Guest: David Ruck. Topics: We discussed his film project, "I Want To Be An Astronaut" & why our space program is important. 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. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience. We welcomed independent film maker David Ruck to the program to discuss his new film, "I Want To Be An Astronaut." During the first segment of our 90 minute discussion, Mr. Ruck talked about his own background and he came to seeing the importance of NASA and being an astronaut so he decided to do a documentary type film on the subject. He describes how he selected Blair to be the subject of the film as the crew follows Blair and his space interests through high school into his enrollment and taking the oath for entering the Naval Academy. He also made the point of saying he was not a space advocate at the time he was making the film but that this was a learning process for him and he certainly is an advocate now. Note that he has a focus on NASA and our public space program which he repeated many times over as being owned by we the people so we can & should demand better and expect more. He repeated over and over again that space travel and work is a public benefit. He also spoke about the need for better STEM programming and results and held the film's star, Blair, up to the light as a an example for not only STEM but for showing the value of space to everyone he comes in contact with out in the public. Mr. Ruck talked about our national and individual priorities, all the time making the case for space. The film has a website, www.theastronautfilm.com which I recommend you visit for more information, to set up local screenings and topic discussions plus lots more. the Director's Blog is on the website but David also spoke about the website Tumblr and blogs, http://sagansense.tumblr.com and astronautfilm.tumblr.com. One of the questions asked our guest was about there being a separate space track at the Naval Academy. While David did not know, he did suggest that up to 50% of the Midshipmen were interested in going to space. In the second segment, we talked more on STEM, robotics, and science. David talked about his process in his area for capitalizing on student robotic interests, highlighting First Robotics. A listener asked about the film's length which is under 40 minutes. David said it was specifically made with film festivals in mind and that being 40 minutes or under was a requirement. I asked him about the role of Cecil Gregory in the film as Cecil has been a Space Show guest in the past. David had much to say about Greg's STEM work and we talked about his newly acquired support for NewSpace and the commercial space industry. His take away for our discussion was "Always Do Your Best," something he learned from Blair while making this film. Post comments/questions on TSS blog. David Ruck can be reached through the blogs & website or by using astronautmovie@gmail.com.
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