16 Sunsets

We’re thrilled to bring you our final episode with the legendary Chris Hadfield, and what a way to go out! We dive deep into the mind of someone who decided at age 10 to become an astronaut and actually pulled it off. Chris shares incredible stories that’ll blow your mind - like intercepting Soviet bombers on Christmas Eve during the Cold War, only to hear “Merry Christmas” crackle over the radio from the Russian pilots. We explore his fascinating philosophy on risk (spoiler: he’s not the adrenaline junkie you might expect), hear about the gut-wrenching reality of losing friends in the Columbia disaster, and discover what it’s really like to dock with a space station that looks like a “dragonfly in the cosmic darkness”. From defending the space shuttle against critics to explaining why some risks are absolutely worth taking, Chris delivers the kind of stories that remind you why exploration matters. Pure gold from start to finish.

In this special bonus episode of 16 Sunsets, host Kevin Fong talks to composers Christian Lundberg and Russell Emmanuel, of Hans Zimmer's renowned Bleeding Fingers Composers Collective about the creation and evolution of the compelling suite of themes that underscore the 16 Sunsets series. They discuss how they approached the challenge of capturing the essence of the Space Shuttle program through music, and how they developed themes that evolved alongside the narrative. The composers also reveal the lengths they went to in order to incorporate authentic sounds of the Shuttle into their compositions, to help convey not only the awe and wonder of the space shuttle program but to create a more immersive and evocative experience for the podcast audience.

Credits:

Written and presented by Dr Kevin Fong

Produced by Jago Lee

Sound Design and Mixing: Richard Courtice

Music: Christian Lundberg, part of Hans Zimmer’s Bleeding Fingers Composer Collective

Executive Producers: Stuart Coxe, Kevin Fong, Jago Lee and Rami Tzabar

16 Sunsets is an Antica and TellTale Production 2024

Check out our website at https://sixteensunsets.com 

Instagram: @sixteen_sunsets

X: @16sunsets

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 stories offer a rare glimpse behind the consoles of Mission Control. From the first flight of Columbia to the secret world of classified missions, from the Challenger tragedy to building bonds through storytelling and chili cook-offs, Kelso's journey captures not only the technical brilliance of spaceflight, but also the human spirit that powered it.

With humour, candor, and deep insight, Rob shares what it really means to serve on the front lines of space exploration: the brutal beauty of simulations, the quiet reverence of “the Cathedral,” and the sacred trust between teammates when lives are on the line. It's a conversation about risk, resilience, and the values that define NASA’s culture—a tribute to those we’ve lost, the lessons they left us, and the path that still lies ahead.

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.    They have survived the violence of launch but the mission has run into a potential life-threatening problem. Crippen has just beamed footage down to mission control of missing tiles on the Shuttle’s OMS pods. If tiles are missing there, what about the underside of the orbiter, where the heat of reentry could cause catastrophic damage? Whilst Gene Kranz tries to re-assure the world’s press that everything is under control, elsewhere in NASA, a covert operation is underway to discover whether or not Clumbia’s maiden voyage into space could be its last.       

Ever wondered how the Space Shuttle came to be? Welcome to a new podcast series, 16 Sunsets. In this episode, Host Dr Kevin Fong reveals the inside story of the plan to save the first Shuttle mission from disaster. 

Featuring: Tom Moser, Chuck Lewis, Dottie Lee, Marianne Dyson, Gene Kranz,  Bob Crippen, Robert Kelso, Bob Stewart, Don Pettit, Gerry Griffin, Charlie Bolden, Bonnie Dunbar, Neil Hutchinson, Tonya Witt, Ken Young.

Credits:

Written and presented by Dr Kevin Fong

Producers:  Rami Tzabar,  Andrew Luck-Baker and Dave Giles.

Assistant Producer: Kate Arkless Gray

Sound Design and Mixing: Richard Courtice

Music: Christian Lundberg, part of Hans Zimmer’s Bleeding Fingers Composer Collective

With special thanks to Sandra Johnson at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre Oral History Project

Thanks also to William Reeves and Herb Baker; Stephen Slater for additional archive and to Lunar Module 5.

Executive Producers: Stuart Coxe, Kevin Fong, Jago Lee and Rami Tzabar

16 Sunsets is an Antica and TellTale Production 2024

Check out our website at https://sixteensunsets.com 

Instagram: @sixteen_sunsets

Bluesky: @16sunsets.bsky.social

X: @16sunsets

Want more 16 Sunsets? Become a premium member of our community and unlock exclusive content, including early and ad-free episodes, by subscribing to 16 Sunsets on Supercast. Learn more at https://16sunsets.supercast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, two and half million moving parts, hundreds of mission critical components with no back up, brought together in a two thousand tonne stack of propellant, boosters and rocket engines which - when lit - will unleash energy enough to carry its astronaut crew and their vessel into orbit around the Earth. The first all up test of a NASA space vehicle with a human crew aboard. But for its two astronauts, John Young and Bob Crippen, it is worth the risk. The future is here. And nothing now can stop it.

Ever wondered how the Space Shuttle came to be? Welcome to a new podcast series, 16 Sunsets. In this episode, Host Dr Kevin Fong guides us through the lead up to STS-1. Will everything go to plan? 

Featuring: Tom Moser, Stokes MacMillan, Bob Crippen, Robert Kelso, John Young, Jeff Hoffman, Gerry Griffin, Charlie Bolden, Bonnie Dunbar, Neil Hutchinson, Chuck Lewis, Jennifer Levasseur, Lowell Zoller, Tonya Witt, Marianne Dyson, Dottie Lee.

Credits:

Written and presented by Dr Kevin Fong

Producers: Rami Tzabar, Andrew Luck-Baker and Dave Giles.

Assistant Producer: Kate Arkless Gray

Sound Design and Mixing: Richard Courtice

Music: Christian Lundberg, part of Hans Zimmer’s Bleeding Fingers Composer Collective

With special thanks to Sandra Johnson at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre Oral History Project

Thanks also to William Reeves and Herb Baker; Stephen Slater for additional archive and to Lunar Module 5.

Executive Producers: Stuart Coxe, Kevin Fong, Jago Lee and Rami Tzabar

16 Sunsets is an Antica and TellTale Production 2024

Check out our website at https://sixteensunsets.com 

Instagram: @sixteen_sunsets

Bluesky: @16sunsets.bsky.social

X: @16sunsets

Want more 16 Sunsets? Become a premium member of our community and unlock exclusive content, including early and ad-free episodes, by subscribing to 16 Sunsets on Supercast. Learn more at https://16sunsets.supercast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.