Guest: Don Beattie. Don Beattie returned to The Space Show in order to continue our discussion about the current Vision for Space Exploration, NASA, and our future in space. Don started us off with a bit of NASA lunar history and then took us forward to three planned NASA lunar missions, GRAIL which is to use twin satellites to study the Moon's gravitational pull, another program to measure factors within the lunar atmosphere, and yet a third program to do penetration experiments of the Moon itself. Mr.

Guest: Dr. Madhu Thangavelu. Key Topics: Altair, Cislunar system, CEV, NASA, teleoperations, time delay, ISRU, education, medical problems. Dr. Madhu Thangavelu returned to The Space Show to discuss the creative problem-solving evidenced by his recent December 2008 USC class, "Return to the Moon: Looking Glass 204 Team Project." Dr. Thangavelu explained the focus of the class and then went through some of the student team solutions to problems we face in returning to the Moon.

Guest: Dr. Sean Casey. Topics: SOFIA, astronomy, student interns, NASA science missions. Dr. Sean Casey returned to The Space Show to update us on The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) project. In the process of discussing SOFIA and infrared astronomy (please see http://www.sofia.usra.edu/ for more details), we talked about other types of astronomy, atmospheric, and space observation.

Guest: Dr. Louis Friedman. Dr. Louis Friedman returned for this special Space Show program to discuss the recent Stanford University workshop regarding "Examining The Vision: An Independent Look At The Future Of Human Space Exploration." You can read the workshop's statement at http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/advocacy_and_education/space…. Dr.

Guest: Dr. James A. Dewar. Dr. James Dewar returned to The Space Show to explain and discuss nuclear rockets and what they would mean for space and economic development were they to be used to obtain low cost space access. Dr. Dewar began our discussion with a good explanation of how a nuclear rocket engine works and the advantages such an engine provides in terms of specific impulse. An engine with a higher specific impulse means a significantly larger payload can be brought to space faster than if the engine had a lower specific impulse.

Guest: Rick Citron. Rick Citron was the guest for this Space Show program to discuss what it takes to be successful with a space business. This is a must-hear program for space businessmen and women, for entrepreneurs, or those considering their own business of any kind. Some of the important business concepts Rick talked about included the need for the entrepreneur to build a team of qualified and experienced people and to have the ability to let go of different jobs and work in favor of those team members who can do these jobs better than the entrepreneur.

Guests: Ross Tierney, Chuck Longton, Stephen Metschan. Ross Tierney, Chuck Longton, and Stephen Metschan returned to The Space Show for an important discussion about the Direct 2 alternative to the NASA ESAS approach for returning to the Moon. To follow along with this discussion, please visit www.directlauncher.com and up near the top, you will see a link to download this special Space Show presentation material in the format of your choice.

Guest: Taylor Dinerman. Taylor Dinerman returned to The Space Show in order to discuss U.S. space policy, the current U.S. plans to shoot down a malfucnctioning U.S. spy satellite, and much more. During our first segment, we discussed the plans to use a U.S. Navy SM-3 missile to bring down the spy satellite, NRL- 21/USA 193. This prompted several listener questions about possible Outer Space Treaty violations, space debris, and why is this OK when the anti-satellite test that China performed in early 2007 was not ok?

Guest: Bruce Pittman. Bruce Pittman returned to The Space Show to talk about fusion energy, specifically aneutronic fusion from hydrogen (Deuterium) and Boron. During the program, Bruce explained the difference between the ITER/Tokamak approach to fusion vs. aneutronic fusion. Aneutronic fusion is fusion which does not release very much energy in neutrons so it reduces the need for radiation protection. Next, we discussed the funding of this as well as other fusion projects . He told us about the continued funding of fusion projects even though little progress has been made.

Guest: Burke Fort. Burke Fort was the guest for this Space Show program to discuss the 8th Continent Project (www.8cproject.com). Mr. Fort explained how the 8th Continent Project integrates technology with space business concepts and projects and incorporates them into the global economy. When asked what type of technology or space related activity was the easiest or smoothest to integrate, he said those activities which use data in the form of a data stream are probably the easiest type of business or product to work with.