Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman; Multiple topics on space. For a short review of the discussed topics see our Tags for this show. The tags will be repeated below in this summary.

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Tags:  Bob Zimmerman, Boeing, Starliner, SLS, Blue Origin, B-4 engine, ULA, cost plus, Vulcan, SpaceX, Starship, Boca Chica, FAA litigation, Artemis, UK & Scotland launch sites, Bob's book Conscious Choice, listener Ryan's call, Mars settlement, space as a presidential election issue, UAP whistleblower, nuclear powered flight on Mars, the Mars helicopter, drone, Dr. Charles Lurio on Elon Musk, Artemis, SLS, and more with Bob, Artificial Intelligence, machine thinking versus human thinking.

We welcomed Bob back to the show with an opening discussion about the delays and problems with the Boeing Starliner human spaceflight capsule.  Bob had lots to say on this topic, which took place over the first 20-25 minutes of our discussion.  Our guest was thorough in his discussion of the Boeing problems, he threw in some history as well, plus toward the end we migrated the discussion to talking about Starship, the Boca launch site, the FAA litigation and related issues.  In addition, much was said about ULA, their new Vulcan rocket and the remaining Atlas 5 rockets to be used for Starliner testing.  ULA issues were brought up, specifically delays that took place over the Blue Origin BE-4 rocket motor.  Don't miss all of what Bob had to say on all of these topics. 

Artemis was an on again off again topic during our program.  For example, a listener asked Bob about a possible government delay in granting SpaceX a launch license which would then hurt the government Artemis program because it requires Starship to put the SpaceX lunar lander on the Moon.  Don't miss Bob's commentary on all this, which sounds a bit like the ole comedy routine "Who's on First." 

Ryan from Oregon called to talk with Bob about his book "Conscious Choice."  This was a surprise call and Ryan, who has a different political bent than Bob by a zillion miles, talked about how good the book turned out to be, the education he got on the slavery issue and history in the book, the way Bob transitioned things to impact space settlement and much more. This was a lengthy, detailed and excellent conversation with Ryan that you will want to hear.  In fact, I bet it leads several of you to buy Bob's book!

Several emails came in.  One from Sarah wanted to know if space would be a presidential issue in the upcoming 2024 election given all the great things going on in commercial space and its rise in importance including national security.  Bob said no but listen to his full reply to understand why it was a no.  Ajay called to ask Bob about nuclear powered flight on Mars.  Bob talked about the Mars helicopter and more and more drone flights on Mars but said nuclear was too far off to think about.  John Hunt called to ask Bob about the latest UAP whistleblower who said we had alien spacecraft.  Bob said he did not follow any of this as there were too many here and now issues commanding his attention.  Other emails came in about the NASA budget, SLS and then Charles Lurio called.

Charles and Bob had a lengthy conversation about Musk, space settlement, Artemis, Mars, budget cuts and how they might impact NASA, plus they talked about the developing private lander business.  Bob and Charles went over many important points and concerns so while it was definitely a Lurio-Zimmerman conversation with all of us listening in, it was a good one.  Don't miss it. 

The last question of the night was put to Bob via email.  Carla wanted Bob to share his thoughts with us about AI.  Bob had much to say on the subject but for the most part, thought it would be OK if we did not allow machines to do the thinking for us.  He cited many examples to help make his points on this issue.  You will definitely want to hear his case examples.

Bob offered us a short conclusion which for the most part was that he hopes he is proven wrong on some of his analysis which was not so supportive for some parts of commercial space and space settlement.  Listen to his concluding comments to learn exactly what and where he hopes to be proven wrong by the continuation of commercial space development.

Please post your comments/questions on our blog for this show.  You can reach Bob Zimmerman through his website where you can also buy his book (also at Amazon), www.behindtheblack.com.