Guest: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston; Topics: Multiple space and science related topics, commercial space, space tourism, astronomy, Mars, and much 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.
Welcome to our 2 segment 2 hour 16 minute Open Lines discussion covering many different and varied space topics. At the start of the program I suggested many potential discussion topics including viewing Mars since it was so close to Earth. In fact I asked the callers if they had seen Mars yet and mentioned that I tried to get my dog Pepper to take a look at Mars the other night but she was simply not interested. This prompted me to ask the listeners about dog vision. Near the end of the show a caller did offer a decent suggestion as to why Pepper was not interested in looking at Mars. Stay tuned for that one.
Our first caller was John Hunt from Ft. Worth. He commented on the technosignature email that I sent him from the NASA Science Mission Directorate looking for RFIs for technosignature ET detection. Here is the particular RFI in question: https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary!init.do?solId=%7B5BB40A31-6272-56A8-607F-6E5CC455775E%7D&path=open. This topic came up later near the end of the show. Before John ended his phone call, he also addressed LOP-G and the petition by Howard Bloom's group calling for the end of SLS, ORION, and LOP-G.
Michael Listner called and spoke about space as a global commons issue. He mentioned State Department attorney Gabriel Swiney on the topic, plus current US policy. Michael also said the policy was political as our position could easily change from president to president, administration to administration. Michael pointed out that our commons policy has impact in both the geo and the domestic policy arenas.
John in Freemont called and wanted to know if we were familiar with the latest news regarding the Lockheed Compact Fusion Reactor. I was not so John updated us on it. John posted the article in question on the blog for this show. He also told me he had been looking at Mars in the early morning and that it was indeed very impressive. We talked briefly about the recent SpaceX launches, the recently concluded Virgin Galactic test flight, the secretive launch company in Alameda and their launch from Alaska plus he told me he had bought the Al Globus book on the LEO low radiation orbit for a space station. Note that Al will be back on the show to discuss the book and update his concept next Sunday, August 5.
Kim welcomed us to the second segment. She talked about the idea of draining the belt regarding any radiation that may exist in the LEO location Al Globus talks about for his space station. She also mentioned tethers and Robert Hoyt. Don't miss the discussion. Kim then brought up the technosignature discussion and suggested Dr. Jean-Luc Margot from UCLA as a possible guest on TSS on the topic and more. An invitation has been sent to Dr. Margot and I hope he accepts it. Before ending her call, she pointed us to a NY Times article she posted on our blog about China and space stations, their presence in Argentina, and the new giant dish they were building, wondering what the true purpose of the antenna was to be. Don't miss Kim's comments about China. Also, please read the NY Times article which she uploaded to the blog. Before the call ended, I asked Kim for a Moonwards update.
Gene from Pasadena was our next caller. He had a theory as to why Pepper or for that matter any dog would not be interested in looking at Mars. He reminded us that a dog's vision (and most animals as well), looks to detect motion for food and defense. Mars, the stars, the Moon, etc. do not appear with an movement or motion. Listen to all of what Gene said on this topic. It made perfect sense to me. Of course I doubt a dog has any sense of a planet, the Moon, let alone Mars, not would a dog have any interest in astronomy or anything like that so my comments early in the show were mostly for fun. That said, I would like to know more about how a dog's vision works. Next, Gene talked about our return to the Moon policy (assume we have one) and perhaps modifying Evoloterra (see the recent Rand Simberg and Bill Simon show from Sunday, July 22, 2018) to focus on the date of the last astronaut landing on the Moon, not the anniversary of the first landing. Listen to his explanation and suggestion, then see if you concur. Gene talked about our Moon policy but also about the possibility of semiprecious stone in lava caves that might serve as an inducement to return to the Moon and get excited about it. His final comments dealt with the Tory Bruno ULA show from a few days ago in that he agreed with Mr. Bruno in the ULA engine recovery plan rather than the full first stage as SpaceX is doing.
Our last caller was Mike from New Jersey. Mike was a side walk astronomer so he talked about people looking at Mars, the Moon and other celestial objects. He said Saturn with its rings was the most popular item to look at through the telescope. He also talked about the Moon, Jupiter and of course Mars through the telescope and the astonishment expressed by the viewers, even when seeing the Moon. Don't miss what he had to say about the public's astronomy knowledge. Perhaps you will be surprised.
Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog for this show. If you want to reach any of the callers to the program, you can do so through me.
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