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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Open Lines, Sunday, 1-29-12 (83.38MB; download) -- Guest: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Space policy programs of the presidential candidates and more. 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. Welcome to this 2 hour forty minute Open Lines program. We took one break during the program about 40 minutes into it. My opening monologue was longer than usual, consuming about half an hour. I put forth many possible discussion topics but as you will hear on the show, most everyone wanted to talk about the space policy statements by Newt and to a lesser degree Romney. We held callers to a shorter time on the phone which seemed to work nicely as we had lots of new callers and lots of different input in addition to the Space Show regular listeners/callers. I will continue holding callers to a shorter time on the phone for future programs based on this experience. I also put forth some ground rules to avoid partisan politics and to focus only on the space policy of the candidates. I also made it clear that there would be no character bashing but ideas were fair game. Most of the discussion regarding Newt's statement dealt with his having talked about the lunar colony and making it part of the U.S. Callers kept referencing the Outer Space Treaty (OST) which prohibits territorial claims on celestial bodies. We talked about property rights and one caller referenced the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Population Threshold which Newt referenced in his policy comments. This caller also took us to a discussion of weapons in space, specifically nukes, as part of his comments on the OST. This led to a discussion and a factual call on why weapons in space are not practical though nobody was advocating weapons in space nor did anyone advocate withdrawing from the OST or modifying it. As for the Romney comments, some callers had issues with the panel of advisors for Romney and I questioned why DOD was being included in civil and commercial space planning, mission design, etc. Another caller was physically present at both the Romney and Gingrich meetings so he gave us a first hand report on what he saw and heard. Later in the program, a caller referenced some of the gender and microgravity issues raised in the recent show with Dr. Bill Rowe and we talked about the need for a variable gravity research station to answer micro and artificial gravity questions in support of long duration human spaceflight. While not specifically mentioned by anyone during the discussion, it is important to note that up until the new administration took office, it was national policy for the U.S. to return to the Moon and establish a lunar outpost which would eventually be turned over to commercial interests. I don't recall the giggle factor back then but we did talk about the giggle factor which seems to have returned as a result of the Newt comments. Also, as soon as the program ended, I received a note about an interview by Dr. Jeff Foust on his spacepolitics.com blog with Eric Anderson, one of the key members of the advisory panel on space for Gov. Romney. You can read this interview at /www.spacepolitics.com/2012/01/29/anderson-romney-would-be-advocate-of-commercial-space. Again, it came in too late to be mentioned during our program but in my opinion, it is relevant to the OL discussion for today's Space Show program. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog per above. If you want to send a note to any of the callers, do so through me and I will forward it for you if have the email address of the person you want to contact. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:34:12 UTC
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Dr. Harley Thronson, Friday, 1-27-12 (46.47MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Harley Thronson. Topics: "Accelerating the Future: The Importance of Human Achievements Beyond LEO Within a Decade." 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. Harley Thronson back to the show to discuss the existing and future planning for human spaceflight beyond LEO (BEO). We talked about two recent Space Review articles Dr. Thronson wrote which I believe you will find very interesting. (www.thespacereview.com/article/1985/1 and www.thespacereview.com/article/1756/1. In addition, Dr. Thronson discussed the Future In Space Telecon (FISO) series that he hosts every Wednesday afternoon at 3 PM EST. To learn more about FISO and get on their mailing list visit http://spirit.as.utexas.edu/~fiso/fisowg.html and www.futureinspaceoperations.com. In our first segment, we discussed the FISO telecons, then we switched to what's next for human spaceflight (HSF) after LEO or BEO (beyond Earth orbit). For this discussion, we referred to the two Space Review articles referenced above. As we learned, there is considerable thought being given within NASA and among others at to what is next after the ISS and how do we start preparing for it. Dr. Thronson talked about prioritizing what has to be done to move beyond the ISS and LEO. Also in the mix were mission and even hardware design compromises that may enhance our ability to be ready to fly sooner, not later. Those involved in this planning are of the opinion that we must compromise and also must fly soon, start something, otherwise we will lose opportunities and drive up costs even more than they will be. Much of this has to do with being able to capitalize on the existing ISS workforce and those who know how to do space stations and HSF. If we do not retain these people, then starting over again years later will be costly and will have a huge learning curve associated with it. The goal of planners and thinkers Dr. Thronson is working with is to be BEO by the end of the decade. We discussed where to go and here, our guest had much to say about Mars and the Moon, but said Earth-Moon libration points were best for starting out using a stepping stone approach. Much of the first segment went into detail about these subjects and issues. In the second segment, we talked about crew safety, using previously built but never used ISS modules as the basis for a BEO station, and compromises that can get us going quicker, not later but not adversely impacting safety. Michael called in to talk about accidents and inevitable fatalities with HSF and the industry to properly handle them when/if they happen. Both Dr. Thronson and I had much to say about safety, accident management, and this subject. Another listener wanted to know when there would actually be work on BEO projects rather than just talking about them. Dr. Thronson had much about getting started, time lines, mission readiness and more. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog above. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:14:52 UTC
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John Batchelor "Hotel Mars," Wednesday, 1-25-12 (10.23MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. Richard Obousy, Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Project Bifrost, nuclear thermal rockets, Project Icarus. 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 Project Bifrost, nuclear thermal rockets, and Icarus Interstellar with Project Icarus. Dr. Obousy expanded on these topics, the issue of interstellar flight and even some timelines looking off into the future. Please visit www.icarusinterstellar.org for more information. This is one of many excellent articles on Project Bifrost: http://news.discovery.com/space/project-bifrost-interstellar-space-fission-120120.html. Please post your comments about this segment on The Space Show Blog URL above. If you want to send a note to Mr. Batchelor or Dr. Obousy, please do so to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward it to them. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:55:43 UTC
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Dr. Steven Howe, Tuesday, 1-25-12 (49.83MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Steven Howe. Topics: space nuclear power for power & propulsion systems, & radioisotope power generators. You are invited to comment, ask questions, & discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, & any discussion must be relevant & 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. You will want to follow the websites along with our guest: http://csnr.usra.edu/index.html & www.usra.edu. If you are interested in the CSNR 2012 Summer Fellowship Program, you can learn more & apply no later than March 9, 2012 from CSNR at http://csnr.usra.edu/2012_summer_app2.html. We welcomed Dr. Howe to the program to discuss space nuclear power. We started out with an overview of both the Center for Space Nuclear Research & the Universities Space Research Association. Dr. Howe then told us that they were working on nuclear rockets with the Aerojet Corporation, focusing on a new fuel form away from based on tungsten. During our discussion, he had much to say about this fuel, its advantages, & its testing. He also talked about ISP & thrust to weight ratios. He was asked about testing & we learned they plan on doing ground tests at the Nevada Test Site. Listen to why their tests will be different from earlier nuclear rocket engine tests & how they are expelling the exhaust into the ground. You will hear There is no radiation, only hydrogen which bleeds into the rock strata. We also talked about public concern for nuclear power in space, then we shifted our focus to a nuclear rocket mission to Mars. Dr. Howe told us about the three year Mars mission but also said with a nuclear rocket a one year mission would be possible. We also talked about the costs for developing the nuclear rocket as well as the possibility of other countries doing it before the U.S. Next, we talked about the use of uranium & even the possibility of thorium, including why thorium is not useful for weapons. One listener question asked about the Mars Direct method & insitu resource utilization. Dr. Howe supported the use of insitu but suggested it for later trips as it might be too risky for the initial trips. He then described their Mars Hopper project which will certainly interest us all. As this segment ended, we talked about using the nuclear rocket for going to the Moon & for a lunar & even Martian habitat. As we started our second segment, Dr. Howe was asked if QuickLaunch could be useful. Dr. Dewar sent in a clarification note about U-233 as a byproduct of thorium & why its a problem for weapons. In talking about a lunar habitat, Dr. Howe told us about the NASA Fission Surface Power Program (FSP). We also talked about using the new tungsten fuel for habitats. He told us about the Nuclear Thermal Mars Sample Mission Study that compared the nuclear rocket to Delta IV launches. Listeners asked about Vasimr & our guest was asked to clarify for us the differences between nuclear electric propulsion & nuclear thermal propulsion & why the latter is preferable. Dr. Dewar sent in another note to talk about Y-12. Later, much was said about plutonium & its pending shortage. Make sure you hear what Dr. Howe had to say about this looming shortage. Near the end, Dr. Howe mentioned his efforts with Hbar Technologies, LLC, suggesting that possibly using these nuclear advancements for medicine, specifically cancer, might be a driver for space applications. As we concluded, Dr. Howe told us about his books on Kindle & the consolidated all in one book, "Earth Rise." Here is the Amazon URL & remember, if you buy it using this URL, Amazon contributes to The Space Show: www.amazon.com/Earth-Rise-ebook/dp/B005LD3LYS/ref=onegialeafou-20. Post your comments/questions on the blog URL above. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:44:11 UTC
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Dr. Peter Shaver, Monday, 1-23-12 (42.08MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Peter Shaver. Topics: Dr. Shaver's boo, "Cosmic Heritage," the universe, cosmology, consciousness, cognition. 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. Peter Shaver to the show to discuss his new book, "Cosmic Heritage: Evolution from the Big Bang to Conscious Life. Dr. Shaver started our discussion by telling us what motivated him to write this book as well as the search for answers to the Big Three questions: (1) What are the origins of life; (2) What is the nature of life; (2) To understand consciousness. We talked about the big bang, the microwave background and the early phases of the universe. We also discussed cosmology & the inter-disciplinary nature of his book, including the fields of psychology, consciousness, and biology. We talked about the age of the universe at 13.7 billion years. Dr. Shaver then described the timeline by referencing the Sagan Calendar. I asked him about a section of his book, "Are There Questions That Science Can Never Address?" starting on page 238. Dr. Shaver talked about taboos and the limits of science. Recurring events or experiences in the natural world can be subject to the scientific method. A once-only event may not be due the inability to repeat the experiment. Also, if something is outside the natural world, the paranormal for example, science would not likely be able to address that issue or question. Later, Dr. Shaver was asked what came before the Big Bang. Here, he introduced us to multiverse theories. He mentioned the work being done with the Large Hadron Collider and the search for the search for the Higgs-boson particle. Another project he mentioned was the European Space Agency Planck Satellite designed to observe the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background. A listener asked about the political nature of science, especially science funding. Dr. Shaver had much to say in response to this question, including the use of peer review. Other listener questions asked him about big science projects and their value compared to cost such as the James Webb Space Telescope. Cognition and consciousness were discussed in the context of his book which addresses the field of neuroscience. Terry called to ask we will see in telescopes as we get closer to the big bang. Will we still see stars, planets, or just matter in chaos? Dr. Shaver then guided us through gazing through the dark sky at night and slowly removing from our view the sources of light until we reach the edge of the universe which he referred to as the Near Side of Dark Ages. Another listener asked if we could actually see the big bang and he talked about the microwave background and fog that we cannot see through. This brought up the Hubble Deep Field, then Andrew asked if we could use a telescope to see the first light from Earth when it was formed. As our discussion was drawing to a close, we talked about the rate of advancements in science, finding planets in the habitable zone and the future for those wanting to study science or have a science related profession. Post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog URL above. You can order the book from Amazon using www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Heritage-Evolution-Bang-Conscious/dp/3642202608/ref=onegialeafou-20. Remember, when using this Amazon URL, Amazon contributes to The Space Show/OGLF. Dr. Shaver can be reached at p4shaver@gmail.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:10:54 UTC
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Dr. William (Bill) Rowe, Sunday, 1-22-12 (68.90MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. William (Bill) Rowe. Topics: Space medicine issues, magnesium issues, microgravity, ISS experiments, and more. 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 show Dr. Bill Rowe for updates on his presentations in China and elsewhere, his continued research on the role of magnesium in space medicine, the role of telomeres and gender crew issues for long duration spaceflight including trips to Mars. During the first segment of our two hour plus program, Dr. Rowe directed us to many of the pages, articles, and documents on his website, www.femsinspace.com. I urge you to access the pages he directs us to at various times during his talk and follow along with him. This is important. In this segment, we talked about the latest telomere research and its application to space flight. Bill proposed ISS rat experiments and what the experiments should tell us. He also talked about the role of magnesium deficiency in cells in spaceflight. He talked about the need to develop a subcutaneous replenishable silicon device/pump to deliver magnesium and explained why this was essential. Dr. Rowe talked about cardio-vascular issues in spaceflight in the context of magnesium and the overall issues of vascular disease. This took us into the area of gender lifespan differences and studies showing that an all female crew to Mars might be desirable. Also in this segment, Dr. Rowe talked extensively about oxidative stress and referred us to his submarine diagram on his website, www.femsinspace.com/Oxidative_stress.htm. Marshall called in to talk about the ISS and the need for artificial gravity, partial gravity, or 1 G. Dr. Rowe said 1 G was essential for humans. Dr. Paul Dear called in from the UK with several questions, including asking about the initiating events for the body to sense microgravity down at the cellular level. Bill & Dr. Dear also talked about genomic selection for astronauts. In the second segment, Dr. Rowe continued his discussion of the first segment topics and his proposed rat experiment regarding telomeres. Many listener calls and emails came in and Dr. Rowe expanded the discussion to the role of calcium for space flight and the calcium/magnesium ratio or relationship. He was asked why magnesium was not discussed by most human factors space medicine doctors. Dr. Jurist was also asked this question during his call, listen to what they said in response to this question. Bill talked about exercise routines for spaceflight & said it was a challenge to know the right exercise RX. Don't miss his comments on this issue. Near the end, he used Columbus and sailing ships as an example saying we are not ready for long duration spaceflight or a trip to Mars. Listen to how he and I explained this during the closing comments for the show as I helped Bill phrase his analogy. Post your comments/questions for Dr. Rowe on The Space Show blog URL above. Dr. Rowe can be reached via his website. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:39:40 UTC
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Rick Tumlinson, Friday, 1-20-12 (66.67MB; download) -- Guest: Rick Tumlinson. Topics: Why Space, space vision, NewSpace, SLS, opening the space frontier. 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 Rick Tumlinson back to the program for this nearly two hour discussion of space vision, leadership, programming, SLS, advocacy and more. In hour first 70 minute segment, Rick opened by talking about his ongoing op-ed series in the Huffington Post titled "Why Space?" So far he has two issues uploaded to the Huffington Post & I urge you to read them. You can see all of Rick's articles on the Huffington Post at www.huffingtonpost.com/rick-tumlinson. During our discussion, Rick stressed the need for space settlement and talked about this during the entire program. Additionally, Rick focused on the big picture space vision throughout our entire discussion. In the first segment, SLS came up but it was also talked about later in the show. Rick explained why he thought it was the wrong project for this point in time and had much to say about private industry launch & space transportation systems as compared to government programs. When asked if he thought SLS could be appropriate as a placeholder, he said no but listen to what he had to say about this idea. He talked about not picking winners and advocating a common sense space plan. I asked him for his plan and how to implement it. He then outlined a plan in several steps during the balance of the segment. Don't miss it. Listeners called & asked questions about the Chinese space program and cooperation and the same with the Russians. In the second segment, Rick started us off with a discussion about the Frontier approach for space development. He also talked about going to the Moon and why, but also about asteroids & Mars. He said we need to develop the skills and the insitu experience for living & working in space. Several times he mentioned that on the Moon and Mars we would be living underground due to the radiation. Rick then talked about space habitats including O'Neil like space stations/habitats. Several listeners asked about the role of HSF in developing our understanding of the universe, specifically for 2012 and beyond. John from Atlanta called in to talk about the lack of civility coming from the NewSpace community toward old space. This produced a spirited give & take with Rick which in a way focused on "guarantees" for the commercial company success as compared to government rocket programs. John suggested it was a bit risky putting all the "eggs" in unproven commercial company baskets when we know the government launch vehicle will work as long as the program is not cancelled. Don't miss what John and Rick had to say.. Toward the end, Rick talked about the Texas Space Alliance & his new organization, EarthLight Institute. He provided us with substantial detail about the EarthLight Institute plans, their website which is under construction, plus the book on asteroids that he is working on and will be out around the end of the year. He was asked about his continuing role with the Space Frontier Foundation & the activities of SFF. Please post comments/questions on The Space Show blog URL above. Rick's email address is rick@earthlightinstitute.org.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:22:52 UTC
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The John Batchelor Show Hotel Mars Segment, Wednesday, 1-18-12 (4.76MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. David Kipping Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Kepler Space Telescope and the search for Exomoons. 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 Kepler Space Telescope (KST) and the search for Exomoons. Our guest was Dr. David Kipping, an astronomer based at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). Dr. Kipping has written extensively on the subject of exomoons and you can read one of his articles at www.time.com/printout/0,8816,2104376,00.html. During our segment, Dr. Kipping talked about transits, the role of exomoons in computer the mass of a planet and its makeup, size, speed, and more. We talked about how far out the KST can see and what it might take to discover Earth size moons. Toward the end of the segment, Mr. Batchelor brought up the role of red dwarfs in this discussion. If you have comments or questions, please post them on the blog URL above. Dr. Kipping has been invited to be a regular guest on an upcoming Space Show program. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:52:14 UTC
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Steve Bouley, Wednesday, 1-18-12 (31.86MB; download) -- Guest: Steve Bouley. Topics: Wideband Global SATCOM launch, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engines, hypersonics, commercial space markets & more. 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 Steve Bouley of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) to discuss the Delta IV medium launch of the DOD Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) communication satellite, hypersonics, lowing the cost of access to space, rocket safety and more. We started our discussion with a focus on the Jan. 19th 7:38 PM EST launch of WGS on the Delta IV medium which uses PWR RS-68 and RL10B-2 engines. Mr. Bouley provided us with thrust specs for the engines. He also went over the very impressive and highly successful track record for their engines and fielded questions about their manufacturing and quality control process. This took us to our next subject, equating reliability with experience and then understanding that the launch market is relatively flat with low launch rates which causes higher launch prices. There were several listener questions during this special one hour interview. The questions focused on human rating the rockets and what PWR would have to do to their engines to have them fly people to space. Don't miss Steve's response to this line of questioning. We talked some more about the flat demand and Steve was asked if PWR could easily and quickly ramp up their production line were demand to change quickly. The short answer was "yes." We talked about hypersonics and the evolution of technology development. We also talked about the likely path to commercial operation for a hypersonic vehicle. Our guest took a call from Jerry about SLS, SRBs, the Saturn V, and bringing back the F1A engine. Mike sent in a note asking about safety issues for a jet engine as compared to a rocket engine. Toward the end, our guest was asked to provide the very early history of PWR and rocket engine development. As our program drew to a close, I asked Steve to tell us about his work on launch day and if he still gets excited about a launch given he has seen hundreds of them during his career. Post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog URL above. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:33:13 UTC
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Dr. Roger Handberg, Monday, 1-16-12 (46.70MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Roger Handberg. Topics: Space policy, leadership, Asia space, ISS, & more. 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. Roger Handberg to the program for a comprehensive space policy discussion. During this program, several of his recent Space Review articles were referenced and I urge you to read them. See Dec. 19, 2011 "ISS Next: chasing humanity's future in space and the 'next logical step" (www.thespacereview.com/article/1993/1). Also Nov. 21, 2011, "American human spaceflight and future options, short-and long-term" (www.thespacereview.com/article/1974/1. Our discussion started with a brief overview of U.S. space policy for the new year 2012. Dr. Handberg said our policy was in a state of confusion and described the situation around the Kennedy Space Center as practically in shutdown mode. We talked history and what it was like in 1970 before shuttle. Dr. Handberg then talked about our robust science missions and projects but they don't get the attention like HSF & it is the HSF missions that are the problem. Dr. Handberg referenced the Augustine report and SLS. He also said the Chinese were moving ahead though they were still several decades behind the U.S. We then talked about the need to think beyond the SLS & beyond the existing ISS which has a limited remaining lifespan. In fact, thinking big and beyond the ISS is a major theme in his Dec. 19, 2011 Space Review article. We spent considerable time discussing what was next for the U.S. after the ISS. Our guest said we were at risk of repeating one of the major failures of Apollo, that is, what to do after the program ends. In this case, what does the U.S. do after the ISS ends? His analysis of the problem pointed to our having no clear vision and a strong need to reorganize the political system because NASA budgets are done yearly so no budget is ever finalized. He confirmed what many others have said and that was that president's don't care about space. We addressed commercial and private space, both for space stations and launch vehicles. Anthony in the UK asked him what he thought the single event might be for people to say we've now been overtaken. Dr. Handberg suggested that point might come when the ISS ends its life and there is nothing else while the Chinese have their own space station and are still going forward. In the second segment, I asked our guest for his thoughts on how college students have changed over his long teaching career. Don't miss this discussion. You might be surprised by what he had to say. Listeners asked him if and when he thought SLS would be cancelled for budgetary reasons. His response was most interesting. Other listeners asked more questions about SLS, the shut down of Constellation, the private HSF effort, and space markets. Near the end of the program, Maria asked him how to get Congress to consider space as an investment, not an expense. He said that today, all government spending is considered an expense and while space is an investment, thinking it will be treated that way by congress is to be in political denial. As the program was ending, I asked our guest how to make space advocacy more effective. He said we needed to get space conscious (not necessarily advocates) in key positions within government & the administration. He named a few positions as examples. Finally, we talked about the Outer Space Treaty, the EU Code of Conduct, & bringing back the National Space Council. Post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog URL above. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:27:10 UTC
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