Today the Late Crew discusses NASA's Dragonfly nuclear-powered rotorcraft (11:07), the New Army fitness test goes ‘sex-neutral’ for combat jobs (23:09), how Air Force pilots have a new way to pee at 30,000 feet (38:54), an Army captain sets a Guinness World Record for a bomb suit run (48:40), and George Washington is sworn in as the 1st US President on 30 April 1789 (54:02).

Join us to play the Military Movie Props Auction game and the Space Movie ratings game. Also, is the month of April cursed or is it just coincidence that so many terrible events have occurred during the 4th month of the year? Mr. History lays out the case.

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Today the Late Crew discusses the first Chinese Air Taxi (09:25), the U.S. Space Force awards $13.7 billion to Blue Origin, SpaceX and ULA (13:15), Amazon’s Project Kuiper set to challenge SpaceX’s Starlink (22:19), a Hero rat sets Guinness World Record for detecting landmines (33:45), and Gen Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox on 9 April 1865 (46:25).

My guest today is Air Force Chief Master Sergeant (Retired) Michelle “Taz” Zayatz. Michelle grew up in Pittsfield, MA and graduated from Taconic High School. In 1982 she joined the Air Force with an Air Force Specialty Code of 276 Aerospace Control and Warning System. Her first assignment was to the 667th Air Control and Warning Squadron at Hofn Air Station, Iceland in 1982. After completing that remote tour she was assigned to the 2nd Communications Squadron at Buckley Air National Guard base in Colorado. During this assignment, she met and married her husband, Allen. In 1986, Michelle separated from Active Duty and accompanied her husband as he finished his Active Duty career in the Air Force. Throughout their subsequent PCS moves, she continued her career by joining the Air National Guard in MS, NY and CO. In 1998, she transferred from the COANG to the Air Force Reserves and became a founding member of the 8th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley AFB. In 2006, Michelle moved to the 310th Space Group at Schriever AFB. In 2007, she requested to be reassigned to stand up the new 310th Mission Support Group in Denver. Chief Zayatz retired in 2011.

Today the Late Crew discusses how Boeing's Starliner may fly again (04:47), Booz Allen unveils ‘Brilliant Swarms’ satellite concept for missile defense (12:05), those ‘Hegseth bodyguards’ are actually there for the ‘Doomsday’ plane (22:52), how Ranger School is scrapping traditional pushups and situps for functional fitness test (29:05), a proposal to tie soldiers’ promotions more to job proficiency (38:44), and the creation of the Air Force Academy on 1 April 1954 (50:59).

Today the Late Crew talks about how much the returning astronauts will get paid (03:50), Star Catcher sends electricity across an NFL football field in key space power-beaming test (16:23), Boeing awarded $20B to build the F-47 (26:20), the Army wants to make it easier to call Lyft and Uber on base (38:09), and the end of the Battle of Iwo Jima on 25 Mar 1945 (58:43).

In this week’s slightly-later-than-scheduled formation, the Late Crew breaks down the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon’s return to Earth—and yes, we’re still calling it one of the coolest ways to clock out (03:54). We dive into the latest drama in Space Force news as Congress dusts off the idea of a Space National Guard, proving that bipartisanship is still possible—at least in orbit (14:39).

Then, we get into the bizarre decision to strip race and gender references from Arlington’s cemetery website—because apparently, whitewashing history is still a thing in 2025 (28:31). Miss USA and Army 1st Lt. Alma Cooper gives us some actual hope, after inspiring 4,000+ California students with a blend of pageantry, purpose, and boots-on-the-ground badassery (47:38). And finally, we rewind to the dark origin of the War Relocation Authority, created on March 18, 1942—because not all history deserves a “like” (54:27).

Whether you're here for space podcasts, news for vets, or just vibing with one of the best space podcasts led by actual Air Force and Space Force veterans, this one checks all the boxes.

This week, the crew is joined by retired Air Force CMSgt Michelle Zayatz, who immediately upgrades the brainpower and sarcasm levels in the room. First up, Butch and Suni return from the ISS like the seasoned astronauts they are—unflinching, underslept, and probably annoyed at Houston’s playlist (27:04). Then we cover the Intuitive Machines moon lander, which decided the best place to nap was sideways on the lunar south pole—SpaceX, take notes? (36:53)

Things get spicy when two active-duty soldiers and an Army vet are indicted for allegedly passing secrets to China (43:21)—not exactly the space force podcast content we wanted, but definitely the News for Vets you need. We also break down why the Army is losing nearly a quarter of its Soldiers in the first two years, and no, it’s not because they forgot where they parked (54:39). Finally, we salute CMSgt Richard Etchberger—who turned a classified mission into a Medal of Honor moment on March 11, 1968 (1:08:38). This guy was the real deal.

If you're here for space podcasts, weird moon landings, and Air Force veterans roasting both Congress and the cosmos, you’ve found the best podcast about space (according to our moms and a few retired colonels).