Guest: Dr. James Hansen. Topics: Retired astronaut John Young, space history, returning to the Moon, astronaut safety & more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.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. James (Jim) Hansen back to the program to discuss the biography of retired astronaut John Young which Dr. Hansen helped in writing. The book, "Forever Young A Life Of Adventure in Air and Space," is readily available at bookstores and Amazon. Remember, if you go through The Space Show/OGLF Amazon portal (instructions are on the blog, our website & the OGLF website), Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show. The first segment of our nearly two hour program, Dr. Hansen and I started out with an early aviation history overview as I asked our guest about the idea that in space we are as advanced today as was the DC-3 to where aviation is today. This proved to be an interesting discussion, focusing not just on the DC-3 but NACA, the role of government in helping to develop advanced technologies and much more. We then turned our attention John Young. As you will hear, the book we are discussing was a biography written in first person and Jim was asked to help make it so. We talked about Young's focus on both astronaut safety and the NEO threat to Earth. We talked about John Young both on Apollo and his shuttle flights. The subject of space and aviation history came up again and we talked about the Enola Gay and what it took to display it at the Smithsonian as there was lots of opposition to doing so. Dr. Hansen then returned to the John Young book, he told us about his suggestions to turn Young's manuscript into a book & he described working with John and his wife on the project. Space history was also a topic in this segment as we talked about historians and authors often having their work amended by later versions of the history. Dr. Hansen cited some very famous examples when I said I wanted to rewrite my dissertation and correct my errors. In the second segment, Jim was asked about John Young and Mars. Jim said that John's preference was returning to the Moon, plus his focus on his concern for NEOs hitting Earth. But he did support being a multi-planet species. We asked Jim about his preference or comparison of Apollo & the Saturn 5 to the shuttle. Jim told us that John loved the shuttle and was fortunate to fly two shuttle missions. Doug called in and wanted to know Jim's perspective as a historian on the space frontier model common among space enthusiasts. The frontier metaphor sparked quite the conversation with the three of us. Dr. Hansen returned to talking about John Young's interest in returning to the Moon and why. Much was said in both segments about how shuttle should not have been cancelled nor should Constellation have been cancelled. Ben emailed us about astronauts and role models and do they have a responsibility to us in being role models. This also sparked an extensive conversation about astronauts, their role in society, what we make them into. Toward the end, Jim and I digressed into other areas of space, aviation, and political history. We talked about the Cuban Missile Crisis, I cited memories of B 52's at the ready at the Tulsa Municipal Airport, the remaining Moon Walker Astronauts, private sector lunar astronauts as a possibility before government astronauts return to the Moon, and digressions about Alabama, Oklahoma, and Jim's next book about Robert Trent Jones and golf. Also in both segments, Dr. Hansen often referred to Neil Armstrong and his book about Neil which we discussed the last time Jim was our guest. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. Dr. Hansen can be reached through me or his Auburn University faculty website page.
Guest
The Space Show
