Self-described 'professional space history nerd' Amy Shira Teitel and Dr Karl talk about spaceflight before NASA. Her book 'Breaking the Chains of Gravity' covers cutting edge rocket planes like the X-15 (and its surprising link with tractor seats), the team of seamstresses making high-altitude balloons to send to the edge of space, and how paper plates inspired the engineering of early spacecraft. Extraordinary, intimate stories from a time almost lost from in space-age literature. First podcast in 2016.