Broadcast 996 (Special Edition)

Guests: Reda Anderson; Linn LeBlanc , and Lisa Schott. Reda Anderson was the guest for the first of hour of this special two hour Space Show television program filmed in Cape Canaveral to talk about her adventure travel, including being the first person to sign up to ride on Rocketplane. Though this discussion was supplemented with pictures which we are unable to show you at this time, the discussion remains very important and valuable. We started our discussion by asking Reda "Why do you want to go to space?" As it turns out Reda is an adventurer and she loves to do things. This led her to talk about being persuaded to go down to the Titanic on the spur of the moment. You will want to hear Reda compare the similarities and differences between Earth-based adventure travel, such as visiting the Titanic, with space tourism , or as she said on the show, comparing inner space to outer space. You will want to hear Reda tell us about the Styrofoam cup which she brought back from the Titanic and what she would want to bring to space. In response to one of my questions, she told us what had become of the underwater graves of so many people lost at sea . Other topics we discussed on this show included the emotional aspects of space tourism and the Overview Effect, the economics and value of visiting the Titanic as compared to the probable economics of space tourism, and much more. Reda also told us what separates space cadets from other enthusiasts and suggests what space cadets can do in order to bring their business dreams to fruition , including taking a few basic business classes , or if you don't know or don't want to learn business, partner up with someone who is interested in business. Listen to this discussion and see if you agree with Reda. If you have any questions or comments for Reda, please send them to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward them to her. ________________________________________ Linn LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, and Lisa Schott, an alumna of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation were our guests for the second hour of this Space Show TV show filmed at Cape Canaveral, Florida in June 2008. In the first segment of the show, Linn LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation told us about the scholarship itself, including how many were available per year (currently 20 although they hope to get to 60 per year), their renewability (for up to three years), what level of study (undergraduate junior, senior, masters) and how they are the largest undergraduate scholarship based on merit even though only 19 schools are qualified to nominate students. There are currently 226 scholarship alumni and the Board of Directors of the Foundation consists of astronauts and their family members. For more information please see their website, http://astronautscholarship.org/. We went over the mission of the non-profit, how they raise money, the experiences with astronauts and their alumni network. In response to a question, Ms. LeBlanc told us how the foundation had increased in regard to space events in the news, and how fundraising had changed over time. Interestingly, none of the space tourists have contributed to the scholarship foundation. ___________________________________________ In the second part of the show, we spoke to Lisa Schott, an alumna of the scholarship foundation and the owner of her own acoustical engineering consulting firm, Quietly Making Noise, LLC. Lisa is heavily involved with the Foundation's alumni group. Ms. Schott tells us a little about how the scholarship affected her studies and how the Foundation establishes a lifelong connection to the Foundation. One benefit of the Foundation allows the alumni to meet the astronauts and other scholars at the annual board meeting. Listen to this show to hear what she has to say about the difference between scholars in the early 1990s and now, as well as the astronauts then and now. You will also want to hear where the scholarship alumni are now and hear specifically about certain past scholars and their accomplishments. She also tells us how the scholarship was used for inspiration to keep students going when their research hits a bump. In addition, we talk about what it takes to get a scholarship. If you have any comments or questions for either of our guests, please email me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward them.