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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Henry Vanderbilt, Friday, 3-11-11 (44.25MB; download) -- Guest: Henry Vanderbilt. Topics: Space Access Society, Space Access Conference, commercial space. Please note that 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. For more information about the topics of today's program, visit www.space-access.org. If you are needing to make Grace Inn reservations in Phoenix, visit www.graceinn.com. For questions or comments about the conference or our discussion with Henry Vanderbilt, please use space.access@space-access.org. During our first segment, we opened up with our guest saying that progress was being made toward developing commercial space and moving toward lower space access costs, but we were still not at the finish line which would be represented by radically cheaper space transportation. Henry took us through the list of conference speakers which can be found on the Space Access website above. He highlighted a few of the discussion topics including propellant depots, CCDEV 2 applicants, and the NASA Technology Roadmap among many others. He mentioned the Grace Inn which is again the conference hotel in Phoenix. Advance registration is by mail, paying at the door or using a credit card at the door results in a higher fee. As we began taking listener questions, there were several about space policy coverage at the conference and the differences in Senate as compared to House space policy. Several times during our discussion, our guest talked about making needed NASA policy types of reforms. Toward the end of the first segment, the heavy lift rocket subject came up. Henry had much to say about this so don't miss this discussion. In the second segment, we talked about astronaut safety as an issue facing the commercial spaceflight industry. Here again, our guest had much to say on this subject that you will want to consider. Expendable versus reusable rockets were discussed in the context of astronaut safety as was the business bottom line. As the second segment was nearing its end, listener Larry asked as question about the need for destinations and timelines and the fact that they were dropped for the administration's policy. Henry pointed out that they require a pinning down of technologies which means there are no resources deployed to advancing technologies. Again, do not miss this discussion. During the final segment, we discussed more aspects of the conference including its strong international component and the bloggers that are going to be there to blog and cover the conference. Kathy in Salt Lake City asked if Space Access was a NewSpace Conference but as you will hear Henry say, its broader than only NewSpace. For the balance of our segment, Henry talked about the conference facilities, highlighting more of those attending and speaking. If you have a comment or question for Henry, please post it on the blog URL above as well as sending it to Henry Vanderbilt per the above email address. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Fri, 11 Mar 2011 22:46:54 UTC
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Eric Lerner, Monday, 3-7-11 (45.56MB; download) -- Guest: Eric Lerner. Topics: Focus Fusion, fusion energy research and development. Fusion for space travel. Please note that 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. We welcomed back Eric Lerner for updates with Focus Fusion and Lawrenceville Plasma Physics. At times our discussion was very technical, especially with some of the listener questions. Eric had much to say about fusion, his progress and accomplishments, and fusion for space travel. Visit his websites for more detailed information, www.lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com and www.focusfusion.org. As we began our discussion with Eric, we learned that we still do not have net energy but work is proceeding and as I understand it, that goal is in site. Eric then talked about work and pictures with the plasmoid, confirming theories. This is an important discussion for understanding focus fusion and also our Space Show discussion. As our technical fusion dialog advanced, the first listener question asked Eric why he was able to report accomplishments and the formal fusion program with Tokomaks appeared to be problematic at best. Eric had much to say about the formal and traditional fusion programs, federal funding issues, and ITER. You do not want to miss what he had to say. One of his comments was that DOE and traditional fusion programs were not going on the right direction. The DOE and others had narrowly defined their options around 35 years ago so with narrowly defined approaches to fusion, the wrong path has been enhanced year after year. Toward the end of the first segment, Mr. Lerner was asked about other alternative fusion programs including the one with the Navy based on the work of Dr. Robert Bussard. Near the end of this segment, Kelly inquired about the size needed for a focus fusion reactor and the feasibility of using it with a car, semi, or airplane. Charles called in regarding his question about reactions with Lithium 7, Fluorine, and the use of deuterium-ritium neutrons. In our second segment, Eric returned our discussion to his accomplishments since he was last on the program in April 2010. Dave called in and Trent from Australia had a similar question, that is how can fusion be used to facilitate space travel and open up the space frontier. Eric and Dave talked about NASA funding opportunities but it was not clear fusion was eligible for NASA funding. As for fusion for space, Eric had much to say do don't miss this discussion. In our last segment, I explored the NASA no fusion funding policy with Eric and Harold in Las Vegas inquired about fusion projects outside the U.S. and how they were funded. Later in this segment, a listener asked Eric why he used the term scientific feasibility rather than breakeven. Eric also took a question about HE3 on the Moon as compared to boron here on Earth. Near the end, Eric talked some about alternative cosmology and the funding structure for his company for accredited investors. If you have comments or questions for Eric Lerner, please post them on the blog URL above. You can email him through the Lawrenceville website or lpp@lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com. Put The Space Show in the subject line. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:23:11 UTC
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Chris Carberry, Artemis Westenberg, Sunday, 3-6-11 (45.65MB; download) -- Guests: Chris Carberry; Artemis Westenberg. Topics: Explore Mars, Inc. and various Mars focused programs and awards. Please note that 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. To learn more about the programs discussed in this show, the Mars Exploration Magazine (MEM) and more, visit www.exploremars.org. You can also register for the conferences discussed during this program. In the first segment, we talked about the upcoming NTSA Awards with science teachers at the conference this week in San Francisco. We also talked about the other conference hosted by Explore Mars, The ISSMARS-DC Conference at George Washington University. Listeners asked questions about a time line for a humans to Mars mission and if it would be a public, private or combination of both type of mission. Our guests were asked about the impact of the domestic and global economic problems on Mars missions and the timeline. Other listeners wanted to know more about Mars and the need for heavy lift rockets. In the second segment, Chris talked about Explore Mars at the upcoming ISDC conference in Huntsville as well as other special events that have taken place and will be taking place. A listener question asked about the Mars Direct program and if there was any interest in it. Later in this segment, Larry in San Diego mentioned the need for real political leadership. This turned into quite a discussion so don't miss it. John then called in from Atlanta to advocate nuclear propulsion for Mars. In the final segment, Chris talked about his recent experience meeting Congressman Barney Frank regarding humans to Mars, commercial space, and our space program. Don't miss how he assessed this meeting as Congressman Frank is not a friend of much of the space program. Both of our guests spoke about policy and throughout the program, Artemis shared with us some European highlights and space policy issues/awareness things throughout the Netherlands. Toward the end of the program, we talked about finding microbial life on Mars and what this may mean for Explore Mars and their efforts to get a human to Mars. We got a perspective from each of our guests plus listener feedback to their two sets of comments. The issue of human factors for long spaceflights came up with listener Bill in Virginia. Again, both our guests opined on the subject. Don't miss their comments. What do you think? If you have a question or comment, please post it on the blog URL above. You can also email Chris Carberry at carberry@exploremars.org. Artemis can be emailed at artemis@exploremars.org. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:05:39 UTC
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Max Vozoff, Friday, 3-4-11 (43.64MB; download) -- Guest: Max Vozoff. Topics: SpaceX, launch industry, human spaceflight safety, space policy, space budgets, commercial space. Please note that 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. We welcomed Max Vozoff back to the program. Max now has his on space consulting company, MV2Space which he discussed in detail throughout our program. We started off by acknowledging his five years with SpaceX followed by why he decided to strike out on his own and what he hopes to accomplish in the space industry and with his own company. During our first segment, it was not surprising that Max received lots of questions about SpaceX, Falcon 9, Falcon 9 Heavy, Dragon and more. In discussing the Falcon 9 and launch pricing, especially in light of news that EELV pricing is going up, Max talked about the need to have as a primary objective reliability and then a disruptive price. Here he talked about the classic launch and pricing infrastructure and what draws management in so don't miss this important discussion. Later in the first segment, the commercial suborbital industry came up for discussion so don't miss what Max had to say about this developing industry. In the second segment, Max talked about CCDEV, Dragon and DragonLab. He told us about a program to use Dragon for STEM education from all 50 states for K-12 education on a yearly basis. Several listeners asked more questions about DragonLab. Near the end of this segment, I asked Max about SRBs for human spaceflight as compared to liquid rocket motors. We had a good discussion on this and Max had much to say so again, don't miss this discussion. Toward the end of the segment, we talked about the Falcon 9 Heavy and firing 27 engines together. We kicked off the third segment talking about a partnership including Max Vozoff, FIRESTAR Technologies, Inc. and others, Innovative Space Propulsion Systems (www.ispsllc.com). This company hope to be able to replace hydrazine as a fuel with a new monopropulsion fuel, NOFBX. Near the end of the program, a listener asked Max about job applications at SpaceX and how challenging it was to be hired by the company. Mad had much to say about the process and who gets employed so again, don't miss what our guest had to say about this matter. As the program neared the end, we talked about reusability and flight test programs for the Dragon/Falcon 9 system. If you have a comment or question for Max Vozoff, please post it on the blog URL above. You can also email Max Vozoff using mvozoff@mv2space.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:54:33 UTC
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Dr. Joshua Colwell, Dr. Dan Durda, Wednesday, 3-2-11 (34.73MB; download) -- Guests: Dr. Joshua Colwell, Dr. Dan Durda. Topics: 2011 Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, suborbital spaceflight. Please note that 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. We welcomed our two guests, Dr. Joshua Colwell and Dr. Dan Durda as we began and third and final program in this series from the 2011 Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference on the campus of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando. We started this first segment with each guest providing us with his overview perspective of the conference. Both guests said the conference was cross cutting and interdisciplinary, covering many different fields of space science and development. Our guests provided us with a comparison between the first conference of this kind held last year and this one, then with a look forward to expectations for the industry by the time of the third conference to be held around this time in 2012. I’m sure you will find the year by year comparisons to be impressive. During this segment, I asked our guests a question I have been getting many times over since this series started. The question focused on what can actually be done in 3-4 minutes of microgravity and is suborbital space even relevant given orbital space. You do not want to miss how both guests responded to this line of questioning. I believe they gave the best answer yet to this genre of questioning and concerns for suborbital research flights. As the first segment was drawing to a close, a listener asked about any noticeable difference between the international and the domestic suborbital research groups and the same for international as compared to domestic student programs. Both guests said they could not discern any differences based on location or nationality. As the segment was ending, I asked Dr. Durda to tell us about the actual experiment he was going to fly as a payload specialist. Dan described the three initial experiments, his training, and some characteristics of his proposed flight/mission/experiment. Starting off in the second segment, our lead question dealt with commercial markets for suborbital research as compared to government, academic, and student markets. Also in this segment, we talked about suboribtal and its impact on students as a motivating tool. Our guests had much to say about this so don’t miss this discussion. Dr. Lurio called in to inquire about CRuSR. Later, Laura Seward, a grad student in the program at UCF with Dr. Colwell called in to talk about the marketing session at the conference and to tell us the extent of interest in commercial markets, particularly material sciences by the Japanese. I took the opportunity to ask her some questions about her interest in pursuing space and science studies and the UCF program., as well as the impact on her studies of the suborbital program. We ended the program with our guests providing us with their takeaways from the conference and pearls of wisdom. Summed up, they said from last year to next year, it was concept to reality to flights, lessons learned, and information gained. Please post your comments or questions on the blog URL above. You can email either guest by going through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:52:36 UTC
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Bretton Alexander, Tuesday, 3-1-11 (29.10MB; download) -- Guest: Bretton Alexander. Topics: Commercial Spaceflight Federation, commercial space, suborbital research flights. Please note that 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. You can find out more about the Commercial Spaceflight Federation by visiting www.commercialspaceflight.org. For this program, our guests and agenda changed as George Whitesides was unable to join us due to a delayed flight arrival time and Mr. Alexander had attended a CCDEV2 set of meetings that took him away from the Orlando suborbital researchers conference. Despite the changes, Mr. Alexander was a very welcome guest as I have been wanting to feature the Commercial Spaceflight Federation on The Space Show for more than a year. We started off with Brett telling us about the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, its membership, its purpose and goals. We talked about the realities of going up on the Hill and lobbying/influencing congress to support commercial space development and public-private partnerships with NASA for the commercial space industry, specifically for human spaceflight. Brett had much to say about the budget issues, the congressional focus on cost cutting and NASA FY 11 and FY 12 budget proposals. We also talked about the capabilities of the commercial sector to provide LEO and ISS transportation and that it would be the most cost effective way to develop this transportation system moving forward. Later in our first segment, I asked Brett about his experience in space policy working for both the Clinton and Bush White House so don't miss what he had to say. As one of the authors of the Vision for Space Exploration, he did say he was sorry to see that it did not work out but as you will hear, for budgetary and other reasons, changes had to be made. We talked about using the NASA FY 2010 $18.7 billion budget as the flat budget for five years but of course that has not yet been finalized. At the end of the first segment, we talked about the Open Letter to Congress regarding commercial crew development. You can read the letter at www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1509. In our second segment, Brett went into more detail about commercial crew development (CCDEV), its funding and the second part of the program known as CCDEV2. Later in the segment, I asked what key events we should be on the watch for and he suggested the CCDEV 2 selection later this month, more Falcon 9 and Dragon launches plus the planned Orbital launches for later this year. He also said to watch Virgin Galactic for the engine tests and of course to see how the legislation and the budget unfolds, both for FY 11 and FY 12. If you have questions or comments for Brett Alexander, please post them on the blog URL above. You can also email them to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:20:19 UTC
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Dr. Alan Stern, David McBride, Monday, 2-28-11 (28.62MB; download) -- Guests: Dr. Alan Stern, David McBride. Topics: 2011 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, emerging suborbital industry. Please note that 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. We welcomed both Dr. Alan Stern and David McBride to the program to discuss the first day of the Next-Gen Suborbital conference, the announcements pertaining to the contracts with the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to fly eight missions with payload specialists on both XCOR and Virgin Galactic flights. You can learn more about this conference and see its agenda by visiting www.swri.org/9what/events/confer/nsrc/2011/program.htm. You can read the SwRI press release on the flights at www.swri.org/9what/releases/2011/pioneer.htm. During our hour long discussion with both guests, we talked about the conference, those attending, the program and some of the keynote talks as well as the identification of the Payload Specialists that have been named to fly three of the upcoming suborbital missions. We talked with Mr. McBride about the CRuSR program which is now based at Dryden and the funding for the program for both FY 11 and FY 12. In addition, the first suborbital research missions were described in some detail. A question was asked about what was meant by heavy lift, a discussion topic on the conference agenda. We also talked about X-15 as a suborbital research platform given the interest of Dryden which is at Edwards Air Force Base. A listener asked Dr. Stern about the disclosure and disclaimer requirements for the payload specialists as well as the medical standards and wondered if the payload specialist was treated the same as the spaceflight participant (tourist). Another listener asked Mr. McBride about the suborbital vehicle flight control systems given his experience in the field. David then told us about his Virgin Galactic flight simulator experience. Other listener questions wanted to know if around four minutes of microgravity would be sufficient to get useful information. Listen to what our guests said, as well as the training program they are going to be using to be able to maximize their microgravity time and focus to accomplish the research mission. Other questions were asked about NASA overall support for the suborbital industry as well as the research projects. Additional topics included the networking opportunities at the conference, possible suborbital flights from Florida rather than just Mojave and Spaceport America. At the end of our hour, I asked each guest for their takeaways for this discussion. Dr. Stern said there were three, highlighting the growing interest in the industry, the change within NASA to accept suborbital research flights and opportunities, and that the flights are becoming far more real today than they were even a year or two ago. Mr. McBride suggested the increased interest in the industry with NASA HQ along with the push to see an educational outreach objective with the flight. Post your comments and questions on The Space Show blog above. You can send emails to either guest through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:06:34 UTC
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Robert (Rob) Godwin, Sunday, 2-27-11 (46.92MB; download) -- Guest: Robert (Rob) Godwin. Topics: George Griffith, science fiction overview, science fiction authors and stories. Please note that 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. We welcomed back Rob Godwin to talk about two recently published George Griffith science fiction books, "Around The World In 65 Days: The Journal of the Real Phileas Fogg" and "The World Peril of 1910." Both of these books are available on the OGLF Amazon partners page and if you buy them using the following URLs, Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show/OGLF. Please use www.amazon.com/dp/1897350279?tag=onegialeafou-20 and www.amazon.com/World-Peril-1910-Ron-Miller/dp/B004J10EXO/ref=onegialeafou-20. We started our discussion with Rob by getting background information and an overview of George Griffith who from 1893 to 1895 was the most famous science fiction writer in England. Later on, he drifted into obscurity. Rob talked extensively about both books plus others written by Griffith and we made comparisons with other science fiction writers of the time and even today. Much of the comparison was with H.G. Wells but as you will hear throughout our show, Rob really knows the history and authors of science fiction literature and he took us through a rather complete mini science fiction history. Later in the segment, we talked about steampunk and George Griffith being a sort of Spiritual Ancestor to the steampunk movement. At the end of this segment, Rob talked about tracking down Griffith's family members and the role of Alan Arnold Griffith with the jet engine. Don't miss this very interesting history. In the second segment, John from Atlanta called in and wanted to know about science fiction and space propulsion technology and faster than light travel. Rob introduced us to E.E. "Doc" Smith and his work and stories. We also talked about touring the solar system with science fiction, deep solar system travel and making a social statement using science fiction as did Wells. Richard Godwin asked a question about contemporary parallels to Griffith and Wells being Steven Spielberg who appears to be an anti technologist and Gene Roddenberry who thought that technology would solve our human social problems. This prompted quite a discussion that you will want to hear. Near the end of this segment, I asked our gust about modern day science fiction authors. In our final segment, Don Beattie phoned in to talk about using science fiction to improve STEM education in our school system. Rob had much to say on this subject given his efforts to get science fiction works into various schools and districts. At the end of the program, we talked about science fiction and especially George Griffith as a predictor of capabilities yet to come or be realized. If you have questions or comments for Rob Godwin, post them on the blog URL above. You can also send them by email to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward them to him. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:47:17 UTC
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Dr. Robert L. Hirsch, Friday, 2-25-11 (43.94MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Robert Hirsch. Topics: The world energy mess and its relationship to economic & space development & what we can do about it. Please note that 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. You can also visit the Apogee website for this book, "The Impending World Energy Mess: What It Is And What It Means To You!" at www.apogeeprime.com/prime/bookpages/9781926837116.html. The book is available on the OGLF Amazon Partner's website and if you buy it using this URL, Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show/OGLF: www.amazon.com/dp/1926837118?tag=onegialeafou-20. Despite the very tough message in this book and our hard hitting discussion on this program, I consider this book and our discussion to be one of the most important books and Space Show programs ever. Without affordable and abundant energy, we will suffer the loss of much of our economy and maybe even our way of life. Space development may some day seem unimportant even to large parts of our own community. I decided to skip the usual segment by segment breakdown for this review. Dr. Hirsch began the interview with an overview of the geological issues regarding the main fossil fuels we use for energy. We talked facts about renewables and green technologies, keeping these options in perspective given our needs are now and in the immediate near term. I believe its worth noting the concluding remarks in the book's Foreword by Dr. James Schlesinger: "Readers of this book may question individual calculations by the authors, but they need to absorb the overall message of the analysis regarding the inability in the decades immediately ahead to increase production of liquid fuels, as demand rises." During our discussion, Dr. Hirsch was clear talking about the difference in liquid fuels and our electricity problems. We also talked about the energy future for the U.S. as compared to Canada, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Europe, and China. Electric cars, wind power, solar power (both terrestrial and space derived) were discussed and Dr. Hirsch said many time over that we need to bring to bear all the tools that we can, but for the near term and now, we are between a rock and a hard place. He told us that alternative fuels, green options, renewables cannot provide us with liquid fuels for transportation and cannot make a sufficient dent in our needs now or for the near term. As you will hear, the authors even have a chapter in the book on what individuals can do to protect themselves as much as possible from these problems and even realize opportunities from the predicament we are in. Much was said about the political agenda of politicians and others which complicate the matter and exacerbate the problems we face. Listeners asked lots of questions about alternatives, finding new oil fields, nuclear power, fusion energy, space solar power, global warming, and doing more drilling in the United States. We talked about the impact of the world energy mess on investment, capital acquisition, discretionary spending, and government policy in how it spends and allocates money. Dr. Hirsch said it was not that clear how this would play out in the private sector with the wealthy using space as the model. This was a comprehensive discussion on our energy needs for the future. Several times during the program we extrapolated to space development issues but the concerns are far broader than just space. At one point when pushed for a time line, Dr. Hirsch suggested 3-5 years until the oil started declining but the current Middle East problems have the potential to speed that up. Please post your comments and questions for Dr. Robert Hirsch on the blog URL above. You can also email them to me and I will forward them to our guest. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:12:01 UTC
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Dr. John Brandenburg, Tuesday, 2-22-11 (52.84MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. John Brandenburg. Topics: "Life And Death On Mar" and the evidence for a one time large nuclear reactor process on Mars around 200 million years ago. Please note that 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. Dr. Brandenburg's book, "Life And Death On Mars: The New Mars Synthesis" can be purchased from the OGLF Amazon partners page and then Amazon contributes to The Space Show/OGLF. Please use http://www.amazon.com/dp/1935487361?tag=onegialeafou-20. During our first segment, Dr. Brandenburg put forth his theory and talked about components in the Martian atmosphere that supported a long ago nuclear catastrophe on Mars. We specifically talked about Xenon 129 and 132 but he also talked about other elements supporting the theory of a long ago nuclear explosion. While our guest discussed nuclear fusion and fission physics, this is a very important segment for our discussion so do stay with the discussion though for many of us, myself included, it was challenging given the lack of background in the subject. One of the major issues facing his theory which he repeated throughout the discussion was the absence of a large crater on Mars which would have resulted from a catastrophic Martian nuclear explosion. At the end of the first segment, Charles called in to discuss parallels with Uranium, specifically U235 when both Earth and Mars were formed. In the second segment, Charles called in to further discuss the natural fission deposits found in Africa which seem to have been deposited slowly over time. Charles was asking if the same thing could have happened on Mars, thus there would be an absence of a large crater. Charles and John had quite a lively discussion on this and related issues. The subject of Thorium in India came up and then Dr. Brandenburg talked about some of the Voyager findings and mentioned presenting his theories to the Pentagon's Mars Desk. Thorium reactors were discussed later in this segment when Tim called in from Huntsville. Later in this segment, I asked Dr. Brandenburg to tell us why those of us interested in Mars and even wanting to go Mars should care about this theory. You don't want to miss was Dr. Brandenburg had to say about living in a living universe and the need to become space fairing. He also talked about science being conservative and Martian science being even more conservative. John from Atlanta called in and talked more about controlled fusion and the subject of hybrid reactors came up, that is, putting a uranium blanket around a Tokamak which Dr. Brandenburg said would facilitate reaching breakeven very quickly. Don't miss what Dr. Brandenburg had to say on the subject of fusion energy, especially using hybrid reactors. A listener asked him about his science fiction novels which he publishes using the name Victor Norgard. We then talked about his upcoming poster presentation at the upcoming 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, "Evidence For A Large, Paleo-Nuclear Reactors On Mars." Near the end of our discussion, our guest talked about space being a long term technology investment. As our discussion was drawing to an end, he took a listener question regarding the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos. Dr. Brandenburg had much to say about the Moons, especially Phobos being the ideal place for the first Earth base to study and explore Mars. His pearls of wisdom stated that Mars lived as Earth lived and in many ways, may be pointing the way to us. If you have comments or questions for Dr. Brandenburg, post them on the blog URL above. You can also email them to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward them to our guest. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:11:59 UTC
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