Guest: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Balloon launch, laws of physics and aerospace engineering, China space policy, NASA policy. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. This was a two hour Open Lines program divided into two segments. During our first segment, I put forth potential discussion topics including Space Show funding issues, U.S. space policy and China per a recent WSJ article, "Adrift In Space: US, China Joint Initiative Stalls," the temporary halt to using chat on the program, and my initial thoughts about the Space Studies Institute Conference held this past weekend at NASA Ames. I then introduced a topic which seemed to be the dominant one for the show as it was based on an email I received this morning from Steve about his idea to do "Earth's First self launching, recyclable telecommunications satellite TELECOMSAT GAIA TWO. I read the information on air that Steve sent me and then listeners took a crack at Steve's idea as everyone thought the laws of physics, sound engineering rules and more were being ignored by Steve in his idea. Check it out at http://telecomsatgaiatwo.blogspot.com. Dr. Jurist was the first caller and he spent a considerable amount of time discussing the physics of balloon launches, balloons going to space, atmospheric drag and other issues Steve's idea appears to draw from based on the information available to us. Most listeners thought Steve's idea was nuts but as the discussion continued, the focus seemed more on the need to have some sort of engineering and scientific education to at least understand the basics. Steve was listening to the discussion, could not call in, but he did offer some insights about being an out of the box thinker and you will hear me read his comments on air. See what you think about his concept and the discussion. We started the second segment with an email comment from Tony regarding ISS drag at its altitude. Kelly then phoned in to talk about how in general it seems that space enthusiasts ignore the laws of physics for their dream or hope wish list set of items. He then talked about the need for space infrastructure and the related costs which are often more of a show stopper than the actual cost of the rocket. He suggested that Steve look at the comprehensive costs involved in his project to get clear idea of its total costs, aside from the fact that Kelly also thought the laws of physics and sound aerospace engineering were being ignored in this balloon Gaia Two concept. The subject of Sea Dragon came up as a result of some questions from Tony and I agreed to see if Bill Sprague would be a guest on the show to discuss this famous project. Tim in Huntsville called in to tell us about a congressional race in the Fifth Congressional District which includes MSFC and is addressing space issues, specifically aerospace jobs, the POR, and more. Tim also suggested that researchers, scientists, and others working out of the box still need to be grounded in a real scientific and engineering foundation. If you have any questions or comments pertaining to any of the callers or regarding the Telecomsat Gaia Two venture, please post them on the blog using the URL above. You can also send them to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward them to the person you designate.
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