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The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor
The John Batchelor Show
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7522 episodes

  • The John Batchelor Show

    S8 Ep659: 4. The Final Chance: A Heroic Rescue and Successful Orbit Guest Eric Berger describes the dramatic fourth Falcon 1 mission in late 2008. To meet a tight deadline, the team transported the rocket via a military C-17, but the booster began imploding

    29/03/2026 | 9 mins.
    4. The Final Chance: A Heroic Rescue and Successful Orbit Guest Eric Berger describes the dramatic fourth Falcon 1 mission in late 2008. To meet a tight deadline, the team transported the rocket via a military C-17, but the booster began imploding during descent. Engineer Zach Dunn saved the mission by crawling inside the collapsing rocket to manually equalize the pressure. On September 28, the fourth launch successfully reached orbit, carrying a dummy payload named "RAT". This achievement occurred amidst the global financial crisis and solidified SpaceX's status as a legitimate rocket company, establishing enduring traditions like the four-leaf clover mission patch. (4)
    1958
  • The John Batchelor Show

    S8 Ep659: 3. Facing Failure: The Slosh Problem and Financial Crisis Guest Eric Berger details the second and third Falcon 1 failures between 2007 and 2008. The second attempt reached space but failed to achieve orbit due to fuel "slosh" in the upper stage—a concern

    29/03/2026 | 11 mins.
    3. Facing Failure: The Slosh Problem and Financial Crisis Guest Eric Berger details the second and third Falcon 1 failures between 2007 and 2008. The second attempt reached space but failed to achieve orbit due to fuel "slosh" in the upper stage—a concern the team had notoriously omitted from their top-ten list. The third flight failed when the first stage collided with the second stage after separation. These failures occurred as the global economy collapsed and Musk's personal funds dwindled. Facing bankruptcy, Musk rallied his demoralized staff, granting them only six weeks to prepare a final, do-or-die fourth launch attempt. (3)
    1957
  • The John Batchelor Show

    S8 Ep659: 2. The Founding of SpaceX: Vertical Integration and Early Ambition Guest Eric Berger recounts the origins of SpaceX, starting with Elon Musk's 2001 vision to disrupt the space industry. Musk invested $100 million of his own fortune and hired experts like

    29/03/2026 | 8 mins.
    2. The Founding of SpaceX: Vertical Integration and Early AmbitionGuest Eric Berger recounts the origins of SpaceX, starting with Elon Musk's 2001 vision to disrupt the space industry. Musk invested $100 million of his own fortune and hired experts like Tom Mueller and Chris Thompson after being initially mocked by the aerospace establishment. The company pioneered vertical integration, designing the Merlin engine in-house to reduce costs and bypass traditional suppliers. Following a move to El Segundo, the team serendipitously found a testing site in McGregor, Texas. These early years were defined by Musk's "desperate" financial stakes and rapid self-education in rocketry. (2)
    february 1955
  • The John Batchelor Show

    S8 Ep659: 1. SpaceX's First Falcon 1 Attempt: A Tropical Trial by Fire Guest Eric Berger discusses the first launch of SpaceX's Falcon 1 in March 2006. To bypass regulatory delays in California, the team moved operations to Omalik Island in the Pacific. Key personn

    29/03/2026 | 10 mins.
    1. SpaceX's First Falcon 1 Attempt: A Tropical Trial by Fire Guest Eric Berger discusses the first launch of SpaceX's Falcon 1 in March 2006. To bypass regulatory delays in California, the team moved operations to Omalik Island in the Pacific. Key personnel, including Hans Koenigman and launch director Tim Buzza, oversaw the attempt to reach orbit using the Merlin engine. The launch failed after thirty seconds when a corroded bolt caused a fuel leak and fire. Although the rocket crashed back onto the island, the team viewed the failure as a vital source of real-world data for future improvements. (1)
    october 1939
  • The John Batchelor Show

    S8 Ep658: 8. Leila Philip highlights how beavers offer resiliency against climate change by maintaining water during droughts and storing carbon in wetlands. She discusses non-lethal management tools, like flow devices, that allow humans and beavers to coexist. Phi

    29/03/2026 | 8 mins.
    8. Leila Philip highlights how beavers offer resiliency against climate change by maintaining water during droughts and storing carbon in wetlands. She discusses non-lethal management tools, like flow devices, that allow humans and beavers to coexist. Philip concludes with practical advice for observing these nocturnal architects. (8)

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About The John Batchelor Show

The John Batchelor Show is a hard news-analysis radio program on current events, world history, global politics and natural sciences. Based in New York City for two decades, the show has travelled widely to report, from the Middle East to the South Caucasus to the Arabian Peninsula and East Asia.
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