Failure To Launch

2d ago

CONTENT WARNING This week we're back into our series delving into Mittelwerk, the underground rocket factory / concentration camp that produced Hitler's "Vengeance Weapons". In Part 5, we look at the official establishment of the Mittelbau complex and the constellation of subcamps that sprung up around it. SOURCES: Andre Sellier, A History of the Dora Camp: The Untold Story of the Nazi Slave Labor Camp That Secretly Manufactured V-2 Rockets Jean Michel & Louis Nucera, Dora: The Nazi Concentration Camp Where Modern Space Technology Was Born and 30,000 Prisoners Died Michael Neufeld, The Rocket and the Reich: Peenemünde and the Coming of the Ballistic Missile Era Benny Grunfeld, A Teenager in Hitler's Death Camps T D Dungan, V-2: A Combat History of the First Ballistic Missile

Dec 12

The White Bird. The Bridge to Peace. Osea's greatest superweapon. Today, we're talking about the High-Altitude Mobile Spacecraft (HAMS) or as it's more commonly known: The Arkbird. We cover everything from its conception in the paranoid heyday of the Cold War, how it was created as a symbol of peace and cooperation, and its use as a weapon of war. Sources: - Arkbird Declaration (2008 G7 Meeting, LEO) , Gaze Magazine - Arkbird , Encyclopedia Strangereal - The Circum-Pacific War , Encyclopedia Strangereal - Scinfaxi-Class, Covert Shores Theme song provided by DJ Danarchy

Dec 3

CONTENT WARNING This week we're back into our series delving into Mittelwerk, the underground rocket factory / concentration camp that produced Hitler's "Vengeance Weapons". In Part 4, we take a look at the wider events in Nazi politics and the war in 1944 and how they all filter back to the tunnels under Nordhausen. SOURCES: Andre Sellier, A History of the Dora Camp: The Untold Story of the Nazi Slave Labor Camp That Secretly Manufactured V-2 Rockets Jean Michel & Louis Nucera, Dora: The Nazi Concentration Camp Where Modern Space Technology Was Born and 30,000 Prisoners Died Michael Neufeld, The Rocket and the Reich: Peenemünde and the Coming of the Ballistic Missile Era Benny Grunfeld, A Teenager in Hitler's Death Camps T D Dungan, V-2: A Combat History of the First Ballistic Missile

Nov 21

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon . Welcome to the first Failure To Launch Questions & Answers episode! Pulling together questions asked on Patreon and our Discord, this is our chance to let the audience see the real Us.

Nov 18

CONTENT WARNING We are back and continuing our series on Mittelwerk-Dora, the rocket factory concentration camp that churned out Hitler's Vengeance weapons. In Part 3, we cover the foundation of the factory itself, its first months of operation, and the conditions faced by slave labourers from all around Europe in the tunnels under Nordhausen. SOURCES: Andre Sellier, A History of the Dora Camp: The Untold Story of the Nazi Slave Labor Camp That Secretly Manufactured V-2 Rockets Jean Michel & Louis Nucera, Dora: The Nazi Concentration Camp Where Modern Space Technology Was Born and 30,000 Prisoners Died Michael Neufeld, The Rocket and the Reich: Peenemünde and the Coming of the Ballistic Missile Era Benny Grunfeld, A Teenager in Hitler's Death Camps T D Dungan, V-2: A Combat History of the First Ballistic Missile

Oct 31

This is a preview of a bonus episode. To hear the rest of the episode and unlock more bonus content, consider supporting Failure To Launch on Patreon . We're back and joined by host of The Socialist Shelf podcast Jacob Dallas to talk about 2025's Mickey 17 . We go through the plot, the philosophy and ethics of cloning, and how this movie's attitudes toward class issues and dystopia compare to director Bong Joon Ho's earlier works, say, Snowpiercer . The tardigrade teddy bears were an A+ addition, though.

Oct 28

The Soviet Everyman. The Mayor of Star City. The Crusader Against Hipsters. This week, we're joined by podcast host and comedian Milo Edwards to talk about Yuri Gagarin's colourful post-flight career: becoming a manosphere influencer and the divine role model for all Russian children. Find Milo's work and comedy tour dates here! Support FTL on Patreon to unlock bonus content and Discord access Sources: 1. The Cosmonaut Who Couldn't Stop Smiling , Andrew Jenks FTL theme song by DJ Danarchy

Oct 16

CONTENT WARNING Continuing our exploration into the history of Mittelwerk, the death factory that produced Wernher Von Braun's V2 missiles, we cover the successes of the A4 missile bringing unwanted attention, the use of concentration camp labour at the Peenemunde missile facility, and Operation Hydra, the British plan to bomb that facility flat. SOURCES: Jean Michel & Louis Nucera, Dora: The Nazi Concentration Camp Where Modern Space Technology Was Born and 30,000 Prisoners Died Michael Neufeld, The Rocket and the Reich: Peenemünde and the Coming of the Ballistic Missile Era Benny Grunfeld, A Teenager in Hitler's Death Camps T D Dungan, V-2: A Combat History of the First Ballistic Missile Annie Jacobsen, Operation Paperclip