Episode 9: Rusty Schweickart discusses asteroids and planetary defense

STEM-Talk

Dawn Kernagis and Ken Ford

Natural Sciences, Alternative Health, Science, Health & Fitness, Nutrition

4.7 • 706 Ratings

🗓️ 26 April 2016

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Rusty Schweickart remembers when getting a man on the moon was at the top of the national agenda. JFK’s single minded decision to do that, according to Schweickart, “was perhaps the gutsiest, goal-setting episode in human history.” And Schweickart was part of that—as the pilot of the first manned test of the lunar module, the lander portion of the spacecraft-- during the Apollo 9 Mission in 1969. Schweickart also performed the first space-based test of the portable life support system and spacesuit that was used by the Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon. He was later the backup commander of the first Skylab mission in 1973, the first U.S. orbital space station. He served as Director of User Affairs at NASA’s Office of Applications, transferring NASA technology to the private sector. Most recently, he co-founded the B612 Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to defending the earth from an asteroid impact. In this episode, Schweickart talks with veteran astronaut Tom Jones, also an IHMC senior scientist, about the potential threat of asteroids, the value of space-based asteroid-finding telescopes; and his contributions to getting the U.S. to the Moon in 1969.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I don't always listen to podcasts, but when I do, I listen to STEM talk, interviewing the most interesting people in the world of science and technology.
0:14.5	Stay curious, my friends.
0:19.8	Welcome to STEM Talk. Stem Talk, STEM Talk, STEM Talk, STEM Talk.
0:21.1	Stem Talk.
0:21.6	Stem Talk.
0:22.6	Stem Talk.
0:23.6	Stem Talk.
0:24.6	Welcome to STEM Talk, where we introduce you to fascinating people who passionately inhabit
0:30.6	the scientific and technical frontiers of our society.
0:33.6	Hi, I'm your host, Don Cornegis, and I am here today with IHMC's director, Dr. Ken Ford.
0:39.2	Hi, Don.
0:39.8	Great to be here with you today for what promises to be a really terrific interview on a topic of great importance to everyone.
0:46.9	Today we are joined by two veteran astronauts, Rusty Schweikert of Apollo 9, fame, the first person to pilot the lunar module in preparation
0:55.0	for the moon landings, and by IHMC senior scientist Dr. Tom Jones, who flew on four
1:01.7	space shuttle missions and helped build the current international space station.
1:06.7	Although they no longer fly spacecraft, both of them are now involved in another space mission,
1:10.9	arguably the most important space mission of all time, one that could save the Earth
1:15.0	or a very large part of it from destruction from an asteroid.
1:18.8	Rusty and Tom are both experts in planetary defense and have given talks about this issue
1:23.0	all around the globe, including at IHMC.
1:26.0	I understand that during the time that you chaired the NASA Advisory Council, Rusty and Tom served as co-chairs of the Council's Task Force on Planetary Defense. Is that right?
1:34.3	Yes, under their leadership, the task force produced a very solid report, which has proven influential in bringing increased focus and funding to an underappreciated threat.
	...

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