The Space Show
The Space Show
The Space Show focuses on timely and important issues influencing the development of outer-space commerce, space tourism,space exploration and space development. The Space Show is committed to facilitating our becoming a space-faring nation and society with a growing and self-sustaining space-faring economy. The Space Show also focuses on other related subjects of interest to us all.
Station feed:  Created by: David Livingston |
Created on: 12 May 2005 Language: English |
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Dr. Michael Simpson & Langdon Morris, Sunday, 12-9-12 (49.53MB; download) -- Guests: Dr. Michael Simpson, Langdon Morris. Topics: International space cooperation & the new ATWG book, "International Cooperation For The Development of Space." Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Dr. Michael Simpson and Langdon Morris to the program to discuss the new & important book, "International Cooperation For The Development of Space." The book is available on Amazon.com at www.amazon.com/International-Cooperation-Development-Space-1/dp/1478186232/ref=onegiantlea20 and via Kindle @ www.amazon.com/International-Cooperation-Development-Technology-ebook/dp/B00941YBAG/ref=onegiantlea20. If you purchase this book through Amazon, a donation will be made to The Space Show/OGLF. As you will hear me say throughout our program, this book helps make a very strong case, especially to those outside the space community, for why space development is so important. I strongly urge you to read this book and to share it with as many as possible. As we started our discussion, Langdon Morris provided us with an overview of the book, including the purpose behind it, and the global mix of authors and viewpoints supporting international cooperative space development. We talked with Dr. Simpson about his Chapter 2: "Broadening The Base: Cooperation As A Springboard For New Participants In the Space Sector." We learned about new countries being involved in space development, their requirements for getting involved in space which include economic growth, and the niche specialty areas being pursued by these new players. I asked about the absence of human spaceflight in the international cooperation discussion. This prompted a most interesting exchange with our guests on the subject, one you do not want to miss. Our guests provided us with great examples of real benefits flowing from international cooperative space development, including emergency services for disasters such as Katrina. We took listener calls suggesting international financial participation in cooperative space projects might make high ticket items more plausible such as SLS or a Mars mission. There was general agreement on this theory but as our guest pointed out, there still needs to be international agreement on the project and its management. Another benefit of international cooperation points to project stability over time. In our second segment, Doug called in to ask about a two track system consisting of a public sector track and a second track for public/private partnerships. Our guests suggested the public/private direction would be more viable. Don't miss their explanation for this approach. We talked about competition as compared to international cooperation. Our guests were also asked about the impact of ITAR on U.S. international cooperation. We talked about the Chinese space program and our guests were asked about the NewSpace segment. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email our guests through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:05:14 UTC
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Dr. Robert Brodsky, Friday, 12-7-12 (44.90MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Robert (Bob) Brodsky. Topics: We discussed his new book, "Catch A Rocket Plane: More Tales from the Cutting Edge & Beyond," plus his aerospace history & overview. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Dr. Bob Brodsky back to the show to discuss his new book which you can order at www.amazon.com/Catch-Rocket-Plane-Cutting-Beyond/dp/1467972908/ref=onegiantlea20. Remember, if you buy the book using this URL, Amazon donates to The Space Show/OGLF. Dr. Brodsky started out by telling us how he came up with the title to his new book, a story which you will find most interesting. He then told us stories from his book dating from WW2 through the rocket and space age to current times. During the segment, listeners asked him many questions about our former space program as compared to our program today. As today was the anniversary of the launch of Apollo 17, Bob was asked quite a few questions about Apollo, the mood of the country back then, space and the Cold War, and going back to the Moon or other another destination. He talked about his experience on the NERVA nuclear rocket program and why he included a chapter about false starts since so many programs were started, then cancelled by NASA and Congress. Another issue discussed was learning to live on the Moon so we could push further out into space. Bob was asked about the quality of teaching in the earlier years as compared to today. He talked about ABET which is the accrediting board for engineering education and how that body has changed (lowered) the standards over the years. Doug called in to ask if we had lost so much of our labor and technical expertise that we might not be able to do an Apollo like mission today. Note the answer by Dr. Brodsky. You might be surprised by it. Bob also advocated the use of cost plus contracting over fixed price contracting because he said without cost plus, the boldness, creativity, risk taking, and out of the box thinking/planning gave way to traditional, conservative, and less pushing of the window in order to avoid financial risks and losses. He suggested that fixed price contracting produced just the opposite of what we needed from our aerospace industry. Let us know what you think about Bob's perspective by posting on the blog. In our second segment, our guest told us about a movie he once pitched regarding the terrorist takeover of the ISS. We also talked about his role with European launch alternatives with pointing systems and sounding rockets. A listener asked him about ITAR and would it have prevented much of what he was talking about in terms of European sharing of technology early on in our space history. He thought it would have and since our guest said he was a strong proponent of international space cooperation, ITAR is seen as a probable hindrance. In his concluding statements, Dr. Brodsky said that man was destined to do great things and go into space and settle and live there. He was optimistic this would happen. He did suggest the 60's as the greatest space period in our history. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog above. You can email Dr. Brodsky through me. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 08 Dec 2012 18:22:05 UTC
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The John Batchelor Show "Hotel Mars," Wednesday, 12-5-12 (5.40MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, David Lawrence, Dr. David Livingston: Topics: Mercury Messenger, water ice on Mercury. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We do not permit the commercial use of any Space Show program or part thereof, nor do we permit Space Show programs to be edited, placed on YouTube, or other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted in news articles, papers, academic & research work but must be cited or referenced in the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright and trademark policies which we do enforce. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. During our 11 minute plus discussion, David Lawrence, a member of the Mercury Messenger team and an in expert gamma-ray and neutron spectroscopy, talked about recent NASA announcements about Messenger confirming water ice on Mercury and organics. He also talked about Mercury organics and that that really means as it is different in the context of Mercury. During our segment, Mr. Lawrence talked about Mercury, why it is so interesting to study and why the new information about Mercury is so important to us. You can read the NASA announcement about Mercury water ice at www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2012-378&cid=release_2012-378. You can contact Mr. Batchelor or David Lawrence through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:38:16 UTC
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Dr. Martin Schwab, Tuesday, 12-4-12 (51.79MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Martin Schwab. Topics: Kepler Space Institute Online Courses designed & taught by Dr. Schwab. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Dr. Martin Schwab back to the program to discuss three classes he has designed, helped to design, and is teaching at Kepler Space Institute Online. Follow along at these websites for more information: www.keplerspaceuniversity.com, www.keplerspaceinstitute.org;
http://3x3globaldrills.com, and http://moodle.com. Please note that due to an error on my part, I cut off my microphone for the last 3.5 minutes of the program. All of the guest comments plus those of caller Tim are available on the recording but I edited out my comments about trying to resolve the problem. You will hear some rough edits as my comments talked over the caller and guest. I did leave in my closing comments though my audio is terrible, but I wanted to properly close the show. I apologize for my error but again, nothing said by the guest or the caller was lost or impacted in any way by my error. Also note that on the blog, I will upload the Celestial Leadership Syllabus. Look for it at the end of the program summary, only on the blog. This summary will not reflect the two segments of the program as our discussion overlapped both segments with common threads and themes. We started with Dr. Schwab providing us with a short overview of Kepler Space University, Kepler Space Institute, and online teaching. After the introduction and hands on approach to showing us how to navigate the Kepler websites, enroll in courses, find available courses, Dr. Schwab talked about his class, "Celestial Leadership: Advancing Humans Beyond Low Earth Orbit." Martin took us through the course sessions, explained his teaching technique, the essays required for each session, and the course certificate awarded upon completion. Next, Martin talked about the high school/advance placement class, "Critical Thinking: Alternative Energies-Traditional Economics." This class is a combined effort with Dr. Frantz and Martin and as such is taught differently than the Celestial Learning class. While the differences are not great, do note them in our discussion. In continuing our discussion after the break, we turned to the third class Martin shared with us, "History of Global Governance: Ancient to Modern." Martin described this course, talked about the U.N. space treaties and other UN space work which is covered during the class. Martin read the class description to us, we talked about the theory of following the student as in the Montessori method, and he said the class was Inquiry Based. A listener wanted to know how to design and teach a Kepler course. During our discussion, Martin talked frequently about using Moodle to help in designing and handling the course. In the last few minutes of the program, Tim called to address educational issues from his perspective saying too many people go to college and that the more student loan money made available, the more likely universities will continue raising their fees and costs to consume the additional money in the system. Martin had much to say on this and his ideas on education as well, don't miss them. Post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Dr. Schwab at the address he provided on air.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:59:54 UTC
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Futron Space Competitive Index 2012, Monday, 12-3-12 (65.17MB; download) -- Guests: David Vaccaro, Jonathan Beland. Topics: The Futron 2012 Space Competitive Index (SCI). Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed back David Vaccaro and Jonathan Beland to discuss the Futron 2012 Space Competitive Index (SCI). You can freely download the SCI Executive Summary at www.futron.com/SCI_2012.xml. The SCI provides annual statistical benchmarks, analysis, and business intelligence for both commercial and national space activities for fifteen countries, examining markers in the Government, Human Capital and sectors. Five new countries were added for the 2011 data which is used for the 2012 report. The list of countries analyzed includes the U.S, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe (all of Europe, not the individual European countries), India, Israel, Japan, Russia, S. Korea, Argentina, Australia, Iran, South Africa and the Ukraine. The five new countries added include Australia, Argentina, Iran, S. Africa, and the Ukraine. While this program was conducted using two segments, this summary is written without regard to the segments as our discussion points crossed segments throughout the program. As we started out, our guests provided us with a brief history regarding the SCI and clearly stated its purpose. Note that it is self-financed by Futron and remains completely independent of any & all pressures. Also, note that again, the U.S. remains the only country of those examined that consistently declines year by year but because our government spending is so huge and our economy, despite our problems is so huge, the U.S. remains in first place as the space industry leader of all those countries studied. Our guests told us about the benchmarks and how the SCI was constructed. They responded to lots of listener questions, including questions about why the report is not used by candidates in political campaigns, its potential influence among those in Congress and other policy makers, and the same in other countries. We talked about the impact of space industry workforce layoffs, the termination of Constellation and the shuttle showing up in the analysis and how such events might impact the U.S. score. As you will hear, our team expects the 2012 data in the 2013 report to reflect these changes in our space program. A listener asked if the SCI tracked the growth of space advocacy in the U.S., wondering why it is growing but not that much in policy impact. Other listeners asked about the growth of cubesats, especially in the U.S. and how that was reported. Also, if ITAR was a limiting factor for the U.S. Yet another asked our guests if the SCI viewed SpaceX as commercial or government subsidized in the context of the report and its analysis. When asked about a future country watch list, we talked about Viet Nam, S. Korea, South America and Mexico. In addition to lots of questions about the U.S., we talked about space in many of the other countries, why they kept investing while the U.S. seemed to be retreating. Another issue talked about was global positive view of space, embracing more and more countries, views not always held here at home. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. Both our guests gave out their Futron email addresses as the program was ending. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:41:24 UTC
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Keith Henson, Sunday, 12-2-12 (55.65MB; download) -- Guest: Keith Henson. Topics SSP using laser rockets to lower the cost of space access. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Keith Henson to the program to discuss the use of laser powered rockets for launching space powered satellites to help eliminate the use of fossil fuels as well as lower the cost of space access. To assist in your following our discussion, check out this laser rocket graphic at http://bit.ly/Uj9Vw9. Also, Keith has several related published articles on the OilDrum blog. You can download and read his articles at www.theoildrum.com/search/apachesolr_search/keith%20henson. Finally, our guest has permitted me to upload his recent PPT conference presentation to The Space Show blog, "Laser Propulsion and Space Based Solar Power." Please be sure to check out this presentation by visiting our blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. During our first segment, Mr. Henson talked about the need for low cost energy and said that by using laser rockets and his SSP ideas, the cost for electrical power generation could be as low as 2 cents/Kwh to GEO. We spent a good portion of our discussion debating Keith's assumptions behind the 2 cents/Kwh. I referenced my costs per my PG&E invoice and other listeners emailed and called in regarding their electrical costs per their utility bills. Keith has asked for people disagreeing to let him know where he may be going wrong so please post your comments on our blog and Keith will respond. He said several times that he wanted your critique and comments. Many listeners as well as myself pushed him on his assumptions, wanting more factual information on how arrived at his conclusions. He has this information pending publication with the British Interplanetary Society so for the moment, its under pre-publication boycott but as soon as Keith clears it, I will post his material on the blog and announce it on air. Later in our initial segment, we talked about the laser rocket being a weapon. This discussion sparked lots of listener participation. We also talked about SSP for insitu use rather than power beaming back to Earth. Keith brought up the new developments with Reaction Engines out of the UK. Here is there recent press release in case you missed it: www.reactionengines.co.uk/news_updates.html. Listeners did call in to tell Keith that SSP did not make sense for a variety of reasons, including not closing a business case, with or without laser rockets. Jerry offered such comments as did Charles. Also, without consent, AT&T installed call waiting on the toll free line. I finally figured this out & edited out several of the comments & my complaint. The matter should be resolved for all toll free calls moving forward but about 1hr 30 minutes into the program, you will hear a rough edit where I removed the call waiting rants. In the second segment, we continued debating Keith's costs plus his ROI assumptions. Fusion came up for discussion as well as already existent successful powered sat beamed energy back to Earth. Toward the end of our program, Keith talked about his target of reducing dollars per gasoline by using laser rockets and SSP. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog above. Keith can be emailed at hkeithhensonATgmailDOTcom. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:09:53 UTC
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Dr. Roger Launius, Friday, 11-30-12 (44.75MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Roger Launius. Topics: "Coming Home: Reentry and Recovery from Space" by Dr. Launius, space policy issues, magical thinking. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomes Dr. Roger Launius back to the program to discuss his latest book, "Coming Home: Reentry and Recovery from Space" which is a free download at www.nasa.gov/pdf/695726main_ComingHome-ebook.pdf. During our first segment, our guest provided us with a short history of resolving challenges with reentry from space with human spaceflight. We discussed winged vehicles and capsules from a historical, practical, and engineering perspective. We also talked about DOD influence and the advantages as well as disadvantages of both types of space vehicles. One listener question asked about winged vehicles evolving from suborbital to orbital HSF. Terry called in with ballistic reentry questions about the V2 rocket & we mentioned museum locations where people can see a complete V2 on display. Another listener wanted to know if there were any winged vehicle concepts for Mars. Here, our guest talked about some science fiction examples but nothing for real on the drawing board. Our guest then introduced us to magical thinking and we talked about reality in space exploration as compared to fantasy. As this segment was ending, we talked about RLVs and reentry issues. In our second segment, we started off talking about the NASA budget and the potential impact of sequestration. Our guest said human spaceflight is the biggest challenge and in fact at one point he said we were just one banana peel away from losing HSF! This was in the context of access to the ISS with only the Soyuz and how fragile the access was until we had multiple ways of getting to the station. We then discussed risk and some of the issues raised on this subject by other Space Show guests that believe we need more risk to advance human spaceflight. Risk was also discussed in the context of hypothetical ISS recue missions with HSF vehicles not yet ready for prime time. We also talked about the value and purpose of HSF, including should settlement really be the purpose of it. We had a lengthy discussion on this subject. Both Roger and I suggested the purpose of HSF is a challenge, can be illusive, and is probably something larger and broader than space settlement. Don't miss his explanation behind his thinking. We also talked about spinoffs as a reason for HSF, the we addressed the lack of needed infrastructure, radiation issues, etc. Toward the end, we took some questions about SLS and heavy lift. Jane asked our guest about the visitors to the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian & if Roger could infer an increase or decline in the interest in space by the visitors or if the visitors had an awareness of the challenges facing NASA and HSF. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Dr. Launius through me. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 01 Dec 2012 17:56:39 UTC
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The John Batchelor Show "Hotel Mars," Wednesday, 11-28-12 (5.53MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Clara Moskowitz, Dr. David Livingston: Topics: James Bond movies and NASA history. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We do not permit the commercial use of any Space Show program or part thereof, nor do we permit Space Show programs to be edited, placed on YouTube, or other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted in news articles, papers, academic & research work but must be cited or referenced in the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright and trademark policies which we do enforce. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. During our 11 minute discussion, Clara Moskowitz, science writer and editor at Live Science and Space.com, wrote an excellent article on the relationship of James Bond movies relative to the history of NASA with both human spaceflight as well as science missions. You can read her excellent article at www.space.com/18394-james-bond-space-movies-50-years.html. During our Hotel Mars segment, John wanted to know if government agents were pork and old fashioned in a way similar to NASA/civil space programs. Moonraker was discussed (for obvious reasons) plus we took a look at how Bond films evolved from the early days of Mercury with Dr. No to the latest movie, Skyfall, which uses advanced satellite and GPS technology as a natural part of our society and culture. We noted how the Bond space component evolution in many ways mirrors the reality with our space program. We also speculated that there might be a future James Bond on a Virgin Galactic SS2 space vehicle or a Dragon and become part of the commercial space movement. You can contact Mr. Batchelor or Clara Moskowitz through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:01:33 UTC
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Michael Listner, Tuesday, 11-27-12 (55.97MB; download) -- Guest: Michael Listner. Topics: Space law & policy review for 2012. Please direct all comments & questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments & questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright & are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Michael Listner back to the show to do our first ever annual review of space law issues. Michael had several topics to discuss including the Code of Contact, Transparency & Confidence-Building Measures (TCBMs), Cube sat regulation, ITAR, Planetary resources & space property rights, Space debris with an emphasis on EnviSat, Austria’s space law in particular the launch of Austria’s first satellite in December, Commercial space in particular limited liability laws, Delineation of air space & outer space, the Moon Treaty & the ascension of Turkey & Saudi Arabia, Rules of Arbitration, & the preservation of Apollo landing sites. Since our show summary for this program is long, please refer to The Space Show website or blog for the full program summary. Thank you. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:06:51 UTC
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Dr. Madhu Thangalevu, Jake Dodd, Monday, 11-26-12 (47.11MB; download) -- Guests: Dr. Madhu Thangavelu, Jake Dodd. Topics: This program discusses Jake's concept of placing a nuclear fuel plant in space in support of nuclear propulsion/space needs. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed back Dr. Madhu Thangalevu and his student Jake Dodd to discuss the concept of SNAP-X: The Space Nuclear Activation Plant. I have uploaded his AIAA paper by the same title and his Power Point slide presentation to The Space Show blog which should provide you with more specific information about Jake's concept. Essentially, the plan calls for putting a breeder reactor in space to supply nuclear fuel for space needs safely rather than launching from Earth all the time. During our first segment, both Professor Thangavelu and Mr. Dodd explained the concept in detail. We talked about weapons proliferation in the process, the breeder reactor and why that was the chosen technology, the safety in place for this technology, and the use of it in the EML1 location and why. Part of our conversation focused in on projected time lines and development costs as I tried to get an idea of what would be involved in bringing this project to at least an Earth-based demo status. Listeners emailed and called in about the problems given the amount of fear within the public and parts of the government every time the word nuclear is mentioned, then saying that the use of a breeder reactor heightens that societal fear level. We discussed ways of dealing with this during our discussion. In addition, listeners questioned the safety of a breeder reactor and the use of Thorium as a non-weapon nuclear fuel. In our second segment, we talked more about tight budgets, private and public partnerships, and international cooperation to bring this project to at least demo status. Charles called in to challenge our guests on their Thorium comments regarding conversion to U-233 which he said was an effective fuel for weapons as was U-235. I believe you will find this exchange most useful in understanding many of the issues regarding this project. Our guests brought up the nuclear rocket history and the NERVA project, plus we asked Jake for his plan of attack in getting his project going. As our program was ending, Madhu talked about his next Design Studio Class which culminates with new student projects on Dec. 18th. I look forward to talking about many of these projects on The Space Show in 2013. Post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you want to email either of our guests, please do so through me.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:27:18 UTC
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