Guest: Jim Plaxco. Topics: The ASS ISS science platform, R&D, commercial space, SLS & more. 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. 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 Jim Plaxco to the program. During the first segment of our 96 minute discussion, Jim initially talked about the recent American Astronautical Society (ASS) conference which had a focus on ISS research. Jim provided us with a quality discussion about science in space and aboard the ISS. We addressed many important issues including ISS crew limitations, the probable life expectancy of the ISS, the type of science done on station, & payload size limitations, including returning to Earth. We talked about private sector experiments, especially those with NanoRacks. In the same segment, we talked about suborbital science missions which seem to be just around the corner. Jim sees much that is positive coming from these suborbital science missions. Suborbital space tourism was also a topic in this segment. So was the possibility of Bigelow space stations. As the segment ended, we honed in on the need to lower the cost of space access. In our second segment, we started off with SLS as our topic. Jim said he was pro space and cautious at best regarding SLS. We talked about markets for space projects and both of us suggested an absence of markets for SLS though Jim did reference the Data Purchase Act. Bigelow Aerospace habs came up for more discussion. Doug called in and discussed the idea of a separate NASA for science and HSF. Jim had much to say about this concept. Near the end of the program, I asked Jim where he thought HSF would be in five years. We also talked about the suborbitals going orbital (if possible). Jim suggested the industry faced three challenges including financing, the economy, and the regulatory risks. Note that technical challenges were not among his top challenges. Our final topic addressed international partnership for both public and private space ventures. Please post yo