Space Policy

Space policy roundup – Nov.3.13

Rick Boozer was interviewed on the Doug Turnbull Mars Pirate Radio program yesterday. The first part of the interview is available on line : Episode XXVIII | dougturnbull. The second part will be posted next week.

The interview focused on the issues raised in Rick’s new book, The Plundering of NASA: an Exposé, How pork barrel politics harm American spaceflight leadership.

More space policy/politics items:

Update:

Science and Technology

Sci-Tech: Nuclear fusion projects including General Fusion, Helion Energy and MSNW

Here’s an overview of several fusion power projects: The Nuclear Fusion Arms Race Is Underway –  Motherboard.

And here is info on a couple of alternative fusion approaches.

General Fusion, a Canadian based company that has raised $33M so far from Jeff Bezos and other private sources, is aiming for a reactor by the end of this decade. They have recently revamped their website and offers more info:

Their innovative acoustic driven compression technique is illustrated in this animation:

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Prof. John Slough of the Plasma Dynamics Lab at the University of Washington is involved with a couple of spinoff companies using tech derived from his group’s work on compression of  FRC (Field Reverse Configuration) bubbles of plasma.

The company Helion Energy aims to develop a fusion power system:

The fusion propulsion project is based at the company MSNW LLC, which I recently posted about here: FISO: MSNW LLC and “the first realistic approach to fusion-based propulsion” – Space-for-All.

An updated overview was presented at the recent International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC2013) in Washington, D.C. : J. Slough, Electromagnetically Driven Fusion Propulsion, IEPC-2013-372

Living in Space, Simulators, Space Systems

Univ. North Dakota Lunar Mars Analogue Habitat simulation passes midway of 10 day program

The Lunar/Mars mission simulation by the North Dakota UND Human Spaceflight Laboratory is into the 7th day of the 10 day project. (See earlier posts here and here.)

Space Music

The Space Bards Kickstarter

The Space Bards campaign to Kickstart their “quirky musical journey about two aliens struggling to fit in on planet Earth” : The Space Bards Present Their First Album, “Neon Milk”! by Space Bards — Kickstarter

Living in Space, Space participation

The Overview Effect – A panel discussion event at National Air & Space mission

The Overview Effect will be the topic of a discussion panel at Air & Space next Thursday: The Overview Effect:  Bringing it Down to Earth – National Air and Space Museum

Thursday, November 7
2:30 pm
Moving Beyond Earth
Museum in Washington, DC
Admission: Free

Human spaceflight has changed our world, but can a perspective born in space change the world too?  The Overview Effect, a term that describes a shift in worldview fostered by seeing the Earth from orbit or the Moon, has had a profound impact on the astronauts who have experienced it. Join us for a discussion with Overview Institute co-founders David Beaver and Frank White, and astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and Sandy Magnus. The program will be moderated by Roger Launius, associate director of the National Air and Space Museum.

The Overview Effect is a phenomenon that is often intellectually understood, but the experience itself is difficult to communicate because the astronauts and those listening to their message do not have a common framework for understanding.  The founders and supporters of the Institute feel that its message could have a salutary effect on the environmental movement, international relations, and a multitude of humanitarian issues.

The program will begin with a viewing of the short film “Overview.”

Everyone can participate in space