John Garvey, CEO of Garvey Spacecraft Corporation in Long Beach, CA was the guest on the program. Check out Garvey Space at www.garvspace.com. John was last on The Space Show Dec. 21, 2004 so we started our discussion and overview of things that have happened in the space industry since then, plus changes and progress in Garvey Spacecraft. This is an interesting and important overview. John explained how he works with California State University of Long Beach (CSULB) students with his rocket projects. Students help in the projects which are Air Force contract projects. You can learn about many of the projects on his website such as the Prospector 7. You can see video and lots of pictures of what John talks about on the show. John also works with Microcosm regarding the composite tank and we talked about the advantages of composite tanks. You will want to hear this part of the show as composite tanks are important advances in lowering launch costs. Several Space Show listeners are interested in pursuing space access options other than those based on chemical rockets so I asked John why it is that in the educational system, the business world and with the startups, the focus is on chemical rockets rather than out of the box R&D to do something different that may actually work. Regular listeners to The Space Show know I ask many guests this question but John provided the best answer yet and I urge all of you to listen to what he said. It goes directly to our educational system, how we support education and students, and the need to see results very soon, not later, or really later. In fact, this same issue came up when I asked John about the interest level of his students in the VSE and the NASA program to get to the Moon and later to Mars. One would think that the students would be excited about this potential but the answer was a big no. They don't pay much attention to it, they are not excited and again, it has to do with what the students can do now, in a semester or a short term period, they can see their work take shape, they can fly it. When they address the VSE, its so far off into the future and they realize its a government program so it most likely will not unfold the way it is being described today and there is a good chance it won't even happen. So the students don't get interested in it for these reasons. John is articulate in his description of the problem. This is a must listen to discussion for anyone who wants to support VSE, broaden its appeal and understanding across the country and do what we can to make sure it is successful. John Garvey is addressing some fundamental problems with the VSE for younger people and probably the same for many Americans. While we have heard this before from other guests, John is especially clear thinking and articulate in this discussion. We also addressed the business case for Garvey Spacecraft and can a business case be closed with the model he is pursuing. John then explains his strategy, market focus and more. We understand why there is a focus on the nanosat launch vehicles and what the market is for these products. One listener asked John how we in the space community can better promote and explain many of the aspects of the need for space commerce that he talked about on the show. Again, John's response to this listener was top of the line, you will want to hear it. You can email John with your follow up questions or comments by using info@garvspace.com. Please put Space Show in your subject line so he will know the email pertains to his program appearance.