Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman; Topics: Multiple topics with many phone calls tonight. See the repeat of Tags/Key Words below for a summary of discussion topics.
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We welcomed Bob Zimmerman back to the show for a two segment two hour wide ranging discussion on multiple space topics plus we got a glimpse into Bob's space persona with an email questions from Tad asking him about major space impacts getting his attention to pursue space as a career. For a brief summary of topics, check out the Tags/Key Words here as they do a good job of summarizing our discussion and topics.
Artemis, presidential election, private sector lunar return, 2024 lunar return timeline, H.R. 5666, lunar return and change of administration, space events impacting Bob Zimmerman, Apollo 8, Dr. Robert Zubrin advocating for Apollo 8 Artemis like mission, SLS, Orion, Dragon, CST 10, Axiom, Boeing, engineering academic studies, eBooks versus print books, Elon Musk, Behindtheblack.com, upcoming Mars missions, UAE, Mars Rover update, upcoming Chinese missions, Israeli military launch, James Web Space Telescope (JWST), Starship, Long March 5, Long March 5B rocket, Blue Origins, Roman Space Telescope (WFIRST), White nose and bats, learning about extinction events.
As mentioned above, Tad from Dallas sent in an important question early in the first segment wanting to know about the biggest space events having the biggest impact on Bob's life. This discussion unfolded over the balance of the first segment, covering many topics and issues from the Cold War space race to what happens to our return to the Moon effort if the administration changes in November to questions about Boeing, H.R. 5666 (see blog comments for up to date info), the Zubrin Apollo 8 like plan for Artemis, Genesis 8 and more.
For the second segment we started with a call from Marshall who carried forward the humility discussion regarding engineers from the first segment. Listen to his computer and programming examples. This was followed by a brief discussion on rocket and other failures, i.e. the recent Rocket Lab launch failure, plus the way Musk views failure. After the call with Marshall, Tim called to talk about the Trump Executive Order advocating skill over education. Tim and Bob had quite the conversation on this topic. Bob mentioned posts on his website, www.behindtheblack.com, that were relevant to this discussion.
Next up was Bob's rover update. He talked about the upcoming Perseverance rover and the UAE HOPE rover. Bob mentioned the Chinese rover plans on the books, and both planned Mars and lunar rovers by other space agencies. A Seattle listener sent in an email to ask about the launch of an Israeli GPS satellite. Bob corrected her in that it was a military recon satellite, not a GPS satellite.
Ft. Worth John called to talk about SLS but the JWST came up in their discussion. Don't miss Bob's commentary regarding both SLS and the JWST. They talked the Starship program with Bob providing an interesting analysis for the program. This discussion flowed over to the Chinese lunar plans.
As we were nearing the end of the show, Bob was asked what excited him about space, especially in terms of upcoming projects and missions. Don't miss what he said, you might be surprised. He then had some interesting observations that might surprise you regarding Blue Origin. Before ending, Tim got in an email asking about more and longer JWST delays, wondering if it would ever launch. In his reply to Tim, Bob cited an example with the Roman Space Telescope which was previously known as WFIRST. Don't miss how he described it, the role congressional funding and more. Before ending the discussion, I asked Bob for an update regarding the bat and the white nose fungus problem. Bob did provide us with an update but also talked our need to study and learn from this about extinction events. Once again, don't miss his commentary.
Please post your comments/questions for Bob on this Space Show program blog. You can reach Bob through me or his website, www.behindtheblack.com.
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