Welcome to Spacevidcast episode 34 for December. Oh, I have no idea. 19th, 2008. It's our
holiday extravaganza spectacular show. Look at that. Look at that. We got a little Santa
hat on the wall down there. Oh, that's so cute. Right there. And then there's some red
and green new background back here. A little snowy flake. You know, pretty much fooled
everyone because like moments ago, everything was with normal graphics. And then we come
back and fooled everyone holiday extravaganza. Just wait till it's my birthday. Yeah. That's
like we're not doing Jack for your birthday. No, not really. My name is Benjamin Higginbotham.
Oh, hey, I have graphics for this. My name is Benjamin Higginbotham with me is beautiful,
talented and incredibly awesome. Carrie Ann Higginbotham. We are the Spacevidcasters.
This is our last show. Last show. My dramatic voice for 2008 for 2008. Not not to freak
anyone out. No, no, I just like pausing right there. This is our last show of 2008. Wow.
Yeah. That's great right there. Yep. I thought you'd like that. So, you know, and actually
we're not we're going to be off for the next two weeks. Next week is December 25th. We're
going to be taking a Christmas break. And then January 1st, I'm going to be hungover.
So we're not going to have a show then either. No shows on either one. I'm just saying I'm
listening. They they know they know exactly what's happening. It's not like they wouldn't
I could be like, Oh, no, I'm January 1st. Nothing. Nothing special. We have a show even
if he's hungover. We're not really. Let's get straight. Shall we get into it? We are
into it. Let's go. You want to step outside? Let's do this thing. Let's start with some
Space News. Space News. Awesome. All right. Start with the ESA. Okay. Okay. So, because
NASA clearly has nothing better to do. We are joining up with the ESA. So, N-A-S-A and
E-S-A are going to M-A-R-S. How is that? Really? I don't know. You know, it's you call me off
guard a little bit. I'm sorry. In any case, the point is that NASA and Europe are joining
forces in order to go to Mars for future missions to Mars. Isn't this the rover that the kids
are going to name? Yeah, I think it is. Actually, it's a very costly and there's been a bit
of a delay in NASA's Mars Science Roving Laboratory or Mars Science Lab Rover MSLR. The
rovatory. The rov... Yes, not to be confused with the laboratory. No, the rovatory. What
about it? Anyway, it's costing a lot of money, which I think is why this conjunction has
come up. The biggest problem is right now that what Bush has set forth is this kind
of thing about not being able to throw stuff up in the air together. Right. You know, probably,
you know, military reasons and all that other crap, which is fine. But Obama really kind
of needs to change that around in order to make that go. That right there is awesome.
Anyhow, point is, yes. Hello, Sky Eye. Exactly. So that's kind of where that issue is right
now. It's kind of not really going forward. It's not really going backward. It just kind
of is. Right. So it's nothing set in stone right now. Yes. Thank you, gooey. Fail. Anything
else? Anything else you'd like to speak about while I... I've tried. I can't get it... Click
the buttons. Click. Click. You ready? Here we go. I'm ready for something. Ready? You
know, this is one of those shows. I told you, we were ready too early. I told you. That's
true. I said that, didn't I? Disaster. Disaster. Anything else? No, I think that's pretty much
it. I was going to make a really great segue and then I screwed it all up. But basically
the segue is, oh, well, if they're having a hard time paying for it, maybe they should,
I don't know, do something just like fire sale sorts. Right. What could we sell? So
of course, unless you've been living under a rock or don't talk to people in general,
you would not know that NASA is selling their shuttles. Now, Ben said, oh yeah, I heard
the shuttles. They're going to be museums and stuff like that. And that's great. And
I said, no, they're selling the shuttles. He said, what do you mean selling? I said
like 42 million dollars per shuttle. Okay, but you're saying that like that's a lot of
money. Each shuttle cost about $1.7 billion. Okay, well, first of all, yeah, whatever.
Okay, fine. First of all, the $42 million is just an estimate. And that includes the
$6 million to ferry it to wherever the closest airport is. Now, if you live in the middle
of BF nowhere, it's going to be more than that. Because you got to figure out how to
get it to your... Exactly. And trust me, pickup truck isn't going to work for this thing.
But then on top of that, the orbiters are only going to be... The only places that they're
going to be allowed to be in are indoor climate-controlled display areas. Which answered my question
I asked her earlier. Ben said, I want one. I'll buy one and then I can fly my own space
shuttle into space, assuming I can afford the $500 million it takes to launch. But nope.
No. And the best part is that you have to be able to take... What's the word I want?
When something's delivered to you. Deliveries? Sure, whatever. You have to be able to take
it all in one big chunk. It's not going to be disassembled. Ah, right. Is what I'm trying
to say. Yep. Possession. Thank you. That'll totally work for me right there. I know words.
None of them, Cinniball. You know me. Anyway, so the big hold up with that is, of course,
if the shuttles keep flying past 2010. And then, F you all, I don't care if you've already
given us $42 million, you can't have it. Right. The back half of the show, we're going to have
our predictions for 2009. I'm going to sneak a little bit of 2010 in there as well. So
I think we'll touch on that a little bit in the back half of the show. Anyhow, the point
is, though, that if you can't afford the $42 million, because, you know, I know. Exactly.
But the thing is, you know, I know the Smithsonian is going to want part of this. And I'm sure
KSC is going to want, you know, part or one or something like that. And there's only so
many orbiters to go around. Really. So, you know, that's what I'm saying. Like, even if
people can come up with the $42 million because they're just sitting on it, because they prefer
to sleep on it instead of put it into a bank. I suppose if we're putting them into museums
as four, but I'm sorry. Yeah. Right. Right. I mean, there's only four of them to go around.
So we're not talking like these are just mass produced. We can just make more of them or
what have you. But assuming you can't afford that, but you still need some sort of piece,
you can get one of the main engines for anywhere between $400,000 to $800,000. That would be
really cool to have in the back of your car. No, what I think it's would make the coolest
like coffee table. No, no man. Or we need it like as a desk. Okay. Do you know how big
these engines are? I don't care. I don't ever seen someone who stands next to one. No. They're
pretty much bigger than this house. Awesome. It's not going to make a very good coffee
table. Yes, it will. The house in which it will. I don't understand what the problem
is. Everyone knows that I have very hard time with the size of things. Okay. Japanese going
the little little origami shuttles. And I can have a spatial engine as a coffee table.
I don't see what's wrong with this picture. Okay. Moving on. Moving on. Open NASA. Okay.
So open NASA. This is actually kind of a serious one because I know usually I pull this crap
out of my back end and nobody really even cares about half of these stories that I come
up with. But that's why Ben has given me these first five minutes of the show. So the rest
of it can be his little soapbox. That's really, you know, that's really what the show should
be called is Ben's soapbox. Ben's soapbox. Ben's soapbox. Just Ben's soapbox. With intro.
Fun intro by Karrion. Is really what it is. Anyhow, the point is that there's this very
serious blog, not serious series, but it's a legit blog called Open NASA. It's www.opennasa.com.
It says your NASA, my NASA, our NASA. And it's run by people who are involved with NASA
in many different levels, many different ways, et cetera, et cetera. I see a drinking game.
Every time she says NASA, boom, take a shot. Anyhow, thank you, GUI. One of the particular,
excuse me, more recent posts in the blog is called We Value Your Feedback. And they're
very serious about this. So if you have some sort of idea of what you want to do to go
to Mars, what you want to do with, I'm trying to avoid saying it, too, what you think that
that particular industry should do in their 2.0 phase, and what Obama's transition team
should be looking for, looking at, keeping their nose out of, et cetera, et cetera. Anything
that you want to say. According to Mike Griffin, keep your nose out of everything. Everything,
exactly. But they really are sincerely looking for your feedback, which is kind of the screenshot
that you had there. But theopennasa.com. No, no, let me put that back up for you. Thank
you. I appreciate that. That's why I'm here. Theopennasa.com blog in general, though, has
a lot of really great information. There's, right now, the latest one is there's a report
on cross-generational discussions and activities within NASA. And so I think it's one of the
best places to get some of the best insider information without it being like top secret
information. What? I would disagree. I think it's very interesting, but you're not going
to see this on, like, NS, uh, NASA spaceflight. L2 section? You're not going to get the cross-generational
no. You're not going to, no. I think if you want inside NASA information, L2 is going
to be your first stop to get all that stuff, and then maybe open NASA. But, yeah, if you
want, like, the hardcore inside NASA, the guys who are running the space shuttle. But, but,
I mean, they have astronauts on that board. But with open NASA, you can have your voice
heard. Okay. How is that any different than the forum in? Because really, who cares? All
right. I will agree to disagree. I think NASA spaceflight L2 is going to use going to have
just ton more information. The difference is open NASA is free. L2 is not L2 is worth
every penny. You should certainly buy it, especially if you're a space geek or a NASA
geek. NASA spaceflight L2's section. No, I don't get paid by them. We don't get anything.
I just think it's, in my humble opinion, the best NASA resource on the face of the planet.
And I prefer open NASA because it's prettier, quite frankly. So, yeah, that's true. Although
have you seen the, they do have an updated website design. Anyhow. So there you go.
I suggest going on there, hopping on there and, uh, and giving them your feedback, your
honest feedback, no matter what it is. Again, excuse me, about anything related to NASA,
the transition team, NASA 2.0, anything and everything. There are people who read it every
single day, people who comment all the time. It's a really kind of an interesting, a younger
community, which I think is also nice. And, uh, and, and they're willing to listen. They,
they really do want your feedback. All right. When we come back, our prediction is for space
travel. I need an echo. Do we have an echo on there? I'm sure we do somewhere. Space travel. In 2009. Stay with us.
We are the only family friends here in the world.
A good world of kids that I do.
Oh, oh, oh.
Oh, oh.
Oh, oh.
Oh, oh.
Oh, oh.
And this week's TLA for all those wondering is ZGT. That is really hard to say. Zikit. Zikit. ZGT.
Those in the room, give me, give me heads up. What do you guys think ZGT stands for? And that actually, that picture is related. Zero.
You guys suck. You know, take all my fun away. He was like, okay, give me a TLA with like a Z or Q in it. And I was like, okay, this will be easy.
There you go. I even chose a really obscure picture too. And nope, just like that.
All my fun taken away. You know what? You're right. Let's just stop the show now. Thanks for watching. You guys have a great.
This, you know, this actually has been an interesting and fun show from a behind the scenes standpoint. You guys, if you guys aren't watching live, you're missing like half the show.
We went to break and we've been in break for, you know, I realize on demand, it's only about about two minutes, but we've been in break for about five, 10 minutes now.
Yeah. See, that's what happens when you run beta software for your entire show. I openly want these things to happen, just not during a live show.
All right. So today's main topic is 2009, essentially. And the predictions for 2009 and you wanted me to go first and you were going to play off of my predictions, which is why you're going first.
What are your predictions for 2009? Nothing's going to happen till 2010.
Really? That was your prediction? I don't know. I didn't really think about it. Okay. So all right. All right. So we're going to get we're going to get discovering the air.
We're going to get a shuttle for SDS 119. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That's like early 2009. Right. 1919 is going in the air. Yeah. Yeah. 125 is going in the air.
Maybe it's going in the air. Okay. Her prediction is 119 125. And then all hell is going to break loose. Why? I don't know.
Because I can't think of anything else. No, honestly, I don't, I don't, I didn't find a pilot says it in 2011 Apple buys the space shuttles and creates eye shuttle service, which in my mind would be spot on perfect as far as I'm concerned,
because Lord knows they can do it faster, quicker and more expensive than anyone else out there. Yes.
Then we'll jump to mind. I think 2009, like you said, actually is the year before the tipping point. So 2010 is the is the year everything changes in space travel.
It's not going to be like one moment in time in 2010. But I think, you know, come 2020, 20, 30, 20, 40, and we look back in time, we're going to look at 2010 as being the moment in time that space travel forever changed.
2009 is kind of that year that gears up towards that. So in the beginning part of 2009, NASA is going to do their things, right? STS 119, possibly STS 125, with the luck they've been having with STS 125 and the fact that it's space shuttle Atlantis that may not launch until the year 2042.
But you know, whatever. But more importantly, in the private sector, Falcon nine is going to do test launches in early 2009. They're going to kick everyone's arse.
Maybe. I think what's going to happen is I really do think this is their year. It might be. That's just it. 2009 might be SpaceX's big year to shine because Falcon nine kind of is a big deal.
Falcon nine is their new nine engine rocket that allows you to stick the dragon capsule on top. And they're going to be able to do have pretty heavy loads into space.
So their first test is going to be from the Cape. Actually, they're going to be launching early 2009. I think that will actually be delayed. I think they're going to get it on the pad.
I think they're going to get ready to launch. They're going to get right. My prediction is my I'm going to be scary. Go down to the second on this prediction.
I think they're going to scrub the launch at like zero seconds. Okay. That's just my prediction. We can all come back to this day. I think they're going to scrub at zero seconds.
And they're going to stall. I think they're going to find some sort of problem in the engine and they're going to stall. And that's based on historic data from SpaceX.
But that's that's okay. I think they will eventually launch and I have a feeling they're going to lose their first vehicle. It's just going to launch and then explode.
But their second vehicle, I think, unlike the first one where it took them four rockets to get it up, I think it's going to take two.
And I think they're going to get that second rocket up in 2009. And I think it's going to reach orbit.
I also think that in late 2009, maybe 2010, early 2010, they're going to have their Dragon module ready. And it won't be ready to bring humans yet.
But it will be ready to bring cargo to the International Space Station. And notice the timing there. 2010 is when we shut down the Space Shuttle program.
So if they really deploy that Dragon module and really get it working, we don't have to rely on Russia for crew for man crews to get to the International Space Station.
That's another point. That's an insane crazy timeline. Let me throw it out there right now. I'm not sure they can accomplish that.
Right. No, no, no. That's a good point, though, because switching gears ever so slightly going back to New Mexico, Spaceport is one step closer.
They have got their they've applied for their licenses from the FAA. And they all that stuff is going into works for the Space Port America in New Mexico, which is it's kind of nice.
I'm surprised that it's moving this quickly along, which was actually my second point in 2009. We're going to see Spaceport America.
I think they're going to break ground. I think they're actually going to get everything they need. I don't think it's actually going to be ready to do anything until 2010.
Again, 2010 is really the tipping point here. So 2009 is that year that everything builds up and the infrastructure is put in place.
But it's kind of that boring year where you don't get to see a lot of things actually happening.
But it's really important. It's building that foundation for everything else.
Yeah. But just like when you're building a new house, you know, it takes them forever to build that foundation.
You're like, I just want to just put the walls up. And then the moment that foundation is in place, the walls just go boom, and you're and you're done with the house.
Right. But you have to get that foundation correctly. Otherwise, the whole house will tip over.
Weird. It just goes like that magically. The foundation's wrong. The whole house just tips on its side. I don't know why that happens.
That just happens. But stays intact magically.
So that's also going to happen. And then at the end of 2009, I think Virgin Galactic actually will be ahead of schedule.
I don't know why I think this. I don't really have any good data to base this off of.
Apparently it came to him in a dream.
It came to me in a dream. No. Just based on the data that they've already got with White Night One, Spaceship One, and the fact that they've already got White Night Two built,
I think they're going to begin testing mid to late 2009, and they're going to be ahead of schedule.
And I think, and as Kat says, because Richard Branson's a freak.
He's not a freak. You know what? He's just rich, and he has a passion and a dream, and he can make a difference.
And that's exactly what he's doing. And a dollar.
Yeah. Well, and there's nothing wrong with that.
No, no, no, no. Not at all. And he's fascinating. He's fascinating. I follow him on Twitter, which you can do.
I'll put that in the show notes. Obviously, it's just Richard Branson.
Anyhow, point is, though, that he constantly is blogging about different things.
But he's always thinking, always, always thinking about making things greener and the politics and just how it's necessary to do it this way or that way,
as well as, and we have to get to space tomorrow.
And we do. And that's going to be that. So I did Spaceport America. I did.
I feel about like JAXA and all the other space agencies in the world.
That's just it. In 2009, it's going to be business as usual for all those guys.
I don't think there's going to be anything huge from a lot of them, at least not yet.
Eventually, I believe, I think NASA is going to be overtaken by the likes of JAXA and the space program in Russia.
But that's not going to happen for quite a while because, quite frankly, NASA has the brain trust.
They have the money. They have the resources.
They do right now.
Well, that's exactly it. They do right now. And I can't really predict what's going to happen to NASA.
I need to see what the Obama administration is really going to do.
Right.
Obama promised $2 billion more to NASA to help Constellation along.
But was that an empty promise? I don't know.
I mean, what's really going to happen there? We are in a global economic crisis right now.
Do we really have the $2 billion to give NASA? I'm not sure I could even fault him if he didn't.
It's a really hard time we're in right now. And I just don't know what's going to happen.
So, yeah, there's that. And then, I'm missing one major event that I wanted to talk about.
Next, Northrop Grumman?
Oh, that was it. That's not it. But the X-Prize Foundation.
Okay.
Bing, bing. Connecting the dots. The X-Prize Foundation, the Google Lunar X-Prize,
which is the one I'm really excited about. I don't think it's going to do anything.
Well, I mean, let me try that again. I don't think they're going to launch in 2009.
I think they're going to have a lot of vehicles and we're going to have a lot of play there.
We're going to get to see a lot of really cool things. But I don't think we're actually going to...
For those of you who aren't familiar with the Google Lunar X-Prize and how it is different from the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lanter Challenge,
it's kind of an open-ended thing. It's whoever does it first. Currently, there are 16 teams.
But even Will Palmerans thinks that towards the end of the timeline,
that we could get up anywhere between 20 to 26 teams total.
So, that's kind of what we're talking about. As opposed to Northrop Grumman Lunar Lanter Challenge,
where everyone comes together at one certain time, although that might be changing,
to do the little thing and blah, blah, blah.
So, I don't think we're going to see a launch in 2009.
Now, I could be mistaken. I don't have any information. I'm just kind of basing this on,
okay, where are we at now? Where is SpaceX at?
SpaceX at because they need to keep their launch costs down.
The teams do. And SpaceX is going to be one of the less expensive launching options.
There's a lot that needs to go into getting a vehicle onto the moon.
And as such, I just think they need another year to prep this stuff out.
And I think we're going to start to see some launches there in 2010, not 2009.
But we're going to see a lot of really big announcements come out of the Google Lunar XPRIZE in 2009.
And we're going to see some pretty cool vehicles getting developed,
and some really new and neat innovative ideas that no one had maybe even really thought of before.
And some ideas that will possibly work that traditional scientists will be like,
no, that can never work. There's no way that will work. It's just not going to work.
Really? Is that how that's going to go?
Okie dokie then.
And tomorrow's Mars will become today's Mars.
Today's Mars, yeah. We're not going to reach Mars. We're not going to have humans on Mars in 2009.
An interesting little side note. Once we get humans on the moon and we learn how to live on the moon,
it's not that much different moving to Mars. It's not that much harder.
It's just one step harder because of the distance.
So we have to learn how to do this on the moon, and we'll take another step closer to that in 2009.
Unfortunately, 2009 is going to be one of those years where we try to figure out,
is NASA going to the moon? Are they going back? Will the Obama administration continue down the path
that the Bush administration set forth, which is we're going to the moon?
And if they do, are they going to continue down the path that you're going to the moon
but you can't have any extra money?
Right. You can go to the moon when you get there.
So it'll be an interesting year. It's going to be a foundation year.
We're going to see some kind of neat things, but there's not going to be a whole lot new going on
other than SpaceX and Virgin, SpaceX in the beginning part of the year, Virgin Galactic in the ending part of the year,
and kind of this big middle part of the year that isn't going to do a whole lot.
If SkyEye says 2009 sounds like a pivotal year, it will be the year prior to the pivotal year, in my opinion.
Again, 2010 is the pivotal year. 2010 is when it all changes, because all the stuff that's building up in 2009
will actually be let loose in 2010. In 2010, the world as we know it will change,
and it's going to be because of companies like SpaceX, the X-Prize Foundation, Virgin Galactic, Armadillo Aerospace,
all these companies like this that are sitting there going, you know what? This isn't good enough.
We can do this. 500 people in space is not good enough. We can do more. We can do better.
And they can. They will. And 2010 is the year it all happens. So yeah, that's my soapbox.
So in other words, you totally agree with me in every way, shape, and form.
Yes, but I did a much better way of stretching that out over about 10 minutes.
I'm just saying.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
All right. Thank you guys for watching. Just a reminder, this is our last show for 2008,
which means we will not be broadcasting on 25th. We will not be broadcasting on the first,
despite what she says. We're not broadcasting on the first.
So the first show back is what? What is that? The 7th of January? Something like that?
8th? Something like that.
No, I think it's the 7th of January. So the first show back will be the second Friday in January.
Actually, you're right. It would be the 8th.
Uh-huh. I can do math. I do the numbers.
You do the numbers. So actually, technically, it's not the second. It's the, you know,
I got screwed up by UTC myself. That is correct.
The first isn't in 2008. Technically, our show would be on the second, but we're not doing that.
And we have some interesting surprises in store for you.
We're going to hopefully be giving Spacevidcast a little bit of a makeover,
and we're going to make this show a little bit more fun, a little bit more...
I'm getting a facelift.
She's getting a facelift. I'm getting a tummy tuck. It's going to be great.
And a boob job.
And I'm getting a boob job. And we're making the walls pink.
Of course we are.
What else are we doing?
Oh, you kids.
So a lot of really cool new things happening in 2009.
So definitely check us out. That'll be the 8th, January 8th at 2 o'clock a.m.
Coordinated Universal Time. If you follow to our Twitter, we will of course be tweeting that kind of stuff out.
Absolutely. Twitter.com slash Spacevidcast.
You guys have a great 2008 and all the best for 2009. See ya.
Thanks for watching.
