Guest: Peter Garretson; Topics: Commercial space development and vision, mining the sky, resources, space and China, the U.S. Space Force, developing a space economy, the need for space infrastructure, Space Solar Power and more.
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We welcomed Peter Garretson back to the show to discuss commercial space news and developments, space solar power, the Space Force and the role of space in national security, especially in Asia with China. Check out the tags used to describe the topics we talked about and for the most part in the order we talked about them. For your convenience, I've copied the tags below. I suggest you use the tags as a guide to our discussion.
Tags: Peter Garretson, U.S. space preeminent power, crucial space priorities, mining the sky, planning and developing for the long term, asteroid belt, cislunar industrial development, using limited funds wisely, Starship, lunar surface operations, realistic perspective on the plausible, SLS, SpaceX, Falcon Heavy costs, risky space visions, having an industrial development vision, the Cold War, economic advantages of space, reusability, nuclear shuttle, SSP satellites, lunar Earth commerce belt, space infrastructure, in-space economy, China's space policy, ISS SSP system, second generation space station, Axiom, gravity prescription, spin gravity, procuring lunar materials, The Gateway, Space Force, USAF and space, countering AF weapons, AF China war games, asymmetric power, space for national security.
As for my takeaways, our space solar power conversation was excellent and important. I hope you will pay extra careful attention to it. In addition, note a change in the discussion when Dr. Kothari called in to suggest nuclear as a better source of energy and power than SSP. Listen to what Peter said in return to Ajay's comments. Ajay also took the opportunity to talk about thorium again, through the molten salt reactor. In my opinion, we really do need to push forward on nuclear power and nuclear propulsion. It should not be so costly to build new power plants, nor should it take so longer, especially with the latest technology being used elsewhere in the world. The U.S. should not remain stuck in mud on the use of nuclear power.
All of the comments concerning cislunar space development, space mining or mining the sky were important and critical to our moving to an expanded and important space vision as detailed by Peter. Needed infrastructure was a focus of these comments, both with Peter and with listeners. At one point, Peter was asked for his dream plan which he gladly shared with us. Don't miss it. Furthermore, this would be a good time for your blog commentary on these subjects so go for it. We want to hear from you.
As has been typical with most recent programs, a comparison of rockets and costs were offered up featuring Starship, SLS and even Falcon Heavy. Peter was then asked by listener Betsy about competing space industrialization visions, comparing the U.S. with ESA, the UK, Australia, the UAE, Japan, Singapore and Luxembourg. Don't miss what Peter said. Following, we had more to say on the need for a full cislunar economy. One listener sent in a note asking about a possible China reaction to the vision Peter was strongly suggesting for us to follow. Marshall then called to talk about the ISS not being a good SSP platform. This opened the door for Marshall to talk about second generation space stations. Peter mentioned the need for the gravity RX and he talked about private station efforts such as those by Axiom and spin gravity for some of the stations.
Near the end of the program, I asked Peter to give the U.S. a grade on how we were doing to advance commercial space and security. He said it was a complex answer but do listen. What do you think? Before ending, I took the liberty to ask Peter about the status of our Air Force, our ability to meet modern threats especially in Asia, how the Space Force was doing and the role of space in national security. This was an excellent discussion that took us to the end of today's program. Don't miss it.
Please post your comments/questions for Peter on our blog for this show. You can reach our guest through me at The Space Show.
The Space Show
