Guest: Al Globus; Topics: Equatorial low radiation Earth space settlement orbit, space tourism, & more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.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 back Al Globus for this 2 hour 3 minute discussion regarding the very low radiation Earth equatorial orbit suitable for an initial space settlement to start the process of space settlement. Al has talked about this special orbit before, about 500 KM above Earth, but he has recently revised papers with more data which is pending publication. You can follow his published papers on the subject at his space settlement website, http://space.alglobus.net. Al fielded several listener phone calls and emails about space settlement and this particular orbit so if this topic interests you, don't miss any of our discussion.
Al said we were not yet ready for space settlement as we needed to develop new technologies plus policies. He also said it was best to start space settlement close by and with a small project. When asked how his Earth equatorial orbital settlement would economically survive, we talked about dependence and independence from Earth, plus Al put forth his condo model for revenue generation. Listen to his explanation of this model and let us know what you think of it with a comment on the blog. In addition, when he talked about needed technologies, he addressed both the launch system component needed for settlement and the habitat component.
SpaceX and settlement to Mars came up. Al had much to say about Musk and his plans, plus the overall subject of Mars settlement and the giant rocket Spaced planned on making for getting settlers to Mars. He was asked about other technologies needed for his hotel model so don't miss all his comments, especially the one about not having to learn how to use a zero g toilet. He also addressed crew and project costs with his model. A listener asked him about the ULA Cislunar 1000 Vision plan. Al liked the plan and had much to say about it but separated working in space which was the ULA vision from living in space in a space settlement. Don't miss what he said about these two different objectives for living in space. Note, the space settlement included kids but not the ULA project.
The subject of radiation and shielding came up. Al had much to say about this and provided much technical information. He got several listener emails about radiation and shielding from Dr. Doug, Julian and others. Kim called in from Mexico to talk GCRs. Kim and Al talked some more about food production in orbit and the need for 10,000 launches a year needing 100 vehicles. Listen to Al's explanation of these numbers.
In the second segment, Al spoke about the NASA tool for radiation computing, the OLTARIS On-Line Tool for the Assessment of Radiation in Space. You can read about this tool and access it for your own use at
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20090034165.pdf. In addition, Doug had two email questions early in this segment focusing on both the atmospheric radiation issues & the Van Allen Belts and retirement plans for people wanting that option for a free space settlement. Al continued talking about the hotel model he mentioned earlier in the discussion but also said it was unlikely that government would do such a program so he thought there might be a government shared transition plan regarding the ISS to commercial space. Don't miss all of what he said on this topic. Later in the show, B John sent in a question asking about the NASA Deep Space Gateway program in Cislunar Orbit. Al had much to say about this program.
In the remaining time for the program, we talked about Al's recent online space tourism survey which is on his website. He described the survey, the questions, the number of people surveyed in the space advocate community, and the fact that 6% said they would go to space per the profile suggested by the survey. We then spent time talking about space tourism, the probable need for repeat customers, and couples tourism wondering what would happen if one half of the couple did not want to go. Several options were suggested, some tongue in check, some real like the one from a listener suggesting a Love Boat type space tourism flight and destination. Gender came up with most respondents and most wanting to being men. I brought up the more balanced gender response from Mars One. Don't miss what Al had to say about that.
Al offered interesting concluding comments so don't miss them. Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog. You can reach Al Globus through is website or me.
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