Guests:  Jose Molina Vazquez, Dave Dressler;  ISDC 2016 content, conference theme & major events, visiting San Juan Puerto Rico.  Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.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 Jose Molina Vazquez and Dave Dressler to the program to discuss the NSS ISDC 2016 Conference to be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico from May 18-22, 2016.  To learn more about this event, register for the conference and make hotel reservations, visit the ISDC 2016 website at http://isdc.nss.org/2016/#.  Our 71 minute program was in one segment, no break.  I started the discussion by asking Jose about the NSS process that enables ISDC to be held in different cities each year.  As you will hear, a bid process is used.  For example, last year ISDC was in Toronto. For 2017 it will be in St. Louis, in 2018 it will return to Los Angles, and in 2019 ISDC will be held in Atlanta.  Our guests talked about the conference structure which is multi-track with five daily tracks, a plenary at 8:30 AM, a luncheon keynote speaker and a 7-9 evening speaker.  On the first day of ISDC 2016, Wednesday, May 18, the main event is a "Puerto Rico in Focus" program regarding the aerospace potential for Puerto Rico along with other economic and development news relevant to aerospace. 

Another part of the ISDC structure are the panel discussions that are held throughout the event on various topics.  You can check out the panels and the tracks by visiting http://isdc.nss.org/2016/#/tracks/all-tracks.  Our guests were asked about a political, media, and advocacy focus in addition to covering the subject of space settlement.  In addition, humans returning to the Moon and going to Mars was said to have good coverage at this year's event. 

Listeners asked about SLS and Orion programming, SpaceX, and the Google Lunar X-Prize.  One listener asked about tours for family members.  Our guests had much to say about tours and things to do in and around San Juan.  They also said Blue Origin had good representation in this year's programming as did XCOR and their Lynx vehicle. 

ISDC 2016 has a theme, "Space Beyond Borders."  Our guests talked about this theme in the context of the Overview Effect.  They also mentioned the Space Settlement Competition for 8th-12th grade students. 

Both our guests talked about the Exhibit Hall and some of the exhibits and videos.  For example, they talked about the NASA Virtual ISS, sounding rockets, and more.  They also said that there might still be space available for any interested party regarding the Exhibit Hall.  As for conference registration, our guests said we had passed the Early Bird registration point and the main hotel was full but on the ISDC website there was information for nearby hotels at the same discounted conference rate.

Please post your comments/questions in the comments section for this archived program on TSS website. You can reach either guest through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.