Note that our telephone line audio was not good for this program. I called Peter a few times hoping for a better phone line but I did not get one so I went ahead knowing that the audio would not be clear. I apologize for the poor audio quality but as I said on the show I cannot control phone line audio and its the biggest problem and challenge facing each and every Space Show program. Should we be able to implement Zoom audio and the guest agrees to use Zoom audio, many of the audio problems will either be eliminated or greatly diminished. Thank you for your understanding. Dr. Space (David Livingston, The Space Show).
Guest: Dr. Peter Hague; Topics: We talked about SpaceX and Peter's petition for Starship to launch in the UK and why. In addition we addressed his recent article "There Is No Business Case for Civilization" with substantial listener commentary. His Part 3 review of "A City On Mars" was talked about as were lunar claims and more plus Peter provided us with a short program summary.
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We welcomed Peter back to the program to address his recent Planetocracy post on Substack, "There Is No Business Case For Civilization." This topic covered a good portion of our 92 minute discussion. Don't miss it. As our discussion unfolded there was real consideration given to government being able to do large projects, like a human spaceflight program on a planetary mission, then determine the value for that mission for the nation. This can be challenging since everyone's tax dollars go to the project but not every has an interest in these projects. Peter's article raised some real concerns that were discussed by the listeners led by Fremont John. You can read Peter's full article here: https://planetocracy.substack.com/p/theres-is-no-business-case-for-civilisation. After reading the article and listening to Peter, tell us what you think by posting on our blog.
Before talking about his article, Peter had announced that he had petitioned the UK government to permit Starship launching operations in the UK. The petition is under consideration as you will hear. Peter said the government had specific reply dates to meet, then he explained why he petitioned his government on this subject. Briefly, if SpaceX using Starship is to even come close to putting all the people on Mars Musk talks about, they will need more launch sites than Texas and the Florida Coast so he wanted the UK government to embrace SpaceX and offer launching sites in the UK. What do you think of that idea? Let us know, OK? I asked if people outside the UK could sign the petition. It appears that you have to have an address in the UK and be living in the UK to sign the petition so most of us won't be able to do that. We will keep in touch with Peter to see how his government responds to the petition.
Several other topics were brought up but biggest one was when I asked Peter why he did a three part series on the book "A City On Mars" which we also discussed on The Space Show. In his response, especially with Part 3 just recently released, he wanted to be pro space settlement. While the book talks Mars and human spaceflight science, as Peter suggests, ultimately the authors oppose settlement. When authors Kelley and Zack were on TSS re the book, toward the end of their interview, I clarified their position in that we are not yet ready to go re a TRL level on all fronts but as we improve we should go but not until that improvement happens. Of course to many they will say you can never improve fast enough or enough so there will always be a gap so don't go.
Here are the three reviews:
A. Part 1: https://planetocracy.substack.com/p/review-of-a-city-on-mars-part-i
B. Part 2: https://planetocracy.substack.com/p/review-of-a-city-on-mars-part-ii
Here is the address for Kelly and Zak's recent Space show program: https://www.thespaceshow.com/show/12-nov-2023/broadcast-4115-dr.-kelly-weinersmith
Please post your comments/questions for Peter on the blog for this show. You can reach him through me or his Plantocracy publication site.
The Space Show
