congress

Guest: Dr. Wendell Mendell. Topics: Planetary science, lunar development and habitats, NASA, Constellation, space politics, science fiction. We welcomed Dr. Wendell Mendell back to the show. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshowoutsidethebox.blogspot.com. In our first segment, Dr. Mendell gave us an insiders view of the Constellation project given his being part of the project at NASA JSC.

Guests: Josh Hopkins; Larry Price; Steve Harrington. Topics: Near Earth Asteroids, Orion Crew Capsule, space policy, aerospace engineering, academics, turbo pumps, pistonless pumps. This Space Show program consists of three interviews back to back separated by about ten plus seconds of silence. Josh Hopkins was interviewed on Tuesday, August 31, Larry Price was interviewed on Wednesday, Sept. 1, and Steve Harrington was interviewed on Thursday, Sept. 2. As you will hear, the Harrington interview was a change of pace and topic discussion from the first two interviews.

Guest: Dr. Pete Worden. Topics: Space policy, NASA Ames, space biology, small sats, inspiration. We welcomed back Dr. Pete Worden, Director of NASA Ames for this special one hour program. We started our discussion with a focus on US space policy and our future in space. Dr. Worden supported the presidential plan and since Congress does not yet have a final, approved policy, we did not address the congressional ideas to date. Dr. Worden explained in detail why the presidential plan was good for our space policy.

Guests: Classroom, Dr. Eligar Sadeh, Dr. John Jurist. Topics: Lesson 10 U.S. Space Policy, what it is, how its made. Please see The Space Show Classroom blog, Lesson 10 Archive Notes for information about this show. Lesson 10 got underway in the first segment with Dr. Sadeh talking about the nature of political policy, some of the players in formulating space policy, and the priorities for NASA in the context of overall US government policy. As you will hear, space policy is typically a means to another end. Dr. Sadeh provided us with several examples underscoring this perspective.

Guest: Dr. Haym Benaroya. Topics: New space policy, return to the Moon, Mars, the need for a grand space vision. Dr. Haym Benaroya, author and Rutgers University engineering professor, returned to discuss his two new books and the preliminary reports pertaining to the new space policy to be announced Feb. 1, 2010. In our first segment, Dr. Benaroya introduced us to his two new books which will soon be available on the One Giant Leap Foundation book page. You will be notified when they are available for your purchase.

Guest: Dr. Jim Vedda. Topics: Space policy and goals. We were most fortunate to have as our guest for this program, Dr. Jim Vedda. Our two hour discussion was wide ranging over many aspects of both U.S. and global space policy. In our first segment, Dr. Vedda talked about the "why" of space policy in the final chapter of the Augustine Commission Report but suggested this information relating to the goals of our space program should have been at the front of the report given its importance. This opened up our discussion on space goals being about our capability, not a destination.

Guests: Tim Lawrence, Carry Ralston, other ATK and NASA officials. Topic: Ares 1 solid rocket motor test, Ares 1 rocket. This is a series of taped interviews starting with the first attempt to do the Ares 1 five segment static SRB rocket test on August 27. The test was aborted at T-20 seconds due to an improperly working Thrust Vector Control ground control piece of equipment. You will hear two interviews with Tim Lawrence, Assistance Chief of Engineering for Ares 1 from the Marshall Spaceflight Center and also Carry Ralston who is the VP of Space Launch at ATK.

Guest: Dave Ketchledge. Topics: "Rocket Science," nuclear power, space policy, space education. Dave Ketchledge was our guest to discuss his new book on CD, "Rocket Science." You can order this book and find out more about it by visiting his website, www.rocketengineer.bravehost.com/. During Segment 1, Dave talked about the need for space engineering and rocket education, how his book fills this need, and what it means for future engineers in all disciplines, not just those related to space.

Guest: Dr. Paul Spudis. Topics: Return to the Moon, VSE Mission Statement, lunar science, NASA, Mars, U.S. public and space exploration. Dr. Paul Spudis returned for this special two hour program to discuss why we should return to the Moon. In Segment 1, Dr. Spudis talked about the Moon as a transitioning resource and our training ground for how we can learn to live and settle in space. He said that the way the VSE has evolved, its gotten away from the true mission of our return to the Moon. This is a discussion that you must hear and its repeated throughout this two hour show.

Guest: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Media interviews and privacy, NASA, Ares 1 and pork, Iran, How to be a guest on The Space Show. This two hour program was an Open Lines program divided into three segments. During the first segment, I covered a few topics and issues that I thought needed airing and discussing. For example, for listeners wanting to contact me or ask a question, please use drspace@thespaceshow.com, do not send me messages through Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.