“I did not come to NASA to make history.”–Sally Ride
“Going to Mars would make NASA great again.”–John Grunsfeld
This episode was originally aired in October of 2019. The inaugural ASCEND conference was cancelled due to Covid-19. It was held virtually in 2021 and live in 2022. The 2023 event will be held in October. Significant NASA accomplishments in the three plus years since this recording was made include the deflection of an asteroid, the first Artemis moon rocket launch, and the stunning success of the James Webb Space Telescope.
A new space race is upon us. But unlike the two-way competition days of the 1960’s and early 1970’s, it is now a multi-player race to dominate and exploit the final frontier.
Where does NASA sit in all of this, in the rapidly changing world of the second space race? In Seeking Delphi episode #35, host Mark Sackler gets an overview of where the agency is headed, from former NASA program director for launch systems, Dan Dumbacher. There’s also a very special announcement of the upcoming ASCEND** space conference, slated for Las Vegas in November of 2020.
**Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery
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Orion Capsule. NASA
Episode #35 (redux) NASA, the Next Ten Years, with Dan Dumbacher
YouTube slideshow for episode #35
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