4. Friday, Apr.30, 2021; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome Greg Meholic of the Aerospace Corp to discuss nuclear propulsion and more, including his Mach thruster analysis.
5. Sunday, May.2, 2021; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): We welcome Dr. Kevin Cannon of the Colorado School of Mines on planetary geology news and more.
A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):
** NASA Picks SpaceX for Artemis Human Lunar Lander Development – NASA
NASA is getting ready to send astronauts to explore more of the Moon as part of the Artemis program, and the agency has selected SpaceX to continue development of the first commercial human lander that will safely carry the next two American astronauts to the lunar surface.
The agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket will launch four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for their multi-day journey to lunar orbit. There, two crew members will transfer to the SpaceX human landing system (HLS) for the final leg of their journey to the surface of the Moon. After approximately a week exploring the surface, they will board the lander for their short trip back to orbit where they will return to Orion and their colleagues before heading back to Earth.
** Human Landing System Announcement Media Teleconference – NASA Video – Starts at the 9:30 point
A new year has brought a new administration, power shifts in Congress and new priorities across the U.S. The Planetary Society’s advocacy for planetary science and exploration has never been more important. Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan is once again joined by Senior Space Policy Advisor and Chief Advocate Casey Dreier, Chief of Washington Operations Brendan Curry and Society CEO Bill Nye. New to this edition of our semi-annual update is Georgia Institute of Technology planetary scientist Britney Schmidt. Dr. Schmidt is vice chair of the Society Board of Directors’ Space Policy Committee.
** Key Chinese Spaceplane Technology Tested, Probes to the Edge of the Heliosphere – Ep 29 – Dongfang Hour – YouTube
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Dongfang Hour China Aero/Space News Roundup! Without further ado, the news update from the week of 12 – 18 April.
1) CASIC Institute tests spaceplane propulsion technology … 2) Wu Weiren, chief-designer of China’s lunar exploration program, discusses China’s “Double One Hundred” goal … 3) A Report on China’s Aerospace Manufacturing Capabilities …
** TCL Joins the Space Race, a New Launch Site in Ningbo, Aerospace Propulsion Round of Funding – Ep 28 – Dongfang Hour – YouTube
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Dongfang Hour China Aero/Space News Roundup! Without further ado, the news update from the week of 5 – 11 April.
1）TCL: A New Tech Player in the Chinese Space Industry? … 2) A Few More Details Revealed on China’s Commercial Launch Site … 3) New (Pre-A) round of funding of 100M RMB from Aerospace Propulsion …
From activities in low-Earth orbit to the Artemis program, the commercial space industry is beginning to take on an increased role as innovator in both space access, commerce, and exploration. This growth of commercial space over the past decades offers the potential for a new paradigm for space exploration—one in which industry transitioned from supplier to partner. Still, many questions remain spanning from the most seemingly consequential “How will humanity explore the Moon and Mars?” to the more basic, “What is Commercial Space?” This virtually hosted symposium explores this transformation and examines the historical context for answering these questions.
Earlier this year, the UAE announced the establishment of a “Court of Space”, a tribunal dedicated to dispute resolution on matters related to space activities. This development further underscores tremendous growth in space activities and the need for legal communities to catch up. On April 14, 2021, join the Space Court Foundation and Clifford Chance for an in-depth discussion on the future of dispute resolution and how to continue applying our legal tools to our activities in a novel environment
Panel 1: Initiatives in the Dispute Resolution Sphere … Panel 2: Expectations from the Space Law World …
On 20 April 2021, ESA will host the 8th European Conference on Space Debris from Darmstadt, in Germany. Scientists, engineers, industry experts and policy makers will spend the virtual four day conference discussing the latest issues surrounding space debris. They will exchange the latest research, try to come up with solutions for potential problems and define the future direction of any necessary action.
In this week’s Space Cafè WebTalk, Dr. Jessica West, Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshares, Waterloo, Canada talked about why does peace matter in space.
This session explored the role of civil society in space governance. Jessica is a long-time editor of the Space Security Index and frequent participant at the United Nations First Committee, Conference on Disarmament, and the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. As both a researcher and an advocate for the peaceful use of outer space, her recent work involves mapping the normative landscape in outer space as a way to inform better security practices, and highlighting the civilian consequences of conflict.
Alice Gorman has brought together astrophysics and archaeology to create the fascinating field of space archaeology. She talks about what exactly it is and why it could be crucial to the future of space travel in this fascinating episode of the Space Cafe Podcast.
* The Space Show – Sunday, Apr.18.2021 – Dr. Michael Gleason discussed “his papers linked on the blog for this show. In addition, we spent significant time on space debris issues with regards to LEO and the increasing population of satellites.”
** The Space Show – Tuesday, Apr.13.2021 – Dr. Martin Elvis discussed “lunar development, getting power to the lunar sites, specifically the South Pole and building giant solar towers at the Moon’s south pole to be able to provide multiple GW of solar power to the sites. Also discussed were possible lunar governance issues.”
1. Tuesday, Apr. 20, 2021; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT): We welcome Jeromy Grimmett to the program to discuss Rogue Aerospace, on orbit satellite servicing and more.
3. Friday, Apr.23, 2021; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome back Jim Muncy to discuss the latest with NewSpace, commercial space, policy, space politics and more.
4. Sunday, Apr.25, 2021; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): We welcome Ben Kellie, CEO of The Launch Company to discuss their work with critical infrastructure, hardware and mission support from Alaska.
Some recent shows:
** Sunday, Apr.18.2021 – Dr. Michael Gleason discussed “his papers linked on the blog for this show. In addition, we spent significant time on space debris issues with regards to LEO and the increasing population of satellites.”
** Tuesday, Apr.13.2021 – Dr. Martin Elvis discussed “lunar development, getting power to the lunar sites, specifically the South Pole and building giant solar towers at the Moon’s south pole to be able to provide multiple GW of solar power to the sites. Also discussed were possible lunar governance issues.”
The book details how humans could build rotating space habitats in low-Earth orbit using a design he called the “O’Neill Cylinder.” The habitat could recreate Earth’s gravity and would house millions of people for work and play, eventually solving the major concerns facing Earth such as hunger, overpopulation, dwindling resources, and war. His book and activism launched the movement to the global stage, forever inspiring a generation of free thinkers and space leaders, altering the course of American space industry forever. Dr. O’Neill passed in 1992 from Leukemia, but his vision still lives on thanks to the “Gerry’s Kids,” those who were inspired by Dr. O’Neill and keep his vision alive today.
is a documentary film about the life and influence of Gerard K. O’Neill told through the eyes of his peers, family and the younger generation he inspired during the 1970s and 80s who are now leaders in the modern day space race. Through old stories of “Gerry” as many called him, and the social impact he made on the world, this documentary pays tribute to the unsung hero of today’s space race, while hoping to inspire all ages and walks of life to reignite our planet’s space venturing spirit.
A rendering of a pair of large space habitats by Rick Guidice
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Prof. O’Neill was a big influence on my own life. I can recall a rainy gray autumn day in 1974 when I went to the mail box and found my latest copy of Physics Today. I was amazed to see that the cover of the usually staid trade publication depicted a huge space station. The article, The Colonization of Space by O’Neill, was equally unusual in the striking contrast between the mind-boggling boldness of his space habitat concepts and the matter-of-fact, down-to-earth manner in which he presented the motivations for such undertakings and how they could be accomplished technically and economically.
I was still a big space fan at the time but there had been a collapse in public interest in space in those post-Apollo years of the 1970s. The gigantic effort and expense that went into putting just a handful of people on the Moon for brief sojourns convinced most everyone that space travel was very impractical and that the domain beyond out atmosphere was as uninspiring as the bottom of the deep dark ocean. O’Neill’s ideas radically refuted such assertions. Colossal space habitats would become verdant islands thriving in the light of a brilliant sun, enabling the rise of new cultures and the opening of our vast solar system to endless exploration and utilization of its riches.
“The Stanford Torus – This space habitat design resulted from a NASA-Ames/Stanford University summer study. It’s a wheel 1.1 miles in diameter.”
As the film’s trailer indicates, O’Neill’s writings and articulate promotion of space habitats revitalized and re-energized interest in human spaceflight for many people. Quite a number of those “O’Neillians” continue to this day to work for the settlement of space.
The appeal of O’Neill’s habitat ideas certainly sustained my own interest in space and inspired my efforts with HobbySpace and other activities, which I hope have contributed a little bit towards encouraging public interest and excitement in space.
Unfortunately, we don’t yet have giant habitats in open space or even small bases on the surface of the Moon or Mars. For settlements to be feasible, O’Neill counted on the Space Shuttles to lower the cost of getting to space dramatically. Unfortunately, the failure of the Shuttles to come even close to that key goal not only undermined arguments for giant space habitats but for most any human endeavor in space. Lowering space access costs thus became the focus for the past few decades for O’Neillians, some of whom pursued rocket ventures themselves or advocated for government initiatives like the DC-X/XA prototype reusable rocket and NASA’s Commercial Crew and Cargo program. Such efforts have shown progress as seen by the significant drop in launch prices with the arrival of SpaceX’s partially reusable Falcon 9 rockets. The fully-reusable, fast turnaround Starships now in development could offer the break-through that finally enables affordable space travel.
Elon Musk discounts in-space habitats and sees Starships as the means to create a city on Mars. However, such vehicles will be available for all sorts of space endeavors and space stations are sure to be among these. If designed to grow incrementally and take advantage of resources from the Moon and the asteroids, such orbital installations could eventually evolve into O’Neill’s islands in the sky.
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Here is a “Roundtable TV interview” from 1975 in which O’Neill and Isaac Asimov discuss in-space colonies with former Esquire editor Harold Hayes:
Physicist and space pioneer Gerard K. O’Neil gathered a community of followers as he led planning for vast, magnificent human settlements in space. Guests Dylan Taylor, Will Henry and Ryan Stuit have produced an inspiring, feature-length tribute to O’Neill that stars space luminaries including Jeff Bezos, Frank White, Lori Garver, Rick Tumlinson, and many others. Then Bruce Betts and Mat Kaplan are joined by a special listener guest on What’s Up.
1. Monday, Apr. 12, 2021; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT: No program today.
2. Tuesday, Apr. 13, 2021; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT): We welcome Dr. Martin Elvis of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory back to the program.
3. Wednesday, Apr. 14, 2021: Hotel Mars TBA pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details.
4. Thursday, Apr. 15, 2021; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): No program today.
Spacecraft Nation is envisioned as a $500 million/year, 5 year national investment program, operating in all 50 states, with the goal of upgrading America’s technical skills and technical toolkits to solve the many multidisciplinary problems inherent in space development and apply those skills to terrestrial and space challenges. Space is a fascinating and unforgiving environment with vast resources that will challenge, inspire, and train to excellence the next generation of scientists, engineers, technologists and entrepreneurs in high-tech tools, problem solving, teamwork and innovation.
