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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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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Amaresh Kollipara, Friday, 10-21-11 (58.30MB; download) -- Guest: Amaresh Kollipara. Topics: Commercial space, business management, investing, promoting, entrepreneurship, 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 Amaresh Kollipara back to the program for a nearly two hour hard hitting commercial space business investment program. I believe this to be a must listen to program. We started our discussion with an update on the Space Angels Network, the impact of the domestic and global economic climate on the space investing potential, and what angel investors look for in a commercial space investment. We talked about business plans, boot camp to improve the plan and the presentation, as well as what membership in the Space Angels Network offers to both members (investors) and companies. We also defined a space business in the context of what an angel might look for in the broader context. Later we talked about a manned mission to Mars and I brought up the stepping stone plan we have discussed on earlier Space Show programs. Amaresh supported the stepping stone or incremental development process and had much to say about it during the program. One listener asked him what the most common problem was for space businesses and he said it was the idea that the company had the coolest and best technology, and the best CEO with a bullet proof management team. Though this perspective is widely held, it is typically incorrect. We then talked about management team track records and Amaresh suggested that being adaptable was more important than the track record. At the end of the segment, Amaresh was asked to explain the difference in angel investing compared to venture capital. In the second segment, our guest returned to the stepping stone discussion and had more to say about HSF to Mars. He talked about enabling commercial ventures that could be done incrementally by the private sector that would enhance and facilitate going to Mars. He also stressed many times the need for the private sector to do more and more rather than funding HSF on the "backs of the taxpayer." Rich sent in a series of emails about microgravity R&D & how best to get companies to value the potential. This discussion consumed much of the rest of the show as we talked about intellectual property, protein crystal growth, computer simulations, DNA, space access, costs, and more. Amaresh mentioned SETI and the confirmation of ET life as a possible driver for space development, plus he said that no matter what we are limited by the rules of physics but we need radical change in how we do things and in our technology advancement. Later in the segment, I asked about the Indian space program and their HSF as well as lunar plans. We also got an update on Earth2Orbit. Our guest repeated that he thought we were at an important inflection point. He responded to listeners asking for startup advice as well as what to study in school to be an entrepreneur. In his concluding comments, he repeated that the space vision should not be on the back of the taxpayers and we need to be enabling commercial steps to reach the goals comprising the vision. Start small, the first ten incremental steps out of a thousand and keep moving forward. Please post your comments on the blog URL above. If you want to email Amaresh, do so through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 22 Oct 2011 19:44:12 UTC
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Lynn Baroff, Tuesday, 10-18-11 (58.26MB; download) -- Guest: Lynn Baroff. Topics: Space policy, long duration HSF needs and realities, crew size, costs, internationalization. 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 Lynn Baroff of NASA Ames to the program. Do note that Mr. Baroff spoke for himself, not for NASA. We started our first segment by asking Lynn when we would resume human spaceflight (HSF) and mount a long duration spaceflight mission to Mars, the moons of Mars, or another destination. He said that while we were in a difficult period now, it will eventually happen but he did not know when. He went on to say HSF was hard and costly and listed a few reasons in support of his statement. First, the human race has grown up living in great weather with an atmosphere and protection from solar radiation. Next, we have water, food, fuel, and overall our environment is very benign. Thus, we have to take our environment with us both going and coming and that is a challenge. The issue of mission trades in engineering, medicine, mass, and more came up and were discussed by our guest. One of the major trades focused on was crew size. Next, trades dealing with a variety of engineering & technical options & consequences brought up before we ended the first segment. In the longer second segment of this two hour program, John from Atlanta called to say we needed advanced propulsion. Nobody disagreed but our guest talked about the costs & the research needed to develop advanced propulsion. Our next topic was the mission and the trades in place for a lunar mission, a Mars direct mission, or a Deimos type mission. We talked about the payoffs to the public sector/private sector for undertaking such a mission. Lynn then suggested that for now space exploration was on the back burner though it was conceivable that should the government spend money on space & technology, needed jobs could be created. Alice from Arizona asked for an explanation of payoffs & this caused some problems for both Lynn and me. We talked about why we do space but the reality is a payoff can be different for each person or entity. There simply is no universal payoff, including space settlement. Lynn and I then spent considerable time talking about the communication problem in the space industry with Congress as well as the public. Lynn suggested advertising, I expanded that to industry sponsored PSA announcements/PR & even put forth an idea I have thought about using Fathom Productions. Lynn talked about the need to engage the public with the mission but talked about possible failure points with such missions. As the program drew to a close, Lynn suggested it was very risky to have all the eggs for the human race in one basket and spreading the risk was and is important with space offering a possible solution to mitigate that risk. We also talked about a Bay Area AIAA event planned for Tuesday, Dec. 6 in Mountain View, CA where Lynn interviews me with audience participation. I'll furnish details of this even as it draws nearer for those of you in the area who would like to attend. Please post your comments & questions on the blog URL above. You can contact Lynn Baroff through me, drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:18:35 UTC
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Dr. Peter Westwick, Monday, 10-17-11 (49.86MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Peter Westwick. Topics: Aerospace History Project of S. California known as Blue Sky Metropolis at The Huntington Library. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Dr. Peter Westwick to the show. Dr. Westwick is the Executive Director of the Aerospace History Project at The Huntington Library. The exhibit is known as Blue Sky Metropolis. Visit the Blue Sky website for more information, http://huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary_02.aspx?id=9892. The website for The Huntington Library for information about visiting is http://huntington.org/default.aspx. In addition, the article we spoke about later in our discussion, "Taking Flight: The Launch Of The Huntington's Aerospace History Project" authored by our guest is at www.huntington.org/uploadedFiles/Files/PDFs/s10takingflight.pdf. During our fist segment, Dr. Westwick helped us to understand how the aerospace industry started in Southern California and why it expanded to become the major aerospace industry region for the entire nation. In addition to the excellent Southern California weather, he cited the outstanding academic institutions, research labs, a talented labor pool, initial non-union workers and a right to work industry. Furthermore, city boosters got behind the industry from the start. World War II played a role as did Hoover Dam and the buildup of our military and defense industries. Dr. Westwick talked about the commercial space business, communication satellites, Direct TV and the El Segundo area. However, the industry stretched to San Diego, eastward to Mojave, Palmdale, Edwards AFB and north beyond Santa Barbara to Vandenberg AFB. Northern California also played a role but the industry was not as expansive in the north as the south. Silicon Valley as you will hear later on also had a part as a drive to growth in this industry. Our guest provided many details of this growth starting the 1910 Los Angles International Air Meet which was the first air competition in the country. We also talked about the growth and contraction cycles of the industry with layoffs, cutbacks and then growth again. In our second segment, we spoke about the Blue Sky Metropolis Exhibit. As you will hear, it is mostly a document and photo exhibit with very little hardware other than a few items including an R 18 rocket motor, the prototype of the Hughes Syncon geo satellite, and Explorer 1 which was the first U.S. satellite. The exhibit has lots of information from the Cold War period and then up to and including New Space. We talked about the Skunk Works documents and the Ben Rich Collection, including information on the SR71. Peter took many questions about military space in California including the Sultan Sea and how the industry expanded to Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, and Downey. We also discussed the Edwards AFB test pilots plus X planes. Peter explained the connection to the surfing industry and space cowboys. This brought up the connection with aerospace and Hollywood. Silicon Valley played a role as well, especially in the early days of integrated circuits. If you can, see this exhibit before it ends on January 9, 2012. Please post your comments and questions on the bog URL above. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:37:03 UTC
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Loretta Hall, Sunday, 10-16-11 (44.51MB; download) -- Guest: Loretta Hall. Topics: New Mexico's role and contribution to space travel. 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 Loretta Hall, author of "Out of This World: New Mexico's Contributions to Space Travel" to the show. Learn more about the book and Ms. Hall at http://nmspacehistory.com. We started our discussion with Ms. Hall letting us know how and why she became interested in the topic. We then started off with the early space program history in New Mexico. Ms. Hall had much to say about Robert Goddard after his arrival in Roswell, then we moved to the early days of rocket and spaceflight testing at White Sands and Holloman AFB. We talked about John Paul Stapp, Eli Beeding and the various rocket sled programs, the animal testing programs and of course the Lovelace Clinic and Dr. Randy Lovelace with his astronaut screening profiles. Other famous people of the time included AF Captain Joe Kittinger and Dave Simon. In our next segment, we talked about the early days of animal testing for human spaceflight in New Mexico, including chimps and even Yogi Bear riding the rocket sled. More was said about Dr. Lovelace, his Albuquerque clinic, and the tests he developed to confirm the fitness of Mercury astronauts. Loretta also discussed the Mercury Manhigh Program and seven geographical locations in New Mexico used for astronaut training. We then moved forward to talk about Spaceport America near Las Cruces. This discussion opened the door for our guest to talk with us about today's space programs in New Mexico which are focused on commercial and space tourism development. In our third segment, Ms. Hall talked about the famous VLA near Socorro and told us about the improvements to the VLA and the contest going on to give the VLA a new name. You can find out more about this contest at http://www.nrao.edu/namethearray. The deadline is Dec. 1 if you are interested. As we neared the end of our program, Loretta was asked about the Spaceport America progress, road development, and different phases of its construction. I also asked her for highlight events spanning New Mexico's space history. Robert Goddard toped the list with the V2 testing at White Sands. Also, the X Prize Cup which was held in the area for several years. If you have comments or questions, please post them on the blog URL above. Loretta Hall can be contacted through her website. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:11:17 UTC
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