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. Madhu Thangalevu, Frankie Sharpe, Friday, 6-15-12 (50.40MB; download) -- Guests: Dr. Madhu Thangalevu, Frankie Sharpe. Topics: USC Moon Studio space & architectural project planning and design. 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 Professor Madhu Thangalevu who was joined by Frankie Sharpe, one of the architectural graduate students in the USC Moon Studio program that just ended. Dr. Thangalevu started out by telling us about the USC School of Architecture program and their space studio classes including the Moon Studio, Space Studio, and the program with the engineering department for the Engineering Space Concepts Studio. Madhu then introduced us to Frankie Sharpe who talked about his lunar tourism project he did for the Moon Studio graduate class. You can see some of his slides for his project at http://cargocollective.com/frankiesharpedesign/Tour-the-Moon and http://uscmoonstudio.blogspot.com. In the process of Frankie telling us about his lunar tourism model, he talked about the learning process, the need to address engineering, cost, and human factors for his project, the solutions he developed for dealing with the new NASA guidelines for protecting and visiting the historical Apollo landing sites and more. You will see how he creatively used holographs for the visitor to experience the actual lunar landings, how radiation issues were resolved, and much more. I asked Frankie a series of questions about interest in his space work in the regular architectural firms has and is working for & you might be surprised by what he had to say. You will also find it interesting that prior to being given the opportunity to enroll in the Moon Studio, space was not on his graduate school agenda. In our second segment, Dr. Thangalevu talked about other USC space studio workshops and then we talked about space policy and the proper role for space in policy and our lives. Professor Thangalevu talked about large global space projects that involve people everywhere such as planetary defense and climate change research. We also talked about U.S. leadership in global space projects. One of his suggestions was to consider that it might be time for a U.S. Department of Space to deal with these issues but he did say a paradigm shift had to take place for space to be fully realized. He then introduced us to the cosmopolitanism concept. This led us to an interesting discussion about the space "elders" passing the torch to the younger generations for their leadership forward. During this discussion, we talked about the need to fail, to push to the design & function limits to failure so that something new & better comes from the lessons learned in the failure. Our last topics included suborbital space, producing nuclear fuel for propulsion on orbit, hydrogen from algae on orbit, a lunar super computer connected to the aging Deep Space Network, and space & spirituality. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you want to email our guests, do so through me & I will forward your email. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 16 Jun 2012 16:54:55 UTC
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The John Batchelor Show "Hotel Mars," Wednesday, 6-13-12 (5.55MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. Paul Spudis, Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX), commercial space & Cis-Lunar economic development. 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. During our 11.5 minute discussion, Dr. Spudis talked about the Global Space Exploration Conference just concluded in Washington, DC and the focus of national space agencies on returning to the Moon and lunar economic development. We talked about Cis-lunar economic development with the U.S. leading the way in public/private partnerships. We talked about heavy lift launch capability, the SLS, and why the U.S. must be in the lead for Cis-lunar economic development. We also talked about present day capabilities for starting a lunar economic development program. If you have comments or questions, please post them on The Space Show blog. If you want to email either John Batchelor or Dr. Paul Spudis, you can do so through me. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:25:06 UTC
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Open Lines, Tuesday, 6-12-12 (72.17MB; download) -- Guests: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston. Topics: A short film - Angelfish, human factors for space travel, artificial gravity, space communications, science fiction movies & long term science projects, risk taking. 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 is about a 2.5 hour Open Lines discussion. We started by talking to Michael Tyburski, an independent film maker who made a short film, Angelfish, and used The Space Show clips in the background. Michael described his film, why he put The Space Show in it, and more. Visit www.michaeltyburski.com for more information. Next, Dr. Jurist talked with us about artificial gravity & the chart he created to show just how big the radius would have to be to spin at 1G & other levels including lunar as well as Martian gravity. This chart is on The Space Show blog so you can follow along with what Dr. Jurist talked about regarding artificial gravity and spin rates. Our last caller for the first hour long segment was Jay who discussed the Space Literacy Foundation (www.spaceliteracy.org). Jay talked about the need for better space communications with the public as a way to facilitate more support for space. He also responded to questions I asked him about myths dealing with our early space program and the general population. If you are interested in what Jay is doing, contact him through his website. In our second longer segment, Ron called in to talk about the history of the wheels on the Lunar Rover and an ad campaign by Goodyear that incorrectly describes the history of the rover wheels. Ron talked about the use of piano wire, how the original wheels were made, who made them, and more. The paper about this important history that we mentioned on air can be read at www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/lrv_historical_origins.pdf. We talked about the history of the lunar rovers, the cosmic radiation impact on them over time on the Moon, and their design which included harmonic drives and engineering to shield from lunar dust problems. He mentioned a good source of information, a journal edited by Eric Jones & Ken Glover, the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. You can find this journal at www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj. Ron directed listeners to the document section for Apollo 15, 16, and 17. John from Atlanta followed Ron, had much to say about the recent success of the Dragon & Falcon 9, then he talked about human factors, one way Mars missions as being suicidal, the regulatory environment & the possibility of excessive or restrictive regulations. We also talked about the new sci-fi movie, Prometheus. The article I mentioned about the movie can be read at http://cavalorn.livejournal.com/584135.html. If you plan on seeing the movie, I suggest you see the movie first, then read the article which is titled Prometheus Unbound: What The Movie Was Actually About. It is written by Cavalorn. Tim was our final caller. He took issues with human factors medicine & Dr. Rowe. Also the risk of over regulation, especially if someone dies going to space. He expressed his thoughts on other things as well. While our discussion was civil, as you will hear, I did not agree with much of what he advocated. I urged him and other space enthusiasts to be more inclusive of other ideas for space exploration and development rather than just believing their way is the best or even the only way. If you have comments/questions, post them on the blog. If you want to email those that called us, send your note to me & I will forward it for you. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:04:40 UTC
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Marimikel Charrier, Monday, 6-11-12 (44.38MB; download) -- Guest: Marimikel Charrier. Topics: NewSpace Conference 2012 and SpaceUp Foundation. 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 Marimikel Charrier, the Communications Director for the Space Frontier Foundation to update us on this year's NewSpace 2012 Conference to be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Santa Clara, CA from July 26-28, 2012. For complete conference information and online registration, visit https://newspace.spacefrontier.org and use the menu bar at the top of the page for your selection. It is important to note that this Friday, June 15, is the last day to register for the conference, meals, and events before there is a price increase effective Saturday, June 16th. Don't miss out on the Early Bird special registration fees. If you are planning to attend, it is best to register by Friday. For the first hour of this program, we talked about the conference agenda and most of the speakers. You can follow along with us using the Agenda menu, https://newspace.spacefrontier.org/agenda. Most of the keynote speakers are listed at https://newspace.spacefrontier.org/speakers. We discussed the planned agenda starting with the first conference day, Thursday. For Friday evening, Marimikel talked about the planned event, their TweetUp. Listen for details. During our discussion, we talked about logistics, airport transportation to the hotel, and the three Bay Area airports with the San Jose Airport being the closest to the hotel. Some of the highlights that stood out for me included the NASA Technology Roadmap, the business plan competition, the space settlement panel, and the space investment panel. The conference is single track so you won't miss anything unless you are in the hallways networking. As you will hear, this conference does provide an excellent networking environment. In our 30 minute second segment, we talked about the SpaceUp Foundation (http://spaceup.org). Marimikel explained the SpaceUp unconference format, we spoke about the recent San Francisco Bay Area SpaceUp, how to plan one, the typical format, and more. If holding a SpaceUp unconference in your area interests you, contact Marimikel or others through the SpaceUp Foundation website and links. If you do one, let me know so we can talk about it on The Space Show. If you have questions/comments about the program, please post them on The Space Show blog. If you have specific NewSpace 2012 Conference questions, use the Contact form on the website, https://newspace.spacefrontier.org/contacts. For SpaceUp information, use foundation@spaceup.org and reference The Space Show in the subject line.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:10:18 UTC
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Dr. William (Bill) Rowe, Sunday, 6-10-12 (75.03MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. William (Bill) Rowe. Topics: Space medicine, magnesium, calcium & astronaut heart problems, oxidative stress & exercise protocols in space. 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 Dr. Bill Rowe to further discuss certain aspects of human spaceflight (HSF) and space medicine. Please note that all Space Show programs are educational programs. This particular interview with Dr. Rowe is no exception. As an educational program, Dr. Rowe, at the end of the interview, offered to respond to your serious comments & questions posted on the blog and said you could email him through his website, www.femsinspace.com. Unlike most space medicine discussions, Dr. Rowe goes into lots of details on several key issues. I have no doubt that some of you will reject, challenge, and not like what you hear. Some of you will take issue with Dr. Rowe & be critical of this program. You might even see him as being negative though that is not the case, but he is definitely scientific. I urge you to discuss disagreements, challenges, & issues with him. Civility is the only requirement. During our first hour of this nearly 2.5 hour discussion, Dr. Rowe started out by going over astronaut cardiac issues, referring to former astronauts Jim Irwin & Dave Scott on Apollo 15 pertaining to issues with Irwin's hear rate. The articles he mentions on his website are in the upper left hand corner of the home page. Dr. Rowe then segmented into the first of many magnesium discussions & oxidative stress, using his submarine analog, (www.femsinspace.com/Oxidative_stress.htm. Microgravity exercise routines were discussed along with the need to get rid of excessive body heat. Dr. Rowe had much to say about the inadequacy of current on orbit exercise routines & heat. He also talked about plasma leakage, the loss of magnesium, & what this does in space. Also in this segment, he went over the Chinese Taikonaut requirements for female crew members, making the case for an all female crew. Don't miss what he had to say about this. Our last topic in this segment was 1G and artificial gravity. In our second longer segment, Dr. Rowe talked about recent studies pertaining to calcium usage & he brought this home to HSF. We talked about the importance of the calcium-magnesium ratio. Caller John introduced us to the issue of Vit. D3 & calcium. Tim called to make some good points about artificial gravity in terms of needed data points. He did not agree with the all female crew suggestion. Next, Dr. Rowe talked about the gastrointestinal lining, iron, & bone issues in space. Dr. Rowe also referred to anthropological studies to see how some groups habits might positively impact skeletal muscle issues in space. Issues with high adrenalin levels were discussed throughout the program along with possible treatment/intervention tools. At the end, we learned that resolving these complex issues is not just a matter of more money. I also asked Dr. Rowe about private Mars missions & one way trips with private crews ignoring space medicine factors. He called them dreamers but in the end if they want to go knowing the risks, they should be able to go. Dr. Rowe said his research & comments were focused on scientific HSF missions, not the dreamer type missions we often hear & read about in the media. Post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Dr. Rowe through his website. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:23:34 UTC
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Dr. Nader Elhefnawy, Friday, 6-8-12 (56.50MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Nader Elhefnawy. Topics: Space warfare reality and hype. 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. Nader Elhefnawy back to the program to discuss his March 26, 2012 Space Review article, "Why we fall for the hype: contextualizing our thought on space warfare (www.thespacereview.com/article/2052/1)." This was about a two hour program with a break after the first hour. Dr. Elhefnawy also has two blogs which may interest you: http://naderelhefnawy.blogspot.com and http://raritania.blogspot.com. We started our discussion by talking about Dr. Elhefnawy's interest in the subject, his previous Space Review articles on the subject, and the issue of making accurate predictions. Nader suggested that there is much hype driving the technology predictions suggesting a possible space warfare outcome that also drive political policy in some instances. He talked about how technology development in the 19th century had more impact in changing the world than modern era technology. Our guest cited examples of this throughout our discussion but one example we talked about more so than others dealt with the development of the telegraph. Dr. Elhefnawy suggested that most of the hyped space weapons systems are not doable in the first place. Another document he cited about this issue was the Joint Vision 2020 report (www.fs.fed.us/fire/doctrine/genesis_and_evolution/source_materials/joint_vision_2020.pdf). Nader talked about space weapon systems vulnerabilities and again said that the expectations and hype do not match reality. Several callers engaged with Nader on cause and reaction, SDI, missile defense, anti-satellite warfare, and the pre-positioning of weapons platforms in space. In our second segment, I asked our guest how we in the public can best defend ourselves against hype, rhetoric, political agendas, and more given we do not have the expertise to always be able to pick up on the excessive claims and fears. As you will hear, we remain vulnerable to excessive hype not just on technology and space but on a wide range of things impacting our national and international policy. In this segment we did talk about technology being developed by China, inquiring if Nader thought this was all hype too. Nader cited some operational stats to drive home some of his points. Other issues and game changing technologies that came up in this segment included drones and the launch cost for space access. Nader also talked about the Eureka Paradigm and then he received a question from caller Mike about the European Code of Conduct that we have discussed many times on the show. Near the end, an interesting comparison was made with aerial warfare from 1914-1918. In just 7-11 years, aviation had advanced to fighting in the skies in WW1. More than fifty years after Sputnik, the point was made we are not even at the 1914 equivalent level for space warfare, thus supporting Dr. Elhefnawy's premise that we fall for the hype in this matter. Please post your questions/comments on The Space Show blog. If you want to email our guest, please do so through me and I will forward your note to him. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Fri, 08 Jun 2012 21:45:57 UTC
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The John Batchelor Show "Hotel Mars," Wednesday, 6-06-12 (4.82MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. John Lewis, Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Asteroid mining, Law of The Sea Treaty, asteroid resources. 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. During our 11.5 minute discussion, Mr. Batchelor as Dr. Lewis about asteroid mining and just how realistic was it. Dr. Lewis said we could be starting such ventures within 2-3 years with potential profits being realized about ten years later but that does not mean asteroid mining will actually happen in that time frame. The issue of seabed mining came up and Dr. Lewis was asked if the Law Of The Sea Treaty was a successful model for space mining. Dr. Lewis explained why in detail it was not a good model. Mr. Batchelor then asked about the early days of exploration initiating in Europe and he asked Dr. Lewis if that type of model might evolve for mining the solar system. Dr. Lewis had much to say about this issue and what it will mean for the industry depending on how issues are legally settled. He also suggested that such issues would not be settled until a private company actually started an off Earth mining project. Dr. Lewis made several important points during this short segment. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you want to email Dr. Lewis or Mr. Batchelor, please send your note to me and I will forward it on your behalf. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:26:28 UTC
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Lawrence Williams, Wednesday, 6-6-12 (32.93MB; download) -- Guest: Lawrence Williams. Topics: SpaceX, government policy, strategic relations, space capital investment 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 Lawrence Williams back to the show to discuss his 8.5 years with SpaceX to talk reality about strategic government relations, NASA, congress, competition, capital investment needs, markets, and policy. During this nonstop one hour discussion, Lawrence took us through from the start to today regarding the evolution of COTS and commercial space policy, plus growth for SpaceX. We talked about specific members of Congress and policies, the need for Members of Congress to pay attention to their constituents even when by doing so policies, rhetoric, or actions materialized that were not always in the best interest of COTS, commercial space, and companies including SpaceX. Listeners asked about ITAR issues, launch licensees, and even personality issues with key NASA and Congressional space policy leaders. Lawrence also told us about his new business, Capture10 (www.capture10.com) as he decided to leave SpaceX to put his skills to work in his own consulting business to be able to take advantage of the opportunities now developing in commercial space as a result of the SpaceX successes, accomplishments, and getting that commercial space door opened enough for others to also see opportunities. As Lawrence explained it, Capture10 is a business development and strategy firm that will help businesses identify, pursue and capture new billion dollar markets within the technology, telecommunications, and aerospace industries. Lawrence talked with us about some of the opportunities now emerging in aerospace. At one point, we talked with him about orbital and suborbital. As you will hear, most of his focus is on orbital because of his experience and his clients, but he has not overlooked the suborbital potential. I asked our guest about the impact of the US and global economy on capital investment in space. You might be surprised by his answer. We talked about Congressman Wolfe and some of his comments, as well as the role of government regulation and even the UN space treaties per the emerging commercial space industry. This is a fact and power packed hour discussion with an expert that has the political sense, the discernment, the "in the trenches" experience, and the lobbying know how to help a space company take roots, grow, and become successful. In addition, I believe the professionalism exhibited by Lawrence in responding to many of the questions demonstrates why such skills are crucial to both the company and industry success for space commerce and why Lawrence has been so good at doing this work for the past eight years with SpaceX. If you have questions/comments regarding this interview, please post them on The Space Show blog. If you want to contact Lawrence Williams, he said you could email him through www.capture10.com/Contact.html plus his email address he gave out on air. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 07 Jun 2012 01:54:08 UTC
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Dr. Friedmann Freund, Brian Shiro, Tuesday, 6-5-12 (49.73MB; download) -- Guests: Dr. Friedmann Freund, Brian Shiro. Topics: Earthquake forecasting & space resources. 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. We welcomed Dr. Friedmann Freund & the return of Brian Shiro to the program to discuss earthquake forecasting & analysis using space based resources. During our first segment, Dr. Freund & Mr. Shiro outlined the basis of their research & we talked about the use of both terrestrial & space based tools to aid the process. We talked about satellite detection of the Ion currents & changes in the ionosphere & how this data is correlated with terrestrial data. We talked about the direction earthquake prediction was heading & were told why the use of "prediction" was not preferable. Instead, the more accurate & useful term is forecasting. Also mentioned was a private company with a series of ground stations, QuakeFinder (www.quakefinder.com). Our guest talked about how this private sector commercial data gets integrated into the public sector data base & why their information is both valuable & important. Questions were asked about the importance of the ionosphere but we also learned that the currents & waves start deep in the Earth, work their way to the surface & then can be detected as they move upward through the various atmospheric layers to the ionosphere. Our guests explained how our space resources actually track & monitor this information. Another point made was that we do not have real time information in advance of an event though if we had swarms of satellites or a satellite network designed to monitor areas 24/7, we would be able to be present with "eyes" before & when an event happened. Funding issues were discussed & we heard that much of the research discussed on our program is considered "out of the box" & difficult to fund by the traditional process along with getting projects peer reviewed. I asked about the potential of the philanthropic model for this research as it has come up on several Space Show programs. Our guests had much to say about this potential source of funding. In our second segment, we talked about progress being made between traditional geophysical researchers & those doing the out of the box work such as our guests. As it turns out, there is progress on this front & Dr. Freund updated us on it. We switched to the suborbital field as I met Dr. Freund at the recently held suborbital conference & our discussions over lunch formed the basis for this program. There does appear to be sufficient commercial suborbital research opportunities with this developing seismic research field. Next, we talked about animal behavior for earthquake forecasting & both our guests told us anecdotal stories. We learned how Dr. Freund is correlating animal behavior earthquake research with the scientific research. Toward the end of the program, Emma in NYC who asked several questions, wanted to know about Mars quakes & Moon quakes. Our guests talked about earthquake research throughout the solar system & what we know & don't know. We learned that there are no geophysical research instruments providing direct information to us from Mars or anywhere in space because of the high cost of the hardware, the quantity of research tools needed, & the complex & costly operating expenses. Other discussion topics included the possibility of mitigating an earthquake, various research projects such as the USGS Parkfield Earthquake Experiment & the EarthScope Project. Please post your comments/questions on the blog. If you want to email either of our guests, do so through me & I will forward your note. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:44:32 UTC
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Jim Muncy, Sunday, 6-3-12 (59.20MB; download) -- Guest: Jim Muncy. Topics: Space policy, COTS, SpaceX, Commercial Crew 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 Jim Muncy to discuss space policy in light of the very successful COTS flight by SpaceX with their Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule. During our fist segment, we talked about this COTS flight, the berthing with the ISS and what this might mean for the COTS program, space policy and funding issues, and commercial crew. Jim had much to say covering many aspects of our policy and budget concerns, plus NASA policy now and what we hope for in the future. We talked about challenges ahead, members of congress, resistance points, and human safety. Toward the end of the first segment, we asked Jim about the confidence level in the mission before and during it and if either Jim or others were surprised by the outcome. This is an interesting discussion, don't miss it. As our segment ended, we were addressing HSF safety issues, NASA oversight and contracting methods. In our second segment, we talked about ULA and human rating the Atlas and Delta rockets. We then discussed using the successful COTS model being used to move commercial crew forward. We again discussed down selecting as a possible result of congressional funding action/policy as opposed to the process currently in place that will eventually allow NASA to pick the program from all the contenders - the one NASA thinks may be best. Markets for HSF beyond the life of the ISS were discussed in detail and we had more to say on crew safety on the HSF rockets under development. Another issue talked about was the public option for launch vehicles that some policy people support and how to be an advocate with the most impact on our members of congress regarding space issues. I asked about the impact on space policy & programs given our national and global economic issues. In short, don't expect more funding for NASA & space which leads us to now more than ever having alternative means of financing space missions. Commercial space programs & partnerships clearly provide an important & needed alternative. Toward the end, a caller brought up the Romney Space Advisory Committee. Jim suggested that things will change & not to assume anything as final at this point in time. He hoped that we had a good national debate in the coming campaign as to just what our space policy should be for the future. If you have comments/questions, please post them on The Space Show blog. If you want to email Mr. Muncy, you can do so through me.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:49:23 UTC
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