For any readers in the Richmond, Virginia area, I’m going to be interviewed about space policy on WRVA sometime between 4 and 4:30 EST.

[Evening update]

It might be worthwhile to mention how the interview went. Not well, in retrospect.

I think that, based on my NRO column, he was disappointed, because I believe that he expected me to agree with Gregg Easterbrook and bash Shuttle. Instead, I told him that Shuttle was the most reliable launch vehicle we have (which took him aback quite a bit). I perhaps could have softened the blow by telling him that this was damning it with faint praise.

I then confused him by telling him that Soyuz was the safest manned vehicle, which of course required explaining the difference between safety (ability to survive launch mishaps and not lose crew) and reliability (probability of having a successful flight). I could almost hear the crackling of his eyes glazing over three thousand miles away. I was cut off shortly thereafter, though to be fair, it was only supposed to be a ten-minute interview, and that’s about how long it lasted. But the ending seemed somewhat abrupt and, to me, unexpected.

Anyway, I report, you decide…