Guest: Dr. Doug Plata; Topics: A report on ISDC 2017, lunar development plans, a possible special even at the time of the maiden FH launch. Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.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. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.
We welcomed Dr. Doug Plata back to the program for a one segment 94 minute program. We originally planned a 60 minute show due to Doug having voice problems but he decided to stay on for the full 90 minute show once he realized how much fun he was having. We started our discussion by Doug saying that this year's ISDC was "awesome!" He also said the venue was "remarkable!" Doug then provided a shootout to Dr. Madhu Thangalevu of USC for the great job he did in organizing and managing the lunar track. Doug then commented on the number of young people at ISDC, especially from Asia and India. With the niceties out of the way, Doug talked about the two tracks he participated in, the Lunar Track and the Space Transportation track. He briefly went over the topics he presented. If you want more detail from him on his topics, please contact him.
Dr. Zubrin was there and Doug talked about the Zubrin show of hands question and the short survey about people preferring to go all the way to the lunar surface or did they prefer to orbit the moon. Doug discussed the results of this Zubrin show of hands survey and much more so don't miss what he had to say about this part of the program. In addition, Doug talked about wanting to spend at least a year at a US lunar base before going to Mars.
Doug said the SSP track was very strong and he talked quite a bit about the presentation by Dr. John Mankins. This connected to space settlement as Dr. Mankins brought up the issue of the biological implications of true space settlement. Doug said this was a big question, especially when applying it to how we might maintain a space settlement without actually knowing how to do it. Don't miss what Doug had to say about this talk and subject.
Listener George asked Doug about the new version of the Integrated Space Plan (ISP). Doug had very positive things to say about, about the timelines, and the new kids version of the ISP. He said introducing reusability into the ISP forced lots of changes and sped up the timeline. Again, don't miss his comments on the new ISP.
Doug spent several minutes talking about the great networking opportunities at ISDC and some of the key people he met this year. Later, he mentioned the NASA Deep Space Habitat program, explained what it was and why he did not like or support it. You do not want to miss what he said about it, specially since he spoke to one of the key NASA people behind the project. I'm sure you will find his comments of interest to you. In the same discussion, Doug brought up the ESA Lunar Village Project as the Director General of ESA, Prof. Johann-Dietrich Worner, talked about it at the conference. Doug shared many comments with us about the talk and the project.
Near the end of the program Doug mentioned wanting to display his inflatable mock-up of a lunar craft at Port Canaveral or some popular location near the Cape when the first FH is launched. We spent a few minutes talking about his inflatable display and possible high visibility locations for it. We talked about his doing this around the time of the AIAA Space 2017 Conf. in Orlando in Sept. of this year.
Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog page for this program. You can reach Doug through me or http://lunarcots.com.
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