Broadcast 1125 (Special Edition)

Guest: John Wickman. Topics: Rocket propulsion, rocket fuel, NASA, Moon, Mars, rocket launches. John Wickman, President of Wickman Spacecraft & Propulsion Company (please see www.wickmanspacecraft.com for more information) of Casper, Wyoming, was the guest for this program. Our interview started with Mr. Wickman telling about the formation of his spacecraft company and his early work regarding the Challenger accident and failure analysis. He then talked about NASA for new fuel development so you will want to hear this discussion. Not only did we talk about many of his projects including the rocket engine that directly burns the carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere and the lunar soil engine, we talked about government contracting, timelines and government money versus funding projects in the private sector. He also talked with us about the audits he goes through on an annual basis through the DCAA - Defense Contract Audit Agency. Listeners and I asked Mr. Wickman and New Space projects, hybrid propulsion, various spaceports for national armature rocket launch ranges, and more. Later in the show, we talked about concern that his classes in building rocket engines were actually teaching people how to build a weapon. His response to this concern was very interesting, you will definitely want to hear what he has to say about it. John was asked for his thoughts on NASA, the Constellation program, Direct 2.0, and the future of our civil space program. He pointed out obvious problems and barriers in the NASA culture and then he discussed the difference in how DOD looks at a mission and what NASA does with a mission. I think you will find this explanation fascinating if you don't already know the difference. At the end of the program, I asked for his thoughts on weapons in space and the likelihood of space conflict in the future. This is another answer you will want to hear. If you are interested in John Wichman's classes of if you want to ask a question or make a comment, his email address jwickman@wickmanspacecraft.com and other contact information is on the bottom of his home page on his website.