John Bradford is the CTO of SpaceWorks Enterprises and Generation Orbit. He also has started the Human Torpor Fund, a non-profit designed to further the research and development of enabling cryosleep for space travel. In this episode, we drill down into the reasons why cryosleep will be a massive commercial success if it can be done at scale. We also break down exactly where the research is right now and what work we still need to do. This ranges from the exact procedures that would be done on a person entering cryosleep, what the space habitats for these people would be like and how it compares to some of the other work that John is doing at Spaceworks as the CTO there.

If you want to support the mission for enabling human torpor/cryosleep. Donate to the human torpor fund here: www.humantorporfund.org/donate

www.SciFitoReality.com

00:00 - Intro
1:40 - How John started working in the aerospace industry

3:51 - John’s transition from university research to Spaceworks

7:25 - Quick discussion about reusable rockets

10:07 - Spaceworks looks at a lot of technologies that are decades from practicality, and human stasis could have a larger impact than many of the others

14:38 - Explanation of human torpor for space flight

16:48 - Current state of human torpor research from the medical field

17:50 - John explains how to torpor is induced in humans

22:00 - How do we feed someone in hibernation?

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/total-parenteral-nutrition/about/pac-20385081

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percutaneous_endoscopic_gastrostomy

26:58 - Muscle stimulation to prevent muscle atrophy

30:04 - Duration limits for human torpor

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.013486

32:49 - The benefits of putting people into cryosleep for space travel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsiolkovsky_rocket_equation

35:00 - Clarifications on the space habitat that is being shrunk

37:00 - What does NASA think about human hibernation?

41:45 - College competition on space exploration break down and how human torpor is becoming viable.

42:30 - What would the benefits be for using human hibernation for moon missions

45:45 - How could someone break into studying human torpor or space exploration in general?

48:15 - What would John like to learn more about in space travel

Quantum computing

AI

Metastable metallic hydrogen as a propellant option for space flight

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallic_hydrogen

52:30 - Go donate to the human torpor fund! www.humantorpor.org/donate

It’s tax deductible as a 5013c charity ;)

53:50 - Outro