Guest: Taylor Dinerman. Topics: New NASA Administrator, DOD space policy, space weaponization, ITAR, Space Pearl Harbor, Obama space policy challenges, COTS, RLV. Taylor Dinerman returned to The Space Show to discuss DOD/Military space policy for 2009 and beyond. However, we started off by announcing the Obama choice for NASA Administrator, Retired AF Major General Scott Gration. Taylor spent most of the first segment discussing General Gration and what this might mean for NASA and various NASA programs including COTS. Since General Gration does not appear to have a space background, Taylor speculated about Constellation and other important NASA programs. You will want to hear what he had to say about this new choice to lead NASA. Taylor then shifted our focus to space militarization and weaponization. He said that space would be militarized, even weaponized, and that there may someday be battles fought in space, not necessarily by the US, Russia, or China. He suggested that this might happen between nations such as India and Pakistan. You will want to listen to his of comments on this subject. When I pushed for other policy options, he did not seem to think that there were other options to a future that included space weaponization. Other topics included our policy with Poland over missiles and interceptors and the disagreements with Russia, real challenges in policy that will face the new Obama presidency, and what these possible policy tests might mean. Space solar power was discussed as a possible space weapon, but he did not think the microwave beam was an issue. If laser beam technology were to be used, he thought it could possible lead to a dual use item including a space weapon. You will want to hear what he had to say on this subject. A listener asked him to extrapolate about the large number of Hamas rockets fired into Israel since 2005 and if this had any significance for the claim that a large number of rocket launches was needed to lower the cost of space access. Taylor refuted any comparison of commercial rocket launches with the thousands of Hamas rockets launched into Israel, he explained the difference with these military weapons versus an actual space rocket launch, and then suggested that an increase in the launch rate was not the way to lower space access costs. Here he suggested the development and use of the RLV to lower space access costs. In the last segment of the show he was asked about ITAR and he elaborated on the difficulties in controlling the exports of technology and making sure such technology does not land in the hands of our enemies. He said what so many others have said and that is that ITAR is a war against our own commercial space efforts and reform was strongly needed. Near the end of the show, he was asked about the concept of a space Pearl Harbor first suggested in the Rumsfeld Commission Report of 2001. Listen to what he has to say about this type of event happening to US space assets. He pointed out where progress had been made in the Commission recommendations and where little or no progress had been made and why. If you have questions or comments for Taylor Dinerman, please send them to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward them to him.
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