Dr. Philip Chapman

Phil Chapman was born in Melbourne, Australia and grew up in Sydney. He learned to fly during National Service with the RAAF, while he was an undergraduate in physics at Sydney University. After graduating, he spent 15 months during the International Geophysical Year studying the aurora australis in Antarctica, including wintering at a remote two-man camp. He then moved to Boston, MA, where he earned a master’s degree in aeronautics & astronautics at MIT and a doctorate in physics before being selected by NASA as one of the second intake of scientist astronauts (and the first foreign-born astronaut). After astronaut training, including jet pilot training with the USAF, he served as Mission Scientist for Apollo 14 and as a member of the Space Station Study Group, working on modifications to the second Skylab workshop so that it could become a permanent space station. He left the program to work in the space industry when Skylab was canceled, because he thought the decision to build the shuttle was a major mistake. Since then, his principal research interests have included the Solar Power Satellite (SPS) (with Peter Glaser at Arthur D. Little), geophysical aspects of climate change, laser propulsion, lunar transportation systems and economical launch vehicles. In the early ‘Eighties, Dr Chapman was President of the L5 Society (now the National Space Society); the most notable achievement on his watch was the successful campaign to prevent US ratification of the Moon Treaty. He is also a founding member of the Citizens’ Advisory Council on National Space Policy, which has prepared position papers for several US Presidents and was partly responsible for President Reagan’s decision to develop ballistic missile defenses (which led to the collapse of the USSR).In 1989, Dr Chapman organized and led a private expedition by sea from Cape Town to Enderby Land, Antarctica, investigating mineral resources before the moratorium on prospecting took effect. Email: philchapman@sbcglobal.net See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Chapman for more detail

Broadcast 1741 (Special Edition)

Guest: Dr. Phil Chapman. Topics: The status of our human spaceflight program, NASA, commercial space. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed back Dr.

Broadcast 1287 (Special Edition)

Guest: Dr. Phil Chapman. Topics: SSP, Climate issues, RLVs. Dr. Phil Chapman returned to The Space Show with this program to discuss space solar power satellites, climate issues, and commercial space launchers in comparison to traditional government launchers. You can learn more by visiting Dr. Chapman's blog which will be operational in a few days, www.pkchapman.com. In our first segment, Phil talked about solar powered satellites and climate issues.

Broadcast 911 (Special Edition)

Guest: Dr. Phil Chapman. Dr. Phil Chapman returned for this special Space Show program dedicated to the memory of Sir Arthur C. Clarke who passed away today. As it turned out, Dr. Chapman knew Sir Arthur, so for the first part of the program, we talked about Arthur Clarke and Phil shared his experiences with him with us. If you have not yet seen it, Arthur Clarke recorded a video for his "Last Message To Earth" recorded on his 90th birthday this past December.

Broadcast 420 (Special Edition)

Dr. Phil Chapman returned to The Space Show for this program. Dr. Chapman's interview started off with some tough questions about engineering and design of the t/Space CVX vehicle and program, plus the usefulness of finishing the ISS or doing anything useful with it. Multiple technical questions were asked and Dr. Chapman handled them all in very good fashion. You will find his responses and the information provided important and I urge you to listen to what he has to say.

Broadcast 131 (Special Edition)

Former NASA Astronaut Dr. Philip K. Chapman was the guest on the July 1, 2003 Space Show. During our Space Show discussion, we talked about his recent SpaceDaily.com editorial titled, "The Failure of NASA: And A Way Out," as well as space solar powered satellites, space tourism, commerce, and much more. Dr. Chapman suggested concrete steps to enhance our space program and the private sector as the driving power behind further space development and exploration.

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