Dr. Michael Duke, Director of the Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space at the Colorado School of Mines which is a NASA Space Commercialization Center, was the guest for this Space Show program. Dr. Duke explained what a NASA Space Commercialization Center is and talked about the variety of space programs in his department and at the school. He also talked about the need to go back to the Moon and what the plausible commercial possibilities are for the Moon. We also talked about commercial opportunities on nearby asteroids, nearby space in general and on Mars.

Ed Wright returned to The Space Show for this program to discuss the state of the suborbital industry and much more. We had an extensive discussion of the private-sector and space access, focusing on Space Ship One, the X-Prize, and other possible X-Prize winners such as the Canadian teams. Mr. Wright explained his program, the details of which will soon be announced, regarding his space tourism suborbital vehicle, the Archangel. Ed discussed his proposed program which will involve space training and much more.

Dr. Roger Launius, Space Historian for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, was the guest for this edition of The Space Show. Dr. Launius brought an historical perspective The Space Show regarding our space program, especially concerning the manned spaceflight program, launch vehicles, and space access. Building upon this historical perspective, we talked about our present program and needs and what may be ahead for us with our future space program, both public and private. Dr.

Pat Kelley is the President of Vela Technology Development, a company focused on developing space transportation systems for space tourism. During this program, we discuss not only the Vela space transportation action plan, but the potential space tourism economic market, space access, the use of surplus U.S. military aircraft by the private sector for space access, the regulatory environment, and the differences between experimental aircraft and rockets.

Dr. Jordin Kare discusses the technology and facts pertaining to his stellar work with laser launch for space access. We discuss all aspects of the use for lasers in accessing space. We also discuss the use of lasers in other disciplines, including commercial markets, for military purposes, and more. We address the likelihood of this technology being competitive in commercial markets both with conventional rockets and other emerging technologies, as well as the various plausible commercial space ventures which seem to be developing.