Guest: Hu Davis. Topics: Space Solar Power. We welcomed back to the program Hu Davis to talk about SSP. In our first segment, Hu went over the history of SSP and earlier studies that showed SSP to be very promising as a source of power for our grid. He referenced many of these studies so you can find them on the net if you are so inclined to do so. He referenced earlier EIR reports that showed positive impact for land use, water usage, and safety. He also referenced reports and studies by the PowerSat Corporation (www.powersat.com) that supported what he talked about throughout today's program. He said it was easy to be a cynic, especially when two powerful communities had a vested interest in opposing SSP. The two communities he referenced were the oil and gas industry and the utility companies. Fusion was mentioned in this discussion as well. In segment two, listener and former Space Show gust John Vornle called in to discuss the utility industry, Dr. Chu and the DOE, and the financing of SSP by private capital, including the studies that Hu talked about. John got questions about the ROI and payback needed by those putting up private capital for the SSP studies so don't miss what he said about this. Both Hu and John talked about this being a domestic US system, even if some of the private capital came from outside the United States. The issue of the political will of the government was discussed and John referenced the need for a government contingency contract to support the needed SSP studies. Listen carefully to the contingency contract discussion and description. Both John and Hu said this was an uphill battle. The issue of launch costs was brought into the discussion and both Hu and John had much to say about it. I threw into the mix information on this subject as provided by other guests who have discussed this issue on The Space Show. The efficiency of the SSP hardware was mentioned as well. Dr. Phil Chapman, another Space Show guest, called in to talk about getting spaceflight costs down and said as have others, that its a function of systems, business operations, insurance, and lots of reasons, not just the launch rate. When Phil was asked about the best direction for our civil space policy, he suggested something on the order of the old NACA with a focus on R& D for reusable engines, heat shields, and technology development. The third and final segment had a discussion of timelines for doing the study and moving forward with the program suggested by Hu and others on this show. We talked about the need for any SSP study to be impartial and potential conflicts of interest among those qualified to do such a study. As Hu closed the program, he said he was tired of hearing all the time about what we cannot do. He said its what we can do and used JFK and going to the Moon as an example. He said we can repeat our greatness and demonstrate an equally great purpose, proving to the world what we can do and what we accomplish. If you have a comment or question for Hu Davis, please email him at hudavis@gvtc.com.
Guest
The Space Show
