Talk-Polywell.org

http://www.thespaceshow.com/newsletterfinal.htm

Monday, April 5: Eric Lerner of Focus Fusion returns.
Monday, April 19: Marc Millis, advanced propulsion concepts. (This is the guy who headed NASA's Breakthrough Propulsion Physics program, IIRC)

I didn't get a chance to listen last night. Did my question to Steve Landeene make it in? Every time I see him he wants to know when he can expect delivery of Polywell powerplant number 1 for his NM spaceport. He's a fan, plus he has a mandate to design it to use green energy sources.

Didn't hear the show either. A ground-power installation of Polywell could help bring a flying version closer to reality. Installing a Polywell at a facility that depends on space access for its business model wouldn't hurt either. Hmmmm, not far from Santa Fe...

Exactly. A New Mexico newfangled high-tech power source powering a New Mexico Spaceport, would double the bang of a project basically designed to put New Mexico on the high-tech map.

As opposed to installing German-designed wind turbines built in China that we all know are a tempermental substitute for a good continuous power source. Plus, putting them on ridges just clutters the airspace around the runways, increasing ridge clearances by 400 ft.

I played the recorded version last night. In December I had no trouble at all listening live, but they either changed the access method or my recent change of anti-virus software thinks The Space Show is a suspicious outfit. I had to fiddle with settings to get even the recorded show to play.

My question was asked early in the show, but in slightly edited form. In the e-mail I apologized to Steve that I still could not promise delivery of Polywell power unit 1, but that there was some recent news. David did let Steve have the whole message before the show, but this was about the spaceport, not Polywell, so I understand making the question strictly about the alternative energy they will be using. David managed to sound as if he was maintaining a straight face, although he despises typical Green Initiatives.

Bottom line, they think wind is too undependable, and storage issues are, as always, a bear. They're on the grid but planning to feed as much power back to the grid as possible. They will be looking at PV, possibly with some geothermal (the area has some potential), and will apparently be recycling biomass of some sort, possible because NM has a pilot biomass fuel plant that can take the waste. They might actually produce some rocket fuel from biomass ... Virgin Galactic also has some Green goals they are supposed to meet.