Guest: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Bone loss issues, Droid podcast suggestions, bisphosphonates in space, reusability, flyback boosters. 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. The Space Show/OGLF is now engaged in its annual fundraising drive. Please see & act upon our appeal at http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/space-show-2011-fundraisin…. During the announcement part of the program at the beginning, I talked about another Droid podcast possible solution from a listener using the DoggCatcher app. I also mentioned recent general press articles about success being claimed with the use of bisphosphonates to stop bone loss in space: www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2011/12/06/osteoporosis…. As mentioned on the air, I'm on the nationally syndicated radio show, The John Batchelor Show, tonight, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 6:30-6:45 PM PST discussing this as co-host with John. The expert guest is Dr. John Jurist, a lifetime member of the aerospace medical association and one of the early researchers on this issue back when NASA was starting such research. You can hear us live at www.wabcradio.com/article.asp?id=531472. If you miss the live stream, the segment will be archived the next day at John's website, http://johnbatchelorshow.com. For your information, I typically do the Wednesday evening segment at either 6:30 PM or at 6:45 PM PST. I am often on air alone with John but sometimes I bring in an expert to discuss a specific topic such as tonight with Dr. Jurist. I also went over my December schedule for programming as my travel plans to Los Angeles are now known as are Space Show plans for the balance of the year. Our first caller was Jeff from the UK who wanted to talk mostly about the new Earth-like planet that Kepler has found, the Kepler-22b. We also talked about faster than light travel, the recent neutrino experiment, photons, and more. Charles was the next caller and we talked more about the new planet found by the Kepler Space Telescope. Charles mentioned the two planet finding methods, the transit and the wobble methods. He also mentioned Armadillo Aerospace and their recent success with the STIGA A launch vehicle. You can read about it and see the video at www.rlvnews.com. Scroll down to this headline: STIG A - another video + recovery info. In the next segment, Tim called in with questions about the Air Force contract for the flyback booster which went to Lockheed and will use Spaceport America. This prompted quite a discussion on reusability, flyback boosters and their payload penalties, ocean recovery for the first stage, and expendable, renewable, and disposable rockets. Our caller also inquired about nuclear power and the plan to do a ballot initiative in California to shut down the California nuclear power plants though they generate 16% of California's electrical power. John from Atlanta called in to talk about ocean recovery, the faster than light experiment and his thoughts that tachyons provide a reasonable explanation for the faster than light experiment. During the program, we also discussed on orbit repair for both LEO and GEO satellites and what the future might hold for such efforts. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog URL above.
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