Dennis Wingo returned to The Space Show to discuss his new book, "Moonrush: Improving Life on Earth with the Moon's Resources." Mr. Wingo shows how the Moon's resources can be used to solve energy problems here on Earth. During this thorough discussion, Mr. Wingo was asked about the ethics, environment, and "common heritage for mankind" issues pertaining to lunar economic development. Together with Dennis Wingo, we provided listeners a unique point of view, pointing out that the ethical course is to develop the resources and bring the resulting advantages to the people here on Earth. Dennis does a super job of explaining the technical issues relating to lunar resource development, helium 3, fusion, hydrogen, and more. He also tells us about In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and why this is essential for lunar resource and economic development. Dennis also brought us up to date with the progress being made for both Orbital Recovery Corporation and SkyCorp. He was asked to comment on the future for space development based upon the winner of our coming presidential election. While he avoided partisan politics, he did point out that if Sen. Kerry wins the election and scales down the space program, the space entrepreneurs will continue it as well as the return to the Moon and onward to Mars vision. Thus, it is unclear if that will be a positive or detrimental thing for the nation because as he pointed out, having the private-sector pursue the new space vision might in the end produce the best path to accomplishing the goals set forth in the vision. His view on this was certainly provocative for Space Show listeners. Mr. Wingo discussed the issue of the need for a heavy lift launch vehicle to return to the Moon, including the conversion of the Space Shuttle to such a heavy lift vehicle. His analysis of this issue is excellent. Because of the information Dennis shared with listeners, this program was extended an additional 20 minutes. I know you will enjoy it.
Guest
The Space Show
