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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James C. Bennett, Monday, 11-7-11 (44.12MB; download) -- Guest: James C. Bennett. Topics: Reforming the U.S space program by establishing Space Guard modeled on the U. S. Coast Guard. 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 James (Jim) Bennett to the program to discuss his concept for reforming NASA and our space program with the formation of Space Guard modeled on the U.S. Coast Guard. I urge everyone to read the definitive article written by Mr. Bennett, " Proposing a Coast Guard for Space" (see www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/proposing-a-coast-guard-for-space). We started our first segment with Mr. Bennett outlining the history and reasons that brought him to advocate for Space Guard. He took us from the early days of the space program up to and including federal procurement and the need to separate space transportation services from the procurement side of things. He explained why the Space Guard idea was modeled on the U.S. Coast Guard and he even suggested how to start the new Space Guard by taking in the unwanted programs from other parts of the government dealing with space including NASA, the FAA, and DOD. He said that the Space Guard idea had roots in an article on the subject by then USAF Lt. Col. Cynthia A.S. McKinley which was published in Aerospace Power Journal in 2000, titled "The Guardians of Space: Organizing America's Space Assets for the Twenty-First Century," www.airpower.au.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj00/spr00/mckinley.htm. In our second segment, we continued discussing procurement issues and we started taking listener questions. One listener asked about winners and losers in shifting to a Space Guard organizational program. I also asked our guest for implementation suggestions which he outlined in the most basic of ways, in addition to suggesting the next steps including networking and a study or analysis of what programs should initially be part of Space Guard. As you will hear, he is interested in building a base of support and interest for Space Guard so if this does interest you, email me or post on the blog and I will pass on your information and thoughts to our guest. We talked about applying lessons learned from our space experience to have a more efficient and productive program with Space Guard but Jim did say we do not have to wait for technology advancement to start on this. A listener asked about commercial and New Space and what these communities might think of Space Guard. Perry asked about using Navy or other military ranks and the difference in having Space Guard people as officers of the U.S. versus being an employee. Here, our guest had some important observations to offer us. In addition, he said we had too sure to not relocate offices and when people transferred over to Space Guard, salaries, ranks, benefits, etc. remained constant and were transferred as well. We talked about R&D for NASA including X vehicles and putting other functions of NASA inside the Space Guard organization. Joan got the last question, asking if it would not be better to have a cabinet level Space Department rather than Space Guard. Jim said no so don't miss his explanation. If you have a comment, question, or interest in Space Guard per this discussion, please post on the blog URL above. Emails to Jim Bennett can be sent to me via drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward them to him.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:37:18 UTC
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Jim Muncy, Sunday, 11-6-11 (71.04MB; download) -- Guest: Jim Muncy. Topics: Space policy, heavy lift launchers, congress, NASA budgets, human 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. 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 Jim Muncy back to the program for this 2.5 hour far ranging space policy discussion. I urge you to listen to the full interview as Jim had many important things to say about our current space program and our space future. We started our first segment with a short overview on where things stand with Congress and the NASA budget. Jim brought us up to date on the commercial crew funding issues now being decided in Congress. Our guest also said that more likely than not NASA will find its budgets trimmed over the coming years. He talked about the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) sucking all the funding from NASA Astrophysics and what this means for the Science Mission Directorate. Moving forward, Jim addressed the issues involved with the Space Act Agreement (SAA) and the Federal Acquisition Rules (FAR) with the return to the FAR. NASA oversight, safety, and control issues were part of this discussion. At one point, he used the term "ablative management" to describe the situation. We also talked about the Orion vehicle. Marshal asked a question about the value of NASA patents and IP and Jim said that at this time in its history NASA was more of a consuming agency than an innovative agency . There was much talk of needed NASA reforms in this segment and throughout today's interview. Next, Jim talked about segmented solid rocket boosters and why they are so costly to the detriment of the space program. You don't want to miss what Jim had to say about this important issue. This led us to a detailed discussion of the Space Launch System (SLS), a topic which was addressed off and on during the balance of the full program. Jim put forth compelling economic arguments regarding SLS, don't miss them. John from Atlanta called in as well to debate SLS issues. One of the points John made was that instead of fixed price contracting, cost plus incentive fee contracts should be used. Contractors would get a large incentive fee based on cost reductions. Listen to what the caller & our guest said for details on this idea. In our second segment, more was said about exploration, the ISS labor pool at JSC, & the lack of congressional continuity on programs year to year. Jim had much to say regarding the shuttle workforce & lessons learned from our shuttle history. Other topics included better use of the ISS, using Atlas 5/Delta IV for HSF & human rating them. Near the end of the program, a listener asked about the Futron Space Competitive Index and the U.S. decline. Another listener asked about issues stemming from congressional pork. On this topic Jim had much to say. In closing, he said we all had to fight for the space program we want. We cannot just sit back and let others do it for us and expect an acceptable outcome. He urged us to get involved. Please post your comments & questions on the blog URL above. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:03:10 UTC
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George Whitesides, Friday, 11-4-11 (28.27MB; download) -- Guest: George Whitesides. Topics: Virgin Galactic updates and information. 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 George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic, back to the show for updates and a progress report on the company. During our 45 minute discussion with George, we talked about Virgin operations and time lines, the Virgin test flight program, their test pilots along with the Scaled test pilots, required and pending FAA regulations, the impact of the global and domestic economy on Virgin ticket sales and a host of other topics and issues. Listeners wanted a quality comparison for the research flights with Zero G from Virgin Galactic as compared to a Zero G flight or a sounding rocket. Another listener wanted to know how long it might take for Virgin to fly 5,000 people in space once operations commenced along with how long it might take to have Point to Point spaceflight operations. I asked George about the demographics of Virgin ticket buyers including nationality, age, and gender. While the U.S. is the largest customer so far, global ticket sales were estimated to be greater in total than U.S. sales alone. George was also asked about the likelihood of Congress extending/renewing the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 which expires at the end of next year. A Denver listener wanted to know if Virgin felt competition pressure from the other vehicle companies. You might be surprised by George's response to this question. We also inquired about the expected revenue from both the research and the spaceflight participant segments once Virgin starts operation. As you will hear, our guest suggested that in time the research revenue would equal the participant revenue stream. Another set of questions asked about articles posted in the Albuquerque Business Journal about Spaceport America runway construction problems and crosswind placement issues. As our time with George drew to a close, he let us know we could register online at the Virgin website for more information about tickets. Once we register, Virgin has a representative call the registrant with more information. Visit the Virgin Galactic website for more details, www.virgingalactic.com. I came back for a very short second segment in which I went over upcoming Space Show programs for November. Please post your comments and questions on the blog URL above. If you need specific Virgin Galactic information, use the information and contact links on the Virgin website. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 05 Nov 2011 17:39:36 UTC
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Robert Brand, Tuesday, 11-1-11 (55.03MB; download) -- Guest: Robert Brand. Topics: Australian space history, Save Our Space Systems, old style radio dish antennas, space education outreach in Australia. 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 Robert Brand as our guest to discuss space advocacy, space interests, education, and projects in Australia. I suggest you visit and have available the following websites while listening to this program: 1) www.wotzup.com. This site has the tabs and pages for many of the programs discussed by our guest. 2). http://echoesofapollo.com. 3) http://pluscomms.com. Click on the Space-Comms tab. In our first segment, Mr. Brand began by talking about the Global Space Network he was creating by utilizing outdated equipment such as 30 meter dishes that have been abandoned. He described his concept in detail, including costs and the likely customer base. Later in this segment, we took several calls from listeners such as the one by Roger that commented on the outstanding space education outreach projects undertaken by Mr. Brand so we moved along to the topic of kids and space education. Robert talked about 3D lunar photography from Apollo and some of his Middle School outreach projects. Later, Monroe called in to mention Team Prometheus and their satellite project as well as the N-Prize. You can learn more about Team Prometheus at www.teamprometheus.org. Kimberly emailed in requesting Robert share his vision for 21st century space awareness. Robert replied saying "making space everyday for everyday people." Trent called from Australia to ask Robert what he thought were the greatest space needs for Australia. Robert talked about the need for disaster recovery information, data, facilities, etc. using real time space resources. In the second long segment, Robert directed us to his various websites listed at the start of this summary. We talked about Moon Bounce and Space-Quest, amateur radio , the UpLift project with balloon launches, and more. Robert went through the other programs on www.wotzup.com site including SugarShot, MissionTrax, Kidz-In-Space, and we talked about cubesat swarms and owning your own personal satellite. Later, he told us about his building a satellite tracker in his basement, he talked about holding workshops in his area to promote space education and personally owning a satellite, plus getting kids to take ownership of the technology, research, and data which inspires them with the projects, all of which is part of Do-It-Yourself-Space. Later, we talked about Australian space interests, the Australian space program, and space awareness in Australia. During the last few minutes of our two hour discussion, we talked space history, the Apollo program, the Parkes Radio Telescope, Honeysuckle Creek, the Challenger disaster, Robert's leaving the industry and then his return to promote space education among kids. Post your comments & questions on the blog URL above. You can email Robert Brand at Robert.Brand@pluscomms.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:24:33 UTC
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David Vaccaro, Ian Christensen, SCI, Monday, 10-31-11 (45.34MB; download) -- Guests: David Vaccaro, Ian Christensen. Topics: We discussed the Futron 2011 Space Competitiveness Index for ten space industrial space nations. 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. You are invited to download the Executive Summary from the 2011 report at www.futron.com/SCI_2011.xml. Our guests started off with an overview of the four year history of the Space Competitiveness Index (SCI) noting that of the ten countries making up the analysis, only the U.S. showed a consistent decline from year to year. That said, the U.S. is so far ahead of the other nations, that it remains in a solid first place. Still, the trend for the U.S. is going downward in this study. The ten countries comprising the study in addition to the U.S. are Brazil, Canada, China, Europe as one entity, India, Israel, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. Our guests talked about expanding the list of nations in future reports, possibly to include 2nd and 3rd tier nations such as Iran as they have had an orbital launch, Argentina, and Australia. We also talked about additional South American countries and Mexico. Our guests took us through the three categories in the report, human capital, industry, and government, then about 50 individual qualitative and quantitative metrics for each of the ten nations in these three categories. We talked about the overall impact of space policy, domestic and global economics, how other nations see and value space as compared to the U.S. and more. In the second longer segment, we talked about military space and not surprising, the leaders were the U.S., Russia, and China. In terms of launches, Russia leads the pack and now for the first time, China has tied the U.S. for second position regarding launches. Our guests were asked about measuring commercial space and we learned that it was not easy to measure it but our guests told us the metrics that do strive to account for it. Cubesats were discussed, space workforce issues and even space graduate school academics were discussed among the targeted nations. Listeners wanted to know about any measurable impact from ITAR, and the role of ego in driving other nations to increasing their space investment as compared to the U.S. Also, the role of international cooperation was discussed and we learned how the metrics reflected this behavior among the ten nations in the SCI. Our guests also mentioned niche actors in the space arena with a focus on the Isle of Man. One listener asked if the threats to U.S. space leadership were internal, external, or both. Our guests suggested both. Near the end of our discussion, our guests made it clear that space was not a zero sum game and the good news was that the U.S. and the other players are acting smarter, interacting more with others to do more, and engaging additional players. Definitely download and take a look at the Executive Summary for this year's report. In 2012, it will be the fifth year of the SCI and they are planning a five year summary and comparison and that will be most valuable for us all. If you have comments or questions, post them on the blog. Our guests would like feedback and suggestions and you can email them at sci@futron.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:46:16 UTC
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Dr. Joan Vernikos, Sunday, 10-3-11 (47.87MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Joan Vernikos. Topics: Microgravity and its impact on humans in space, extrapolating back here to Earth for a healthier life for everyone. 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. Joan Vernikos back to the program. Dr. Vernikos was the former Director of NASA's Life Sciences Division and she has a new book out which takes what she and others have learned about microgravity in space with astronauts and applied it to those of us on Earth to enable us all to use gravity to have a healthier life. Visit her website for more information, www.joanvernikos.com. I do recommend you subscribe to her free newsletter. In our first segment, Dr. Vernikos introduced us to the subject of microgravity in space, providing us with both new information and a different perspective on the subject. She talked about some of the basic assumptions in play and noted where they go wrong. For example, one such assumption is that after a six month stay, the astronauts return and they always return to normal. This is not always so. We also learned that from age 20 on, we as humans are on a downward slope, relating this to being in space as we experience similar problems as we get older, albeit at a slower pace. Dr. Vernikos talked about mitigation techniques, including pharmaceuticals taken before the flight but they are limited in their benefits & have risky side effects. Also, we are talking about LEO short duration spaceflight, maybe six months at the most. This is vastly different from deep space long duration spaceflight. Our guest talked about lessons learned from bed rest studies and why we need to stand up and move around, not just sit. The first segment was information packed. In the second segment, Dr. Vernikos talked about microgravity effects on the brain & our coordination, including our balance. John called to inquire about artificial gravity & partial gravity. Much was said on this subject with the bottom line being artificial gravity is probably OK, the amount is unknown, and maybe using an onboard 2 meter centrifuge multiple times a day at 1.5 or at 2 G's would be sufficient but again, this is not known for sure. We spent more time applying lessons learned to all of us here on Earth & her book. We then talked about the research needed for microgravity issues and she said it was a long lead time , maybe 20 years, and money was not what was required. We also talked about not going anywhere in deep space or on a long duration flight without resolving microgravity issues despite what people say & propose. Dr. Vernikos was confident that remedies or solutions would be found but the challenges are real, closed loop life support is needed, radiation shielding is needed, and more. Post your comments & questions on the blog URL above. You can email Dr. Vernikos through her website. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:47:11 UTC
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Dr. Bruce Cordell, Friday, 10-28-11 (57.54MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Bruce Cordell. Topics: Maslow Windows suggesting a coming period of economic space boom. 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. Bruce Cordell back to the program for a nearly two hour discussion of trends pointing to a coming period of space and economic boom around 2015. Dr. Cordell goes over the Maslow Windows, the historical trends and why the evidence supports the coming space boom theory. During our first segment, Dr. Cordell introduced us to the Maslow Windows theories, trends, historical significance and provided the groundwork for our understanding why the period around 2015 suggests a great space boom with parallels throughout history for undertaking and finishing great development projects such as the Panama Canal, Hoover Dam, and Lewis and Clark. As you will hear, one of the key indicators is a return to a period of wide spread feeling of ebullience throughout the nation. As this period develops, we see the very strong interconnection of politics with economics helping to form the policy supporting the boom. In helping us to understand the trends and history, Dr. Cordell talked about Sputnik, Gallup polls of the time regarding space and other relevant issues. As the first segment closed, Dr. Cordell was asked how we end up going in the opposite direction, from ebullience to gloom. As we started the second segment, our guest focused more on Apollo, JFK, the early to mid ‘60s mindset, Apollo 13, and the Viet Nam war. He then talked about what he called Pole Mania, the discovery of the North Pole followed by the South Pole. Dr. Cordell described potential speed bumps along the way to the coming boom period, but sees historical trends repeating themselves and coming to a head around the 2015 time period. Listeners wanted to know the triggers or the signs of the coming or projected economic boom and here Dr. Cordell referenced complexity theory. Dr. Cordell cited three signs to pay attention to: 1) Great explorations; 2) large technological programs; 3) and there is usually a major war near or at the end of the window. Another thing to note is that the Maslow Window is known for dramatic change. He cited as an example of our going from boats and canoes to the Saturn V rocket. In our third and final segment, Bruce discussed what he called the “panic” of 2008. The historical trends point to the boom within 6-7 years of such a panic. He also listed other historical periods that confirm the Maslow Window prediction. He had much to say about Sputnik in this discussion, President Eisenhower, and the International Geophysical Year in which nations agreed to explore together. Our guest then talked about great events and suggested they shake us up. A Chinese Moon program would be such an event. A successful Russian-Chinese Phobos Grunt Mission could shake us up as well. Don’t miss this discussion. Near the end of our discussion, he said that the Maslow Window is short lived with little time to act to take advantage of the feelings in society, the opportunities, and the timing. He did talk about ways to plan for an attempt to expand the Window time frame using a Mars launch at the optimum time of 2033 as an example of extending the Window, way beyond its short lived period. Post your comments and questions on the blog URL above. You can also reach Dr. Cordell through his website, http://21stcenturywaves.com/author/dr-bruce-cordell. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 29 Oct 2011 17:53:11 UTC
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Sy Liebergot, Tuesday, 10-25-11 (64.47MB; download) -- Guest: Sy Liebergot. Topics: Apollo & Skylab flight controller history and traditions. Space policy and the political problems associated with it. 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 Sy Liebergot back to the program to discuss the history & traditions of the Apollo & Skylab flight controllers & the "back room boys" that the flight controllers worked with on all missions. We also discussed the current status of our space policy as seen by our guest so brace yourself because Sy is outspoken & many of you will not like what he says is going on today in space policy. In our initial segment, Mr. Liebergot mostly focused on the history of the flight controllers along with their rich set of traditions & amazing loyalty to one another, their work, the mission, & NASA. I asked Sy about the training he needed to go through to be a flight controller, how candidates were recruited for the positions. We went back & forth with the flight controller history & traditions throughout our two hour interview. When not discussing flight controllers, Sy provided us with a comprehensive look at today's space policy through his filters. We addressed the SLS, a listener asked him why it was not considered a program to have as goals a NEO & Mars flyby in the coming years/decade. Sy talked about the position of NASA Administrator & said that he too had heard that Dr. Griffin wanted to return to the position should the administration change in the coming election. I wondered why Dr. Griffin or anyone would want to work in that type of argumentative & stressful environment, especially since the economic problems are so obvious & on the front page in bold lettering. Sy suggested we had no space program because of the lack of a national will. He said that the news media editors largely control national will & they are not interested in space. John in Atlanta called to argue for SLS as a placeholder program. I challenged both Sy & John by presenting alternative views for them to consider, including the New Space view. Sy argued about their being a difference in LEO & deep space & said commercial could have LEO but that deep space could not be the domain of the commercials. There is certainly enough polarization of views about space policy among space enthusiasts to last as long as the sun will keep burning! Sy brought up the need for space to be exciting & said LEO does not excite anyone. In our second segment, he said we needed to push the window with deep space missions and visions. John from Montana called in about his human factors, microgravity, & medical comments, including surgery in space. Sy talked about the space station they wanted but was killed as it would have addressed these issues. Sy had interesting things to say in this segment about the lectures he gives & what he says to students about a future career in the STEM fields, specifically the space fields. He told us his message was not optimistic. Later he talked about issues with Skylab 1, space as an R&D project, not a factory, suborbital space research, & more. He closed with a quote by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, July 20, 2005: "Great nations discover and explore. Great nations cross oceans, settle frontiers and continually renew their heritage and spirits and create greater freedom and opportunity for the world. Great nations must also remain on the front edge of technologically advanced programs to maintain their security edge." Please post your comments on the blog URL above. If you want to email Sy, do so using drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:02:15 UTC
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Dr. Paul Spudis, Monday, 10-24-11 (46.16MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Paul Spudis. Topics: Cislunar economic development, an historical overview of Mars as an HSF destination, plus 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 Dr. Paul Spudis to discuss cislunar economic development per the paper he wrote along with Tony Lavoie, "Using the resources of the Moon to create a permanent, cislunar space faring system." You can download his paper at http://www.spudislunarresources.com/Bibliography/p/102.pdf. For more information and additional papers, visit http://spudislunarresources.com. Dr. Spudis frequently posts articles and comments on his blog at http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon. During our first segment, Dr. Spudis provided an overview of his cislunar plans and we discussed technological barriers along with any other barriers that would prevent starting on this project at this time. He talked about water on the Moon along with competing theories about the water as well as the tools being used to detect and measure the quality & quantity of lunar water. Several times during our discussion he mentioned anti-space development forces within the government & even in industry that prefer only science space exploration, not human spaceflight (HSF). Later in the segment, Harry emailed in about the Moon Treaty given the current article on the subject in The Space Review (see www.thespacereview.com/article/1954/1). We talked about manufacturing large space ships on the Moon along with the costs for his cislunar development plans. This discussion also included a market assessment for the plan so make sure you hear this discussion. At one point, our guest referenced research that estimated that lunar water is worth 25 times the cost of water here on Earth coming up to the Moon. Larry inquired about his plan using humans vs. robots. As you will hear, initially Dr. Spudis referred to a robotic presence but as the program matured, humans would play an increasing role in it. When asked about launch access, Paul said the plan was vehicle agnostic. He also suggested international partners as an asset to the program. Later in the segment, he was asked about the recent Russian article about Russian plans to go to the Moon to use lava tubes (see www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/18/us-russia-moon-idUSTRE79H69P20111018). As we started the second segment, Dr. Spudis was asked about our focus on Mars as destination for HSF rather than the Moon. He had much to say on this subject, including giving us a history lesson as to how Mars evolved as the HSF focal point. Not only did he point out weaknesses in the HSF Mars objective, he talked about two competing world views for our space program. The first world view which is the main one is more or less about flags & footprints & not returning to where we have already been. The second world view involves incrementally developing capabilities, moving outward in space as we can with the goal of settlement. You do not want to miss what Dr. Spudis said about these competing world views and HSF to Mars. Near the end, we talked about public support for space based on polling. Paul offered us a new way of looking at these results & what the numbers really mean. As the program ended, we talked about the role of space tourism, the Indian PSLV rocket, SSP including from the Moon & even Soyuz lunar tourism. Please post your questions & comments on The Space Show blog URL above. Dr. Spudis can be reached as well through his website or spudis@lpi.usra.edu. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:57:01 UTC
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Open Lines, Sunday, 10-23-11 (90.93MB; download) -- Guests: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston. Topics: This is a wide ranging discussion with several callers on a variety of space topics. See below. 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. I opened the program with a list of discussion topics including a request for help if you know something about the Droid smartphone podcasting issue a listener brought to our attention. Next, I mentioned several items of interest in the opening monolog. Below are some of the URLs associated with this part of the discussion. 1) Popular Mechanics article on SAA to the FAR www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/nasa/is-this-nasa-document-saving-or-killing-manned-private-spaceflight-6518496; 2) Darren Rhyne's Afghanistan article www.dau.mil/pubscats/ATL%20Docs/nov_dec11/Rhyne.pdf; 3) Rand Simberg's article on space development & settlement http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/it%e2%80%99s-the-space-development-and-settlement-stupid; 4) Tom Murphy's article Why Not Space http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/10/why-not-space; 5) The NY Times article by Kenneth Change on Nasa & propellant depots www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/science/space/23nasa.html?_r=2. Our THREE hour discussion was comprehensive on a variety of topics. Mark Bray who participated throughout the entire show, discussed the space situation in Huntsville, contractors with Marshall Spaceflight Center, his attendance at the recent Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) meeting, congressional funding, heavy lift, SLS & more. Don't miss what Mark shared with us. Mark's call was followed by a break, then we started the 2nd segment with Dan Adamo on the recent NY Times article on propellant depots. He had much to say about propellant depots & their placement, LEO, & beyond. I mentioned several Space Show expert programs on the subject representing all views on the depot. I urge you to listen to the programs mentioned. Dan also talked about his coming Space News Op-Ed "Evolving a Responsible Human Space Flight Architecture." He also talked about Launch on Need (LON) for crew safety, about the size & capability of the planned SLS heavy lift as well as heavy lift in general. In our third segment, Mark Bray called again to comment from the inside on the designing of the SLS, the role of congress, & the overall impact of negative journalism on the issue, plus the risks to the space program of negative journalism & op-eds. He also talked about efforts to do outreach to the emerging commercial & New Space companies, offering NASA expertise for free to help them & how those outreach efforts have been received so far. The subject then switched to crew safety with some listeners saying NASA was not interested in safety. Mark explained the process, including funding, & how compromises get made up the project management ladder when funding is reduce but the project must go forward. We addressed the idea of stepping stones & incremental space development, especially for HSF. Commercial products along such a path make it worth while , especially if the commercial projects facilitate reaching the project's goal. Near the end of the program, Charles called in to say the only thing to do was to bypass NASA & the system, instead opting for small, incremental programs. The last call was from Andrew of the Tea Party In Space as he talked about space advocacy. Post your comments & questions on the blog URL above. Despite this being a very long program, its a program you want to hear start to finish. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:54:28 UTC
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