John Garvey, Tuesday, 9-28-10

John Garvey, Garvey Spacecraft Corporation,Tuesday, 9-28-10

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1432-BWB-2010-09-28.mp3

Guest:  John Garvey.  Topics:  Garvey Spacecraft Co. updates, students, nanosats, cubesats, building & launching rockets.  We welcomed John Garvey, CEO of Garvey Spacecraft Corporation back to the program.  Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshowoutsidethebox.blogspot.com.  In our first segment, John reviewed the activities of Garvey Spacecraft since his last visit with us in 20007.  The company is now focusing on a nanosat capability.  John described their goal in detail and explained the evolution of the company and his activities toward this new goal.  We talked about the NASA FASTSAT program which John said needed to be supported as it represents an important path to the future.  A listener asked him what type of launch costs he was focusing on and John talked about the difference between a launch price and the launch costs.  We talked about costing a project out using students as a major source of labor.  John had much to say about this so don't miss this discussion.  Even in a student program, students do not always carry out all the labor and functions required to build and operate the rocket.  Next, we focused on the use of federal ranges.  As most of the Garvey Spacecraft customers are government and DOD, the use of a federal range is specified.  He said it is a big mountain to climb to be able to use one but that its just part of doing business to go through all paperwork, regulatory and related requirements.  I asked him about using commercial launch facilities such as Spaceport America and he said he mostly is launching orbital so that leaves out inland spaceports.  Also, were he to be doing suborbital, he said it would likely be as a test for an eventual orbital mission so he would want to start the regulatory requirement process for that orbital launch early on so using the federal range from the outset makes sense to him.  He had many interesting observations and facts to share with us on this issue so don't miss this segment.  As we began our second segment, we talked about commercial versus government.  John said he does not see a commercial market at this time given the government is the primary or only customer.  We spent a good portion of this segment discussing the issue of potential commercial markets and again, this is a discussion you will want to hear as he shares with us his experience on the ELV team and the fact that ELVs were largely sold as a commercial program which never materialized.  We concluded this segment by examining the market potential for nansoats and cubesats. In our third and final segment, I asked John what he would do differently going forward from what he has done in the past.  This led us to a discussion of doing things incrementally and slow as compared to one big aggressive shot at the end result.  We talked about this in terms of investors and due diligence.  John said it may depend on what the goal is, raising money for example may define the program as a success.  I suggested success was implementing the program and seeing it become a revenue producer.  Again, a reason for would be investors to exercise extreme due diligence with space related investment opportunities.  Another listener asked him to identify the problems and challenges that he dealt with in his aerospike engine.  This then led us to a discussion of various rocket fuels and his ease in using and transporting them.  Toward the end of the program, I asked John about cost accounting and the DCAA requirements. John shocked us by saying he now spends 80-90% of his time on accounting and DCAA issues.  I asked him to elaborate on this and boy did he ever give us a glimpse of this cumbersome and burdensome process! Do not miss this discussion.  If you have a question or comment for John Garvey, you can post it on the blog URL above. John can be reached by email at jmgarvey@garvspace.com.  His website is www.garvspace.com.

NASA FASTSAT, NanoSail-D, Monday, 9-27-10

NASA FASTSAT, NanoSail-D, Monday, 9-27-10

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1431-BWB-2010-09-27.mp3

Guests:  Joseph Casas, Dean Alhorn, Mark Boudreaux.  Topics: NASA FASTSAT, NanoSail-D Programs.  We welcomed our three guests from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center to discuss the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite (FASTSAT) and the NanoSail-D program, but we also talked about many other subjects.  Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshowoutsidethebox.blogspot.com.  These three websites will be useful in furthering your interest in these programs.  (1)  www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/pdf/480065main_FASTSAT_Facts_Final.pdf; (2) www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/fastsat; (3) www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/nanosaild.html.  During our first segment, each of our guests provided a short opening statement about their participation in these programs and a description of the overall FASTSAT and NanoSail-D missions.  We talked about the upcoming Nov. 19 launch on a Minotaur IV rocket from the federal Kodiak, Alaska launch complex.  Our guests described the secondary payloads consisting of a 400 lb. satellite, the use of the ESPA ring and the capability to do secondary payloads across a wide array of multiple launch platforms.  Regarding the NanoSail-D satellite, we discussed debris mitigation through the use of the solar sail which will add to drag at its orbital altitude and slow it down. During this segment, we discussed many other characteristics of the mission and the hardware.  Later in the segment, we addressed the issue of the value proposition for fast tracking the project, including a risk vs. reward analysis to see if a mission could be created and actually flown while a student was still in school.  You do not want to miss this value proposition discussion.  One of the listeners asked about relationships between working on human spaceflight and the type of work and projects being discussed on today's program.  Each of our guests responded to this question which took us into a broader discussion of education, skill sets, NASA interns, and student opportunities to learn and work on NASA projects.  This is a must listen to discussion.  Our guests listed several NASA programs and websites that focus on students.  As a result of this discussion, The Space Show will work to produce a special program in support of NASA educational and intern programs.  Our lead item in the second segment was about observing opportunities from the ground with NanoSail-D.  Initially, its 650 km orbit will be too high but as the orbit decays and it gets lower,  there will be armature astronomer viewing opportunities.  To support this, a website has been established for posting pictures.  Please visit www.nanosail.org as the site is already up and running.  We then spent some time talking about the collaborative effort with Ames, Goddard, the Air Force, the Von Braun Center, and private companies such as Dynetics.  A listener asked our guests for their take aways , both positive and negative, and lessons learned for fast tracking a project.  This was yet another superb discussion which focused on the problems of controlling mission creep. All of our guests talked about the need to control mission creep and some of the rules and parameters they worked with to avoid the problem.  Our mission creep discussion points can be extrapolated to other space projects so I urge everyone to be extra attentive as we learn that resistance is not futile with regards to mission creep.  As we ended our program, each of our guests left us with excellent closing statements.  I would like to offer a special thank you to Kimberly Newton, NASA Public Affairs, Marshall Space Flight Center who worked very hard to arrange this program with me and to bring these three guests to The Space Show audience.  If you have questions or comments about this program, FASTSAT, NanoSail-D, or for any of our guests, email Kimberly at kimberly.d.newton@nasa.gov.

Jim Muncy On Space Policy, Sunday, 9-26-10

Jim Muncy On Space Policy, Sunday, 9-26-10

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1430-BWB-2010-09-26.mp3

Guest:  Jim Muncy.  Topics:  U. S. space policy.  Jim Muncy returned to The Space Show for space policy updates, policy related information, and how to make space relevant for the American people and Congress. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshowoutsidethebox.blogspot.com. As we started the first of two segment for this two hour program, I suggested to Jim after reading his bio on air that things in the space policy and accomplishment arena had not advanced that much referring back to the issues Jim worked when he was on the staff of the House Science Committee's Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee a decade ago.  Jim said that things had actually devolved from that older period.  He then talked about space being about jobs  and that what was missing was the connection to space, the relevance of it to the rest of us and certainly to members of Congress.  This discussion took us through most of the first segment and its an important discussion.  We also talked about the two compromise bills, the Senate and House versions, and Jim explained them to us, as well as why the Administration program was the right program and still is the right program.  Jim brought up heavy lift and had much to say about this topic including that we really cannot afford it at this time. We talked space infrastructure, partnering with DOD and the commercial companies, and working to break the paradigm of fixed infrastructure which is very costly.  We took several listener questions and a call by Charles in Mojave .  Toward the end of this segment, we talked about the private companies taking federal money and the risk in their doing so.  Jim had much to say on this issue so do not miss this important discussion.  At the end of the first segment, we were talking depots, Jim referenced the HEFT report and the NASA plan to do a sort of inline shuttle derived heavy lift as opposed to the depot model. In segment two, a listener brought up the recent Thalia program and her comments on the frontier analogy.  Jim then explained what was meant by the term frontier in space.  Another listener asked about international partners for space development.  This led to another important and substantive discussion with our guest.  Later in this segment, we focused in on the NASA Authorization and the NASA Appropriation requirements by Congress. Jim explained that the authorization is not essential and we talked about why the House should accept the Senate version and vote on it this week.  During the balance of the program, Jim talked about policy strategy, the need to develop the commercial segment and the fact that space must become relevant to both Congress and the people if we are to have a space program, especially in the context of future budget requirements for NASA.  I believe this to be an important discussion and urge you to listen to it and tell others about it.  Even if you disagree with Jim Muncy, the issues he is talking about strike at the core of our space policy debate.  If you have a comment or question for Mr. Muncy, you can email him at james.muncy@polispace.com.

Open Lines, Friday, 9-24-2010

OPEN LINES, FRIDAY, 9-24-10

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1429-BWB-2010-09-24.mp3

Guest:  Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston.  Topics:  Space policy, congress, FY 11 NASA budget.  This program was an unplanned Open Lines program due to the last minute rescheduling of the planned program.  Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshowoutsidethebox.blogspot.com. I read a policy update statement from our friend Henry Vanderbilt of Space Access Society, pertaining to the differences in the House and Senate compromise bills being discussed, and the timing for a House vote on their bill.  We also talked about an Orlando Sentinel article indicating that the House and Senate versions were now very close to one another.  Our first caller was Bob Zimmerman who talked about the differences between the House and Senate versions of the compromise NASA plan to the plan proposed by President Obama on Feb. 1 of this year.  Bob did not think the differences were all that much, that there was a real risk for budget cuts, including cuts of the NASA budget for FY 11 and that the FY-11 proposals represented "pork."  He supported many of the provisions that President Obama put forth but they did not translate over to Congress.  Bob is the Space Show guest on this subject and more on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 9:30 AM PDT.  Following Bob, Amnon called to tell us that Astronauts4Hire has its first customer, an Australian beer company that will do zero-g experiments.  You can learn more about this project from the press release his organization put out, www.astronauts4hire.org/2010/09/press-release-astronauts4hire-selected.html.  Amnon also created a short survey for space enthusiasts and their friends and families to assess their knowledge about space and issues pertaining to space. He is interested in finding out if we in the space industry are doing a good job of getting the space word out about space.  If you want to see and use his survey, you can find it on Amnon's Spacepirations blog at www.spacepirations.com/2010/09/next-space-shuttle-launch-informal-poll.html.  Briefly, he is asking us to ask our family, coworkers and friends which Space Shuttle is getting ready for launch, when is the next launch, how many Space Shuttle launches remain after this one and what mission number is it going to be?  If you have thoughts or suggestions about his survey, you can post them on his blog.  I'm not so sure how many of us space cadets could answer these questions nor am I convinced that this is the priority info that we should have rolling off the tip of our tongues.  Let Amnon know your thoughts and results should you use the survey.  Our friend Charles called in from Mohave as he has not yet crossed the state line to Nevada on a permanent basis.  He commented on the Space Access Society update and kept saying that it was like flogging a dead horse and then repeated his usual comments about policy, how to start off correctly in space development and the Microlauncher concept.  He also provided a short personal history of how he landed in Mojave in the first place.  During the balance of Open Lines, we continued to talk space policy, the likelihood of the NASA budget being cut depending on the outcome of the November 2nd elections, comments made by Dennis Wingo on his recent Space Show program about the dangers and risks of space companies taking federal money and more.  In support of what Dennis said several weeks ago, I again referenced one of the panel discussions from the recent NewSpace conference and earlier comments on the subject by our friend Tom Olson.  If you have questions or comments for any of the callers or those asking questions, its best to post them on the Out of the Box blog URL above.  You can also email me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.

Don A. Nelson, Monday, 9-20-10

Don A. Nelson, Monday, 9-20-10

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1427-BWB-2010-09-20.mp3

Guest:  Don Nelson.   Topics:  NASA management problems and resolutions.  We welcomes Don Nelson of Nelson Aerospace Consulting to the program.  You can learn more about what Don Nelson spoke about on this show by visiting his website, www.nasaproblems.com.  In addition, please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshowoutsidethebox.blogspot.com.  In our first segment, Mr. Nelson introduced us to NASA management problems, their origins, and provided us with many examples of what he was talking about.  One of the recurring themes throughout today's program focused on the need for accountability and oversight.  He shared with us his experience with his shuttle work where his sign off signature needed to be reviewed by 22 oversight individuals who just rubber stamped his signature.  He talked about growing the shuttle program to 24,000 people and why the larger number created more problems.  This led us to a discussion about our national aerospace workforce and he said that the workforce was regarded as a national treasure. He defined that in a way that may surprise many of you so listen to what he said.  During this segment, Don had much to say about Ares 1, Constellation, and Orion.  He challenged the safety, especially with Orion, and said that to meet the changing flight characteristics of Ares 1 to solve those problem, NASA took out safety features in Orion to lighten the mass.  He then talked about the static margin for Orion.  About midway through this discussion, I asked Don to define static margin which refers to center of gravity.  He said the static margin was very sensitive and every time a change came in, the static margin had to be redesigned.  Don talked about the idea that NASA centers were not so team oriented and often individually focused for the center only, not for NASA as a whole.  He said this was part of the management set of issues.  In the second segment, he again stressed accountability and oversight.  One of the listener questions dealt with the younger engineers and employees at NASA having a say in things and Don suggested no, they typically go along and don't rock the boat.  In returning to the oversight issue, he said it needed to be independent with clout.  I suggested this was needed across the board with government today and that pointing only to NASA was unrealistic since NASA is reflecting problems throughout government and today's society and culture.  Jim in Alabama sent in a note asking why he was targeting Marshall in his comments.  Don replied that he was not targeting Marshall but did say Marshall and JSC are the biggest contributors to the problems he was talking about, followed by KSC.  Don was asked if he had any conflict of interest or financial interest in any outcome for NASA or any of its centers.  Don said no to both.  Don is supportive of keeping shuttle flying but as an unmanned robotic vehicle to hold the costs down.  He said shuttle already has that capability.  It would reduce about 2,000 lbs of mass in the front end, freeing that up for payload and adding crew escape to shuttle.  Don then said we would be unable to solve the launch cost problem using expendable rockets.  When asked about transitioning to commercial rockets, he said as long as they were expendable, the launch costs would remain very high.  Near the end of the program, we talked about media reporting and suggested that the general interest news media would need to report a story such as NASA management issues.  Listen to hear why.  Our guest made it clear he was not NASA bashing, but was in fact a strong supporter of NASA, but one who wants to get it on track in solving the problems he highlights.  He says he talks to top NASA people all the time and frequently goes to Congress with his message.  If you have questions or comments for Don Nelson, you can email him through his website or by using nasaproblems@yahoo.com.

Bill White, Author of "Platinum Moon," Sunday, 9-19-10

Bill White, Author of "Platinum Moon," Sunday, 9-19-10

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1426-BWB-2010-09-19.mp3

Guest:  Bill White.  Topics:  "Platinum Moon" and lunar development.  We welcomed Bill White to the program to talk about his best selling book, "Platinum Moon."  This book is available on the One Giant Leap Foundation Amazon book page and if you buy it from this page, Amazon contributes to The Space Show.  Please use www.amazon.com/dp/0984405801?tag=onegialeafou-20.  Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshowoutsidethebox.blogspot.com.  In our first segment, author Bill White told us how he got the idea for his book back in 2005 and said the idea evolved from thinking Mir Corp meets "Moonrush" which was a book authored by Dennis Wingo.  He got the idea that there might be a high probability of platinum group metals (PGM) on the Moon.  PGM consists of six metallic elements, ruthenium, palladium, iridium, rhodium, osmium, and of course platinum.  Thus, Bill developed his story about a private business billionaire who puts together a private company consortium composed of representatives from various national space agencies to go to the Moon for PGMs.  He develops a propellant depot at the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 1, EML-1 and he named the spaceship for this project PGM-1.  During this segment, Bill explained the makeup of Harold Hewitt, his main character and the force behind the company Lunar Materials LLC.  A few listeners asked him why his book had such a strong Indian perspective to it to which Bill replied researching India and their space program was easy because it was based on the English language.  We also talked about Singapore as the corporate headquarters and why Singapore.  In the second segment, Bill told us why he chose the rocket fuels that he did and what he might do in a sequel to this book.  He talked about water ice on the moon and we had a discussion about bringing PGM back to Earth, skewing the supply and demand curve and what that might do to the economics of any plan to bring PGM back here.  We talked about using PGM and other materials and resources within space, i.e. In-Situ Resource Utilization, and then Bill told us how in his book the landing sites were chosen for his story.  ITAR came up which is why he said his story focused on using Russian rockets.  Later in this final segment, he got some questions about self-publishing books and he talked about the Amazon service, CreateSpace.  For more information about the book including technical information, please visit www.platinum-moon.com  If you have a question or comment for Bill White, you can reach him through his website or you can email him at platinum.moon.novel@gmail.com.  Bill's Twitter account is xplatinummoon.twitter.

Tim Pickens, Friday, 9-17-10

TIM PICKENS, Friday, 9-17-10

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1425-BWB-2010-09-17.mp3

Guest:  Tim Pickens.  Topics:  Dynetics, rocket propulsion, space policy, and more.  We welcomed Tim Pickens back to the program for the first time since he sold his company, Orion Propulsion, to Dynetics, Inc.  Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshowoutsidethebox.blogspot.com.  In our first segment, Tim started out talking about the need to have fun in business but that fun is not a business or policy entitlement.  This was in the context of his now being employed with Dynetics after the sale of his own company.  Tim did a terrific job in outlining the differences, the responsibilities, accountability and much more so pay attention to what he has to say on this issue. Next, we shifted focus to the Dynetics Google Lunar X Prize entry, Rocket City Space Pioneers. Tim explained their entry, talked about their team partners and the use of a partial payload capability on the Falcon 9.  During this segment, Tim talked about the NanoMissile System (MNMS) project, microsats and related topics.  He suggested we read a related recent article in the Huntsville Times at http://blog.al.com/huntsville-timesbusiness/2010/09/huntsville_company_working_to.html. In the second segment, listener John asked about outsourcing manufacturing and product acquisition.  Tim had much to say on this topic which included a slightly different take on ITAR reform which you must hear as he called it a two headed sword. Heavy lift was an important discussion topic in this segment as were propellant depots.  In our third and final segment, Tim was asked if he was consulting on the SS2 rocket motor and this led to a detailed discussion about hybrid rocket motors.  After the hybrid discussion, I asked Tim about his education and if he learns mostly from the on the job training, books, articles, or from his college classes.  Tim had lots to say about this, speaks on these subjects frequently to students and he shares with us the advice he gives to aerospace engineers entering their careers.  He was asked about his work with Bigelow Aerospace and then he told us about building a water fueled rocket belt with parts from Home Depot and having his daughter fly it over the lake.  We concluded our discussion with Tim Pickens talking about Dynetics, how it sees the future, its hiring, and more.  If you have a question or comment for Tim Pickens about this show or Dynetics, please send it to Janet Felts at janet.felts@dynetics.com and reference The Space Show in the subject line.  Janet will make sure it gets to Tim or the appropriate person at Dynetics.