Michael Listner, Sunday, 12-13-15 December 13, 2015
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: " SpaceX, Antarctica, asteroid mining, Code of Conduct, Commercial Crew, Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, federal court jurisdiction, Michael Listner, nuclear propulsion, ocean mining, planetary protection, property rights, RD180 engine, RD181 engine, SLS, space intellectual property issues, space salvage, spaceport & state liability laws, The Law of the Sea Treaty, The Moon Treaty, The Outer Space Treaty, ULA
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Michael Listner, Sunday, 12-13-15
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2603-BWB-2015-12-13.mp3
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Guest: Michael Listner. Topics: Commercial Space Law, asteroid bill, treaties, 2015 space legal issues and more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.
We welcomed Michael Listner back to the show for the last time in 2015. During the first segment of our two hour discussion, Michael started the 2015 annual space law review by jumping right in to discussing the new Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act recently signed into law by President Obama. In this segment, he hit on key issues including legal jurisdiction on issues would now be federal law issues, the solidification behind SLS making it harder to cancel the rocket project, and the controversial “property rights” section in the asteroid part of the legislation. There were many questions for Michael regarding the significance and meaning of issues now falling under federal law. During this discussion, Michael used legal definitions and terminology and we discussed hypothetical situations to try to understand the impact of federal over state law on issues likely to make it to court. Michael again talked about the asteroid mining part of the legislation (he did so as well on his last show a few weeks ago) which he believes contradicts the Outer Space Treaty. Michael carefully went through the legal issues including the incorrect comparison of the Outer Space Treaty to the oceans and the Law of the Sea Treaty rather than a more appropriate comparison to legal regimes regarding Antarctica. Michael posted a good article on this discussion his blog, Space Thoughts, which you can read at https://spacethoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/11/section-51303-the-oceans-are-not-the-equal-to-outer-space/. Later in the segment, listeners asked about domestic vs. international legal enforcement of the asteroid mining issues per the legislation, plus many questions came in about The Outer Space Treaty and even The Moon Treaty came up for discussion.
In the second segment, Michael started out by saying that SLS got a big boost which was supportive of commercial space policy. Jack asked about commercial crew in the legislation, but our focus moved to the RD180 engine because that is a big deal right now. Michael said it was akin to open warfare between Senator McCain and ULA. Michael offered us a detailed explanation of the RD180 issue and how it can impact ULA, SpaceX, and actually impact the nation. Another topic was the return to flight using the Atlas 5 and the RD181 engine for the Cygnus by Orbital ATK. BJohn and later Freemont John inquired about nuclear propulsion and some of the things discussed in the recent program with Dr. Dewar. Another topic discussed was planetary protection which he said gets its authority from Article 9 of The Outer Space Treaty. Before the program ended, Michael gave us a status report on The Code of Conduct, the suborbital industry, and the Moon Treaty.
Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog above. You can reach Michael through me or his blog.
Robert (Bob) Zimmerman, Tuesday, 6-16-15 June 17, 2015
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: " SpaceX, 67P, Airbus, Arianne, ARM, Blue Origins, Boeing CST100, Charon., Chinese Space Program, Commercial Crew, commercial space overview, Congress, Constellation, Cots, Dragon V2, Dream Chaser, Europa Mission, human spaceflight, Interorbital Systems, ISS, launch industry, LightSail, Moon vs. Mars, NASA, New Horizons, Orbital ATK, orbital industry, Philae lander., Planetary Society, Pluto, private space, Robert (Bob) Zimmerman, Rosetta, Russian space program, sex in space, SLS, Stratolaunch, suborbital industry, Virgin Galactic, XCOR
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Robert (Bob) Zimmerman, Tuesday, 6-16-15
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2495-BWB-2015-06-16.mp3
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Guest: Bob Zimmerman. Topics: Commercial space historical overview, launch industry, space news, rockets, & more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.
We welcomed Bob Zimmerman back to the program to discuss a variety of commercial space, space news, and related topics. During the first segment of our 1 hour 56 minute discussion, Bob started out with an historical overview of the progress made in developing the commercial space industry, a U.S. cargo capability to the ISS, and eventually the U.S. capability of carrying astronauts back to the ISS. He started his timeline in 2004, specifically addressing the time since President Obama came to office. For almost the entire first segment, Bob noted milestones, progress, company developments, the beginning of competition and much more. Later in the segment, he mentioned what he said was the lack of progress in the suborbital industry during the time period he had been talking about and suggested that the suborbital companies may be missing parts of the market given their continued delays. He talked about this in more detail during the second segment. He also talked about human spaceflight (HSF), SLS, Falcon and SpaceX as a game changer, the efforts of Sierra-Nevada to continue on with Dream Chaser, & his opinion that it will likely be the private sector that manages HSF to the Moon and Mars rather than a public program. We talked about public opinion and space, then Marshall called to ask questions about China, their space program, plus a possible Chinese impact on our space policy. Bob had much to say about the Chinese program, then he had about an equal amount to say about the Russian program. Sylvester emailed in to also ask about China, specifically if Bob thought we would soon be cooperating with one another in space. Bob seized this opportunity to make it very clear as to why he disliked international partnerships, instead preferring competition. Before the segment ended, Beth asked Bob for his thoughts on the Moon-Mars debate.
In the second segment, Kristen started us off talking about LightSail. Bob had much to say about the mission, The Planetary Society, how it was funded, and the fact that it was based around using cubesats. He then spoke to the success of cubesats and how they are changing aspects of the industry. Bob jumped to Comet 67 P, the Rosetta mission and the Philae Lander. He used this opportunity to provide an overview of planetary missions starting in 1957. In talking about the success of planetary missions, he mentioned the Dawn mission to Ceres and Vesta plus many more. I asked Bob about New Horizons and Pluto. Bob had much to say about Pluto, its moons, & specifically the moon Charon. Other topics that came up as we neared the close of the show included the Europa mission and an effort to use crowd funding to make a porno film in space. This prompted Bob to say a few words about sex in space, plus he thought the porno film was just a PR stunt. Before the show ended, Tim in Huntsville asked for Bob to share his thoughts on the company Interorbital Systems. Bob then turned to the suborbitals having some things to say about Virgin Galactic, Blue Origins, and XCOR. He spoke to the need for redundancy, mentioned possible Stratolaunch problems with Orbital ATK no longer working with them on the rocket, then suggested some things to watch for in the second half of this year and closed out with a summary of key points he made during this program. Check out Bob’s blog, www.behindtheblack.com.
Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog above. You can reach Bob through his blog or me.
The John Batchelor Show Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 5-27-15 May 28, 2015
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: : John Batchelor, BLEO, budget cuts, Commercial Crew, commercial space, Dr. David Livingston, Earth Sciences, House Appropriations Committee, Marcia Smith, NASA 2016 budget, Orion, planetary science, sequestration, SLS, spending caps
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The John Batchelor Show Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 5-27-15
Special Guest: Marcia Smith
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2481-BWB-2015-05-27.mp3
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Guests: John Batchelor, Marcia Smith, Dr. David Livingston. Topics: NASA 2016 Budget, SLS, Commercial Crew & more. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog. 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 in the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright and trademark policies which we do enforce. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. Remember, your Amazon Purchases Can Help Support The Space Show/OGLF (www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm). For those of you listening to archives on live365.com & rating the programs, please email me the reasons for your rating. This will definitely help improve Space Show programming. Thank you. Please note that audio and transition issues are a result of copying the John Batchelor broadcast & are not within my control as they originate in the Batchelor studio.
John Batchelor and I welcomed back Marcia Smith of spacepolicyonline.com to discuss the NASA 2016 budget per the recent decisions made by the House Appropriations Committee. We discussed SLS, Planetary Science, Orion, Commercial Crew, cuts to Earth Sciences plus the criticism against these allocations by both The White House and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. We also talked about Mr. Bolden’s comments saying that if commercial crew were not fully funded, it would seriously delay the program. While the committee allocated a larger amount to the commercial crew program than before, it did fall short of what both The White House and NASA said the program needed. We also talked spending caps and sequestration. Marcia explained how that would work as overall the total spending for the agencies involved have to stay within the caps but the allocations within the agencies can differ which is why there are winners and losers. John questioned Marcia on SLS as he was not that supportive of it. Note what Marcia had to say about SLS but whatever one thinks about it, the program clearly has the support of many in Congress.
You can email Mr. Batchelor or Marcia Smith through me or her website.
Thomas Marotta, Tuesday, 4-21-15 April 22, 2015
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: Cheap Access to Space (CATS), Cheap Access To Space Prize, Citizens Space Agenda, Commercial Crew, congressional staff members, Home District Blitz., human spaceflight, ISS, March Storm, Moon Treaty, public private partnerships, SEDS Act, space settlement, spaceflight safety, Tom Marotta
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Thomas Marotta, Tuesday, 4-21-15
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2458-BWB-2015-04-21.mp3
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Guest: Thomas Marotta. Topic: March Storm 2015 Citizen Space Agenda. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.
We welcomed Tom Marotta to the show to discuss his March Storm experiences and the March Storm agenda. For more information, visit both the March Storm website, www.marchstorm.com and his personal website, www.thisorbitallife.com. During the first segment of our 91 minute discussion, Tom started out by introducing us to March Storm, then he talked about his decision to participate this year and the training that followed before meeting with members of congress. Throughout the segment he was asked about the training by various listeners. It was one day, it included lots of role playing, and extensive familiarization with the March Storm agenda and issues. Those participating also did due diligence on the members of congress they were intending to visit. Efforts were made to match participants with congressional members from their local districts or at least their home state. I asked Tom several general questions including those pertaining to the gender of the participants, age, and diversity. Tom then spoke about the Citizens Space Agenda for March Storm which included five areas, the SEDS Act, the Cheap Access to Space act and prize, to fully fund commercial crew, to extend the learning period of the FAA for suborbital and commercial spaceflight without burying the industry in excessive regulation, and to avoid the loss of the ISS should the Russians really remove their module as they have indicated they might do. The total number of briefings for March Storm were 127, most of which took place with staffers. Throughout out discussion, Tom pointed out the wide range in interest, awareness, and knowledge of the staffers ranging from not interested and no knowledge to just the opposite. Tom also highlighted Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and his staff as an example of being very interested in space and the March Storm agenda. In fact he said that congress would pass he SEDS Act though no timeline was given. Before the end of the first segment, I asked Tom for a realistic assessment of actual congressional support and action on their agenda. Don’t miss his assessment.
In the second segment, we talked more about training, writing to members of congress, I gave a rant on petitioning our government on issues we are passionate about including space, then TR asked if members of congress think about detailed issues like artificial gravity. Tom said they did not lobby on specific issues such as stated in the TR email, instead they stuck to their agenda and were very specific in not asking for money or money driven legislation. Human spaceflight safety came up in an email listener question as did the SpaceShip2 accident. Space Settlement was a major topic in a call by John from Ft. Worth. As the show was ending, we talked about a congressional joint resolution rather than a law and Tom called for those in California, Texas, Maryland and Florida to contact their members of congress on the March Storm agenda.
Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog above. You can reach Tom through his site or me.
Marcia Smith, Friday, 3-13-15 March 14, 2015
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: Cislunar space development, Commercial Crew, Continuing Resolution, Discover Mission Class D, discretionary budget, EELV, Europa, human spaceflight, international cooperation for space programs, James Webb Space Telescope, LEO infrastructure, Lockheed Jupiter Program, Marcia Smith, Mars 2020, NASA Earth Science., NASA educational outreach, NASA FY 2015 budget, NASA FY 2016 budget, nuclear thermal rocket, Orion, planetary science, private sector space investment, rocket reusability, sequestration, SLS, SLS motivators, space debris, targeted sequestration cuts, ten year budgeting process, U.S. congress, ULA
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Marcia Smith, Friday, 3-13-15
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2433-BWB-2015-03-13.mp3
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Guest: Marcia Smith. Topics: NASA budgets and their process, specific NASA programs, U.S. congress and more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.
We welcomed Marcia Smith back to the program to discuss the proposed NASA FY 16 budget and process, sequestration, specific NASA projects and more. During our one segment 69 minute discussion, Ms. Smith started out by stating that the proposed 2016 FY NASA budget was bigger than the 2015 NASA budget by about $500 million! Ms. Smith continued saying the trend was upward with continued strong support for SLS, Orion, and even Europa. Also, NASA remains largely bipartisan in its congressional support. I asked our guest about the coming sequestration for 2016-2021 and here, uncertainty prevails. We also learned that there would be more flexibility for targeted sequestration cuts than there were the first time. Sequestration has a focus towards two categories, security and non-security projects and expenditures. Bob in Tucson sent in our first email to inquire about a possible “war” within the NASA planetary science and human spaceflight directorates. A question came in regarding congressional motivators with a focus on SLS motivators. Among the SLS motivators mentioned by our guest were national prestige, global leadership, preserving and growing our industrial base, and keeping people employed. Jerry emailed in asking about NASA educational outreach and support in the proposed FY 16 budget. Our first caller was Michael Listner who wanted to expand on earlier comments about the private sector and NASA, specifically government programs. Marcia and Michael had an interesting discussion focusing on these issues. Both cited examples including ULA, the EELV program, and the concept of “skin in the game plus the opportunity for a private sector company to fail and maybe needing a government bailout if all our eggs were in that one private sector basket. The new Lockheed Jupiter commercial cargo space tug program was mentioned and Michael said it might be useful for removal of some space debris. The subject of building LEO infrastructure came up multiple times during our discussion, especially the issue of who or what entity would pay for its development. Government or the private sector? BJohn asked Marcia email questions about reusability thus providing NASA with more “bang for the buck” so to speak. I asked Marcia several questions about the discretionary part of our budget, we talked more about the Europa mission and the best way to influence congressional space policy makers. Our guest had some very interesting things to say about this so don’t miss the discussion. Near the end of the program, I asked if there was any serious effort to move to ten year funding for space and other very long projects given the likelihood of a program not lasting ten years due to congressional changes and program cuts. Marcia did mention that the shuttle and ISS programs survived so it was possible for a program to last a long time. She also did not think there would be ten year funding as congress would not give up its continue oversight responsibilities for such a long term obligation. Peter in San Diego asked about the 2016 elections and if we were likely to see a radical shift in space policy. Donald in Los Angeles asked if the one party congress would get the budget done or if we were likely to see a CR at the end of September. BJohn sent in another email asking about possible congressional motivators to be even more supportive of space than they have been given their $500 million budget increase. Beverly asked Marcia about international cooperation with space projects. Marcia said she was a strong supporter of international cooperation. She also provided us with a few of her excellent reasons for supporting international cooperation. Before the program ended, we came back to the issue of LEO infrastructure and cislunar development. Given the private sector’s reluctance to invest in these areas so far, a natural conclusion would be that the private or commercial markets are not yet developed.
Please post your comments on TSS blog above. Visit Marcia’s site, www.spacepolicyonline.com for the latest in space new and policy developments. You can reach Ms. Smith through her website or me.
Tom Olson, 2014 Year In Review, Tuesday, 12-30-14 December 31, 2014
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: " SpaceX, 2014 Year In Review, 3D Printing, ATK, Bigelow Aerospace, Blue Atlas, Boeing, Commercial Crew, Delta IV, Dragon V2, Falcon Heavy, Final Frontier Design, interstellar flight, ISRU, ISS, Kepler Space Telescope, Mars, methane rocket fuel, NASA, Netscape Moment, Orbital, Orion, Propellant Depots, SLS, SpaceX reusability, SSP, Tom Olson, ULV, Virgin Galactic
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Tom Olson, 2014 Year In Review, Tuesday, 12-30-14
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2385-BWB-2014-12-30.mp3
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Guest: Tom Olson. Topics: Space year 2014 in review. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See http://www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.
We welcomed Tom Olson back to the show for his annual end of the year review show for the space year at hand, 2014. During the first segment of our last program for 2014, I asked Tom for positive memorable events in 2014 . Tom came well prepared for this question. Do you have the same memorable events list or a different one? Let us know on the blog. As Tom was going through his list of memorable positive events and developments for 2014, we took some email questions about Blue Atlas, the Delta IV and human rating it, and of course ULA. Another listener wanted to know what Tom thought of the idea of a prize for an on orbiting demo propellant depot and fuel transfer. Toward the end of the first segment, Dr. Lurio called in and talked about fuel depots, markets for them, NASA and more. We also talked about Virgin Galactic and SpaceShip2 plus what may be forthcoming from the NTSB report when it becomes available. Antares was also discussed before the break.
In the second segment, Jeff from Tucson called in about a possible Netscape Moment. Tom did not think much of a Netscape Moment, instead he talked about the concept of space scalable. I got in on the discussion as did others and this led us to our discussing reusability with SpaceX and would it be a game changer. Later in the segment, more was said about the Delta IV, ULA, Atlas and even SLS. For 2015, Tom talked about Bigelow Aerospace getting their modules up to the ISS. He also talked about Dragon V2 and Falcon Heavy. In addition, Tom mentioned Power Beaming test for SSP in space beaming power from point to point but in space. Of course SLS and Orion came up. Tom is not supportive of it, Dr. Lurio called in who is not supportive of it and holding up the fort for it was our friend SLS John. The latter part of the show was an ongoing give and take with Lurio, Tom and SLS John highly engaged in a back and forth but as you will hear, there were no winners. Tom and I did a bit of reminiscing because we go back with one another for more than a decade. We wished everyone a very Happy New Year and a great 2015. And remember, “y’all come back for more in 2015!”
Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog above. You can reach Tom Olson or any of the callers or emailiers through me.
Tom Olson Year 2013 In Review Oldie Show, Monday, 12-29-14 December 29, 2014
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: " space politics, " SpaceX, 2013 Year in review, Asian space, Business Plan Competition, capital acquisition, Chinese Space Program, Colony Fund, Commercial Crew, commercial space, Cots, cubesats, Dragon, Dream Chaser, Grasshopper, Inspiration Mars, ISS, Mars one, NanoSats, NASA, NASA Redirect Mission, NewSpace, Orbital Sciences, Orion, sequestration, SLS, space advocacy, space regulatory environment, space scalable strategy., space settlement, space tourism, Tom Olson, Virgin Galactic
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Tom Olson Year 2013 In Review Oldie Show, Monday, 12-29-14
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2384-BWB-2014-12-29.mp3
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Guest: Tom Olson, Golden Oldie.. Topics: The year 2013 in review for all things space. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See http://www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.
We welcomed Tom Olson back to the show for his 2013 space year in review. Note that this program was pre-recorded on Dec. 19, 2013 for play today, Dec. 31, 2013. During the first segment of our two hour program, Tom began the review by talking about the Chinese lunar lander now on the Moon. He expressed concern that Russian and the U.S. may be left behind though we did talk about the private U.S. lunar missions working on getting back to the Moon ASAP. Tom next talked about NewSpace successes during the year, the successful completion of the COTS program with both the Orbital and SpaceX launchers taking supplies to the ISS. Tom suggested commercial crew was on time for 2017 and that SpaceX was making good progress with Grasshopper and potential reusability. He talked about controversy over Pad 39A development, the recent Dream Chaser accident, and the emergency of commercial markets for the ISS with CASIS and Nanoracks. Before this segment ended, Tom talked about the impact of sequestration and space politics for the industry as a whole, then he addressed SLS. As the segment was about to end, he named a few of the 2013 busts including NASA Redirect Mission, Inspiration Mars, and Mars One.
In our second segment, we talked about space advocacy during the year and the success of the 2013 NewSpace Business Plan Competition. Space settlement was discussed and as was NewSpace outreach, including congressional outreach. Tom talked about progress with the suborbital companies and Virgin Galactic. This took him to the space tourism topic and the 2014 planned Virgin Galactic operational flights. Our guest was asked about the regulatory issues in 2013 and what he thought they would be like for 2014. For the most part, he predicted no change. We talked about financing space ventures and capital acquisition for 2013 as well as start-ups and space entrepreneurs. He also mentioned Armadillo Aerospace going dark during the year and mentioned the risks to the emerging commercial industry if funds become scarce or hard to obtain. Though this was a pre-recorded show, there were some advance email questions for Tom. One near the end of the program asked him about plans to do anything with his Colony Fund program. Tom said it was a great idea but 12-15 years ahead of its time and may someday be brought back to life. That said, he reminded us that the Colony Fund did advance the space scalable strategy. Before our discussion ended, Tom updated us on the activities of Walt Anderson and his new ventures.
Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can reach Tom through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.
Webinar: SLS Debate with John Hunt, Rick Boozer, Sunday, 11-16-14 November 17, 2014
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: " SpaceX, "The Plundering of NASA: An Expose.", Blue Origin, Chinese lunar missions, Commercial Crew, Congress, cost plus contracting., Falcon 9. , Falcon Heavy, Falcon XX, heavy lift rockets, John Hunt, launch costs, launch operations, lunar lander, Mars, Masten Space Systems, NASA, orbital depots, Orion, public/private partnerships, Return to the Moon, reusability., Rick Boozer, Russian RD180 rocket motor, SLS Debate, SpaceX lunar loop, ULA, US-China space race, Xeus Lander
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Webinar: SLS Debate with John Hunt, Rick Boozer, Sunday, 11-16-14
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2357-BWB-2014-11-16.mp3
http://vimeo.com/channels/thespaceshow — Video
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Guests: Webinar with Rick Boozer, John Hunt. Topics: Our guests debated the merits of the SLS rocket. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience. We welcomed Rick Boozer and John Hunt to the program for our special WEBINAR SLS Debate. You can hear the audio only for this debate as you would any Space Show program. The video can be found on our Vimeo Space Show Channel, http://vimeo.com/channels/thespaceshow. Regarding the video, my microphone lock was not working so you will see the mic swing to in front of my face from time to time. Also, I look down a bit as I take notes to be able to summarize the discussion. These issues will be corrected for the next webinar. Rick’s book on the subject, “The Plundering of NASA: An Expose” is available on Amazon. If you purchase the book and I hope you do, please use the OGLF/Space Show Amazon portal so Amazon will make a contribution to TSS. Instructions are on the website, the blog, and all program archive summaries.
During the first segment of our two hour webinar, both John and Rick made five minute opening statements followed by a 2.5 minute rebuttal of the position statement by the other guest. Rick Boozer does not support SLS and John Hunt does support it. John went first, putting forth a good summary of why he supports SLS, the benefits it provides, and the importance of the project. Rick’s opening statement outlined why he opposes the SLS rocket, calling it an “existential threat.” He also said SLS was a “rocket to nowhere.” The opening statements provided the basic positions for both guests as they debated all aspects of SLS so do carefully listen to their respective position comments. We took both calls and emails from listeners. Evon emailed in wanting to know what the money saved from SLS would best be spent on. John pointed out that there was no assurance that any savings would even be spent on space let alone his priorities. While Rick agreed, he did list several projects he felt far more deserving of funding, including using the funds to speed up the commercial crew program since it has never been funded to the level requested by the President. Rick took the opportunity to bring up cost plus contracting and why it was not suitable for a more mature manufacturing project, instead being best suited for R&D projects. He said that was a driver in the high cost of SLS. In contrast, John cited his aviation experience with the A12 and P7 aircraft using fixed price contracts, cancellations, and more. Dr. Doug sent in a note asking about the fundamental need for a heavy lift rocket. Our guests had a different take on Doug’s question so listen to how they answered it. Rick pointed out the advantages of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy as compared to the initial SLS version. In fact, comparisons to Falcon Heavy plus future SpaceX plans and public remarks made by Elon Musk were cited frequently by Rick throughout the program. John, while applauding the SpaceX accomplishments so far, strongly suggested that we see what the performance actually is on the SpaceX rockets yet to be tested & flown. John said we should not be in a hurry to cancel SLS in favor of unproven and as of yet nonexistent technology. Tim from Huntsville called during this segment to inquire about SLS in light of Falcon 9 success, reusability success and more. John suggested that reusability would be an important step forward but wanted to wait to see what it looked like when & if it becomes operationally successful.
In the second half of our webinar, Dr. Doug called & inquired about both the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy as compared to SLS. Rick referenced an Elon Musk MIT video talk, www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/elon-musk-mit-interview-video-24-oct-2014. Rick referenced this talk several times during this segment. Rick also said SLS would not be going anywhere as there was no budget for its completion. He cited the references to back up his claims. Doug also inquired about public/private partnerships, ULA working with Blue Origin, and ULA with Masten. Andrew sent in an email asking each guest to outline a viable sequence of launch vehicle development and payloads using what hardware. John took the opportunity to reply to Rick’s budget comments and said there was no way to know what a future congress and administration would do and he listed the rational for keeping SLS going given our state of uncertainty with many space and international issues. Jerry called from Florida to inquire about the SpaceX super heavy rocket with methane engines as well as the possibility of using a Dragon as a lander. Adrian emailed a question to our guests wondering if the Chinese lunar program would create a space race or urgency here in the U.S. Rick then talked about the likelihood of SpaceX getting to deep space before NASA & this would be an embarrassment for NASA and the SLS/Orion gang. John did agree that if that happened, it would be an embarrassment for NASA. Kirk emailed in asking Rick about his opening statement when he said SLS would cause the US to rely on Russian in ways other than eating into the commercial budget. He wanted Rick to tell us the other ways such Russian reliance might unfold. Listen to how Rick responded to Kirk’s question. Each of our guests provided us with an excellent five minute closing statement. Rick said the situation was very serious and had the potential to adversely impact the prominence and leadership of the U.S. Don’t miss his concluding comments. John reminded us that SLS was the program of record approved on a bipartisan basis, that it was important to have heavy lift capability, and that it preserved skills, work force talent, and needed capabilities for the nation for times when space would be better appreciated & valued. He said the problems with SLS were all solvable & would be solved as the project moved forward. Rick quickly got in a question on what capabilities were needed and being preserved!
Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog. You can reach each guest through me.
