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. Seth Shostak, Thursday, 3-8-12 (44.82MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Seth Shostak. Topics: The SETI Institute, SETI searches, and astronomy.
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. 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 welcomed Dr. Seth Shostak back to the program for updates regarding the SETI Institute and SETI searches. Learn more about SETI at www.seti.org. Other websites of interest and that were talked about or mentioned on the program include SETILive at www.setilive.org; the Big Picture Science Radio program at www.seti.org/bigpicturescience, and SETIConII at http://seticon.com. We began our discussion talking about SETILive and Citizen Science. We talked about the SETILive website, the basics on looking at the signals in question, and more. This took us to the topic of the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) which now has 42 antennas operating with a plan for up to 350 antennas, each 20 feet across. We compared this to the VLA in New Mexico. Dr. Shostak reported to us that the speed of SETI searches was increasing at a rate similar to Moore's Law for computers. Our guest then explained SETI search patterns and methodology. Several listener questions came in including asking if SETI was better off with public funding, private funding, or a combination of both. Seth suggested the combination but listen to what he said about each category. Another listener asked about Optical SETI. Here, we learned that the SETI Institute was no longer doing it but that there was an excellent program for Optical SETI at Harvard University. This prompted another listener to ask about SETI programs around the world. You might be surprised to learn just how many programs there are and their locations. In our second segment, Jim from Austin asked if there was any correlation to funding for SETI based on how well NASA does with its annual funding from Congress. Dr. Shostak said there were no correlations but when SETI public funds were terminated in 1993, private funding stepped up to take over. He also said that it appears SETI does better when related topics are in the news or the media, including TV shows such as X-Files. Discoveries from Kepler and other space missions also play a part in driving support for SETI. We then turned our attention to Active SETI, the idea of deliberately transmitting to space. Dr. Shostak explained the controversy surrounding Active SETI but was supportive of it. Terry called in to inquire about the protocol should a signal be discovered. This brought up a review of the WOW signal matter, then we talked about student internships at SETI. Wayne from Santa Fe emailed us about the ET worldwide culture which we discussed from several perspectives. Other topics of interest included pseudo science, science and education, the study of astronomy, and the quality of major California observatories given light and air pollution. Near the end, John called in to ask if an ET starship using fusion or another form of energy/engine propulsion would leave a visible trail as a way of being detected. Finally, we talked about incoming asteroids, the keyhole, and even painting an asteroid to deflect it. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. Dr. Shostak can be reached through the SETI Institute website.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:02:14 UTC
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John Batchelor Show "Hotel Mars" Wednesday, 3-7-12 (5.19MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Rusty Schweickart, DrSpace. Topics: Planetary Defense, asteroid impact, Asteroid 2011AG5. 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. 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. 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. The topics in this 11 minute plus segment focused on the asteroid 2011AG5, asteroid impacts, the means to intervene to deflect an incoming asteroid threat as well as understanding the force of impact for an asteroid the size of 2011AG5. During the discussion, we discussed the odds of the asteroid hitting the US. Rusty explained the Keyhole and its significance for an asteroid that may be approaching Earth. Rusty also gave us critical dates to watch as more refined observational information becomes available for 2011AG5. Finally, we talked about technologies that are available now to deal with an incoming asteroid such as a gravity tractor. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you want to contact either John or Rusty, send your note to me and I will forward it to you. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Fri, 09 Mar 2012 05:30:34 UTC
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Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Tuesday, 3-6-12 (31.38MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Subject: Dr. Tyson talks space policy along with his new book, "Space Chronicles: Facing The Ultimate Frontier" and his article in the current edition of Foreign Affairs, , "The Case For Space: Why We Should Keep Reaching for the Stars." 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. 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 welcomed Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson back to the show for a comprehensive hour long discussion on space policy, the NASA budget, investment in our future, the space race, and many more issues as pointed out in both his Foreign Affairs article and in his new book. Remember, if you order his book using the following Amazon link, Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show/One Giant Leap Foundation: www.amazon.com/Space-Chronicles-Facing-Ultimate-Frontier/dp/0393082105/ref=onegiantleap20. You can read his Foreign Affairs article at www.scribd.com/doc/82592118/The-Case-for-Space. During our hour with Neil, we discussed the NASA budget and why it should be increased. Dr. Tyson also pointed out why humor was so important and what it really means as I asked him about the joking and kidding around regarding space when he visits programs such as The Daily Show. Neil also made the case for more space activity and talked about spinoffs but additionally he talked about the economic growth that comes from innovation and inspiration, along with unplanned and fortunate discoveries. Here, he cited the Hubble Space Telescope and mammograms as an example. He also suggested that with a space program that is innovative and doing what it should be doing, the STEM education problems are solved in the process. We talked about NASA not being one of the key scientific government agencies anymore and he was upset that this was and is not being corrected. Dr. Tyson had much to say about the role of the private sector in space development in that government typically puts down the infrastructure and opens the industry door with the privates coming after, expanding the industry, operating more efficiently, and developing markets. A listener asked about planetary defense and asteroids, another listener inquired about space enthusiasts running for political office, and Jon suggested that giving NASA a bigger budget would just be a waste as NASA is all about pork. Neil addressed all of these questions and more. I urge listeners to read his book and if possible, read the Foreign Affairs article before you listen to the interview. During our discussion, Dr. Tyson said some very powerful things. For example, note our discussion on the NASA budget as an investment, not an expense. Neil described himself as an educator so listen to what he had to say about how to influence people and create change through education by teaching real science and facts so people can make truly informed choices. Pay attention to what he said about a country that does not invest in its future and why space should be the future getting the investment benefit. Throughout this interview, Neil powerfully reminded us all that even in tough economic times like today, NASA has been instrumental in shaping our national identity, inspiring us, driving our economy, driving careers in the STEM disciplines, and bringing us landmark, groundbreaking new technologies. I personally believe that Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson makes a very good case for space. Please post any comments/questions you might have for Dr. Tyson on The Space Show blog URL above.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 07 Mar 2012 04:52:38 UTC
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Jay Barbree, Monday, 3-5-12 (39.04MB; download) -- Guest: Jay Barbree. Topics: Overview of the space program today, SLS, presidential politics and NASA. 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. 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 welcomed NBC veteran space reporter Jay Barbree back to The Space Show for a conversation that focused on our best options for today's space program. Our discussion was one hour forty minutes without a break. We started out discussing Jay's thoughts when he reported on the last shuttle flight given he had reported on every shuttle flight ever made. He also told us he had updated and reissued his best selling book "Moonshot" which he co-authored with Alan Shepherd and Deke Slayton. Remember, if you buy it from Amazon with this specific URL, Amazon makes a contribution to The Space Show: www.amazon.com/Moon-Shot-Alan-Shepard/dp/1453211977/ref=onegiantlea20. Other topics discussed included a comparison of the original astronauts to astronauts today and the need to return to the Moon. In fact, Jay told us about ideas being discussed to use the ISS to do a figure 8 loop to and from the Moon rather than crashing it into the ocean at the end of its life. To do this, he said nuclear propulsion was needed and this led him to discuss the overall need for the nuclear rocket, especially for going to Mars. A listener asked him if he favored a one way trip to Mars and he said yes. Don't miss his complete answer. Next, we started talking about the Space Launch System which ended up as the main discussion topic for the balance of the program. Jay strongly supports SLS and is concerned that it might be cancelled. We talked about what the Obama administration would likely be doing with space and then he talked about his conversations with the Republican candidates and his impressions of each one and their interest in space. He talked at length about Newt's Florida primary comments and returning to the Moon in general. He also talked about the need for space settlement given the vulnerability of Earth. Later, a listener asked Jay if he was familiar with the accusations being made against NASA for how they dealt with the chimps in the early space program and their idea to get KSC to donate space for a chimp museum documenting abuse during their NASA days and dedicating to stopping lab research. Jay was not familiar with the story but listener Tim found the story on the PETA website: http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2012/02/29/peta-to-launch-memorial-at-space-center.aspx. Jay talked more about the SLS but also about Falcon 9, Dragon, the Boeing CTS 100, and the Atlas 5. He expressed his concerns many times that the politicians might actually mess up NASA and our future, specifically by cancelling SLS, Orion, or both. At the end, he told us about his MSNBC.com series "Getting to Mars" which is already underway. Post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog URL above. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:11:05 UTC
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Mark Bray, Sunday, 3-4-12 (80.37MB; download) -- Guest: Mark Bray. Topics: Space industry standards, policy, politics, & space workforce attitudes. 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. 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 welcomed back Mark Bray for what was a most interesting and wide ranging 2.5 hour discussion divided into two segments. We started off with Mark talking about the need for industrial standards both in the public and the private space sectors. A good portion of this initial hour long segment was about design and quality standards. Mark explained by example why there were needed and what he was talking about. His Florida concrete company example made it very clear why the standards he was talking were and are needed. Mark made some very good points, we had good listener participation both on the phone and with emails. I promise that you will think differently about standards and the space industry after you listen to this segment. We started the second segment talking about SLS as Mark works on the SLS project. I asked him if the workforce was aware of the opposition to SLS and what they thought about it. This opened the door for Mark to talk about space workforce issues, their fears and concerns, and what is happening to the workforce given the current political, election year politics, economic condition, and the fact that they are not working on a space mission with goals and a destination. Listen to what Mark had to say on all these issues. While you may not like what you hear, keep in mind that Mark in engaged as part of this workforce and speaks from experience. In response to a listener question, Mark had much to say about Huntsville, Marshall, and Alabama space politics. Part of this discussion focused on NewSpace and why Alabama has been slow in seeing opportunities with NewSpace rather than trying to block elements of it. Jon called in from Jersey City and had a good discussion with Mark about these & other issues and then he introduced space enthusiasts to the mix in terms of what this community wants and expects for policy. This brought me to one of my rants on policy and my playing the Devil's Advocate with both Jon and Mark. Eventually, the three of us talked about how we seem to be forced into selecting one way or the other for space development and dismissing that which is not the "preferred" one way. We also talked about congressional responsibility for how they handle taxpayer money while enthusiasts have no such responsibilities. Next, we arrived at why we all seem to be fighting over shrinking resources and getting "our" piece of a smaller and smaller pie. We talked about the need to grow the economy, to grow the space sector, and to grow the economic pie, not shrink it. We agreed that while there may be many solution paths to the problems facing the U.S., space provides a clear path and solution set that seems hard to match by other possible directions and choices if economic expansion and wealth creation are to be the goals of our national policy. Also mentioned was how NASA is not considered one of the key science and technology agencies, Near the end, Mark got an interesting question about long duration storage requirements for SRBs. Don't miss Mark's closing comments. Finally, the paper he mentioned during this interview is on his website at http://braynstorms.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Achieving-Innovation-and-Affordability.pdf. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog URL above. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 05 Mar 2012 03:21:40 UTC
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Suborbital Conference Interviews, Friday, 3-2-12 (85.25MB; download) -- Guests: Dr. Angie Bukley; Brian Shiro; Chuck Lauer; Dr. Sean Casey. Topics: International Space University (ISU), Astronauts4Hire, suborbital flight, Rocketplane, research projects, SOFIA. 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. 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. This program consists of five taped interviews conducted at the Next Generation Suborbital Conference held in Palo Alto, CA from Feb. 27-29, 2012. Each interview is about 30 minutes in length. There is approximately 10-15 seconds of dead air between interviews. The first interview is with Dr. Angie Bukley who is the Dean at the International Space University (ISU). Dr. Bukley discusses ISU, the upcoming summer session at Melbourne, Florida, and much more. The second interview is with Brian Shiro who is the President of Astronauts4Hire and a former student at both the UND SpSt program and ISU. Brian currently is with NOAA in Hawaii. We talk about Astronauts4Hire, suborbital flights and research and more. The third interview which took place on Wednesday was with Chuck Lauer. Chuck announced that Rocketplane was back! He went over the basics of their plans, the flight experience, spaceship plans, and more. Chuck was followed by our discussion with Elizabeth (Liz) Kennick who is the new Project Leader for Teachers in Space with The Space Frontier Foundation. Liz explains the program from top to bottom and the programs in place to do effective outreach to both teachers and students. Our final interview was with Dr. Sean Casey. He updated us on the NASA SOFIA Program and talked about his own suborbital research project plans. He also provided us with some comparisons of a sounding rocket versus the new generation of suborbital vehicles in terms of G-force, the quality of the ride, protecting instruments or being able to use off the shelf instruments and more. Please post your comments regarding any of these interviews on The Space Show blog URL above. If you want to email any of our guests, send it to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward it to the person of your choice. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:19:23 UTC
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John Batchelor, "Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 2-29-12 (4.56MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. Charles Lurio, Dr. David Livingston. Topics: The Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference 2012 and suborbital spaceflight. 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. 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. The topics in this 11 minute plus segment focused on the Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference just concluded in Palo Alto, CA. Dr. Lurio and I were both present and we went over a few of the highlights of the conference. We talked about suborbital research opportunities, the scientific interest in these flights, the progress being made by the companies, and more. John Batchelor asked us about the role of NASA and how suborbital fits into the overall broad scale space program. Please post your comments regarding this John Batchelor Show segment on The Space Show Blog. If you want to email John Batchelor or Dr. Lurio, you can do so through me or their respective websites. Please check out The Lurio Report at www.thelurioreport.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:16:41 UTC
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John Powell, Tuesday, 2-28-12 (49.25MB; download) -- Guest: John Powell. Topics: Updates regarding JP Aerospace and balloon launch developments including the Airship To Orbit Program. 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. 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 welcomed John Powell back to the show for JP Aerospace updates. For more information, visit his website, www.jpaerospace.com. Also visit the Samsung page for his winning ad at http://space-balloon.net/index.html. John started our discussion by describing the Galaxy II winning ad that JP Aerospace did with Samsung in Japan and the United States. This involved split second timing and complicated technology. During this segment, we also talked about the balloon world altitude record which JP holds and his PongSat program for students. We then switched over to his Airship To Orbit Program. John described the various stages to the program and the Dark Sky Station that will be a type of spaceport at 140,000 feet. Listen to his entire plan as it is not only interesting, it is ambitious. As the segment ended, I asked how the balloons end their mission. Does he recover them, do they blow up, what happens to them. In our second segment, Trent from Australia called in and related the high altitude balloons to the suborbital industry and the conference now in progress in Palo Alto. He then asked John for his hopes and expectations for 2012 for his organization. John then went through his goals for the year, his technology testing and development program plus his planned flight program. We then talked about space weather and then John talked about human flight with his program. This led us to a discussion of planned ion engine usage and development. John took several questions related to the power plant and its evolution to end stage JP programs. What then unfolded was a rather technical discussion about balloon technolgy and capabilities. Don't miss it. We also talked about orbital speed for a balloon and John went over some history with us dating back several decades to Mach 10-15 balloon flights to 200,000 feet. Listeners also asked about the balloon reentry and the potential payload size which John estimated at 60,000 lbs. Reda inquired about finding party balloon pieces in the desert and we talked about the different balloon materials and environmental issues with the various kinds of material used in consumer as well as industrial balloons. John also went over material choices saying that there were benefits to ripstop polyurethane and that nylon was very heavy. John concluded his comments by urging everyone to talk to the sciences classes K-12 and I asked for feedback from listeners who make the effort to do this. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can get more information about JP Aerospace from the website and John's email address is on his site.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 29 Feb 2012 07:15:11 UTC
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Marcia Smith, Monday, 2-27-12 (46.82MB; download) -- Guest: Marcia Smith. Topics: FY 13 proposed budget analysis for NASA and DOD plus how the congressional budget process works. 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. 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 welcomed back to the program Marcia Smith to help us understand the proposed FY 13 NASA and DOD budgets plus the congressional budgetary process. I recommend following Marcia's website and posts at SpacePolicyOnline.com for the latest information on the budget and a wide range of additional topics of interest. During our discussion, we delved into how the U.S. budget process works. Its complex. Marcia suggested looking up reports by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) so check these out: http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/34649.pdf; http://opencrs.com/document/98-721. In our first segment, I started by asking Marcia to explain why we hear that the Senate has not passed a budget yet funds are allocated and programs are cancelled and supported as if there was a budget. What unfolded for a good part of our 90 minute discussion was an excellent discussion on how our budget process actually works, what is important, what is not important, and who does what and when. I urge you to listen to this discussion as you won't find a better tutorial on understanding our federal budget than right here with Marcia Smith. In learning how things really work, we used the NASA budget as an example and to a lesser degree parts of the DOD budget. We talked about cuts and the idea that the NASA budget was flat which it is not as its down close to a billion dollars from last year when the correct analysis is applied. We talked about Mars missions, SLS, Orion, JWST, NASA overhead, commercial crew, ISS, planetary science, and more. We went through the role of OMB and the use of auditors. You may find some of this surprising or even shocking. Also in this segment we talked about the subcommittees and the other agencies in the same subcommittee with NASA. Lots of questions came from listeners, including one about applying money from cutting back on the wars to NASA. No such luck, listen to why that does not happen, i.e. Overseas Contingency Operations Account (OCO). We also asked about taking money from one subcommittee and using it in another. That does not work either. In our second segment, we continued our budgetary process tutorial, focusing on NASA tweaking the appropriations and sending it back to Congress for their approval which they may or may not approve. Next, we talked about DOD cuts but they were cuts from the projections which led us to talking about using out year projections for budgetary planning purposes. We talked about classified and unclassified space projects within the DOD, plus the efforts to hold the agencies accountable with audits and IG reports. As you will hear, most agencies including NASA and DOD do not get a clean statement from the auditor, instead they end up with a Disclaimed Audit. As the program ended, I asked Marcia to share with us what she has found to be the most effective way of communicating our passion for space with the public and congress. If you have comments or questions about this discussion, please post them on The Space Show blog URL above. Marcia Smith can be reached through her website which is provided earlier in this summary. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 28 Feb 2012 04:50:59 UTC
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Mark Whittington, Sunday, 2-26-12 (55.05MB; download) -- Guest: Mark Whittington. Topics: Space Budgets, policy, & politics. 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. 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 welcomed Mark Whittington back to the show for this 2.5 hour wide ranging discussion on space budgets, the economy, space policy and space politics, plus economic issues facing the nation and others around the world. We also talked about space perspectives of all those running for president including President Obama and the Republican party challengers. Mark talked about two article he wrote that were pertinent to our discussion. These articles are (1) "Moon Base Supporters Struggle to Justify the Project:"
www.examiner.com/space-news-in-houston/moon-base-supporters-struggle-to-justify-the-project; and (2) "A Lunar Exploration Reading List for Mitt Romney:"
www.examiner.com/space-news-in-houston/a-lunar-exploration-reading-list-for-mitt-romney. I used a very long write up for this archived program description so to read about the program, please use www.thespaceshow.com or our blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Thank you for accepting this referral to the regular archives as they do not restrict the number of characters in the description as does our podcasting client. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:54:11 UTC
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