Michael Laine, Monday, 2-4-13 February 5, 2013
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: CCP Games, climber contests, crowd source funding., Earth space elevator, EML1, Falcon Heavy, HE3, Kickstarter., LiftPort Group, lunar markets, lunar space elevator., Mars Space Elevator, Michael Laine, NASA, SLS, tethers
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Michael Laine, Monday, 2-4-13
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1943-BWB-2013-02-04.mp3
Guest: Michael Laine. Topics: Lunar space elevator updates. 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 back Michael Laine for LiftPort Group updates regarding the lunar space elevator. For more information, visit www.liftport.com. Michael started our two hour discussion talking about his very successful Kickstarter campaign last year. LiftPort started the campaign asking for $8,000 but raised $110,000! During this first segment, Michael talked about the plans to use the $110K, the experiments LiftPort would do and why additional funding was needed to advance the lunar space elevator project. I asked Michael lots of questions about the lunar space elevator market, his time table for transitioning away from being a Power Point project, & the LiftPort labor force. LiftPort is mostly volunteer labor. For now it is working on tether and balloon experiments. We talked extensively about using Kickstarter and even talked about the tax consequences for Kickstarter revenue. Michael did say that he thought the project would be a private project in that government would not be a major supporter, if at all. Michael then talked about his fact finding global missing seeking new financing and partners after the Kickstarter campaign. He had much to say about his visit to Iceland and the company CCI Games. When pressed, Michael suggested 8 years from last August to completion. Listen to the details supporting this timeline. Michael also outlined four areas needing resolve to move the lunar elevator project forward.
In our second segment, Michael described more of the elevator project, including the use of EML1 and why & how the elevator ribbon would work, including its logistics from EML1 to the lunar surface and EML1 back toward Earth. He also talked about their lunar surface elevator contact point on Sinus Medii. A listener asked him about the Google Lunar XPrize & Michael told us how a GLXP mission could benefit the LiftPort project. Also in this segment, we talked about costs. Michael estimated about $800 million for a robotic mission and maybe up to $1.2 billion for three astronauts roughly every three weeks. He compared these costs to the cost of shuttle launches and flights to the ISS. When asked about lunar markets that might economically justify the lunar elevator, he talked about the potential of HE3 mining and new uses for the material here on Earth, plus lunar SSP and solar panel manufacturing. Alex asked Michael to be specific about the transitional steps from Power Point to the beginning of a systems engineering project to develop the elevator. Emory emailed in more questions about tether use, Tim called (sorry for phone line issues on Tim’s call) regarding tethers and more. David Ben wanted to know about the Falcon Heavy and I expanded that to include SLS. A question came up about LiftPort’s interest in a Mars space elevator. Our discussion concluded with Michael suggesting that Kickstarter & similar crowd source funding organizations will play a bigger & more important role in funding space ventures in the future.
Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. Michael can be reached at info@liftport.com. You can also subscribe to the LiftPort free newsletter from their website.
Space Show Audition Program, Tuesday, 10-16-12 October 17, 2012
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: Cis-lunar space development, EELV, electric aviation, Falcon Heavy, garage machine and tool shops, hacker spaces, heavy lift, International Space Development Hub (ISDH), interstellar roadmap, interstellar travel, Leeward Space Foundation, Liberty Launch Vehicle, Lunar COTS Petition., NASA & national security, national security interests, rocket fuels, SLS, solid rocket fuels, space economics, space project financing, Space Show Audition Show, Star Voyager, tethers, two-stage to orbit tethers
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Space Show Audition Program, Tuesday, 10-16-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1874-BWB-2012-10-16.mp3
Guests: Dr. David Livingston & Audition callers. Topics: This first time ever Audition show had a variety of topics per below. 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. 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/publications. Space Show programs can be quoted in news articles, papers, academic & research work but must be cited or referenced in the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright & trademark policies which we do enforce.Welcome to our fist Space Show audition program. Most callers talked about their projects to earn a place as guest on the program. We received email questions from listeners for the caller. Tell us on the blog if you would like to hear a specific caller as a guest on The Space Show. John was our first caller regarding his concept for a Two-Stage-Tether-to-Orbit program. I’ll upload his two PDF documents to the blog, both of which explain in detail what he summarized on air. Doug was next to talk about Cislunar development around lunar ice at the poles, a moderate heavy lift such as the Falcon Heavy, propellant transfer and depots, and depot locations along with cargo transportation. Doug was asked about markets for his concept which he said might include satellite servicing. When asked about his time line in a “perfect world” supporting his concept, he suggested about 11-12 years. He also talked about a lunar settlement and his Lunar Cots Petition (www.ipetitions.com/petition/lcots). Andrew in Tucson was the next caller, encouraging people with ideas to assemble a garage type tool shop to learn to make simple parts of the hardware supporting their ideas. He talked about tools going back to WW2 & the ’60s as being valuable & important today. He explained why he was encouraging people to learn to do at least the basics of building their project components which would help obtain financing & spur the interest of others. He will soon have some of his videos on YouTube so search under his name for more on his idea, “Andrew Tubbiolo.” Jeff from Tucson called next to talk about taking a holistic view of space programs/projects such as SLS. He talked extensively about the need for solid rocket propellant per SLS & made the case for NASA being an integral part in our national security via its use of solids, space projects, etc. He stressed the holistic broader view over a more narrow view brought up by listener emails such as cost, economics, etc.
Our much shorter second segment started with a call from Armen who talked about the interstellar roadmap which could change the way space projects are financed. He talked about financing being the bottleneck for space projects, then explained how the Fed creates money, debt/credit relationships, and how something like QE3 could be replaced by putting the $40 billion in one month toward space companies per the roadmap. The roadmap by Star Voyager was discussed. You can obtain more information from the Leeward Space Foundation (www.leewardspacefoundation.org). For specifics, www.leewardspacefoundation.org/id32.html. Our caller then talked about the International Space Development Hub (ISDH) at www.isdhub.com. ISDHub has proposed NASA Ames transform Hangar One at Moffett Field from a parking space to a space business hub. For details, see www.isdhub.com/about-us.
Place your comments/questions on our blog. Let us know who you would like to hear as a guest on The Space Show. You can email the callers through me.
Here are the two tether articles referenced above and from the first caller discussion:
Two-Stage-Tether-to-Orbit-Paper
Two-Stage-Tether-to-Orbit-Presentation
Les Johnson, Sunday, 7-8-12 July 9, 2012
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: " NASA Advanced Concepts Office, "Going Interstellar: Build Starships Now!, alien life, antimatter, DragonCon, Faster than light travel (FTL), Fission Fragment Rocket, fusion energy, Higgs boson, human spaceflight, interstellar flight, Les Johnson, new physics, nuclear thermal rocket, Orion nuclear propulsion concept, physics, robotic missions, science fiction and space, solar sail technology, tethers
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Les Johnson, Sunday, 7-8-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1809-BWB-2012-07-08.mp3
Guest: Les Johnson. Topics: “Going Interstellar: Build Starships Now!,” and interstellar propulsion & advanced propulsion concepts. 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 started our discussion by talking about interstellar travel, his new book, “Going Interstellar,” and advanced concepts, both for NASA and outside the NASA mindset. Please remember that if you purchase this book from Amazon using this link, Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show/OGLF: www.amazon.com/Going-Interstellar-Johnson/dp/1451637780/ref=onegiantlea20. Les told us that both he and his co-editor, Jack McDevitt, had very little trouble getting the authors to contribute to the book which consists of a series of short stories from well known science fiction authors plus scientists. There is a focus on the plausible and grounded physics so that the sci-fi is rooted in actual physics. Les took several phone calls wanting to know about advanced concepts and propulsion at NASA and in general outside of NASA. We spoke about many concepts including solar sail technology, nuclear electric propulsion, the fission fragment rocket, faster than light (FTL) travel, antimatter, & the types of possible starships that might be used, plus the time intervals to travel from point A to point B. We talked about the challenges from the laws of physics, political leadership, funding, & timelines. Les said that barring the discovery of new physics which he is not optimistic about at this time, he does not think FTL travel will be possible. When I asked about the discovery of Higgs-boson as an example of discovering new things, he talked about the discovery of that which is predictive as compared to something entirely new and unknown. Other topics in this segment included artistic license in sci-fi writing, the role of physics & the imagination, & even questioning the possible role of ET in contributing to advanced propulsion concepts.
In our second segment, Marshall was our first caller & we talked about the French nuclear program, fusion, & the large ITER reactor program. Les went over many of the fusion energy challenges & we talked about some fuel issues. Les then told us about some of the future books he is working on & then he had more to say about solar sail technology which is his preference at this time for robotic interstellar missions. We took a call about the huge Atlanta, GA sci-fi conference, DragonCon ( http://dragoncon.org) as Les will be a featured speaker there this year. As the program was ending, we talked about HSF NASA infrastructure, the Von Braun model for spaceflight, and more about the specific stories in his book.
If you have questions/comments for our guest, please post them on The Space Show blog. Check out his websites at www.lesjohnsonauthor.com and www.amazon.com/Les-Johnson/e/B002OUOYZQ/ref=onegiantlea20.
Nicholas (Nick) Johnson, Monday, 12-5-11 December 6, 2011
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: Burnt Frost project, Chinese anti-sat space debris, Cosmos 954, cubesats, demo missions, Explorer 8., Hubble Space Telescope, ISS, ITAR, Nicholas (Nick) Johnson, Phobos-Grunt., Plutonium, polar orbits, solar max, solar minimum, space debris, space debris legal issues, space debris liability, space debris mitigation, space debris removal, Technology Development Project, tethers, titanium tanks, UARS, upset event, VASMIR
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Nicholas (Nick) Johnson, Monday, 12-5-11
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1666-BWB-2011-12-05.mp3
Nicholas (Nick) Johnson. Topics: Space debris issues. 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. The Space Show/OGLF is now engaged in its annual fundraising drive. Please see & act upon our appeal at http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/space-show-2011-fundraising-campaign. We welcomed Nick Johnson back to the show for a comprehensive discussion on space debris issues. We started out with an assessment of the space debris problem as of today. Here, Mr. Johnson talked with us about the impact of sun on space debris through both the solar max and the solar minimum. I referenced the NRC report and asked if concurred that we were at the “tipping” point in the debris issue. We talked about cleaning up debris and our guest said that various options were being looked at but we were not there yet. Nick mentioned a few possible technologies but that funding was needed, demo projects needed to be carried out, and that international cooperation and funding consortium ideas were being explored. Space attorney Robert called in regarding some of the legal issue needing to be addressed based on the Outer Space Treaty, the Liability Treaty and other legal documents. Perhaps the biggest legal issue is that of needing permission from the owner of the hardware to retrieve or do something with it so that it does not add to the debris problem. We did talk about mitigation strategies for newer satellites and I inquired why the 25 year boundary for keeping the satellite from becoming debris. Jerry called in and wanted to know about the possibility of magnetic cleansing and suggested VASMIR. Another listener asked about satellite upset events that happen when a satellite gets hit with really small flakes of debris causing the satellite to reboot. Before the break, we talked about the return to Earth of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) and Nick talked about tracking the return of objects. Don’t miss this discussion. I also asked him about Burnt Frost, the U.S. satellite shoot down in 2008. We started the second segment with a listener question about possible titanium tanks on Phobos-Grunt and reentry concerns. Nick said that Russia said the main tanks were aluminum and that Russia should be addressing reentry concerns. We talked in general about the problem of hydrazine and it remaining frozen during reentry. Another listener asked about plutonium on board spacecraft and the Russian accident in Canada with Cosmos 954. Another listener asked about cubesat and possible debris issues. Space tugs for debris removal were discussed as were Earth-based lasers. International cooperation was discussed and of course ITAR came up. As the program was ending, we talked about NASA’s reentry plans for both the ISS and the Hubble Space Telescope. Nick also clarified the law for us regarding keeping pieces of satellites or debris that hit the Earth as they remain the property of the launching country. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog URL above.
