
Hosted by Alex G. Orphanos, Science Communicator · EN

Jared Isaacman, previously chosen as the President's pick for NASA Administrator in March 2025, faced the Senate committee hearing AGAIN to discuss his qualifications and potential conflicts of interest before leading the American Space Program. The past year of delay was due to political nonsense, leaving NASA without leadership that whole time. Mr. Isaacman is an entrepreneur, 2 mission astronaut commander, philanthropist, and father who has a unique leadership style. He returned to the Senate Committee sharper than ever! We listen in on the live Senate Committee meeting for some Q&A and talk about the state of NASA. Not to mention, how much NASA is in need of clear leadership and direction after almost a year of delay. Today In Space is PRO-Jared! Go get 'em Rook! As of December 9th, 2025 - Mr. Isaacman has passed the Senate Committee and is on to full Senate Vote! Enjoy this bit of LIVE hangout from the past week We'd love to hear what you think in the comments or by emailing us at todayinspacepodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to follow us on social media - you can find links to everything by going to stan.store/ag3dlabs. Timestamps: 00:00 Jared Isaacman's Nomination and Background 01:58 Senate Committee Hearing: Jared Isaacman's Testimony 03:36 Political Influence on Economic Data 06:38 Critical Mineral Supply Chain and Defense Industrial Base 11:12 Elon Musk and Financial Ties 18:01 NASA's Role in Supersonic Flight and Space Diplomacy 22:01 Support for Science and Earth Observation Data 26:18 Agriculture Data and Space Medicine 29:41 Access to NASA Data for Researchers w/ Private Partners? 32:53 Digital Trade and Cross-Border Data Flows We'd like to thank our sponsors: AG3D Printing (go to ag3d-printing.com to learn more & start 3D printing today!) Today In Space Merch: James Webb Space Telescope Model (3DPrinted) https://ag3dprinting.etsy.com/listing/1839142903 SpaceX Starship-Inspired Rocket Pen (3DPrinted) https://ag3dprinting.etsy.com/listing/1602850640 Support the podcast: • Buy a 3D printed gift from our shop - http://ag3dprinting.etsy.com • Get a free quote on your next 3D printing project at http://ag3d-printing.com • Donate at todayinspace.net

We went live for the NASA broadcast of the release of images of the Interplanetary "comet" 3I-Atlas, which was delayed due to the government shutdown. As the cultural curiosity surrounding 3I-ATLAS went viral during the poorly timed government shutdown, it was a unique opportunity for NASA to do what it does best. Share data and spend a little more time with the actual experts to explore that curiosity and dig deeper into what we found. Unfortunately, it feels as though the government shutdown and funding cuts proposed by the current President's cabinet was more of an influence on this 3I-ATLAS review than curiosity was. If you wanted to know how I feel about this you can rewatch it live. Two major themes for me: - Don't be an intellectual bully. There are curious people out there who are not trolling you (NASA). Talk to those people without demeaning their curiosity - The definition of a "Comet" is vague and outdated. Just like Pluto needed to be reclassified as a dwarf planet, we need a better term for these icy objects. Would love to know what you think! Let us know in the comments below or email us at todayinspacepodcast @ gmail.com Timestamps: 00:00 Initial Thoughts before NASA's Image Reveal Event 04:31 Some Context and Observations of 3I Atlas 11:45 Q&A Session with Press and Scientific Insights 14:01 Alien Hypothesis and Scientific Evidence 36:07 Scientific Goals and Future Observations 36:20 Processing and Release of Images 39:06 Orbital Dynamics and Non-Gravitational Accelerations 39:24 Public Engagement and Citizen Science 40:00 Alex's Final Thoughts on the definition of a "comet" and power of science communication We'd like to thank our sponsors: AG3D Printing (go to ag3d-printing.com to learn more & start 3D printing today!) Today In Space Merch: James Webb Space Telescope Model (3DPrinted) https://ag3dprinting.etsy.com/listing/1839142903 SpaceX Starship-Inspired Rocket Pen (3DPrinted) https://ag3dprinting.etsy.com/listing/1602850640 Support the podcast: • Buy a 3D printed gift from our shop - http://ag3dprinting.etsy.com • Get a free quote on your next 3D printing project at http://ag3d-printing.com • Donate at todayinspace.net

Welcome to our Holiday Special! We're gearing up for the end of 2020 (thank goodness) and this week we wanted to break down what makes this Great Conjunction so 'great'. We go over what's happening with these two planets, when it's happened before, and what the Earth was like the last time this astronomical event was happening in 1623 and 1226! Were things as messed up as they are now? You'd be surprised... As is tradition on the podcast, we spend some time on the holiday special discussion the mind f&ck that is space & time on the scale of the universe compared to our humanly existence. Next week we will have lots of content for the end of the year! We're reviewing what 2020 had to offer with Space - and what we expect for 2021! Follow us online! Facebook.com/todayinspacepodcast Twitter.com/todayinspacepod instagram.com/todayinspacepod instagram.com/ag3dprinting https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/great-jupiter-saturn-conjunction-dec-21-2020 https://www.nasa.gov/feature/the-great-conjunction-of-jupiter-and-saturn Wrath of the Kahns - Dan Carlin Hardcore History https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-extra-wrath-of-the-khans/