Guest: Laura Delgado. Topics: Space policy, the frontier analogy, Cold War space policy. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed back Laura Delgado to discuss the marketing of human spaceflight as a frontier or as part of the Cold War. Do read her article on this on SpacePolicyOnline.com at www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/images/stories/commentary_on_NASA_histo…. During our first segment of this 2 hour 15 minute program, Ms. Delgado introduced us to the topic based upon her having attended a NASA and National Air & Space Museum conference on key milestones in human spaceflight (HSF) over the past 50 years. Among the issues participants brought into question at the conference included the applicability of using the frontier model for advocating space HSF development as well as making space policy based on left over policies from the Cold War. Ms. Delgado hit many nerves during this program, both in support of her position and from those challenging her. Our toll free line was ringing nonstop and I was even picking up emails from listeners complaining that the line was always busy. What a switch for Space Show listeners, demand for the phone over email! I certainly tip my space cadet hat to Laura for driving a passionate and quality discussion on these issues. Three big Saturn V cheers for Laura and her inspiring appearance on The Space Show this afternoon. Among the topics discussed in the context of Laura's SpacePolicyOnline commentary and her on air analysis, we talked about toughing it out for astronauts, a one way Mars trip, international displeasure with the frontier model, old west mythology and romance, plus much more. One of the key points that Laura made was not to stop the frontier model but to be aware of the potential negative impact it has on groups of people that are or can be interested in space as its not a universal positive analogy. We talked about broadening the base for getting people interested in space, not narrowing the base with a "my way or the highway" approach. We also talked about being better listeners and finding out what motivates a particular audience so that space advocates can resonate with the audience in question. Our second segment was the very long segment and in it we talked about the trend and even the need for international cooperation in HSF, even talking about the Paris Air Show policy statements made on this subject. Funding issues came up and we went over how NASA is funded and how it uses it money. A few listeners challenged Laura on her thesis, also on the point that international cooperation is preferable as the listeners indicated that international cooperation would be more costly and worse than our typical space funding of projects. We drove home the point that even international programs required quality leadership and management. Later in this segment, we clarified the frontier metaphor and talked about different types of frontiers including the technology frontier. I believe you will find this discussion as interesting, informative and fun as did all of the listeners participating with Laura via email and their phone calls. Post your comments and questions on The Space Show blog URL above. If you want to email Ms. Delgado, send your note to me and I will forward it to her.
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