The Cosmic Companion - Astronomy, Space, Technology Advancing Humanity · Exploring the wonders of the Cosmos, one mystery at a time

Why We Soar: From Kitty Hawk to the Stars with Cady Coleman

July 6, 2024·32 min

Former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman joins The Cosmic Companion host James G. Maynard for a wide-ranging conversation tracing humanity's drive to explore — from the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk through the Apollo program and her own six months aboard the ISS. Coleman shares how music and improvisation parallel life as an astronaut, recounts the awe of first seeing Earth from space, explains why space research produces earthly benefits (drug delivery, plant growth, combustion science), and urges the next generation of scientists to tug on the sleeves of those already in the field.

As heard by us

A wide-ranging space story that feels strongest when it gets personal.

The episode moves from myth to balloons to space without getting stuck in any one stop, and that broad sweep works because it keeps circling back to a simple question: why people keep reaching higher. Katie Coleman gives it shape.

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Why you'd press play

If you want space history with an astronaut's eye, this one reaches for both sky and meaning.

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