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Dr. Robert Brodsky, Friday, 12-7-12 December 8, 2012

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Dr. Robert Brodsky, Friday, 12-7-12

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1909-BWB-2012-12-07.mp3

Guest:  Dr. Robert (Bob) Brodsky.   Topics: We discussed his new book, “Catch A Rocket Plane: More Tales from the Cutting Edge & Beyond,” plus his aerospace history & overview.  Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Dr. Bob Brodsky back to the show to discuss his new book which you can order at www.amazon.com/Catch-Rocket-Plane-Cutting-Beyond/dp/1467972908/ref=onegiantlea20. Remember, if you buy the book using this URL, Amazon donates to The Space Show/OGLF.  Dr. Brodsky started out by telling us how he came up with the title to his new book, a story which you will find most interesting.  He then told us stories from his book dating from WW2 through the rocket and space age to current times.  During the segment, listeners asked him many questions about our former space program as compared to our program today.  As today was the anniversary of the launch of Apollo 17, Bob was asked quite a few questions about Apollo, the mood of the country back then, space and the Cold War, and going back to the Moon or other another destination. He talked about his experience on the NERVA nuclear rocket program and why he included a chapter about false starts since so many programs were started, then cancelled by NASA and Congress. Another issue discussed was learning to live on the Moon so we could push further out into space. Bob was asked about the quality of teaching in the earlier years as compared to today.  He talked about ABET which is the accrediting board for engineering education and how that body has changed (lowered) the standards over the years.  Doug called in to ask if we had lost so much of our labor and technical expertise that we might not be able to do an Apollo like mission today.  Note the answer by Dr. Brodsky.  You might be surprised by it.  Bob also advocated the use of cost plus contracting over fixed price contracting because he said without cost plus, the boldness, creativity, risk taking, and out of the box thinking/planning gave way to traditional, conservative, and less pushing of the window in order to avoid financial risks and losses.  He suggested that fixed price contracting produced just the opposite of what we needed from our aerospace industry.  Let us know what you think about Bob’s perspective by posting on the blog.
     In our second segment, our guest told us about a movie he once pitched regarding the terrorist takeover of the ISS.  We also talked about his role with European launch alternatives with pointing systems and sounding rockets.  A listener asked him about ITAR and would it have prevented much of what he was talking about in terms of European sharing of technology early on in our space history. He thought it would have and since our guest said he was a strong proponent of international space cooperation, ITAR is seen as a probable hindrance.  In his concluding statements, Dr. Brodsky said that man was destined to do great things and go into space and settle and live there.  He was optimistic this would happen. He did suggest the 60′s as the greatest space period in our history.
      Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog above.  You can email Dr. Brodsky through me.

Frank White, Sunday, 11-11-12 November 11, 2012

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Frank White, Sunday, 11-11-12

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1891-BWB-2012-11-11.mp3

Guest:  Frank White.  Topics:  The Overview Effect 25 years later, still growing and expanding strong.  Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Frank White back to the program to discuss The Overview Effect twenty-five years after he identified it in his famous book by that name.  Frank both described and explained what is meant by the Overview Effect, he talked about the astronauts he interviewed, their own work, and the new updated version he is working on for the AIAA.  He also told us about the Overview Institute (www.overviewinstitute.org).  In this first segment, the listeners asked him questions about long duration spaceflight and being unable to see Earth as the astronauts move further away from our planet, they asked about gender differences with the Overview Effect, and the difficulty that seems to exist for many people in taking their experience from space and communicating it to others.  Frank told us about the upcoming film produced by a UK group, “Overview” and that it might be streamed live from Harvard at its premiere on Dec. 7th.  Frank will provide The Space Show details about this and I will be sure to announce the details on future Space Show programs.

In our second segment, Frank told us about his work regarding educational outreach with the Overview Effect with a UK group, Space Synapse (www.spacesynapse.com). We talked about possible use of the overview concept by NASA and national space agencies as well as in private/commercial space activities.  Frank then told us about his Kindle book on Amazon, “The New Camelot.”  You can find it at www.amazon.com/The-New-Camelot-Volume-ebook/dp/B008WQ22RI/ref=onegiantlea20.  Please remember if you purchase the book with this URL, Amazon makes a contribution to The Space Show/OGLF.  Frank explained how he came to write this particular book and the significance of Camelot with President Kennedy and our Moon program.  In this book, Mr. White puts forth a new interpretation of the Apollo Moon program by comparing our early astronauts to the Knights of King Arthur’s Round Table.  Frank suggests that the Overview Effect might just be the “holy grail” of our lifetime.  We talked about the possibility of the Camelot analogy spilling over to both LBJ and Nixon.  Near the end of the program, Tim called to give us a thumbs down on international cooperation in space missions, particularly if they are designed mainly for diplomacy.  The three of us had an interesting discussion about international cooperation in space.  Toward the end, we talked about looking forward to the private sector as the main driver for HSF and going out into space.

Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog.  You can reach Frank White through me if you want to send him an email.

Classroom: Dr. Paul Spudis, Dr. Jim Vedda, Friday, 10-19-12 October 20, 2012

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Classroom: Dr. Paul Spudis, Dr. Jim Vedda, Friday, 10-19-12

Cislunar Space Development

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1876-BWB-2012-10-19.mp3

Guests: CLASSROOM:  Dr. Paul Spudis, Dr. Jim Vedda.  Topics:  Cislunar space development and economics.  You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blogs, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com and the Classroom blog, http://spaceshowclassroom.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We do not permit the commercial use of any Space Show program or part thereof, nor do we permit Space Show programs to be edited, placed on YouTube or other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted in news articles, papers, academic & research work, but must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright and trademark policies which we do enforce.  For this Classroom Space Show two hour program, we welcomed Dr. Paul Spudis and Dr. Jim Vedda for a comprehensive discussion on the importance of undertaking Cislunar space development as a major focus of U.S. space policy.  Our program was in two equal segments but since our topics crossed segments, our summary will reflect the entire program, not each segment.  Also, at the end of this summary, I have listed several relevant URLs for cislunar space development and our guests.  If you want more information on the subject, I suggest you visit the recommended websites and blogs.  Our guests described cislunar space for us and did an excellent job in letting us know why it is important to focus on a cislunar space development program.  In the process of addressing this very important issue, we talked about policy, the railroad model, the need for space infrastructure, insitu resource development and understanding, lunar water, lunar ice, lunar polar robotic exploration, the need to learn to live and behave in space, and much more.  Listeners called and asked email questions that drew out both our panel members so that our discussion was sufficiently thorough.  Side issues were discussed such as budget cuts, tight budgets, how to do cislunar space in a belt tightening environment, small businesses and contractors, even sequestration.  Our guests were very clear as to why cislunar development was much more preferable than “space stunt accomplishment” types of programs and projects.  Our guests presented a good case in letting us know why cislunar development is preferable over a humans to Mars mission at this time. Another issue brought up by a listener was to ask about “Plan B” if for some reason there was no water or there was insufficient water/ice on the Moon.  Dr. Spudis explained why that was not likely but both panel members talked about why cislunar development was important to even without sufficient water/ice resources on the Moon. Here are the URLs of interest I mentioned above:  First, Dr. Vedda’s new book, “Becoming Spacefarers: Rescuing America’s Space Program” is at www.amazon.com/Becoming-Spacefarers-James-A-Vedda/dp/1477130918/ref=onegiantlea20.  The Paris conference mentioned by Dr. Spudis is the ASTECH’s “Developing Space” Conference is at www.d-space2012.com. Dr. Spudis websites and blogs can be found at www.spudislunarresources.com; www.spudislunarresources.com/blog; http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon.  His book, “Blogging the Moon” is at www.amazon.com/Blogging-Moon-Paul-D-Spudis/dp/1926837177/ref=onegiantlea20.  Other related websites of interest include www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=13404; www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=19999; www.spudislunarresources.com/Papers/The%20Vision%20and%20the%20Mission.pdf.; www.cislunarnext.org.

Please post your comments/questions on the blogs above.  If you want to contact either Dr. Vedda or Dr. Spudis, you can do so through me.

Global Space Exploration Conference, Tuesday, 5-1-12 May 1, 2012

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Global Space Exploration Conference, Tuesday, 5-1-12

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1765-BWB-2012-05-01.mp3

Guests:  Bob Dickman, AIAA and Dr. Christian Feichtinger, IAF.  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. Please note that there were telephone line audio problems during this program.  We welcomed both General Dickman and Dr. Feichtinger to the program to discuss this important conference, The Global Space Exploration Conference sponsored by both the AIAA and IAF.  For full conference information, visit their website, http://glex2012.org.  Here, you can register, make hotel reservations and plan which programs, tracks, and special events interest you.  The conference is May 22-24, 2012 in Washington, DC at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel.  Our two guests started our discussion with an overview of the conference and the roles of both the AIAA and IAF in sponsoring the event.  We then focused in on the conference theme which is global space exploration and we discussed the Keynote/Plenary speakers and panels.  These are listed on the website but a few received special attention.  First, there was the discussion with the Heads of the national space agencies for a global perspective on space exploration.  We then talked about human exploration, Mars and other destinations in terms of global exploration, plus the panel entitled “Enabling A Political Consensus.”  Other conference topics we focused on during this hour long program dealt with commercial space, NewSpace, public/private partnerships, and conference logistics.  Our guests made sure to point out the Masters with Masters session followed by the Young Professional Reception, both of which are Monday evening.  The Masters session is for young professionals, 35 or younger, and is a superb networking event designed for the young space leaders who will go on to be our space leaders in the near future.  You can read about this event at http://glex2012.org/social-events.  Our guests pointed out the two general events open to everyone, the Tuesday Welcome Reception and Poster Session plus the Wednesday Off-Site Reception at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.  The conference is multi-track so you will need to choose which programs and discussions you want to hear.

Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog.  If you have conference specific questions, you can use the Contact page on their website, http://glex2012.org/contact.

Dr. Robert (Bob) Zubrin, Tuesday, 2-21-12 February 22, 2012

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Dr. Robert (Bob) Zubrin, Tuesday, 2-21-12

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1718-BWB-2012-02-21.mp3

Guest:  Dr. Robert (Bob) Zubrin. Topics:  NASA, the Mars Program, Dr. Zubrin’s new book, “Merchants of Despair.” 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.   Some important websites applicable to this program are as follows:  Dr. Zubrin’s recent article in the National Review Online, www.nationalreview.com/articles/291099/obama-wrecks-mars-program-robert-zubrin.  Dr. Zubrin’s new book, Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists,  Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism:

www.amazon.com/Merchants-Despair-Environmentalists-Pseudo-Scientists-Antihumanism/dp/1594034761/ref=onegiantlea20.  Please remember that if you buy the book from Amazon using this link, Amazon will contribute part of the purchase price to OGLF/The Space Show.  During our hour long first segment, Dr. Zubrin talked about the NASA part of the President’s Proposed FY 13 budget for NASA.  He  referred to his National Review Online article in addition to providing us with financial and economic analysis, the importance of the Mars program, and the consequences of cancelling it and other proposed uses of NASA funding that do not accomplish much. This is a comprehensive and hard hitting discussion which addresses how to make our space program, NASA, private space, and Mars more relevant to the nation.  He also explains why it is so important to see humans as creators, not destroyers, and to see space as a significant and important path forward for us all.  He fielded many listener emails and caller questions on lots of subjects, including prizes and a  recent MSN poll regarding those wanting to go to the Moon, Mars, or stay at home.

During the second segment which was close to 90 minutes, Dr. Zubrin continued discussing the FY 13 budget and its consequences for NASA and the country, but he also talked about his new book in detail, even linking it to the space program. Many issues came up as Bob’s book uses history and scientific arguments to refute the claims of those movements and efforts to limit growth, space development, distort science for a political agenda, and more.  These issues take up most of the discussion, along with listener questions on both NASA and Mars along with the book topics he laid out for us.  For example, questions about the use of the nuclear rocket came up.  Limiting resources and commercial growth came up as opposed to expanding resources and robustly developing space by both NASA and the private sector were extensively discussed.  Listeners asked many questions about Space X and rocket alternatives to SLS and the issue of global warming.  Bob told us stories from the book going back in history to  the days of Rev. Thomas Malthus and his population theories as written during the period of 1798 to 1826 through to modern times with the Club of Rome, Paul Ehrlich, and Dr. Holdren. He used the banning of DDT as one example given in his new book.  Bob’s closing comments addressed the crisis in our space program and the choice we have to make regarding a devastating vision for our future or a creative and positive future vision that includes space. His final comments were about the 15th Annual Mars Society Conference which will be inPasadena,CA in early August this year, set to coincide with the likely timing of the landing of the Curiosity Rover on Mars.

Please post your comments/questions regarding this program on the Space Show blog URL above.

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