Failure To Launch

Moon Tank: Lunokhod 1 (w. Victoria Scott) 01.07.2026 1j 26mnt

In a desperate bid to one-up the American Apollo missions, the Soviets built nuclear Moon tanks. We’re joined by auto journalist and podcaster Victoria Scott for a series on the Soviet Lunokhod rovers. In Part 1, we talk about the three-pronged Soviet lunar program, how they built the first space tank, and how you can stay warm in winter with a kilo of Polonium-210. Check out Victoria’s work here and listen to Tran Girlismo!Find our merch store hereSupport FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord communitySOURCES:- Unmanned Missions toward the Moon, Anatoly Zak- Soviet and Russian Lunar Exploration, Brian Harvey- Tank on the Moon, 2007FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

Burn Space Down: The Starfish Prime Shot 26.06.2026 1j 56mnt

On July 9th, 1962, the US Navy lit space on fire from Hawaii to New Zealand and fried a quarter of all active satellites in orbit. This week, we’re joined by engineer and friend of the show Ian to talk about Starfish Prime, the largest nuclear test ever conducted in space, and all the satellites that test killed.Find our merch store hereSupport FTL on Patreon to get bonus content and join our Discord communitySOURCES:- Burning the Sky, Mark Wolverton- Dark Sun: Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, Richard RhodesFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

*PREVIEW* The Lesson (1987) 25.06.2026 19mnt

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, support Failure To Launch on Patreon at any tier.For June’s bonus, we’re joined by Ani Mejlumyan of the Lions Led By Donkeys podcast to talk all about The Lesson, a strange Soviet-Armenian animated short about environmentalism. Or possibly John Lennon. Or being so relentlessly horny that you short-circuit a Soviet censor’s brain.

Deep Sea & Space (w. Dr Alan Jamieson) 11.06.2026 1j 30mnt

The earliest manned spaceflights were universally cramped, uncomfortable, and dangerous. What if your job was to do that multiple times a year underwater? This week, we're joined by Dr. Alan Jamieson, an accomplished marine biologist, veteran of many deep sea dives, and a host of the Deep Sea Podcast to compare our respective environments and see how they line up. Check out the Deep Sea Podcast here!Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community!FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

*UNLOCKED* Gleipnir (Ace Combat X) 05.06.2026 1j 1mnt

More Ace Combat announcements are coming out and we're very excited about that, so we're unlocking our bonus episode from earlier this year on the Gleipnir flying stealthing aircraftlasermissilebattlecarrier. The final boss of superweapon development. A weapon worth double digits of the GDP of Laesath. The universe's most powerful Blue Angel. This time, we're tackling a fan request topic: Diego Gaspar Navarro's Folly, the Gleipnir.

*PREVIEW* Despoiler Class (w. 40K Badcast) 29.05.2026 14mnt

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon.

The Coup of OKB-1 (w. Joe Kassabian) 22.05.2026 1j 20mnt

A lot of people know that the Soviets canceled their manned lunar program after losing the Moon Race to Apollo. What most don’t know is how that program ended: in a backroom, cloak-and-dagger palace coup that made one man the unquestioned King of Soviet Space. This week, we’re joined by Joe Kassabian to talk about The Coup of OKB-1 by 𝓜𝓞𝓜. Listen to Lions Led By Donkeys here and check out Joe’s upcoming book!Find our merch store here!Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community!SOURCES:- Challenge to Apollo, Asif Siddiqi- Rockets & People 4, Boris Chertok- Soviet and Russian Lunar Exploration, Brian Harvey- RussianSpaceWeb, Anatoly ZakFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

NASA Cuts w. Gene Mikulka 08.05.2026 1j 34mnt

In April 2026, while the crew of Artemis 2 was still travelling around the Moon, the Trump administration put forward a budget proposal to gut NASA. This week, we’re joined by space policy analyst and host of the Talking Space podcast, Gene Mikulka, to go over the threats to space science and the grassroots resistance to the cuts. Check out the Talking Space podcast here and follow Gene on Bluesky!Astronauts for America interviewFind our merch store here!Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community!FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

NASA Railroad & Soyuz City (w. Gareth Dennis) 23.04.2026 1j 59mnt

Alternate title: Railing Rockets. We're joined by Gareth Dennis, host of the RailNatter podcast, to talk about the intersections of rockets and trains. Gareth came prepared with a wonderful story of horses' arses and the NASA Railroad. Quinn, meanwhile, got sidetracked and wrote about how Soviet OKB head Sergei Korolev accidentally bankrupted a city. Check out RailNatter and Gareth's other videos here!Find our new merch store here!Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community!FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

*PREVIEW* Gleipnir (Ace Combat X) 16.04.2026 14mnt

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon.

Part 2: Viktor Ilyin, Would-Be Cosmonaut Assassin 08.04.2026 47mnt

The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a motorcycle. We're back for part 2 of our series on Viktor Ilyin and the story leading up to the attempted assassination of Leonid Brezhnev in 1969. Find our merch store here!Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community!SOURCES: - Into the Cosmos, Asif Siddiqi and James Andrews- The First Cosmonaut Team, Colin Burgess and Rex Hall- Soyuz-4 and -5 crews perform docking, spacewalk between ships, Anatoly ZakFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

Alien Planet & Spec Bio (w. Jay Eaton) 03.04.2026 1j 31mnt

What would alien life look like? Would it look shockingly like an Ho-229 jet fighter? Would it be best researched by an AI with the mind of a preschooler? This week, we're joined by comic artist and speculative biology enthusiast Jay Eaton to talk about potential alien life and a really weird 2005 Discovery documentary, Alien Planet. Check out Jay's webcomic, Runaway to the Stars, here and sign up for the Kickstarter of their book!Find our new merch store here!Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community!FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

*PREVIEW* Mystery of the Third Planet (1981) 31.03.2026 13mnt

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon.

Part 1: Viktor Ilyin, Would-Be Cosmonaut Assassin 26.03.2026 53mnt

Cosmonaut Boris Volynov almost died twice in one week in January 1969. The first was when his Soyuz-5 capsule nearly burned up on reentry. The second was when a Soviet Army defector ambushed the motorcade carrying him, seven other cosmonauts, and Premier Leonid Brezhnev with akimbo Makarovs. This is Part 1 of our series into the weird story of an attempted assassination of the leader of the Soviet Union. Find our new merch store here!Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community!SOURCES:- Into the Cosmos, Asif Siddiqi and James Andrews- The First Cosmonaut Team, Colin Burgess and Rex Hall- Soyuz-4 and 5 crews perform docking, spacewalk between ships, Anatoly ZakFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

*UNLOCKED* Sunshine (2007) 25.02.2026 2j 14mnt

ЩΉΛƬ DӨ YӨЦ ƧΣΣ?On audience request, this time we're reviewing 2007's Sunshine. It's got a great cast, a legendary soundtrack, good reviews, financial failure, and it made Cillian Murphy an atheist.

*PREVIEW* Red Planet (2000) 19.02.2026 14mnt

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon.

Skylab 4 - The Myth of the Space Mutiny 11.02.2026 1j 17mnt

No, a trio of astronauts on NASA's Skylab station did not stage a mutiny over poor working conditions. Yes, they would've been justified if they had staged a real mutiny. Today, we're tackling Skylab-4 and the legend of the First Strike in Space. Find our new merch store here!Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community!SOURCES: - Skylab: The Human Side of a Scientific Mission- https://nss.org/space-myths-busted-no-there-wasnt-a-mutiny-on-skylab/ - https://nss.org/i-finally-read-a-house-in-space-and-it-is-a-big-ol-mess/

*PREVIEW* Operation Crossbow w. Kill James Bond 30.01.2026 14mnt

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon.

Chelomey's LKS Shuttle (w. Alexander The OK) 21.01.2026 1j 21mnt

In the late 70s, OKB-52 head Vladimir Chelomey decided to try and compete with the new Buran space shuttle project. He did it in secret, with stolen funds, and against express orders from the Kremlin. Today, we're talking with space history youtuber Alexander The OK about how it all somehow went wrong. Watch Alex's content here!Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and join our Discord community!SOURCES:- Ahead of his Time, Ivan Evteev- The Proton Launcher, Christian Lardier and Stefan Berensky- Energiya-Buran, Bart Hendrickz- Raketoplan, RussianSpaceWeb- LKS, RussianSpaceWeb- Vladimir Chelomei, False StepsFTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

Mad Mike Hughes, The Flat Earth Rocketman 15.01.2026 1j 15mnt

Like most stuntmen, Michael Hughes had a very confusing life and an overwhelming need to become famous at any cost. In this episode, we cover how that need drove him into conspiracy mania and got him killed flying a glorified pressure cooker. Sources:- DIY Rockets, Daredevils, and the Tragedy of Mad Mike Hughes [WIRED] - "Mad Mike" Hughes Rejected Science and Chased Fame. It Killed Him. [Popular Mechanics] - https://madmikehughes.com/- Rocketman [2019]