Guest: Dr. Paul Spudis. Topics: Dr. Spudis provided us with an overview and analysis of the NRC "Pathways to Exploration: Rationales and Approaches for a U.S. Program of Human Space Exploration." 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. We welcomed back to the show Dr. Paul Spudis to discuss the NRC Human Spaceflight Study report recently released. You can download the report for free at www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=18801. Please note that this program was broadcast and recorded live on Wednesday, June 18, 2014. It is being archived on Friday, 6-20-24 as there will be no live show on Friday due to the host travel schedule. During the first segment of our 1 hour 36 minute program, Dr. Spudis first walked us through the NRC nearly 300 page study, hitting the highlights, raising questions, talking about what was good in the report and disappointing in it. We talked about the rational for human spaceflight, for Mars, also the Moon. We noted the absence of economic development in the report and this gave Dr. Spudis several openings to talk about his ideas for cislunar economic development. Listeners asked lots of email questions ranging from budget issues, to SpaceX and rocket reusability. Paul described much of what the study suggested as a form of "Apollo to Mars." Near the end of this segment we talked about public/private partnerships and learned that the Pathways study was only addressing public programs. A listener asked Dr. Spudis what he thought the impact of the study might be and sitting on a shelf somewhere seemed a plausible answer. In the second segment, Dr. Spudis focused on the response to the report and ways to actually develop a quality space program. He talked about the need for a space transportation system, space infrastructure, and to use an incremental approach. Robotics were discussed, we talked about the space media, and Dr. Spudis reminded us a few times that if there is no infrastructure, there can be no institutional use and capability. We also compared the Apollo period and JFK's goal for the Moon compared to now. Its an interesting discussion, especially since we no longer have many of the skill sets we had back then. The value of the Moon and commercial space came up & we talked about promoting the value to policy makers. In supporting his incremental approach, Paul referenced a bit of US naval history. Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog. Check out Paul's blog, www.spudislunarresources.com. You can contact Dr. Spudis through his blog or me.
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