Episode 71: 2014: An Amazing Year for Space Exploration, with Kevin Shortt

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Feature Guest: Kevin Shortt

It’s a year that saw ups, such as the Dawn mission which became the first to study a dwarf planet. It was a year that experienced downs, like the tragic explosion of SpaceShipTwo and questions over the incident’s implication for space tourism. Through the ups and downs 2014 has been one fascinating year for space exploration. For a retrospective on the year that was, and a look at what’s on the horizon in 2015, today i’m joined at The Star Spot by Kevin shortt, the International Relations Officer for the Canadian Space Society.

And on the next episode Kevin Shortt will rejoin me here at The Star Spot for an international survey of the world’s contribution to space exploration. As new nations become major players how will our efforts to explore the unknown change in 2015 and beyond.

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Current in Space

Tony and Anuj both wax poetic. Tony explains how the door has just opened on the road to Europa, Jupiter’s ocean world and a candidate int he search for life. Then Anuj on the very long road of Voyager, 40 years travelling and just getting started.

About Our Guest

Kevin Shortt has worked in the space industry since 1996 and has participated in some of Canada’s largest space missions. He was Mission Planner for the RADARSAT-1 program at the Canadian Space Agency and a member of the design team responsible for the lidar instrument on board NASA’s Mars Phoenix Scout mission. He currently works at the Institute for Communication and Navigation at the German Aerospace Center in optical communications. Kevin served as President for the Canadian Space Society from 2008 until 2012 and is currently its International Relations Officer.

Links

Kevin Shortt on LinkedIn

Canada losing ground in space competitiveness, report says (Globe and Mail)

Future of program unclear after Canadian Space Agency boss quits (CTV News)

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