Transterrestrial Musings

Guest: Rand Simberg. Topics: U.S. space policy, influencing Congress and preparing for NASA budget cuts. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. We welcomed back Rand Simberg to the program to discuss our developing U.S. space policy.

Guest: Rand Simberg: Topics: Evoloterra, Low cost space access, propellant depots, NASA, commercial space, heavy lift rockets. Rand Simberg returned to The Space Show to discuss both the 40th anniversary of Apollo and his Evoloterra ceremony as well as his article in The New Atlantis, "A Space Program for the Rest of Us" You can read his article at www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/a-space-program-for-the-rest-of-us.

Guest: Rand Simberg was the guest for today's Space Show program. Our discussion started by mentioning that Richardson had withdrawn his name from consideration for Secretary of Commerce in the Obama administration. We talked about this for a few minutes as there were some possible space ramifications to his appointment and now with his withdrawal. We then moved on to the issue of comparing COTS and Shuttle as was done on the RocketsandSuch blog and copied over to the Space Cynics site per our discussion last week.

Dr. Sam Dinkin returned as the guest for this Space Show program. We began the interview with a brief update from Dr. Dinkin on his new blog, Decisive Win (www.decisivewin.com). Check it and comment on it. Dr. Dinkin continues to write for The Space Review but his posting on his own blog will now constitute his blogging rather than his previous contributions to Transterrestrial Musings. The conversation then moved on for updates about SpaceShot, Sam's new start-up skill game to allow people the opportunity to earn a trip to suborbital space.

Rand Simberg returned for this Space Show program. As always, Rand is full of current information, important insights, realistic and grounded perspectives and a real treat to have as a gues on the program. We discussed the RTM program, its benefits and flaws, architecture, heavy lift, costs, economics, and future. We also heard Rand's preferred way of returning to the Moon so listen in to hear the differences! With questions from listeners as well as from me, Mr.