Ares V

Guest: Robert Zimmerman. Topics: US space policy, space vision, Constellation and more. Robert Zimmerman returned to provide an assessment of where US space policy is after the Administration made its Feb. 1 announcement for its plans using the 2011 Budget. In our first segment, Bob started off saying that based on the administration proposals, there were no long term goals and this is what has caused a lack of political support. Listeners immediately objected to what Bob said and emailed the show parts of the budget stating what the long term plans were about.

Guest: Ross Tierney. Topics. Direct 3.0, Constellation, NASA, political process. Ross Tierney returned for this two hour program to update us with Direct 3.0 in light of the Augustine report and the upcoming announcements regarding U.S. Civil Space Policy. In our first segment, Ross brought us current with Direct 3.0 and the Augustine Commission. This is a comprehensive discussion. We also talked about work force issues and job losses in the space industry as a result of potential space policy changes.

Guest: Dr. Marshall Kaplan. Topics: Augustine, space shuttle, ISS, commercial space, orbital debris, Launchspace classes. Dr. Marshall Kaplan was our guest on The Space Show for this program which covered launch vehicles, the commercial space industry, space policy, debris removal, and Launchspace.com classes. In our first segment, we discussed some of the finding by the Augustine Commission and talked about the likely flight profile for Ares 1 and Ares 5 and inquired about heavy lift.

Guests: Dr. Robert (Bobby) Braun, Robert (Rob) Manning. Topics: Entry and descent for landing large Martian payloads. Our guests for this program, Dr. Bobby Braun and Rob Manning, are conducting research on how to land large payloads on Mars. Their paper, "Mars Exploration Entry, Descent and Landing Challenges" was prepared for the IEEAC, #0076 in December 2005. I strongly recommend that you obtain a copy of this paper and read it. Dr. Braun's website for the Space Systems Design Lab at Georgia Tech University is www.ssdl.gatech.edu/.

Guest: Robert Zimmerman. Topics: space policy, NASA, human spaceflight, Hubble, SpaceX, LRO. Bob Zimmerman returned to The Space Show for this news update. He started the discussion with an evaluation of current space policy based on his perception of Obama's interest in space and the delay in appointing a new NASA Administrator. We talked about the human spaceflight program, science missions, engineering research and planetary research and returning to the Moon as a priority.

Guests: Chris Carberry; Kevin Sloan. Topics: The Mars Society upcoming 12th annual conference, University Rover Challenge, humans to Mars, heavy lift vehicle. Chris Carberry, Executive Director of the Mars Society was our guest for the first hour to discuss the upcoming 12th Annual International Mars Society Convention. To learn more about the convention and The Mars Society, visit www.marssociety.org/portal/c/Conventions/2009/convention-2009-event.

Guest: Open Lines. Topics: North Korea, Iran & SCUD Missiles, private space contractors, Flagships, return to the Moon, Kool Aid. Tonight was an Open Lines discussion covering several topics with listeners both through email and phone calls. I outlined some topics for possible discussion including what constitutes Kool Aid in the space world (based on an experience I had via email with a friend earlier in the day), the Augustine Panel presentations coming up, Direct 3.0, a possible new focus for NASA which included developing low cost space access for civil use, and more.

Guest: Bob Werb. Topics: space entrepreneurism, economics 101, space economic development. Bob Werb was our guest on The Space Show today for a frank discussion and at times, a very cool Economics 101 lecture on the economics of space development. Do not miss this show and Bob's last segment 5 minute economics course for space cadets. Some of the issues we talked about from an economic perspective included ITAR reform, space entrepreneurism, military, civil, and NewSpace. We also discussed space security in the context of Bob's Econ 101 lesson.

Guest: Chris Carberry. Topics: Mars Society, NASA Administrator, terraforming Mars, life on Mars, commercial missions to Mars, Mars advocacy. Chris Carberry, Executive Director of The Mars Society, was the guest today to discuss the upcoming Mars Society Conference at College Park, MD on the campus of the University of Maryland from July 30-August 2, 2009. To find out more about the conference, please visit www.marssociety.org/portal/c/Conventions/2009.

Guest: Dan Adamo was the guest for this Space Show program to discuss his White Paper, "Revisited Virtues of Lunar Surface Rendezvous (LSR)." Mr. Adamo started out explaining the nature of the current NASA plan for returning to the Moon which requires launching on Ares 1 and then Ares V over a four day critical launch interval. Dan explained the differences with LSR as he sees it and the NASA plan, making sure that listeners understood the programs and how LSR was unique.