Broadcast 314 (Special Edition)

George Whitesides, the Executive Director of the National Space Society (NSS) returned to be the guest for this Space Show program. During the first part of the program, George discussed the work of the National Space Society and the upcoming annual conference, ISDC, which will be held in Washington, DC from May 19-22. Space Show listeners are encouraged to attend this important conference and you can learn more about it at http://www.nss.org/ or the special conference site http://isdc.nss.org/2005/. George identified the key note speakers that have so far committed to the program and explained some of this year's unique features for the conference given it is in Washington, DC, including the dinner/banquet at the new Udvar-Hazy Center which is part of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Throughout the entire program, George fielded questions from listeners about the NSS, its activities and future activities/conferences. He was asked about the selection of the next NASA administrator, saving Hubble, publishing space books for children and other educational programs, the new space vision, Congress, and the people's acceptance of the new vision program. Since George is a certified parabolic flight coach with six flights and approximately 90 parabolas to his credit, I asked him to describe the experience of the zero-g flights undertaken in the United States. George's description of the flight experience was compelling - all of us who want to be in space should do this as soon as possible or practical for us each. We also talked about the political scene in Washington, DC and working people in congress on the single issue space subject while opposing a person's other agendas or view. By means of his answer, George made it clear as to why he is going to be a superb NSS Executive Director as he understand getting along, working with people on issues where common ground can be found, and staying focused on the job hand to accomplish great things. We also talked about the international presence and work of the NSS in their offices around the world, specifically Australia. Many other topics were brought to the attention of Space Show listeners in this program. You will not want to miss this show or contacting George with your suggestions and ideas as he has invited this input at george@nss.org.