Dr. Bryan Laubscher and Eric Westling appear on the Space Show

Space Elevator afficianados will instantly know who both Dr. Laubscher and Eric Westling are.  For those of you who don’t, let me quote a (very) abbreviated bit from their resumés as posted on the Space Show website:

“Bryan E. Laubscher received his Ph.D. in physics in 1994 from the University of New Mexico with a concentration in astrophysics. Bryan has just returned to Los Alamos National Laboratory from a year-long Entrepreneurial Leave to Seattle. There he started a company to develop the strongest materials ever created. These materials are based upon carbon nanotubes…”.  Bryan is also heavily involved in the Space Elevator Games, taking the role of Safety officer for this year’s games.

“Eric Westling is a science writer, pundit on science, technology, and economics. He is the co-author of “The Space Elevator” with Dr. Brad Edwards . In addition, Mr. Westling is retired and is a former Army officer and helicopter pilot, civilian Airline Transport Pilot (ATP), former consultant to many small companies regarding engineering, computer, and business troubleshooting.”

To be able to listen to one or the other expound on the Space Elevator and the reasons we should build one is a treat.  To be able to listen to both of them on the same show is something special.  Both of these gentlemen appeared on Tuesday’s edition of The Space Show.  From the show summary:

“Dr. Bryan Laubscher and Eric Westling were the guests for this Space Show program. We began our discussion with a review of the rocket equation and both Eric and Bryan took us through the chemistry and physics of rockets, mass ratios, etc. With extensive questioning by listeners as well as myself, both guests explained why chemical rocket propulsion breakthroughs were unlikely. I urge listeners to pay attention to this discussion. If you disagree, send our guests a note and explain why they are not correct. We next turned out attention to the science, engineering, financing, and politics behind developing the space elevator. We went through ribbon development, propulsion development, political decision making for basic R&D funding, what’s in it for a private sector profit motivated company and much more. This program is a comprehensive discussion of all aspects of the space elevator. Toward the end of the program, listeners asked about other nations being able to develop the space elevator, primarily India and China. You will want to hear what both Bryan and Eric have to say about this and about our technology and science compared to the same in other countries. They also explained what it means politically and economically for another nation to control the space elevator technology. As a result of another listener question, we discussed black budget financing and R&D as a possibility for the space elevator – right now. Bryan answered the question from his perspective as a Los Alamos scientist.”

You can listen to the interview by visiting The Space Show website or else clicking here.

Highly, highly recommended…

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