Bob Zimmerman reports on the latest space news during regular weekly slots (usually Tuesday and Thursdays) on the John Batchelor radio program. See the iTunes free Podcast for links to the latest shows. Here are links and summaries for his most recent appearances on the show:

Tuesday, 01/22/13 – Batchelor Fourth Hour | John Batchelor Show:

[…] robotic mission to ISS, private space enterprise to mine asteroids. The plans and proposed launch schedule of the new asteroid mining company, Deep Space Industries.  They aim to do their work using cubesats, which will keep everything cheap and simple, with the first launches by 2015, and the first sample return missions by 2016. Their new manufacturing technology appears to be a variation of 3D printing, though the descriptions so far released remain vague on details.

[…] deep worry for Kepler: Even as the Kepler mission struggles to survive, the science team has released its entire database of exoplanet candidates to the public.

Thursday 01/24/13 Batchelor Fourth Hour | John Batchelor Show:

[…] Science: 1. A research plane has crashed in Antarctica, three missing. New balloon record in Antarctica.  Balto 1925: the Anti-Balto, 2013: The polio virus has spread from Pakistan to Egypt.

[…] manned space:  Opportunity celebrates its 9th anniversary.  1. Structural braces are being added to the first Orion capsule because of the cracks found.  2. Chinese space program gets speeded up?  3. Russia is threatening to abandon Baikonur because of demands made by Kazakhstan.

Andrew Edwards, founder of the Open Source Aerospace Wiki sends this announcement:

Aerospace Technology is Open for All

For the 41^st anniversary of the first moon landing, the private space industry is making one huge leap by opening the Open Source Aerospace Project at www.openspace.wikia.com. This new project is an attempt to make the aerospace industry less expensive and open for all. The OSA project is an open wiki and online forum full of technology, science, and ideas in the private space industry so they may be built upon and further developed by industry professionals. This project helps small companies by making research less expensive since technology can be criticized and get input from all industry professionals, and will also push the entire industry forward by making new technologies and ideas open to all.

The Open Source Aerospace Project hopes to partner with other organizations such as eSpace and MIT to help move along the idea and the industry in general, and has already contacted or added input from both. The project hopes to get more than just engineering advice from MIT, since it also hopes to include all aspects of aerospace. The goal of this project is not just to develop and open technology, but air movement, astronomy, theories and anything that can change the industry.

If all goes well, this could be a major move for private spaceflight. From programming a site in a small apartment to launching humans into the heavens above, we see history repeated from the recent computer industry. In years to come it will be the large companies, and the small providers working together with these open ideas that will make this industry work. It is only up to us to see what the next big step is until we reach higher and higher to space.

The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PST (5-6:30 PM EST, 4-5:30 PM CST): We welcome DR. ALBERT CARNESALE to the program to discuss the recent National Research Council’s study, “NASA’s Strategic Direction And The Need For A National Consensus“. Dr. Carnesale of UCLA was the Chair of the Committee On NASA’s Strategic Direction.

2. Tuesday, January 29, 2013 7-8:30 PM PST (10-11:30 PM EST, 9-10:30 PM CST): We welcome back DOUG MESSIER of Parabolic Arc. Doug will be discussing recent news about Spaceport America in New Mexico as well as Parabolic Arc and many of the stories covered by this fine blog.

3. Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, 9:30-11 AM PST (11:30- 1 PM CST, 12:30PM-2:00 PM EST): We welcome ALAN STEINBERG to the program to discuss his recent AstroPolitics article, “Weapons in Space: The need to Protect Space Assets” and more.

4. Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, 12-1:30 PM PST (3-4:30 PM EST, 2-3:30 PM CST). We welcome back NINO POLIZZI to talk about “Rocket Science Tutors” which is an all-volunteer after school STEM organization staffed by engineers/scientists (www.rocketsciencetutors.com).

See also:
/– The Space Show on Vimeo – webinar videos
/– The Space Show’s Blog – summaries of interviews.
/– The Space Show Classroom Blog – tutorial programs

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The latest episode of Spacevidcast Live focuses on “the yet-to-be-realized space mining industry. Two companies are now looking to the stars for mining materials, Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources” : The upcoming Asteroid Mining Industry – Spacevidcast

The National Space Society‘s annual conference  is happening in just a few months: ISDC 2013. May 23 – 27, 2013. San Diego, California – Global Collaboration in 21st Century Space

They have a call out for talk proposals with Abstracts due 7 Feb 2013 : Int’l Space Dev Conference Call for Proposals

The sessions will include four on solar power from space:

Space‐Based Solar Power
PAPER TOPICS ‐ FRIDAY

Session 1 Friday a.m.
“Timing, Budget, Economics, and Commercialization of SBSP”  Funding sources/methods, Urgency, pace Amounts needed, how to sustain, Net Present Value, Cost‐of‐ownership, Financing

Session 2 Friday p.m.
“Components, Infrastructure, and Enabling Technology for SBSP”
Rectennae and WPT, Energy conversion Power management, Thermal management Station keeping, structural dynamics On‐orbit assembly, Repair, protection, robustness, safety, Sustainment, end‐of‐life

PAPER TOPICS ‐ SATURDAY

Session 3 Saturday a.m.
“Motivation, Urgency, Scope, and Collaborations for SBSP”
Baseload power uses, Space settlement Leadership, Innovation, Economics, Environment

Session 4 Saturday p.m.
“Architecture, Pathways to Success, and Obstacles for SBSP”
Orbital configurations, Launch systems SSP architecture, Transition pathways Global initiatives, Resistance/Opposition Politics & Policy