The Space Show
The Space Show
The Space Show focuses on timely and important issues influencing the development of outer-space commerce, space tourism,space exploration and space development. The Space Show is committed to facilitating our becoming a space-faring nation and society with a growing and self-sustaining space-faring economy. The Space Show also focuses on other related subjects of interest to us all.
Station feed:  Created by: David Livingston |
Created on: 12 May 2005 Language: English |
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Dr. Jim Dator, Tuesday, 6-9-09 (42.33MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Jim Dator. Topics: Mars, U.S. Constitution, space governance systems, religion, space entrepreneurs. Dr. Jim Dator was our guest for this Space Show program. We started our discussion with a glance to the future for the human space program. As you will hear, the human spaceflight program has some formidable challenges ahead for it and the future may appear murky at this time in terms of near term potential. Listen to what Dr. Dator had to say about this and see what you think. He suggested that the private sector and emerging entrepreneurs might well be the hope for the human spaceflight program. He also mentioned the interest in human spaceflight from religious groups and he mentioned several different religions. One group that he specifically addressed was in Japan, Tenrikyo, which holds space conferences and demonstrates a space awareness and interest. In response to a question about the potential impact of a U.S. without a human space program should that happen in the future, Dr. Dator stressed that human spaceflight was now a global activity and he said if the United States faltered, nations such as China, India and others would certainly pick up the slack. Another area of discussion was the U.S. Constitution which he suggested was not suited for forward thinking and future governance. He talked about our constitution needing changes or modifications for the modern period and we later talked about a governance structure for Mars possibly leading the way to structural changes not just in the United States but in other nations as well. I'm sure many of you will find this discussion controversial and in fact Andrew from Tucson did write in to challenge the comments about modification of the U.S. Constitution. This discussion provided an opportunity for Dr. Dator to clarify and elaborate more about what he was saying and recommending so make sure you don't miss this very important discussion. From my perspective, its clear that many of our structural systems no longer work and in fact cause the very problems we are asking these systems to correct and that seems foolish to me. As to changing the U.S. Constitution, as I said, were we to hold a Constitutional Convention, I'm not sure any of us would like the results. Another important part of this discussion addressed how we market and talk about space. What Dr. Dator had to say was very important because we need to stop making space special and different. Listen to his example of a kid starting to grow up, explore the neighborhood and extend out further with Mom's permission. He wants to see the corner drug store, what is on the other side of the street, etc. Its a natural extension of our development. Space should be described the same way rather than trying to make it special. Thus we see that the very space enthusiasts and advocates carry with them the potentially damaging perceptions by holding space out to be unique, special, hard, costly, etc. See what you think of this discussion and the suggestions offered by Dr. Dator. We also talked about the role of futurists, policy makers, and planners. The futurist looks at longer range issues but listen to the entire discussion. When listener Ben asked Dr. Dator for an action plan for what the space advocate community could do, Dr. Dator said we needed to support and focus on the space entrepreneurs over NASA. We need to start putting our awareness on the space governance issues discussed earlier. If you have comments or questions for Dr. Dator, you can email him at dator@hawaii.edu. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:57:54 UTC
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Ben Shelef, Monday, 6-8-09 (42.70MB; download) -- Guest: Ben Shelef. Topics: space elevator, power beaming, tether, CNTs. Ben Shelef was our guest today to discuss the upcoming 2009 Space Elevator Challenge with upwards of two million dollars in prize money to be given away by NASA Centennial Challenges. You can follow this discussion and learn more about the games by visiting www.spaceelevatorgames.org/. Information about the Spaceward Foundation can be found at www.spaceward.org/. Ben explained the power beaming contest, how the criteria had changed from last year and what happens in the future if all the money is won this year. He also briefed us on the six teams in the contest. We talked about how the press/media could be at the event but for everyone else they can see it on NASA TV or the website above. Ben also told us about monuments and historical sites at Dryden and Edwards for those that were able to come to the event. In later show segments, we talked about the space elevator presence at NewSpace 2009 at NASA Ames on July 17 and the tether challenge set for Seattle area on August 13 during the Space Elevator Conference in Redmond which runs from August 13-17th. Listeners asked Ben lots of questions about the space elevator, the CNT cable, LEO access, its proposed equatorial location. If you have questions or comments for Ben Shelef or want to know more about the upcoming Power Beaming Challenge July 14-16 at Dryden, please contact Ben at ben.shelef@spaceward.org. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:19:36 UTC
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Professor Ram Jakhu, Sunday, 6-7-09 (44.14MB; download) -- Guest: Professor Ram Jakhu. Topics: National and international space law, space debris, space tourism, civil space, military space, SSP. Professor Ram Jakhu, Associate Professor at the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University in Montreal, Canada was our guest today. We began our discussion by addressing the space debris issue and the recent International Interdisciplinary Congress on Space Debris held at McGill University in Montreal from May 7-9, 2009. Please visit www.mcgill.ca/iasl to download the conference program as well as the papers presented at this important space debris congress. Our orbital debris discussion was most interesting. Professor Jakhu even suggested the quantity of debris in various orbits above Earth as well as the longevity for such debris. You will certainly want to hear these estimates. In fact, toward the end of the show when a listener emailed in SSP answers to a question that came up earlier about SSP and debris, one could easily see how moving no longer useful hardware to a higher orbit may actually contribute to the debris problem and adding upwards of a million or more years to its lifespan as the parking orbit goes higher and higher. See what you think of this discussion at the end of the show. The subject of North Korea, Iran, nukes and rockets came up again as it has on recent Space Show programs. Professor Jakhu talked with us about legal enforcement, treaties, and other legal issues connected with the acquisition of nukes and ballistic rockets by these nations. See what you think of this discussion. I suspect some of you might not find it to your liking. By the way, one piece of news given us by Professor Jakhu was that N. Korea recently became a party to the Outer Space Treaty. When I learned about this, I then said it would be a treaty violation for N. Korea to blow a nuke off in space to create a destructive EMP and he said yes. This was in response to a recent Space Show program where the guest talked about EMP probability and N. Korea. Of course my next question to the professor was for an assessment of the track record with N. Korea keeping treaty obligations and he suggested it was not very good. Oh well, we can always hope, right? Many other issues came up in connection with debris including the recent HST repair mission. Later in the show, a listener asked our law professor about the probability that the Montreal Protocol might be extended or expanded to include direct deposit stratospheric pollutants from rocket launches. While familiar with the Montreal Protocol, Ram was not familiar with this issue but he is now as I have forwarded to him the paper on this subject that was the topic on The Space Show a few weeks ago with guest Dr. Martin Ross. We thank David in Boulder for this question. Later in the show, a question from a listener came in regarding the deployment of a space solar power system and what happens to the hardware when its life ends in terms of being a contributor to space debris. You will want to hear what Ram had to say about this issue. Another listener asked about the possible shortage of commercial communication frequencies in the Sis Lunar environment. Professor Jakhu provided us with a clear understanding of the frequency allocation shortfall in certain bands and for certain purposes. During the debris discussion, when asked what was perhaps the best thing we could all do now was to have a heightened state of awareness of the problem so we can eventually mitigate the problem with policy and technology. We also learned that the US is the leading authority on this issue if for no other reason than size and capacity. We learned that the UN COUPUOS takes second place to national space agencies and programs regarding space debris issues. For his closing comments, Professor Jakhu urged us to understand that space requires a global perspective as it is a global environment. Global solutions are required for space problem sol Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:44:59 UTC
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Robert Talmage, Friday, 6-5-09 (59.17MB; download) -- Guest: Robert Talmage. Topics: flight safety, air and spacecraft escape system, demonstrator flights, ISDC 2009. Robert Talmage was our return guest on this Space Show program to discuss his air and spacecraft escape system with updates based on his talk at ISDC 2009. You can find Robert's ISDC 2009 Power Point presentation on his website, www.taascompany.com. Look for the bottom item on the left hand menu bar, ISDC 2009. Robert began the discussion with an introduction of his air and spacecraft escape system. He then proceeded to discuss this concept in detail along with the estimate $ 4 million cost and a probable one year timeline to testing once the funding has been secured. He fielded many questions including several pertaining to the escape system once used in the F-111 and then cancelled. Robert explained the differences in what he was proposing and what the F-111 used. He also talked about limitations with ejection seats and limitations to his system if the flight crew were not all placed together inside the plug-in module that would be jettisoned in case of a problem. We talked about his testing program, an ocean landing for the tests, reusability, and his plan to eventually put rocket engines on a Lear Jet. He was then asked why he thought he could convert a Lear to a rocketplane when other commercial companies had not been able to do so. You will want to hear his reply so don't miss it. He also explained his aircraft tow system and why he felt that towing the test aircraft was the best way to move forward with his project. During the discussion, Robert was asked several questions about weight and mass penalties for the plug-in escape module as well as certification costs and more. You will want to listen to what he had to say about these important considerations. An advertising agency listener commented on the difficulty in selling an escape system to a NewSpace company given the added costs as well as planting the idea of even needing an escape system in the mind of the customer as this might suggest to the customer that the vehicle was not safe. This listener suggested proving out the concept and getting it accepted first throughout the military. You do not want to miss Robert's response to this comment. Robert also talked about several of the ISDC 2009 talks that he heard and the outstanding networking opportunities at ISDC 2009. If you have questions or comments for Robert Talmage, you can send them to him through is website or at rtalmage@taascompany.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:16:05 UTC
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Ross Tierney, Tuesday, 6-2-09 (56.81MB; download) -- Guest: Ross Tierney. Topics: Direct 3.0, heavy lift, Ares 1, Ares V. Ross Tierney was our guest to update us on progress with the Direct alternative to the costly Ares 1 and Ares V launchers. We referenced several websites during this program and here are the web links to what we mentioned. First, for the DIRECT discussion thread at the nasaspaceflight forum, please use http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=17295.msg415258;topicseen#new. To see the Workforce Transition Strategy Document Ross talked about in terms of NASA layoffs and related issues, please see http://www1.nasa.gov/pdf/281712main_Workforce%20_Transition%20_Strategy_Second_Edition.pdf. To visit the Direct website, visit www.directlauncher.com. Note that they will soon have information on Direct 3.0 on this site so be patient. Email to Ross or for inquiries about Direct 3.0, please use info@directlauncher.com. Ross started our discussion with an introduction to the Direct Launcher program. He then described the new version 3.0. Most of the differences from 2.0 to 3.0 are focused on the need to move away from the R68 engine which has proven problematic for the Atlas 5. So listen to the details on this discussion and how Direct 3.0 does something different to avoid R68 engine problems and still come away with performance and other noteworthy efficiencies with configuration alternatives. A listener asked about the per launch or flight cost comparison with the Jupiter 130 versus the Ares 1. Ross said that the per flight cost for Jupiter might be about $40 million higher than for Ares but the development cost for Jupiter was about $5 billion less than Ares so its more than a desirable trade. You will hear the full details of this discussion on this show. Lots of time was spent talking about work force issues as the Ares program requires the loss of around 4,500 jobs. Direct does not. Listen to what was said about the impact of the loss of these 4,500 jobs and why the Direct program does not facilitate job loss. Also, download and read the Workforce Transition Strategy document referenced above. This is important for our future civil space development. Another listener sent in a series of questions about specific dry weight growth margin for Direct 3.0 as well as performance loss reserves in comparison to Ares and based on the GAO study about the growth of dry weight, etc. The concern was that Direct 3.0 will experience growth rates as well and that in the end, their performance and costs will be adversely impacted. Ross responded to each of these questions so listen to the discussion and see what you think. The discussion centered around heritage and new items. Several listeners asked why we simpldy don't use the EELVs instead of developing a new booster. See what you think of the way Ross responded to these issues. For the most part, if the intent is to stay in LEO, EELVs may be adequate. If the intent is to move beyond LEO, EELVs are not the best way to do that and the new booster would be required. Another topic that was discussed in detail was the cost of Ares 1 and V and what these increasing costs are doing to the overall NASA budget and programs, including labor force. Ross showed us that this is where Direct has many advantages as its costs are far less than Ares and do not impact the full NASA budget in the way Ares 1 and Ares V do. Again, listen and see what you think about this issue. We talked about Direct 3.0 getting a chance to make its case before the Augustine Panel. When we know how to provide feedback and suggestions to the panel, I will announce the information on The Space Show. Ross was not at all sure that Direct would get the opportunity to present its case to the Augustine Panel but remains optimistic despite having heard rumors to the contrary. When possible, I urge all listeners to provide feedback. If you visit the forum at nasaspaceflight.com and you want to exchange chat or comments with Ross Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:47:23 UTC
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Bob Werb, Monday, 6-1-09 (46.73MB; download) -- Guest: Bob Werb. Topics: space entrepreneurism, economics 101, space economic development. Bob Werb was our guest on The Space Show today for a frank discussion and at times, a very cool Economics 101 lecture on the economics of space development. Do not miss this show and Bob's last segment 5 minute economics course for space cadets. Some of the issues we talked about from an economic perspective included ITAR reform, space entrepreneurism, military, civil, and NewSpace. We also discussed space security in the context of Bob's Econ 101 lesson. As has been the case with other programs, the N. Korean nuke program was brought up and Bob pointed out the vulnerability to military space and security by exploding a nuke in space to create an EMP that could impact our commercial and some military satellites such as GPS. In fact, at one time Bob said N. Korea could launch a missile straight up and probably get the nuke to a sufficient space altitude to do serious EMP damage. Listen to what he has to say about this in the context of space development economics and security. In an earlier segment, Bob was asked about the possible constraints on the new NASA Administrator. He then discussed with us the federal rules regarding all purchases, congressional issues, and potential policy interference from the White House. See what you think about these issues and how they might impact the new NASA Administrator. Bob discussed the five economic areas and the proper role of government for both our terrestrial economy and for the emerging space economy. The five areas he discussed for both were in this order, transportation, education, healthcare, security, and the rule of law. Don't miss this important discussion. Bob told us about the coming NewSpace Conference in July this year at NASA Ames. You can get more information about the conference from the Space Frontier Foundation website at http://spacefrontier.org/. If you have a question or comment for Bob Werb, please forward it to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward it on to Bob. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:24:00 UTC
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Dr. John Jurist, Sunday, 5-31-09 (62.87MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. John Jurist. Topics: NewSpace, becoming spacefaring, dogma, Space Cynics, launch economics. Dr. John Jurist returned to The Space Show to offer a response to a Space Cynics comment posted on the Space Cynics blog on April 28, 2009 by Matt Colborn. Matt asked what the positive action people should take regarding pushing towards our becoming spacefaring. Dr. Jurist responded to Matt's question and you can read his response at http://spacecynic.wordpress.com/old-space-cadets-view/. Our discussion proved stimulating and challenging as listeners not only asked questions about the Jurist action plan/view, but they also wanted a good definition of NewSpace, wondered why the term exists at all, and suggested other terms to represent space development activities. One caller, Thalia, asked what the NewSpace dogma was. You will want to hear how both Dr. Jurist and I answered that one! Dr. Jurist offered concrete suggestions ranging from stopping several negative and personal attacks on people who put forth different views, analysis, or bring different perspectives to the table. We also talked about the possible differences between NewSpace advocates and NewSpace businessmen and women. This is an important discussion you will want to hear. One of our callers, Jack, an economics student in Texas, talked about markets, the killer application for human spaceflight, and the economics of the launch rate. Don't miss this discussion, its a good one. One listener asked Dr. Jurist for a reasonable test by a NewSpace participant regarding putting forth a positive impression with accurate rhetoric of say a particular project. One idea put forth by John was to more openly discuss issues by submitting papers to reviewed conferences and mixing it up idea-wise with peers that may not always be part of the church choir for NewSpace. I urge you to read the full article written by Dr. Jurist on Space Cynics at the URL above. If you have comments or questions for Dr. Jurist, please post them in the comments section after John's Cynic's article. Any comments or questions sent to me here at The Space Show will be posted on Cynics on the Old Space Cadet tab as I am asking you to do. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:01:08 UTC
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Dr. Philip Harris, Friday, 5-29-09 (60.12MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Philip Harris. Topics: space enterprise, terrestrial law vs. astrolaw, space and culture synergy. Dr.Philip Harris was our guest today to discuss his new book, "Space Enterprise: Living and Working Offworld in the 21t Century." Visit www.drphilipharris.com for more information about the book and the full scope of work produced by Dr. Harris. You can also purchase this book through One Giant Leap Foundation and Amazon www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/books.htm. We started our discussion with Dr. Harris by focusing on the space vision for humanity and various countries as well as casting the space vision representing the image for the future. In this discussion, Dr. Harris referenced the work by Kraft Ehricke and we talked about how we are not limited in resources when space is factored into our awareness, economy, and actions. This is in sharp contrast to the school of thought represented by Club of Rome thinking regarding the limitation of resources. What type of world do you want to live in is a question that needs to be asked and answered as space provides the options and opportunities that unbound us. Listen to this discussion and see if you agree with Dr. Harris. We spent considerable time during the show talking about education and culture. Synergy was mentioned as a major part of culture was depicted as key to our becoming space-faring. You will certainly want to hear what Dr. Harris had to say about global cultural synergy and interdependence in our space planning. Space enterprise from the macro perspective was an overriding theme for this discussion and space development. Later in the show, Dr. Harris discussed his recommendations for how best to move forward. He described in detail the Global Space Trust concept for here on Earth and the the Lunar Economic Development Authority for the Moon. See what you think of the programs and suggestions offered during this discussion. One of the recurring themes of our discussion was the need for education starting in grade school. If you have questions or comments for Dr. Harris, you can reach him through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com or his website, www.drphilipharris.com/contact.html. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 30 May 2009 16:27:52 UTC
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Open Lines, Tuesday, 5-26-09 (59.56MB; download) -- Guest: Open Lines. Topics: Space Show guest audio quality, phone line issues, listener exchanges with guests, California space economy. This was an Open Lines program. The first segment was my monolog about two main issues, guest phone line audio quality and listener behavior with guests. You will hear the comprehensive explanation of phone line audio issues faced by The Space Show with guest phone lines, possible solutions and ideas that while always suggested to me do not work. I then addressed an issue relating to some listeners who attack and character assassinate a guest via email, always behind the back of the guest, then try to engage me in supporting their ideas and theories as being correct while suggesting or even proving the guest was wrong. Yet they won't engage the guest with their own ideas. I provided some recent examples of this, explained the new policy of the show which is to pass on these emails to the guests if the listener won't do it. Note that a major purpose of The Space Show is education and this requires exchanges with guests. I also talked about being polite, considerate and to drop the attitude and rudeness when communicating with the guest. Tell me what you think about this problem which seems to be happening more and more. Why is it so hard for a listener to engage the guest using courtesy and exchange valid ideas and concepts? Why does the listener insist on bombarding me with his/her theories and ideas when in reality only the guest has the knowlege and ability to respond to these challenges. As I pointed out, all guests are willing to accept emails from listeners after the show ends. Some want me to filter the emails, others accept them directly from the listener. So please, engage the guest with your ideas and challenges and copy me on the notes or have me forward your thoughts to the guest. Just do it without attacking the guest. We also talked about suborbital space tourism, spaceports, and the California space economy. I described my experiences lobbying the California legislature with the California Space Authority (CSA) Space Day last week in Sacramento. One thing I forgot to mention on air was that lobbying the California legislature was American democracy at its best. Lots of citizen groups were there on the day I was there, all wanting to talk to the Member for their particular program or special interest. For example, I saw groups from the AARP, Green California, numerous educational groups, health related groups, etc. All get 20-30 minutes with a legislative assistant to articulate their interest and/or cause. This happens every day the legislature is in session and I understand its even more intense on the federal side with Congress. No matter what we say about our government and its leaders, we the people do have the right and we are petitioning our government through its elected representatives. This is very impressive when seeing it in action, when seeing the amount of people involved and the wide variety of issues being fought for by Californians and our citizens in general. It was a sobering and very impressive experience. As you will hear, overall it was a very positive experience for me and others and I strongly recommend all of you engage in similar activities. We also talked about the state of education in California and elsewhere, high school and higher. We learned that Forbes Magazine said Virginia was the best place to do business and listener Jack shared with us how this was a plus for the Mid-Atlantic Spaceport. By the way, the Mid-Atlantic Spaceport is my favorite for the commercial spaceports with the most probability of commercial success. Here why I said this. and let me know what you think of my analysis. We also talked about other spaceports, their ability to do orbital flights versus only up and down suborbital flights. A listener asked me why I am skeptical about the potential commercial success of Spaceport America in New Mexico. I Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 27 May 2009 15:03:56 UTC
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Michael Potter, Monday, 5-25-09 (41.19MB; download) -- Guest: Michael Potter: Topics: "Orphans of Apollo," Mir Space Station, NASA, National Security. Michael Potter returned to The Space Show for updates regarding his excellent documentary film, "Orphans of Apollo." You can learn more about the film and purchase your copy of it which I recommend by visiting www.orphansofapollo.com. Michael told us the story of a group of rebel entrepreneurs who almost bought the Russian Mir Space Station to use it for commercial purposes. Its an inspiring and exciting story with lessons to be learned that are playing a role in guiding today's space entrepreneurs. During the show, one of the business participants in the Mir purchase featured in the film, Gus Gardellini, called in and added stories and detail to enhance the story told in this excellent documentary film. Gus also told us about his book on the subject being written and asked for feedback and possible NASA/Mir information so if you have such information, please send your note to themirbook@gmail.com. One of the important things driven home by Michael Potter during this show and in the film was the leadership required for this project. He also talked about the importance of the Band of Brothers management style. We also talked about national security issues because the Mir entrepreneurs wanted to use 1950's technology including the electrodynamics tether. You will certainly want to hear what he had to say about this subject and export control. As this show unfolds, you will hear why this story is still relevant and important today and why many say that this story is the greatest space story never told. I urge you to see this film or order it from the above website. If you have comments or questions for Michael Potter, you can send them through his website or http://www.orphansofapollo.com/. When contacting Michael, please put Space Show in the subject line. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 26 May 2009 14:40:05 UTC
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