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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: Click here to see an XML representation of the latest episodes on this station
Created by: David Livingston
 Created on: 12 May 2005
Language: English


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Add this to another station Robert (Rob) Godwin, Sunday, 8-11-13 (58.95MB; download) -- Guest: Robert (Rob) Godwin. Topics: Sir Arthur Clarke, science fiction, & "Arthur C. Clarke: A Life Remembered." 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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. We welcomed back Rob Godwin to discuss the new Apogee Prime book, "Arthur C. Clarke: A Life Remembered" written by Arthur's brother Fred Clarke plus Rob Godwin and others. More information about the book and ordering details can be found at http://www.apogeeprime.com/prime/bookpages/9781926837260.html. During the first segment of the hour 1 hour 47 minute discussion, Rob talked about Arthur's brother Fred Clarke, the book, the co-authors, and the contributions to the book by noted people in the space industry that knew Arthur Clarke. Other space Apogee Prime books were mentioned along with their authors, including the book by Anatoly Zak, "Russia In Space." Mr. Zak will be a guest on The Space Show regarding his book on Sept. 3. Rob talked about the British Interplanetary Society (BIS) and noted that sales of the Clarke book help support the BIS. We talked about early Clarke history plus his science and science fiction. We also spent lots of time talking about the science fiction genre and the contributions by many of the early sci-fi writers. For sure you will want to listen with pen in hand to jot down authors and books discussed & recommended. As the first segment ended, pay attention to the Clarke-Asimov treaty discussion! In the second segment, we talked more about science fiction and noted authors such as Hugo Gernsback & Olaf Stapledon. Rob was asked about Sir Arthur and Von Braun of which our guest had much to say. Listeners via the phone and email talked about hard science fiction, fantasy sci-fi, differences with sci-fi today from years ago and much more. George Lucas and Star Wars came up as did Arthur's love of scuba diving and the path he followed that led him to Sri Lanka. Toward the end, in discussing the evangelism of many of the early sci-fi authors and space enthusiasts such as Clarke, a listener asked for a comparison of then with today's space cadet "evangelists." A listener also brought up Clarke's view re spiritualism, religion, God, etc. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. Rob Godwin can reached through the Apogee website.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 12 Aug 2013 16:22:57 UTC
Add this to another station Blaze Sanders, Friday, 8-9-13 (46.49MB; download) -- Guest: Blaze Sanders. Topics: Solar System Express Gravity Development Board, Do It Yourself Space, NASA Internships. 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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. We welcomed Blaze Sanders to the program to discuss Solar System Express (SOL-X at www.solarsystemexpress.com). During the first segment of our 1 hour 25 minute program, Blaze introduced us to his company, SOL-X, and we talked at length about their Gravity Development Board (GDB) in its various models and configurations. In talking about the GDB, Blaze also talked about similar products on the market comprising their competition, explaining why his company believes the GDB has distinct advantages over the other products leading to marketing and positioning benefits for the GDB. We talked about many terrestrial as well as space applications, the difference between space tolerant and space rated hardware, costs, ease of use and programming, and much more. Blaze took calls and emails from listeners including one about space debris mitigation as well as space skydiving since the company is working on a GDB controlled space skydiving suit. We also talked about the GLXP contestants, ArduSat on the ISS, and the GDB's clock speed compared to the competition. In the second segment, Blaze talked about his path from school into the space world. This path included a NASA internship and then getting involved in the NASA Cooperative Education Program, all of which is part of the NASA Pathways Program. If these programs interest you, take note of what our guest had to say and initiate contact with the relevant NASA program. Blaze suggested checking out this website, https://intern.nasa.gov. Other topics that came up focused on hacker workshops, STEM, human spaceflight missions to Mars, lunar human missions, and crowd funding. He suggested one use for the GDB on a humans to Mars mission might be entertainment, movies, pictures, etc. shown during the flight, all the time getting new information from the ground as long as they had the right USB type of connection on the mission. Be sure to listen to this idea as entertainment on a HSF to Mars is not normally discussed, at least not on The Space Show (so far at least). As part of his closing comments, Blaze suggested that space needs to be open to everyone, far more than just engineers and scientists. He talked about artists and other fields. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog per above. You can email Blaze through their website or me.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 10 Aug 2013 16:12:39 UTC
Add this to another station John Batchelor Hotel Mars, Dr. Alan Hale, Wednesday, 8-7-13 (5.46MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. Alan Hale, Dr. David Livingston: Topics: Comet ISON. 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. 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). During our 11 minute plus discussion, John, Dr. Alan Hale, and I talked about the approaching comet ISON. We talked about the brightness theories representing everything to that of as bright as a full moon to it fizzling out and not being very bright. We talked about the theory on this proposed by Dr. Ferrin, but Alan believed it was still way too early to make accurate predictions about this first time comet from the Ort Cloud. Alan described the sublimation process, its path and flyby near Mars on or about August 20, then on to pass by Mercury and as a sungrazing comet, finally be visible on Earth in late November 2013. Dr. Hale was also asked to describe the tails of a comet, the dust tail and the ion tail. Please post any comments/questions you might have on The Space Show blog. You can contact any of us through drspace@thespaceshow.com.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 08 Aug 2013 15:18:20 UTC
Add this to another station Dr. Robert Zubrin, Tuesday, 8-6-13 (31.79MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Robert (Bob) Zubrin. Topics: The 16 Annual Mars Society Convention, radiation, HSF to Mars, Mars One, Inspiration Mars. 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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. We welcomed Dr. Robert (Bob) Zubrin back to the program to discuss the upcoming Mars Society 16th Annual Conference, Mars human spaceflight, Inspiration Mars, Curiosity, RAD, radiation levels, Mars One and much more. For more information about the conference, visit http://www.marssociety.org/conventions/2013. For information about The Mars Society, visit http://www.marssociety.org/home. During our one hour discussion with Dr. Zubrin, we started our talking about the main conference speakers including Dennis Tito and Dr. Steven Squyres, among others. In talking about Dennis Tito coming to the conference, we spent time discussing the Tito Inspiration Mars mission. Bob had much to say about this mission, the likelihood of mission success, radiation issues, equipment and life support issues, and more. In talking about radiation and the Curiosity RAD findings, Bob had much to say about NASA and their willingness to do a Mars HSF mission. We took several listener emails and a call about radiation & even the use of nuclear propulsion to shorten the transit time for less radiation exposure for the crew. Bob suggested that if we had nuclear propulsion, he would not increase the transit time (listen to his reason why which has to do with orbits & a free return to Earth), but he would increase the payload to take additional spare parts & life support equipment as he said equipment failures were a major risk factor on such a mission. Bob talked some more about successes in the private sector, including SpaceX. He was also asked if SLS was necessary and he said he believed in more than one source for a launch vehicle and he supports heavy lift. He also talked about the importance of government infrastructure and launch services for the future. Don't miss this discussion. Later in the segment, Bob talked about the Mars Society 365 Mission (see http://ma365.marssociety.org). Bob described this mission, why it is so important & why we should support it. Jane emailed a question about Bob's National Review article we mentioned, "Remembering Ploesti," from August 3 (http://nationalreview.com/node/355074/print) and after extrapolating to today, wondered if humanity was ready for human spaceflight to Mars. Bob provided us with an exceptional response to Jane's question and comment so please listen and take note of what he said. I believe it to be very important. As the program was ending, Ben wanted Bob to clarify his position on choosing either the Moon or Mars. Don't miss this response. Bob left us with concluding comments to do something and support something. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Bob through his website or me.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 07 Aug 2013 20:16:51 UTC
Add this to another station Dr. Jeff Foust, Monday, 8-5-13 (59.94MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Jeff Foust. Topics: Space news, space policy, NewSpace, budgets, Mars, & you name it! It's all here today. 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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. We welcomed back Dr. Jeff Foust for this comprehensive space policy, news, and budget discussion. During the first segment of this1 hour 49 minute show, Jeff brought us up to date with Armadillo Aerospace and the decision by John Carmack to put the company into "hibernation." Jeff's report was comprehensive and we hope that John is able to raise additional capital to resume his work. Our next topic focused on the partisan budget fight regarding the 2013 NASA Authorization. Jeff reported on this in the current issue of The Space Review (see www.thespacereview.com/article/2342/1). Again, this was a very comprehensive discussion on the NASA 2013 Authorization and Appropriation bills, and the partisanship in congress. Among listener questions were those wanting to know if NASA was being signaled out for special budgetary treatment or getting the same treatment as other parts/branches of the government. You don't want to miss this discussion. Also discussed was the potential impact of NASA and civil space issues on commercial space and the NewSpace industry. Jeff then received some questions about the NewSpace 2013 Conference which he attended. Before going to break, I asked Jeff to go over the criteria for submitting an article to The Space Review. He suggested contacting him with your idea at jeff@thespacereview.com, plus he went over the main article requirements. In the second segment, Dr. Foust was asked about SLS, then we talked about crowd funding. A listener asked him if there was any research showing how many crowd funding success stories actually used the money raised as intended in their offer. Neither Jeff nor I had that information but we would welcome it if any of you know those stats. Ron emailed us about the potential economic boom from NewSpace & commercial space, a possible Netscape moment, and would such an economic boom be noticed & well received by congress. Our guest had much to say about the Netscape Moment theory for NewSpace which led to a discussion on how government can both enable and hinder space development. We then discussed Curiosity one year after landing on Mars (see his Space Review article on this at www.thespacereview.com/article/2344/1). From here, we talked about HSF and Mars, specifically Mars One and Inspiration Mars. Jeff told us about attending the recently held Mars One event at GWU last week, plus he had much to say about the proposed mission. We talked about the idea of going to Mars rather than the first to the Moon, then to Mars. As the program was ending, Jeff mentioned the upcoming DC-X 20th anniversary celebration in New Mexico (www.dc-xspacequest.org). Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Dr. Jeff Foust at the email address listed above for The Space Review.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 06 Aug 2013 15:39:47 UTC
Add this to another station Sara Howard, Sunday, 8-4-13 (50.99MB; download) -- Guest: Sara Howard. Topics: Sara's new book, "Mischief at Michoud" and her work at Michoud during the Apollo era. 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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. We welcomed back Sara Howard to the program to tell us about her newest book, "Mischief at Michoud" which is available through Amazon.com. For those of you buying Sara's book, please use the simple Amazon directions on The Space Show website/blog or the OGLF Amazon portal, www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm so that Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show. During the first segment of our 1 hour 31 minute program, Sara talked about her time at NASA Michoud in Louisiana from 1965-67 as one of only two women who worked on the first stage, the SI-C stage, of the Saturn V rocket. Sara described the work environment, the NASA Michoud facility, and the type of work she and others did at the time. During the segment, retired NASA Apollo era worker John called in and our guest and the caller talked with each other about their respective projects and the work they did to help us get to the Moon. It was most interesting listening to the stories and experiences of those that helped make going to the Moon a reality for the U.S. In the second segment, we spent more time with our guest talking about specific chapters in her book. Sara has a great sense of humor and many of the chapters not only have funny and tantalizing titles, but she tells a great story to go along with them. Some of her stories about not trusting computers and favoring slide rules were not only entertaining but informative. We talked about how Sara's friend and Sara were treated as women in a largely male dominated workforce. You might be surprised by what our guest had to say about this along with some of the jokes played on her at the time. One of her book chapters, "My Terror," caught my attention and we learned that there were self-destruct explosive charges in each Saturn V fuel tank and that was their fear that they would have to destroy a vehicle. Sara was asked about the chapter addressing faking the Moon landings. She had much to say about this that you will want to hear. Star Trek also comes into the workplace and you will want to hear this story as well. Toward the end, John called back and Sara & John talked about the average age and education of those working on Apollo and attempts were made to compare back then to today. Sara can be found on Facebook which is where she has all her information and more. Just search for "Sara Howard." Post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you want to email Sara, you can do so through me.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 05 Aug 2013 16:21:53 UTC
Add this to another station Trent Waddington, Friday, 8-2-13 (69.61MB; download) -- Guest: Trent Waddington. Topics: Trent provides us with an Australian's view of NewSpace 2013 & space in Australia. 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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. We welcomed Trent Waddington to the program to discuss his take on the recently concluded NewSpace 2013 Conference. Check out the conference website for information, video archives and more: http://newspace.spacefrontier.org. In the first segment of this 2 hour five minute program, Trent went day by day, speaker and panel in his critique of the NewSpace Conference as he took elaborate notes during the sessions. For this analysis, Trent commented on most of the programming starting out with his initial comments on public/private partnerships & the successful role of the Space Frontier Foundation (SFF) over the years in influence and possibly winning in the commercial space policy debate. Rather than telling you what Trent had to say about the speakers and panels, I urge you to listen to his comments so nothing is taken out of context in terms of what he said and thought about conference specifics. During the first segment, Trent covered the first two days of the conference. In the second segment, Trent started with the early morning talk given by Rick Tumlinson, then the talk about 3D printing regarding Made in Space, then we talked about the video the Foundation made, "There Is Another Way," to support the Foundation's perspective of commercial space development, heavy lift, etc. You can see the 6 minute plus video at http://spacefrontier.org/thereisanotherway. I read one of the Foundation's promotion letters regarding the video and then Trent and I discussed it. I reported on the feedback I've received via email since the video was first shown at the conference Saturday morning up to the start of this Space Show program. Trent had a different take on the video from having seen it at the conference and also having talked to those present for their perspectives. I urge each of you to watch it. Post your comments on it on The Space Show blog. After the video discussion, Trent commented on the balance of conference speakers throughout the day, then he reported on space work in Australia which focuses on research and on scram jet development and testing. His conference conclusions and assessments were interesting, including his use of the term "NewSpace Fanatics." Listeners asked him for his takeaways from the conference for which he offered us three so don't miss what he had to say. When Trent left San Jose, he drove to Hawthorne and toured SpaceX. He had much to say about touring SpaceX which I must say, having done it several times myself, is really impressive and inspiring. If you have comments and questions for Trent, post them on The Space Show blog. You can email Trent through me.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 03 Aug 2013 16:32:42 UTC
Add this to another station The John Batchelor Show "Hotel Mars," Wednesday, 7-31-13 (6.17MB; download) -- Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. Richard Obousy, Dr. David Livingston: Topics: Icarus Interstellar, Faster Than Light Travel, breakthrough propulsion. 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. 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). During our 11 minute plus discussion, John, Dr. Obousy, and I talked about Icarus Interstellar, Faster Than Light Travel (FTL), the upcoming Icarus Interstellar Starship Congress in Dallas later in August, fusion propulsion, NASA, and specific Icarus Interstellar projects. Our discussion covered funding issues, NASA's interest in FTL travel, other forms of breakthrough propulsion and more. Check out their website at www.icarusinterstellar.org. Please post any comments/questions you might have on The Space Show blog. You can contact any of us through drspace@thespaceshow.com.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Thu, 01 Aug 2013 14:53:20 UTC
Add this to another station Open Lines, Tuesday, 7-30-13 (76.95MB; download) -- Guest: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston. Topics: A variety of topics relating to space development & exploration. 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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. Our first segment of this 2 hour 14 minute Open Lines program started with a few of my suggested topics including a recent John Strickland Space Review article on SLS followed by a response from NASA which was published in the Huntsville Times as well as on NASA Watch. More about this later as a caller read the two articles, then called to discuss them. However, our first caller was Dr. Jurist who called to mention and congratulate the UND Space Studies Department for the award they received from NASA: The JSC Certificate of Appreciation for 25 years of outstanding leadership in the interdisciplinary leadership of space studies. During John's call, I read the exact wording on the certificate and since John and I are both adjunct professors at UND SpSt, we had much to say about the program, faculty, subjects, students, founders, etc. It’s a fine program and it was an honor to let all of you know about this well deserved award and the UND Masters and PhD program in Space Studies. TO READ THE REST OF THIS PROGRAM SUMMARY, PLEASE VISIT WWW.THESPACESHOW.COM OR HTTP://THESPACESHOW.WORDPRESS.COM AS THE REVIEW IS TOO LONG FOR GIGADIAL. THANK YOU. DR. DAVID LIVINGSTON, HOST OF THE SPACE SHOW.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 31 Jul 2013 20:52:38 UTC
Add this to another station Dr. Erik Seedhouse, Sunday, 7-28-13 (52.83MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Erik Seedhouse. Topics: Dr. Seedhouse discusses his new book, "SpaceX: Making Commercial Spaceflight A Reality." 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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. We welcomed back Dr. Erik Seedhouse for this 1 hour 34 minute discussion of his new book, "SpaceX: Making Commercial Spaceflight A Reality." During the first segment, Dr. Seedhouse talked in general about the book, the fact that it addresses other commercial space companies and the suborbital field as well as SpaceX, plus Mars missions, funding, investment, and government support through COTS, Commercial Crew and other programs. In fact, he said that 80-90% of funding for commercial launch companies was government funded at this time. When asked if this suggested something other than a commercial company, he said no. Lots of listeners both emailed and called in with questions about SpaceX and their projects. One listener wanted to know if Dr. Seedhouse thought SpaceX might be spread too thin with so many projects. Another wanted to know about meeting launch timelines and slippage, while another wanted to know about the new version of Falcon 9 about to be launched. There were lots of questions and much discussion around the Falcon Heavy and the SpaceX manifest per their website. Erik talked about ULA as a major SpaceX competitor and Doug called in wanting to know if Erik thought Falcon Heavy might actually be too much rocket for the market at this time. He also inquired about the potential Falcon Heavy impact on human spaceflight. In the second segment, Mars One, Inspiration Mars, and Dream Chaser came up for discussion. Dr. Seedhouse talked about SpaceX and Mars but he also stressed the need for resolving EDL problem regarding future large payload missions to Mars. Another listener wanted to know if Falcon Heavy or even the Falcon 9 could launch the Orion and then Doug emailed in and then called to ask about the SpaceX Mars Colonial Transporter. Several times in both segments, Dr. Seedhouse stressed that his book was upbeat and written as a devoted fan of SpaceX accounting for the company's first ten years. He also said that he had no support nor did he have any interviews with anyone from SpaceX regarding the book. Toward the end, Jacob sent in an email asking our guest why some in Congress still seemed opposed to commercial space, SpaceX and others. Erik made it clear he did not include politics in his book but he suggested that Congress does tend to work toward reelection, often over the national interest. Of course defining the national interest may not be as objective as we would like so it’s a tough question to answer, for sure. The last listener question asked Erik if there was a commercial space effort of any significance coming from any other country. Erik's simple answer was no but you will want to hear what he said in response to this question. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show. If you want to contact Dr. Seedhouse, you can do so through me.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 29 Jul 2013 03:55:30 UTC
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