Over half a million downloads and counting, reports Evie Lapworth
When Dr. Kevin Fong first floated the idea of a podcast to tell the remarkable story of NASA’s Space Shuttle, little did he realise the level interest that would be generated by 16 Sunsets
Space East members Joseph Spear and Mike Williams were guests at the official invite-only launch party and listening session held at Fleet Studios in London last December.
They’re each recognised for their expertise in innovations and applications for the space sector. Joseph is successful with grant funding bids with European Space Agency. Mike able to lean on his experience while working for an American Satellite Company providing satellite communications support for the first four space Shuttle missions.
You don’t have to be a ‘space nerd’ to appreciate the innovation and sheer technological achievement of Space Shuttle. Just think of the awe-inspiring engineering and courageousness of the pilots.
Without Space Shuttle, we would not have Hubble Space Telescope (HST) orbiting 320 miles (515 km) above Earth’s surface; HST avoids the distorting effects of our atmosphere, enabling its clear vision of the cosmos.
Without Space Shuttle, we probably would not have the International Space Station (ISS) either, 25 years in orbit and over 270 astronauts visited, currently with Expedition 73 starting 19 April 2025 and ending November 2025.
The ISS is perhaps the most famous of all vehicles in space. Who hasn’t marvelled when spotting it flying overhead. It deserves its place in aerospace history books. It deserves its place in our hearts.
But of course we must not forget that the workhorse which made these things possible was in fact the Space Shuttle, the world’s first reusable spacecraft.
Space Shuttle’s story is the stuff of legends. Its history is well documented at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre Oral History Project and in libraries across the world. But whereas countless books and magazine articles have replayed this rich history many times over, never before have we heard the extraordinary untold story in podcast form.
Until now.
16 Sunsets podcast series is the extraordinary untold story of the Space Shuttle.
Replete with world-first interviews, information and facts this podcast series has completed its season 1 and is already a ‘must hear’ to add to your podcast playlist.
The producers invite you to check out the official website at https://sixteensunsets.com
Thank you for reading.
Just like Space Shuttle itself, it took a veritable team of specialists and subject experts to research, write, record, produce and distribute 16 Sunsets podcast.
Roll the credits:
Written and presented by Dr Kevin Fong
Producers: Rami Tzabar, Andrew Luck-Baker and Dave Giles.
Assistant Producer: Kate Arkless Gray
Sound Design and Mixing: Richard Courtice
Music: Christian Lundberg, part of Hans Zimmer’s Bleeding Fingers Composer Collective
With special thanks to Sandra Johnson at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre Oral History Project
Thanks also to William Reeves and Herb Baker; Stephen Slater for additional archive and to Lunar Module 5.
Executive Producers: Stuart Coxe, Kevin Fong, Jago Lee and Rami Tzabar
16 Sunsets is an Antica and TellTale Production 2024
Evie Lapworth is a freelance writer based in East Anglia.
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