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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Jeff Krukin, Monday, 2-6-12 (105.84MB; download) -- Guest: Jeff Krukin. Topics: Space Vision & Space Policy. 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 Jeff Krukin back to the program to discuss how we do & should view space. For more information about Jeff & his space work, please visit www.jeffkrukin.com. Our discussion started with an evaluation of where we are today with space policy & the toxic nature of politics, including space politics. Jeff cited some examples of what he meant by toxic political rhetoric. As we began looking forward, Jeff put forth three perspectives as to the character of space. These three perspectives, if kept in mind, go beyond just thinking of space as a federal program. (1) Space is a mere 62 miles above us, & thus a continuation of our environment; (2) Space can be an extension of the economy , & thus part of our lives; (3) Space is a place of abundant resources, & thus crucial to our survival & prosperity. You can read his Space Daily article on this subject at www.spacedaily.com/news/oped-04t.html. I asked Jeff how to realize his three goals & we talked about the media in this country as well as advocacy, especially with politicians. The suggestion was made to start with local & regional politicians, evolving upwards to politicians on the larger & grander national scale. Several callers were with us during the first segment suggesting we go from think tank up the ladder to the national representatives. One of our callers suggested a new concept, venture philanthropy. This proved to be an interesting discussion given the way the existing billionaire space entrepreneurs were characterized in terms of their investment, activity, & as potential role models for others to invest from a philanthropic perspective, not just a business case perspective. Jeff then talked about the New Space Conference Business Plan Competition for 2012. If you are interested in it & possibly competing, visit http://newspacebpc.com. Before the segment ended, an email came in suggesting a Microlaunchers type policy followed by Charles calling us. Don't miss the Pooley/Microlaunchers discussion. In our second segment, Jeff talked about the need for a space transportation infrastructure. I then asked him how one goes about implementing the policies & ideas we had been discussing for the past hour or so. The subject of SLS came up & as to be expected, it drove the passions on all sides. Tim used an ice analogy that Jeff seemed to like. I took the part of a contrarian (I did this often during this interview) regarding the difficult choices for members of Congress in voting against jobs in their district given the economic realties of today. This came up in the first segment too in response to a listener question. I suggested it might be unrealistic to think congress would vote against jobs in the context of today's economy as compared to when the U.S. economy was or again becomes strong/robust. I challenged the NewSpace thinking on what policy was & might be in the best interest of the country as it might not be the NewSpace ideas. Jeff handled the questions & opinions I threw at him very well & in my opinion, he demonstrated not only civility, but reason, common sense, drive, & open mindedness. Near the end we talked about some of the ideas Dennis Wingo put forth on his most program, then Jeff left us with a thoughtful set of closing comments. If you have comments/questions for Jeff Krukin, please post them on The Space Show blog URL above. If you want to contact Jeff, you can do so through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:17:45 UTC
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Kepler Space Institute Webinar, Sunday, 2-5-12 (42.96MB; download) -- Guests: Dr. Bob Krone, Dr. Sherry Bell, Dr. Robert Frantz. Topics: Kepler Space University, the development of the Kepler Space Institute, the KSI Convention, & cutting edge space research & education. THE SPACE SHOW VIMEO CHANEL FOR VIDEO IS
http://vimeo.com/channels/thespaceshow. 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 our three guests, Dr. Bob Krone, Dr. Sherry Bell & Dr. Robert Frantz to this special webinar Space Show two hour program to discuss the Kepler Space University, the development of the Kepler Space Institute (KSI) and the upcoming KSI Convention to be held at Hilton Head, SC. from March 14-16, 2012. Please note that this program is archived as both a traditional Space Show audio only program and as a webinar video on The Space Show Vimeo Channel per the above URL. Both formats will be available simultaneously. Our discussion started with Dr. Krone providing us with the history for the Kepler Space Institute and University, followed by a Power Point presentation by Dr. Frantz sharing with us the KSI facilities and programming development plans. Our focus then turned to the upcoming KSI Convention. For more information, please visit the following Kepler websites: www.keplerspaceinstitute.info for convention information and registration and www.keplerspaceuniversity.com for Kepler University and general Kepler information. Our three guests shared the microphone to tell us about the topics, programming, and cutting edge focus not only for the convention, but for Kepler. In addition, during the first hour of our program we talked about art and culture issues related directly to space science, exploration and development. We also talked about the innovative concept of real-time data and information gathering and how it will be used at the KSI Convention. In the second hour of our webinar, we talked about the cutting edge research by Dr. Joel Isaacson regarding Recursive Distinctioning. Dr. Isaacson wrote Ch. 24 in the book "Beyond Earth: The Future of Humans In Space. " This chapter is available for reading/downloading on The Space Show Blog entry for this program per the above URL. As you will hear, the convention has a sharp focus on Kids in Space and developing programs to encourage younger students to get interested in the STEM programs along with space related fields of study/interest. The convention will have segments on space law and the quality of laws based on the respective work of frequent Space Show guests, Declan O'Donnell and Dr. David Schrunk. Space Solar Power has the attention of the convention along with other research, historical, cultural, and space themed topics. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog URL above. If you want to get in touch with either of our three guests, you can do so through me or through the KSI website.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:36:12 UTC
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Dennis Wingo, Friday, 2-3-12 (44.66MB; download) -- Guest: Dennis Wingo. Topics: Space commerce, a new space vision and plan, space applications. 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 Dennis Wingo who outline for us a new and inspiring commercial space policy and implementation program. To make his points, Dennis started out by discussing the news stories this week about the UN plan for a panel to control economic growth around the world for sustainability. You can read about it at http://news.yahoo.com/un-panel-says-retool-world-economy-sustainability-164515165.html as well as a host of other sites and articles on the internet. Also, check out the planned UN Rio Conference on this program at www.un.org/esa/dsd/index.shtml?utm_source=OldRedirect&utm_medium=redirect&utm_content=dsd&utm_campaign=OldRedirect. Dennis spent considerable time during our 90 minute discussion dismissing the dystopian view/policy per this UN panel while advocating why space development offered a viable alternative to this limiting policy and way of seeing our world. During our one hour first segment and in fact the entire show, Dennis championed science and fact over dystopian policy. He also talked about geo orbits and said there was a newly found orbit requiring much less energy that could be used for going to the Moon so pay attention to what he said about this orbit. He offered up some new/unusual ideas such as an open cockpit lunar lander. Dennis put forth a basic strategic plan for staying positive and using our time and energy to do something to prove we advocates are right rather than getting involved in the negative process which we have very little influence over. Several listeners commented on this strategy, bringing to bear some differences over what Dennis suggested. That said, the message Dennis presented us was to stay focused on the positive. Later, he said that the advocacy community's focus on low cost launch was misdirected. He talked about this a lot during this segment and the next so don't miss what he had to say about this important issue. Dennis did advocate Zero G Zero Tax which he said was good for space applications. Also in this segment he talked about the advances we have made in robotic technology and the Pisces Project in Hawaii, http://pisces.uhh.hawaii.edu. As this segment ended, he talked about the "Church of SSP," updating his book "Moonrush," & the need for unity in the advocacy community. In the second segment, a listener asked about the Dr. Spudis cislunar economic development plan and Dennis talked about the need to lower total capital costs. He also talked about prizes such as the Mars prize recently suggested by Dr. Zubrin. Dennis repeated that the way to counter the bad press & media was to do something, a space application, to prove that we are right and those ridiculing space investment are wrong. Near the end, he said "the future will right itself....Don't focus on the negative." Please post your comments/questions for Dennis Wingo on The Space Show blog URL above. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:50:27 UTC
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John Batchelor "Hotel Mars" Segment, Weds, 2-1-12 (10.16MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. Steven Howe,, Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) propulsion, antimatter propulsion, HSF to Mars. 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 Nuclear Thermal Rocket(NTR) propulsion, antimatter propulsion, using NRT for human missions to Mars, NEOs, and even the Moon. We talked about using the new tungsten matrix fuel for today's NTR, no radiation leakage, ground testing, and the use of this energy for habitats on the Moon and Mars. If you have questions/comments, please post them on The Space Show blog URL above. If you want to send a note to Dr. Howe or Mr. Batchelor, send it to me and I will forward it for you. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:18:30 UTC
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William (Bill) Mellberg (62.65MB; download) -- Guest: William (Bill) Mellberg. Topics: Comparing aviation to commercial space regarding markets, safety, and more. Explorer 1 54th anniversary. 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 Bill Mellberg to the program to compare the early days of aviation with today's commercial space industry. We also honored the 54th anniversary of Explorer 1. Mr. Mellberg started the discussion with Explorer 1 by talking about the early history of Vanguard, Explorer 1, Werner Von Braun, Ernst Stuhlinger & more. Richard Easton called & we talked about timing, GPS, clock synchronization, his Dad's work, and Vanguard early history. Turning to our main topic, comparing the early days of aviation history to the commercial space industry today, our guest said it was a flawed comparison. During the first segment, he explains in detail his reasoning which has to do with commercial markets, what the government is paying for regarding commercial space as compared to what it paid for with aviation, specifically the Kelly Air Mail Act of 1925. We also talked about the early history of Fokker Aircraft Company which he tied into our discussion on markets, market timing, and production capabilities. Mr. Mellberg addressed human spaceflight safety from the point of view that it would be extremely hard for the commercial companies to master safety given the complexities & costs of human spaceflight & the potential damage or even ruination of the company should there be a fatal accident. Before the segment ended, our guest drove home the lack of commercial markets for human spaceflight. There must be HSF markets other than the government market for the ISS. In our second segment, our guest cited some airplane examples that were ahead of the market and suffered from bad market timing. He then used the SST as an example of the points he was making about high operating costs, no or limited markets, government subsidies, etc. He went over the economics of why the Boeing SST was killed by our congress and what happens when the ticket price is so high that a broad market cannot be realized. Listeners and callers asked about government regulation crippling innovation. Bill then suggested the path to commercialization was with a program such a what Dr. Spudis and Dr. Lavoie have proposed in their paper "Using the resources of the Moon to create a permanent, cislunar space faring system" as well as on The Space Show. You can read their paper at www.spudislunarresources.com/Bibliography/p/102.pdf. Bill said that eventually as cislunar economic develop evolves, so would commercial markets and opportunities. He also recommended the NASA reorganization plan proposed last year by Dr. Harrison Schmitt. You can read his plan at www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=37176. Our guest suggested that we should use the money being invested in commercial human spaceflight to do space exploration projects because commercial space today is an unnecessary diversion of scarce resources in a tight economy. Throughout our discussion, he talked about government contracting and why it is different today, not commercial, and unlike what was done in early aviation and with airmail. At the end of the program, our guest treated us to some of his political humor and impersonations per his program, "An Evening With The Presidents." Post your comments/questions on our blog URL above. You can hear his humor at www.aneveningwiththepresidents.com/live. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:00:25 UTC
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Alan Boyle, Monday, 1-30-12 (53.53MB; download) -- Guest: Alan Boyle. Topics: Space news, space policy, budgets and insights. 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 Alan Boyle to the program. I recommend you follow and subscribe to his blog Cosmic Log at http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com. In our first segment, Alan shared his views on space policy and the presidential candidates, developments and issues with commercial space and crew efforts, and the space vision for BEO. Specifically, we talked about Newt's proposed policy, American statehood for a lunar colony, the Outer Space Treaty (OST) and Alan's view that he thought overall Newt's comments were not that helpful to his campaign. To a lesser degree, we talked about the Romney space policy. Also on the discussion table were large government projects and he referenced a few that seemed better than most such as the Large Hadron Collider and ITER. We also talked about the fact that in the previous administration, having a lunar outpost that eventually was to become commercial was our national space policy up until the new administration cancelled the program. Alan was asked several questions about commercial crew and he referenced comments made by Boeing that the business case for now does not close without government support. We also talked about the gap and the readiness of commercial crew to the ISS. During this discussion, I mentioned what I had heard about Space X and its schedule for flights prior to 2017. During the show, I contacted Space X, got a clarification of what I had heard and read it on air near the end of the program. I appreciate the timeliness of Space X in getting back to me with accurate information so make sure you hear their statement in the last segment. Another topic Alan brought up was international cooperation with costly missions. I asked him about Stratolaunch as he was at the initial press conference. He said "it was like The Band got back together." Don't miss his full comments on this project. A listener wanted to know about human rating the Atlas V, Blue Origin, and NASA budget issues. In this context, we mentioned Intrade and Alan told us about the Iowa Electronic Market. In the second segment, we talked about orbital fuel depots, SLS again, and the politics of these projects. Listeners asked questions about Space X and their projects, and then he had much to say on NASA robotic missions. Toward the end of the program, Alan talked about space leadership & in response to my questions said it has historically come from The White House. We got a call from Andrew of the Tea Party In Space to advocate Newt's space policy. We addressed additional issues for JWST, its cost, its science value, and its possible crowding out Mars robotic missions planned for the future. Alan referenced Jim Oberg regarding the problems with Russian space hardware and Dave sent in a note about the JWST budget concerns for future astronomy missions and wondered if we were risking too much on one rocket launch. Please post your comments/questions for Alan Boyle on The Space Show blog URL above. He can be reached through Cosmic Log. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:20:33 UTC
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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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