Broadcast 2070 (Special Edition)

Guests: Robert (Bob Meurer; George Torres. Topics: Two separate interviews from Small Sat 2013 on ATK commercial space & ATK Aerospace Group. 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. Our first interview is with Robert (Bob) Meurer, Director of the ATK Business Development Division in Beltsville, MD. During this 33 minute segment, we talked about how the small satellite market has changed and evolved since we talked with Bob at last year's conference, plus we got updates on the DARPA Phoenix project, ViviSat, commercial opportunities and issues, the hot new market for on-orbit satellite servicing and the leadership role of ATK in this rapidly developing industry. For this interview, Dr. John Jurist was co-host. We focused on commercial development and related issues such as space tugs, even Moore's Law as a metric, distributive satellite networks, the need for competitive ROIs, and more. Bob spent more time with us regarding ViviSat and geo telecommunication two ton satellites. We also addressed the emerging competition, the impact of sequestration and lots more. ITAR came up as did the relevance on the ATK business of the Small Sat Conference. Our next segment featured George Torres, Vice President of Communications for the ATK Aerospace Group in Salt Lake City, UT. George talked about the announcement for ATK being awarded the ALV first and second stage contracts for the boosters for the Stratolaunch project. George described the boosters, their proposed capability, and more. We also talked about the high energy solid rocket propellant used by ATK for this project, then I asked George about the five segment booster from the Aries 1 which was cancelled a few years ago. The five segment booster is interchangeable with the sections of the four segment booster used by the shuttle and now these boosters are being used for the SLS. We talked about the upcoming static firing tests for the new SRBs for Stratolaunch and SLS. George then talked about the ATK work in the field of composites and how they are a leader in the industry, doing the composite work for many other companies. He described the ATK Aerospace Group which includes two launch groups, two satellite groups, and the composite group. Before our segment with George ended, we returned to the subject of the five segment booster and SLS, focusing on the previous development motor static tests and the upcoming static firing tests actually being qualification motor tests. Near the end of the segment, George updated us on the Liberty Launch Vehicle. ATK is now positioning Liberty for the cargo market but this will depend on the market for the capacity Liberty offers. Please post your comments on The Space Show blog per above. You can email either of our two guests through me.