Broadcast 1040 (Special Edition)

Guest: Robert (Bob) Scaringe was the guest for this Space Show program to discuss the long-term goals which are needed for the public support of our space policy. Bob has defined the type of both short-term and long-term goals needed to create more grassroots support of our space policy. Referencing several studies from the public, he shows that such grass roots support is currently not there to take the NASA budget to a 1% of the federal budget, which would allow for research and the types of programs and goals that he talks about in his AIAA paper and presentation. He has called for NASA to do segmentation studies to see what the non-space community thinks about NASA, its programs, the budget, etc. to get real cross-culture and population feedback, so NASA can make space more relevant to the general public. He also suggested that short-term NASA and other space goals need to show an ROI, a benefit for the public and show how these short-term goals then fit in to support the longer term goals that NASA should engage in, such as discovering Earth-like planets and even being able to travel to them at some point in our future. Several listener questions inquired about both short-term and long-term goals, the former NIAC program, and even the possibility of recreating a new version of that program in the coming new administration. We also talked about opportunities that lie ahead for NASA and space arising out of our present national and global economic conditions and that we needed leaders with vision to see the opportunity rather than just the problem. Bob put forth many ideas and suggestions so you will want to hear what he has to say about this important subject and why it's so important to do the segmentation studies with NASA and reach the general public for a grass roots influence on policy makers. He cited the energy problem we face as a potential model for grass roots influencing of government policy and our elected officials. If you would like to read Bob's AIAA paper and view his Power Point slide presentation, please send me a note and I will send them to you. If you have a comment or question for Bob Scaringe, you can send it to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com or you can email him at raz1215@msn.com .