Guest: Jim Muncy. Topics: Comprehensive space policy & commercial space discussion. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Jim Muncy back to the show for this comprehensive space policy and commercial space two hour plus discussion. While many topics overlapped both segments and we went back and forth on several topics, this summary will be a two part summary. Jim started the discussion with a look at new space legislation kicking off the year. After a short summary of several items and their impact on commercial space, we talked about the makeup of the new Congress and how it might view civil and commercial space. Jim then started addressing specific projects including Orion and its expansion to include ESA, SLS, the Boeing CST100, Atlas 5, and more. A listener asked about the Space Settlement Act and the Space Foundation Pioneering White Paper. We then turned our attention to Cis-lunar space as a commercial gateway and Jim mentioned new commercial opportunities such as Golden Spike. We also talked about the recent study on NASA by the National Academies. Other topics included the need to do exploration, to take risks and NASA acting more like the old NACA with aviation. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was brought up by a caller and we started talking about large program expenses as compared to smaller, less costly, & more frequent programs that fly much more often. In response to another listener, Jim said SLS was not in competition for funds with commercial crew as one was near term & the other long term. Falcon Heavy was brought up, especially as an alternative to SLS. In our second segment, Jim was asked about how best to influence congress. Later on, Jim was asked to comment on the liability indemnification issue surrounding Spaceport America & Virgin Galactic. Our domestic economic situation came up many times in both segments but in this segment, it was applied to problems with our weather satellite system & infrastructure needs as opposed to flying missions. This included mention of the Hurricane Sandy relief package just passed by Congress. Other issues talked about included the aerospace skilled workforce, parochial congressional interests, the NASA bureaucracy, & the role of space advocacy. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog above. You can email Mr. Muncy through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.
Guest
The Space Show
