and featuring music by Christian Lundberg from Hans Zimmer's Bleeding Fingers Composers' Collective, the series recounts the birth of the Shuttle era through the eyes of those who built and flew it. From the Shuttle's audacious first flight in 1981 with Commander John Young and rookie Bob Crippen to the intricate technical challenges it faced, the podcast delves into the political, engineering, and cultural forces that shaped its inception. With over 40 interviews from NASA veterans and personal insights from Fong—who witnessed the Shuttle era firsthand—"16 Sunsets" captures the spirit of innovation and the human stories behind the missions, revealing the profound impact of the Space Shuttle on our understanding of human spaceflight.
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Latest episode
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Bonus Episode: Rob Kelso - Inside the Cathedral of Mission Control
In this bonus episode of 16Sunsets, we present the interview performed Kevin Fong and Andrew Luck-Baker with former NASA flight director Rob Kelso—a man whose career spans the whole of the Space Shuttle era and whose storie… -
Columbia Returns
April 12th 1981. Bob Crippen and John Young are in orbit around the Earth. Travelling at 17,500 miles an hour, with the world turning majestically beneath them, they witness 16 sunrises and sixteen sunsets every 24 hours. … -
Columbia Rising
April 12 1981. STS-1. Space Shuttle Columbia now stands proud on pad 39A at Cape Canaveral. After more than a decade of development, planning and assembly, NASA approaches its moment of truth.The most complex flying machine ever built, … -
Bonus Episode: Terry White – Tile by Tile – Protecting The Shuttle
As we get nearer to STS-1 and that first all-up test of Space Shuttle Columbia, we wanted to take a look at one of the technical challenges that caused that first launch to slip back from 1979 to 1981: the thermal protection system that kept the e… -
Abort, Abort, Abort!
The command ‘Abort RTLS’ was the last thing that astronauts on board the space shuttle wanted to hear from mission control. It meant that one or two of the shuttle’s main engines had failed in the first couple of minutes after lift-off and … -
Anatomy of a Firecracker
Getting the 100 tonne space shuttle orbiter from the pad to orbit demanded a launch system like no other before it. A huge external fuel tank containing hundreds of tonnes of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fed the orbiter’s three powerful… -
Bonnie Dunbar: Orbit By Design
Before we get back on the road to the historic launch of STS-1, we have another special episode to share with you. This time an interview recorded by Kevin Fong and Andrew Luck-Baker with former mission specialist astronaut Bonnie Dunbar while the… -
Charlie Bolden: Cold War Warrior
For this holiday special episode, we’re bringing you something different - a conversation that captures a remarkable moment in space history, told by the incomparable Major General Charles F. Bolden Jr. Charlie, as he's known to his friends, carve… -
New Frontiers
Now that the Space Shuttle Enterprise has successfully flown over the Mojave Desert, NASA needs to press ahead. Next stop is low Earth Orbit but first, this new star ship needs a crew. No longer the preserve of white male military pilots, the next… -
Enterprise!
12 August 1977. In the air, high above the Mojave desert, Apollo 13’s Fred Haise is at the controls of the Space Shuttle prototype. Alongside him is Gordon Fullerton. Cruising at 27 thousand feet, the vehicle is bolted to the back of a Boeing 747.…