Guest:  Dr. Paddy Neumann:  Topics:  IAC and Elon Musk presentation, Neumann Drive details, solid rocket metal allow fuel, advanced propulsion and much more.  Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com.  Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.

We welcomed Dr. Paddy Neumann back to the show for updates and new developments with Neumann Space in Adelaide, Australia in our 89 minute two segment discussion.  As Paddy attended the IAC, I asked him to start off with his perspective on the talk given by Mr. Musk regarding the SpaceX Mars plans, the BFR and as we found out at the end of his talk, his point to point transportation plan.  Paddy provided us with some interesting insights to the talk and the plan so don't miss this part of the show.  Before ending the IAC and Musk discussion, I asked Paddy about issues relating to the very large acoustic signature that will be produced by the BFR.   Our guest had much to say on this subject so be sure to listen to his analysis of the acoustic problem. 

We started the Neumann Space update portion of the program by reading the questions sent us via the blog by Kim.  You can read her questions there but her first one, asking about testing Nickel/Iron alloy as a fuel, kicked off the update portion of our program.  Paddy not only talked in detail about nickel and iron as an alloy fuel, but he went through a large list of possible fuels, some of which have been tested and others with tests pending.  You can follow along with this allow fuel discussion by visiting http://neumannspace.com/science.  Scroll down on this page for the tested fuels.  Later in the show when we started talking about ISP, he mentioned the ISP of the fuels along with their temperatures and energy properties.  This was important information for understanding the Neumann Drive science so do pay attention to this part of our discussion.  As part of this discussion, I commented that he was talking higher ISPs than what might be available with nuclear propulsion.  Paddy then briefly talked about nuclear electric propulsion and nuclear thermal propulsion. 

Adrian sent in a series of emails from a skeptical perspective.  His first email suggested that Paddy's system was an "inefficient and wasteful use for an on-board electric power source than to use a direct arc short circuit to get such a measly thrust."  Paddy responded in detail to this question, in fact to each of Adrian's three questions and comments.  Adrian was asking challenging questions do don't miss what our guest had to say about the challenges raised by Adrian. 

Before the break, we started talking about Neumann Space and the new Airbus relationship re the ISS and the project known asFAST: Bartolomeo.  We continued the discussion in the next segment but you can also read about it on their website at  http://neumannspace.com/fast. 

We started the second segment with listener questions.  The first was the second email by Adrian asking if Paddy had tested Platinum and Rhodium.  Adrian provided temperature and other performance detail on both but Paddy said they had not tested them due to the high costs of getting the materials.  Don't miss this discussion about Platinum and Rhodium plus the response and additional information provided by Paddy.

The next question came from Eric wanting to know about the JP Aerospace concept of Airship To Orbit (ATO) and possibly benefiting from the Neumann Drive.  Don't miss this discussion because Paddy, like so many others, pointed to the very serious challenges for an ATO project, plus he zoomed in on the drag problem which is a show stopper, among many such show stoppers.

Paddy followed these two questions with more discussion on the FAST: Bartolomeo project.  Here, we talked timelines, TRL levels for his technology, and more.  I then asked Paddy if Australia had their own version of our ITAR legislation. Paddy spent a few minutes explaining the Australian ITAR law and how it will play out with his company development. 

Adrian sent in his third and final question, this one dealing with a jerky ride given pulse thrusts.  Paddy confirmed the pulse thrust but explained how they planned to smooth it out to avoid a jerky ride.  This prompted Peggy in Atlanta to ask him if he was focusing only on cargo or also human spaceflight.  As you will hear, the focus has been on cargo for now but listen to what he had to say about this. 

Our final question came from Dr. Doug who wanted to know about Australians possibly being interested in paying a modest amount to have Australian astronauts travel to the Moon using this transportation system and explore places on the Moon for about a week before returning to Earth.  Paddy talked about Australian astronauts, thought there was Australian interest in going to the Moon and then I asked him about the idea of space tourism in Australia.   Don't miss all of what he said in reply to Doug and our Australian space interest and space tourism questions.

Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog for this show.  You can reach Dr. Paddy Neumann through me or his website, www.neumannspace.com.