Sorry things have been so quiet on my end. With how busy work has been keeping me lately, I have had very little time for blogging, but wanted to let people know that I’ll be joining Dan Adamo (former FIDO for NASA JSC) and Drs. John Jurist and Jim Logan to discuss propellant depots. The show starts at 7pm PDT, and should go for 1.5-2hrs. I’m going to be putting up either a blog post or presentation with some thoughts and notes later today, but for now here’s the link to the Space Show Classroom page for tonight, and for the Listen Live link.
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Jonathan Goff
President/CEO at Altius Space Machines
Jonathan Goff is a space technologist, inventor, and serial space entrepreneur who created the Selenian Boondocks blog. Jon was a co-founder of Masten Space Systems, and is the founder and CEO of Altius Space Machines, a space robotics startup in Broomfield, CO. His family includes his wife, Tiffany, and five boys: Jarom (deceased), Jonathan, James, Peter, and Andrew.
Jon has a BS in Manufacturing Engineering (1999) and an MS in Mechanical Engineering (2007) from Brigham Young University, and served an LDS proselytizing mission in Olongapo, Philippines from 2000-2002.
Latest posts by Jonathan Goff (see all)
- Fill ‘er Up: New AIAA Aerospace America Article on Propellant Depots - September 2, 2022
- Independent Perspectives on Cislunar Depotization - August 26, 2022
- Starbright Response to ISAM National Strategy RFC - July 2, 2022
I hope my question wasn’t too blunt.. I saw you dance around it a couple of times and thought we might as well get it out in the open.
My question was basically: should NASA be pursing propellant depots while they work on a non-depot based architecture, or should the operations people just sit on their hands until the fundamental depot R&D has been done.
Jon’s answer was diplomatic but amounted to the later, with the justification that if they try to do both they won’t even get the heavy lift vehicle on the pad before the depot test flights are done… he also suggest all that work could be better applied to making payloads. I’d add that we shouldn’t forget the ISS, it’s there and it needs to be “fully utilized”, but NASA would rather go of beyond LEO without a half-baked Apollo redux.
off*
SpaceX’s 52 metric ton payload Falcon Heavy launch vehicle will kill the SLS. Consequently there are no operations jobs on the Space Launch System. Where as a propellant depot being filled by lots of small rockets will need lots of launches. Lots of launches will require lots of manufacturing and operations workers.
A_M_Swallow, what? Do you actually live in a world where NASA doesn’t compete with commercial and the best rocket wins the contract? Can I borrow your summer house?
Good luck Jonathan with the panel discussion.
@ Trent Waddington
I did not assume that the best rocket would win just the cheaper one.
To everyone who works for NASA and its suppliers – ensure that NASA is going somewhere sensible. NASA going on a wild goose chase will simply result in you getting fired.