Dare to Explore

Episode 14: Jim Allan

February 16th, 2022  |  27 mins 41 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Jim Allan is the accessibility coordinator for the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He served as their webmaster and as an assistive technology specialist. He has been coordinating and bringing Texas students to SCIVIS (Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students) for more than twenty years, and serves as a technical expert for the program. Jim's expertise supported Space Camp's development of mission software usable by blind and visibly impaired students.

Episode 13: Peter Marquez

January 18th, 2022  |  32 mins 43 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Peter Marquez is the Head of Space Policy at Amazon Web Services. He has consulted on television shows like "Space Force" as a space consultant, Director of Space Policy on the National Security Council, and served at Planetary Resources, Inc. as the Vice President for Global Engagement. His unique view of the space industry comes from a career of space policy and understanding the interconnected issues that come with advancing exploration.

Episode 12: Keri Bean

December 17th, 2021  |  29 mins 20 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Keri Bean is a systems engineer for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She is a deputy lead Rover Planner on the Curiosity rover. She is also a Helicopter Integration Engineer for the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter currently on Mars. 

Episode 11: Margrit von Braun

November 15th, 2021  |  38 mins 30 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Margrit von Braun is an environmental engineer specializing in hazardous waste management and risk assessment. Her father was Dr. Wernher von Braun, the first director of the Marshall Space Flight Center and led the development of the Saturn V rocket that sent the Apollo astronauts to the moon. Margrit was one of the first women to join the University of Idaho College of Engineering faculty in 1980, and served as their Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Episode 10: Derek Hodgins

October 15th, 2021  |  30 mins 51 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Episode 9: Dan Oates

September 17th, 2021  |  29 mins 44 secs

science, space

Dan Oates is a member of the Space Camp Hall of Fame and a retired teacher from the West Virginia School for the Blind. For thirty years, Dan has been helping thousands of visually impaired and blind students and teachers experience Space Camp through a program called SCIVIS - Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students. In the past, he has served as Education Program Manager for Space Camp, and is currently the group coordinator for SCIVIS.

Episode 8: Mandy Vaughn

August 20th, 2021  |  32 mins 47 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Mandy Vaughn is the founder and past president and CEO of VOX Space, a subsidiary of Virgin Orbit providing satellite launch services to the US government and allied nations. She is an Air Force veteran who served as Chair of the Workforce Development efforts for the National Security Space Association and is currently a member of NASA's National Space Council User's Advisory Group.

Episode 7: Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger

July 16th, 2021  |  30 mins 44 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger is a retired high school earth science and astronomy teacher. In 2004, she was selected as an Educator Mission Specialist by NASA, and flew on STS 131 Discovery to resupply the International Space Station. She is the first Space Camp alumni to go to space.

Episode 6: Michael and Denise Okuda

June 16th, 2021  |  30 mins 17 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Husband and wife duo Michael and Denise Okuda have worked in science fiction television for more than three decades as graphic designers, artists and technical consultants. Together, they have worked on six Star Trek films, as well as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise, even writing the Star Trek Encyclopedia. Michael has designed several NASA mission patches, and are currently consultants for the Netflix series Space Force and the Apple TV series For All Mankind.

Episode 5: Susie Martínez

May 17th, 2021  |  27 mins 10 secs

astronauts, boeing, education, engineering, flight, launch, math, nasa, rocket, rockets, science, scientists, space, space x, stem

Susie Martínez is an additive manufacturing engineer for NASA at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. She received her Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky in 2019. Calling herself a "STEMinist," Susie has more than 64,000 followers on Instagram, where she uses her platform to encourage and mentor women in pursuing science and engineering careers.

Episode 4: Suzanne Saltz

April 16th, 2021  |  33 mins 17 secs

Episode 3: Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides

March 16th, 2021  |  32 mins 37 secs

astronaut, galactic, science, space, space camp, stem

Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides is an alumni of Space Camp and author of The New Right Stuff: Using Space to Bring Out the Best in You. Co-founder of global space party Yuri’s Night, Whitesides is a Founder Astronaut with Virgin Galactic and creator of SpaceKind leadership training.

Episode 2: Kenny Mitchell

March 16th, 2021  |  28 mins 46 secs

apollo, education, elon, elon musk, mars, moon, nasa, saturn, saturn 5, science, space, spacex, stem

Kenny Mitchell is a retired NASA engineer of 40 years. Mitchell worked at the Marshall Space Flight Center on the development of the Saturn V rocket that took man to the moon in 1969 and developed Environmental Control and Life Support Systems for Skylab and the International Space Station.

Episode 1: Homer Hickam

March 15th, 2021  |  29 mins 22 secs

education, science, space, stem

Homer Hickam is a former NASA aerospace engineer, Vietnam veteran, and acclaimed author of 19 books. The 1999 film October Sky was based on his memoir, Rocket Boys. Hickam was responsible for training astronauts for Spacelab and the Hubble Space Telescope launch and repair, as well as serving as payload training manager for the International Space Station.