Today is really special, because it’s the 100th episode of The Unlock Moment podcast. Joining me in this special centenary episode is a fantastic guest, NASA astronaut Dr Charlie Camarda. He's a world-leading expert in how to get to space and back in one piece, and he doesn't hold back here in his views on the NASA culture, what has and hasn't been learned since the Columbia shuttle disaster of 2003 and where there still needs to be focus in order to keep the astronauts safe.
Dialling in today from near Port Canaveral in Florida, where he’s been watching Space-X launches with the family, Charlie is an American engineer and NASA astronaut who spent almost 14 days in space in 2005 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, in the “Return to Flight” shuttle mission, the first shuttle flight after the Columbia disaster in 2003, in which the shuttle broke up on re-entry killing all seven astronauts on board.
After his space flight, Charlie was Director of Engineering at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and was then Senior Advisor for Innovation to the Office of the Chief Engineer, NASA Headquarters. Charlie retired from NASA in 2019. He holds a doctorate in engineering, 9 patents and over 20 national and international awards.
We’re going to hear about his journey through life, and through space, his leading role in the Columbia disaster investigation and his perspective on the culture at NASA and how mistakes can start to creep in in high stakes scenarios. And he'll bring to life his visionary work to inspire children across the world to get involved in space science, through his Epic Education Foundation.
Let's get into orbit with Dr Charlie Camarda!
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Dr Charlie Camarda - Epic Education Foundation: https://epiceducationfoundation.org/
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The Unlock Moment podcast is brought to you by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD. Downloaded in over 100 countries. Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com
