Broadcast 974 (Special Edition)

Guests: Dennis Wingo for the first hour followed by Donald Beattie for the second hour. ________________________________________________________ Guest : Dennis Wingo was our guest for this session of the Space Show TV program. We started the interview with a discussion on lunar commerce and why Dennis and others believe we need to develop the Moon for the benefit of us all here on Earth. We also discussed extending he life of the ISS. Dennis repeated the need for frequent access to space and the ISS, identifying some important potential markets. Pharmaceuticals was identified as one such market. You will want to hear this discussion in order to learn more about this important issue. Dennis answered the question "Do we need a new vehicle to go to the M oon?" as well as the question "What do we need for an action plan for NASA?" As it turns out, Dennis suggested that NASA needs a Plan B. We also discussed a bit about space policy and how different groups have different priorities, which should come as no surprise to space activists. Other topics we discussed included more about a NASA "Plan B," the Bigelow space station, and the need to be investing in space in order to lower the cost of energy here on Earth. You will certainly want to hear more about this issue. Continuing on the subject of the return to the Moon, we discussed space tourism, the need for known markets, the "Great Mistake of '68," and how to produce a lunar landing pad by melting lunar regolith. Dennis also brought to our attention a list of new launch vehicles coming to market over the coming years that will give us more affordable ISS access. When this happens, using the ISS as a platform for returning to the Moon and establishing lunar commerce will be not only possible but highly desirable. If you would like to contact Dennis Wingo, please do so through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com. _________________________________________________________ Donald Beattie was the guest for this session of the Space Show TV programming. We started our discussion with Don taking a look at what, in his opinion, is needed for NASA to refocus and reenergize for the coming future, especially when we start out with a new administration and Congress. For those of you who have listened to Don before, you know that he has strongly suggested visits to a NEO, or even Mars, rather than returning to the Moon. While this perspective is continued in this discussion, he also explains why a focus on doing some much needed science might be the best intermediate step for NASA. We talked about the flack the VSE catching in the non-space community and the difficulty that NASA seems to have in justifying the high cost of getting to and from the Moon for each visit versus what work is actually going to be done on the Moon. You definitely want to hear what Don has to say about these issues. In the discussion, I mentioned being at conferences where it was stated that the reason for going to the Moon was to preserve NASA jobs and, as those of you who are frequent listeners to The Space Show know, I would like to see a commercial purpose for visiting the Moon and sustaining that visit by the private sector. Others supportive of the Moon first focus on it being the platform for going to Mars and that NASA is developing its outpost to support the future humans to Mars missions. This issue is discussed during this interview segment. Neither Don nor I believe the current VSE structure is sustainable or that it will lead to a permanent human lunar presence, if that is indeed a goal of the program. If you want to follow up and ask Don Beattie questions or offer comments to him, please contact him through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.