Broadcast 2581

Guest: Open Lines. Topics: We discussed multiple aerospace industry topics along with the possible impact of raising interest rates on NASA and the industry. 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. Welcome to our 1 hour 55 minute Open Lines discussion. I started off the first segment with suggested show discussion topics, then John from Ft. Worth was our first caller to discuss the Don Nelson recent show and his idea for a fleet of modern private and commercial space shuttle freighters. John had some interesting things to say about this idea as well as potential market issues given Don wants his freighters to be privately built and operated. During the call with John, we talked about the possibility of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and what that may mean for the space industry as well as other segments of our economy. Though the NASA part of the budget is small, it is visible and it could be adversely impacted by a rise in interest rates as more money will have to go to paying the interest on our national debt. Our next caller was Jeff from Tucson. Jeff pointed out large aerospace industry trends and addressed the recent NASA delay in commercial cargo awards though they told Boeing they were no longer under consideration with the CST100. Jeff also spoke about other projects with SpaceX, Orbital ATK, ULA and Aerojet Rocketdyne. He spent a good portion of his discussion time talking about problems facing Aerojet Rocketdyne, possible merger solutions and parts of the business which it may need to let go as compared to pursue and continue developing. In the second segment, Tim called in with questions about Maven and the recent announcement regarding the Martian atmosphere. Doug was our next caller. Doug is planning a debate at the upcoming ISDC meeting next year on cislunar plans starring himself with his plan and John Strickland with his plan. Doug talked about the differences between his position and John's, wanted to our thoughts on adding more people to the debate with their cislunar ideas, then I asked Doug what his expected outcome was for doing this. Don't miss what he said about his expectations. I told him I would be glad to do a Space Show debate with John and him as a "warmup" to the ISDC event. I hope that happens. Doug concluded his call saying he still hoped to call The Space Show while riding and trying to eat on the Gravitron at his local theme park while spinning at 24 rpms. If he manages to this, it should be an interesting call. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog.