Robert (Bob) Zimmerman, Tuesday, 7-3-12 July 4, 2012
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: " SpaceX, Apollo 8, AT&T, B612 asteroid project, bats, Boeing CTS 100, budget sequestration, Cern, Chinese space docking, citizen science projects, climate change, culture on the space frontier, Delta IV Heavy, Dragon Capsule, Dream Chaser, East Coast 2012 heat wave, East Coast power grid outages, electromagnetic pulse (EMP)., Falcon 9 reusability, Falcon 9. , FAR, global warming, government vs. private space, Higgs boson, Lox paraffin hybrid rocket motor/fuel, Mars one, Orbital Sciences Cygnus/Antares, Orion capsule, particle physics, Planetary Resources, public/private partnerships, Robert (Bob) Zimmerman, Russian space program, SAA, Skylon, space shuttles, suborbital flights, Telstar 1, white nose fungus
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Robert (Bob) Zimmerman, Tuesday, 7-3-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1807-BWB-2012-07-03.mp3
Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Recent space news and announced projects. 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 Bob Zimmerman back to the show. Check out his blog at www.behindtheblack.com. We started off our first long segment (90 minutes) by mentioning the 50th anniversary of Telstar 1, the death of our friend, Al Zaehringer, AT&T and our early space program, plus the word coming from CERN that they may have found the Higgs-Boson particle. I then asked Bob to comment on the global warming statements being made about the current East Coast heat wave, followed by comments by Newt about the power grid outages and a taste of what an EMP would be like. We then turned to space and Bob talked about the recent success with Dragon and Falcon 9. He then talked about government space programs as compared to private programs. Throughout our 135 minute discussion, he reiterated his opposition to space programs, making it clear that he does not want a “program” and why. Let us know on the blog if you agree with him. Bob suggested we were in a period of space revolution and that it would be very exciting over the next five years. He talked about SpaceX compared to the Russians and the Chinese. He did say we were in competition with them for control of space and this led us to a discussion about culture and the space frontier. We talked about recently announced projects, Planetary Resources, Mars One, and one by the B612 Foundation. He thought B612 was the only real one of the three. Terry called from Texas to discuss using an Orion for a LEO mission, the Falcon Heavy for a Moon mission, Delta IV heavy and SLS. Jerry called in from Florida and among our topics were frontier development, the Oregon Trail, the CERN reactor in Switzerland rather than in Texas, and more. No space programs per Bob’s preferences again came up. Let us know your thoughts about these issues on the blog. As the segment ended, Bob was asked about Skylon which was the subject of yesterday’s program.
Tim’s call started our second segment & he asked about a lox paraffin hybrid rocket motor. We also talked about the space shuttle & its capabilities. While Bob praised aspects of shuttle, he said the program was a failure. I did not agree with him but listen and let us know what you think regarding this issue. Note that as the program ended, Martin sent us info on the hybrid motor mentioned earlier by Tim so check out www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9erCLJ5KVg as Brian Cantwell delivered a presentation at Stanford on the state of the art of hybrid rockets. Bob then updated us on the bat situation with the white nose fungus. As our program ended, Bob talked about upcoming events starting with Orbital’s Cygnus/Antares debut, Dream Chaser and other competitors. He had some brief comments about the suborbital industry and citizen science projects and concluded by saying we were no longer in a holding pattern re commercial space.
If you have comments/questions, please post them on our blog.
Open Lines, Tuesday, 4-24-12 April 25, 2012
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: Chris Kraft, commercial crew funding cuts, Dragon Capsule, Falcon 9. , HSF, human Mars mission, Inc. asteroid mining, ISS, JSC, launch systems, Mars exploration vs. ocean exploration, Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston, Planetary Resources, SLS, space mission time lines., Space X, specific missions
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Open Lines, Tuesday, 4-24-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1759-BWB-2012-04-24.mp3
Guest: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston. Topics: asteroid mining, Planetary Resources, Inc. SLS. 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 an Open Lines discussion inviting calls and emails on all space related topics. As it turned out, two topics were primary during the program and as a result of that, I will not summarize this program by segment as I usually do. First, the asteroid mining venture as put forth in the press conference for Planetary Resources, Inc. was primary throughout the program. The second commanding topic was the SLS and Op-Ed in the Houston Chronicle on April 20, 2012 by the JSC former director, Chris Kraft & Tom Moser. You can read the article at www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Space-Launch-System-is-a-threat-to-JSC-Texas-jobs-3498836.php. You can read more about this Op-Ed on Space News at www.spacenews.com/commentaries/120423-fromwires-sls-threat-jsc-jobs.html. Many of the callers throughout the discussion commented on the Op Ed, the SLS, and its future. We also talked about the need for heavy lift, having a specific mission or missions for a rocket, destinations, and a time line for milestone accomplishment. Our first caller was Charles in Las Vegas who commented that he thought Planetary Resources was more “sizzle than steak.” Charles was not supportive of a business model relying on secondary payloads. Instead, he said the company had to control its own launch needs. During our three segments, many listeners said they did not agree with Charles, including me. Many of us thought it was possible to use secondary payloads and during our 105 minute program, we covered this subject with the benefits and risks of relying on others, on sole source providers, etc. As for the Op Ed, we talked about it at length, wondered about the NASA lunar study mentioned by Mr. Kraft as well as the existing rockets that could do HSF to the Moon or beyond LEO. The consensus for those calling tonight’s show was that SLS in its present format using the current management program will probably be cancelled in 2013 or 2014 despite the support Congress appears to be giving it at this time. Mixed in with the SLS calls, we did talk about the new launch date for the Falcon 9, there was lots of interest in asteroid mining and new technology development to make it happen, plus a few other topics that brought to the listeners attention. When we came back from the final break which was at the 90 minute point, I used the remaining time to highlight some of the special upcoming Space Show programs for the rest of this month into early summer.
Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you want to email any of the callers or those sending in email questions for this program, send your note to me and I will forward it to you.
