THE BUSINESS OF SPACE TOURISM

-- Why It Is so Important
-- What can be done to hasten its creation

BUT FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I AM PLEASED TO BE VISITING CANADA AGAIN.

IN THE U.S. IN THE 1950s I WORKED ON THE DESIGN OF THE "DISTANT EARLY WARNING" AND "PINETREE" AIR DEFENSE LINES.

I WAS THEN ASKED TO ASSIST IN THE DESIGN OF THE "MID-CANADA AIR DEFENSE LINE", AND I WAS LOANED TO CANADA, SPECIFICALLY TO THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE, IN OTTAWA, TO DO SO.

I MADE SEVERAL TRIPS THERE AND WORKED WITH A GREAT MANY CIVILIAN ENGINEERS AND RCAF OFFICERS. THROUGHOUT, I WAS IMPRESSED WITH THEIR DEDICATION AND COMPETENCE. AND I ENJOYED THEIR COMPANY.

IT IS NOW QUITE GENERALLY APPRECIATED THAT THE PUBLICLY FUNDED CIVIL SPACE PROGRAMS OF THE USA, CANADA AND MOST OTHER COUNTRIES ARE IN SERIOUS DIFFICULTY:

THIS IS THE INEVITABLE RESULT OF A SERIOUS AND PERSISTING LOSS OF PUBLIC CONSTITUENCY.

AND THE LOSS OF CONSTITUENCY IS THE RESULT OF THE GOVERNMENTS SIMPLY NOT DOING WHAT ENOUGH OF THEIR PEOPLE WANT TO BE DONE IN AND RE SPACE.

IN THE UNITED STATES, THE PEOPLE HAVE MADE IT CLEAR FOR MANY YEARS SINCE THE APOLLO ERA THAT WHAT THEY WANT RE SPACE IS AT LEAST:

1. TO BE DIRECTLY AND PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN SPACE ACTIVITIES AND, INDEED, TO BE ABLE TO VIST SPACE ITSELF -- BUT THEY ARE NOT, AND THEY NO LONGER EXPECT TO, AND

2. DECADES AFTER SPUTNIK AND THE EXPENDITURE OF HUNDREDS OF BILLION OF DOLLARS IN PUBLIC FUNDS, TO SEE SPACE ACTIVITIES ATTAlN AN ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE COMMENSURATE WITH THIS GREAT EXPENDITURE -- BUT THIS HAS NOT BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.

TODAY, MOST UNFORTUNATELY, JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS DOING ABOUT SPACE IN THE SHORT TERM TO, AS THEY SEE IT, PROTECT ITS AND THE SPACE INDUSTRY'S POSITIONS, PARTICULARLY THE CONCENTRATION UPON THE SPACE STATION AND CONTINUED DEPENDANCE UPON THE SHUTTLE FLEET, IS CLEARLY HAVING A DEVASTATING EFFECT UPON OUR LONGER-TERM SPACE PROSPECTS.

INDEED, THE SIMPLE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT THE FEDERAL CIVIL SPACE PROGRAM, TODAY A MISGUIDED EXERCISE IN STATE PLANNING, IS NOW SET UPON A NEW COURSE: GOING OUT OF BUSINESS. ONLY THE DECAY RATE IS BEING DEBATED.

OUR LONG-TERM CIVIL SPACE PROSPECTS DO NOT LIE WITH GREATER PUBLIC EXPENDITURES UPON FEDERAL JOBS PROGRAMS AND SPACE ACTIVITIES OF PRIMARILY A CULTURAL NATURE, BUT (AS IN SUCH SPACE INFORMATiON AREAS AS COMMUNICATIONS, NAVIGATION, POSITION-FIXING AND REMOTE SENSING) UPON THE CREATION OF WIDELY USED AND APPRECIATED SPACE-RELATED GOODS AND SERVICES IN ADDITIONAL SPACE AREAS -- ESPECIALLY AREAS INVOLVING PEOPLE.

FOR, AFTER ALL. IT IS IN THE SO-CALLED MANNED SPACEFLIGHT AREA THAT THE UNITED STATES HAS MADE, BY FAR, ITS GREATEST CIVIL SPACE EXPENDITURES.

THIS CAN ONLY COME ABOUT THROUGH A MUCH LARGER INVOLVEMENT OF OUR PRIVATE BUSINESS SECTORS: INDUSTRIAL, COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

BUT THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN UNTIL THE UNIT COST OF BASIC SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE IS SHARPLY REDUCED -- REDUCED BY TWO ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE IN LARGE-SCALE USE.

BY BASIC SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE I MEAN ESPECIALLY SURFACE- LEO PASSENGER AND CARGO TRANSPORTATION, BUT ALSO PERMANENT IN-ORBIT RESIDENTIAL AND WORK SPACE, ELECTRICAL ENERGY AND LIFE SUPPORT.

BEFORE SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY OF SPACE TOURISM, LET ME BRING TWO NUMBERS TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT I FIND GRIPPING:

IMMEDIATELY SUBSEQUENT TO 1492, WHEN CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS RETURNED TO THE CARIBBEAN FOR THE FIRST TIME, HE BROUGHT WITH HIM 1,500 PEOPLE -- 1,500 PEOPLE!

AND, IN THE QUARTER CENTURY BETWEEN 1492 AND 1518, THE YEAR WHEN CORTES FIRST LANDED ON THE SHORES OF MEXICO, 200 SHIPS LEFT SPAIN FOR THE WEST INDIES -- 200 SHIPS!

THIS RELATIVELY GREAT MAGNITUDE OF SPAIN-WEST INDIES TRAVEL CAME ABOUT PRIMARILY BECAUSE THE UNIT COST OF TRANSPORTATION WAS SMALL ENOUGH, AND ITS FAR FROM PERFECT SAFETY AND RELIABILITY GOOD ENOUGH, TO PROMPT MANY RATHER ORDINARY PEOPLE TO TAKE THE "SPACE TRIP" OF THAT DAY PRIMARILY TO SEEK THEIR PERSONAL FORTUNE -- CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH SIMPLY DO NOT EXIST TODAY, 2 1/2 DECADES AFTER OUR SETTING FOOT ON THE MOON.

CONTRAST THAT ACCOMPLISHMENT WITH OUR MUCH LESSER ANALOGOUS ACCOMPLISHMENT SINCE 1969. TODAY, AVERAGED OVER THE YEAR, WE MANAGE TO SEE ONLY ABOUT ONE PERSON CONTINUALLY INVOLVED IN ACTUAL TRAVEL TO, FROM AND IN SPACE. AND THEY ARE ALL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES OR GUESTS OF THE GOVERNMENT.

A SPACE TOURISM BUSINESS SHOULD BE CREATED BECAUSE:

1. THE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND TOURISM BUSINESS IS THE LARGEST BUSINESS IN THE WORLD: REVENUES OF TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER YEAR -- OVER 10% OF THE WORLD'S GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT.

2. IT WOULD SEE THE PUBLIC, IN INCREASINGLY LARGE NUMBERS, EXPERIENCE THE SPACE ADVENTURE PERSONALLY AND DIRECTLY -- MANY OF WHOM THEN WOULD BE INDUCED TO ENGAGE IN PRIVATE SPACE ACTIVITIES.

3. IT OFFERS THE PROSPECT OF BECOMING A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PER YEAR BUSINESS SUCCESS.

4. EMPLOYMENT WOULD BE CREATED AND OUR TAX BASE WIDENED. ON BALANCE. SPACE-RELATED MONEY WOULD FLOW INTO THE ECONOMY RATHER THAN, OUTSIDE OF THE SPACE-RELATED INFORMATION BUSINESS AREAS, BEING TAKEN OUT OF THE ECONOMY IN MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR ANNUAL AMOUNTS.

5. IT IS A SPACE MARKET POTENTIALLY NEAR ENOUGH IN TIME AND POTENTIALLY LARGE ENOUGH IN SIZE TO ALLOW AND ENCOURAGE BASIC SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS, ESPECIALLY THE COST OF SURFACE- LEO TRANSPORTATION. TO BE REDUCED, SHARPLY AND SOON, AND TO SEE ITS SAFETY, RELIABILITY AND CONVENIENCE SHARPLY INCREASED.

6. AND, THEREBY, THE CONSTITUENCY FOR LARGE AND "FAR OUT" FEDERAL SPACE ACTIVITIES WOULD BEGIN TO BE RECONSTITUTED.

7. WITHIN THE PAST HALF-YEAR SPACE TOURISM HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT POTENTIAL SPACE BUSINESS MARKET IN:

   1. A REPORT OF THE AEROSPACE R&D POLICY COMMITTEE OF THE U.S. ACTIVITIES ELEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS "WHAT THE UNITED STATES MUST DO TO REALIZE THE ECONOMIC PROMISE OF SPACE"

   2. THE HIGH FRONTIER (/SPACE TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION'S) "SPACE POLICY 2000'' REPORT

   3. THE DRAFT OF THE "COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION STUDY - CSTS" OF THE SIX U.S. AEROSPACE INDUSTRY "ALLIANCE"

8. PATRICK COLLINS, I, AND A FEW OTHERS CLOSE TO THE MATTER OF OPENING UP SPACE GENERALLY, SEEING SHARP REDUCTIONS IN THE UNIT COST OF SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE AS THE SINE QUA NON OF SO DOING, HAVE OBSERVED THAT PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL REASONS FOR PURSUING SPACE TOURISM AT THE MOMENT IS THAT (AS COLLINS HAS PUT IT) "NO OTHER USE OF SPACE (THAN SPACE TOURISM] HAS YET BEEN PROPOSED THAT OFFERS A COMPARABLY REALISTIC POSSIBILITY OF A COMMERCIAL ROUTE TO AIRLINE-TYPE ECONOMIES OF SCALE [IN SPACE TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE PRODUCTION] OPERATIONS AND COSTS."

BACK IN THE MID 1980s I WAS A MEMBER OF A GROUP THAT ORGANIZED A NOT-FOR-PROFIT COMPANY NAMED "SPACE PUBLIC".

WE DID SO IN RESPONSE (A) TO THREE NATIONAL POLLS THAT INDICATED THAT SOME 40-45% OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC THEN WAS INTERESTED IN TAKING A TRIP TO SPACE, AND (B) BECAUSE, AS CITIZENS OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST DEMOCRACY, WE BELIEVED (AND STILL BELIEVE) THAT THE UNITED STATES SHOULD SEE SPACE OPENED UP TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

THE OTHERS INVOLVED IN THE CREATION OF "SPACE PUBLIC" WERE JACK HARRINGTON, THE HEAD OF THE COMSAT CORPORATION'S LABORATORY; BUD EVANS, FORMERLY OF THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF AND NUMBER TWO IN NASA'S SPACE COMMERCIALIZATION OFFICE; CHUCK MATHEWS, WHO LED THE GEMINI PROGRAM AND WAS THE FIRST NASA ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS; AND MICHAEL COLLINS WHO, ALONG WITH NEAL ARMSTRONG AND BUZZ ALDRIN, MADE UP THE ASTRONAUT CREW OF APOLLO 11 IN JULY, 1969.

THE CORPORATION WAS CHARTERED IN VIRGINIA. IT WAS FORMED TO SEE A PRIVATE CITIZEN TAKE A TRIP TO SPACE ON THE SHUTTLE EACH YEAR. FOR SEVERAL YEARS THEY WOULD BE SELECTED IN A NATIONAL LOTTERY THAT WOULD PROVIDE THE NECESSARY FUNDS. THEY WOULD PARTICIPATE IN STUDIES RELATED TO FOOD AND DRINK, CLOTHING, MEDICAL CARE, SPACE SICKNESS, INSURANCE, EXERCISE, ETC.

THIS ACTIVITY WAS TO FORM A SOLID PROFESSIONAL BASIS FOR AN EVENTUAL FOR-PROFIT PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE TOURISM BUSINESS

WHEN FIRST APPRISED OF "SPACE PUBLIC"'s INTENTIONS, NASA's LEADERSHIP NEARLY "LEAPED OFF THE LEDGE". BUT, IN TIME, IT TURNED AROUND AND THE THEN NASA ADMINISTRATOR, JIM BEGGS, SUPPORTED IT.

INDEED, NASA ITSELF SELECTED A SCHOOL TEACHER, CHRISTA McAULIFFE, TO TAKE A SHUTTLE TRIP UNDER PUBLIC AUSPICES. TOO, SOCIETY EXPEDITIONS, AN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM COMPANY, ALSO BEGAN TO GIVE ATTENTION TO A SPACE TOURISM BUSINESS. AND THE EXTERNAL TANKS CORPORATION CONSIDERED OUTFITTING AN ET IN LEO AS A SPACE TOURISM HOTEL

UNFORTUNATELY, THE CHALLENGER DISASTER IN JANUARY, 1986, AND THE SUBSEQUENT GROUNDING OF THE SHUTTLE FLEET PUT AN END TO THESE ASPIRATIONS.

UNCHARACTERISTICALLY, THE UNITED STATES LOST ITS NERVE, AND SUCH SPACE ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN DISCOURAGED EVER SINCE

INSOFAR AS I KNOW, THERE IS ESSENTIALLY NO ACTIVE INTEREST IN SPACE TOURISM TODAY IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA OR EUROPE. WHAT ACTIVITY THERE IS CENTERS IN JAPAN:

THE JAPANESE ROCKET SOCIETY CONDUCTED A CONFERENCE CONCERNING SPACE TOURISM A YEAR AGO. IT PUBLISHED THE PROCEEDINGS OF THIS CONFERENCE, IN ENGLISH, IN ITS JOURNAL OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE. IT ESTABLISHED A CONTINUING SPACE TOURISM PROFESSIONAL RESEARCH COMMITTEE -- THE SPACE TRAVEL STUDY GROUP OF THE JRS.

THE JRS HAS CONDUCTED AN IS QUESTION SPACE TOURISM SURVEY OF OVER 3,000 JAPANESE, THE INITIAL RESULTS OF WHICH WERE PRESENTED TO A MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS IN ALBUQUERQUE IN FEBRUARY. ITS PRIMARY FINDINGS ARE THAT "...THE IDEA OF SPACE TOURISM IS A VERY POPULAR ONE AMONG JAPANESE PEOPLE. A... LARGE PROPORTION OF THE PARTICIPANTS... STATED THAT THEY WOULD PAY A PRICE WHICH IS SEVERAL TIMES HIGHER THAN (A) USUAL HOLIDAY EXPENDITURE IN ORDER TO TAKE A SHORT TRIP TO ORBIT... . IF [TRIPS] TO ORBIT [COULD] BE MADE ROUTINE AT PRICES BELOW [ABOUT $15,000] PER PASSENGER, GLOBAL TRAFFIC COULD REACH MILLIONS OF PASSENGERS PER YEAR."

AN INITIAL SPACE TOURISM BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE iS OUTLINED BY THE JRS AS FOLLOWS:

NUMBER OF PASSENGER VEHICLES	100
PASSENGERS PER VEHICLE	50
TRIPS PER VEHICLE	1 PER DAY
TOTAL NUMBER OF PASSENGERS	2,000,000 PER YEAR
PRICE	$ 10,000 PER PASSENGER
REVENUES	$ 20 BILLION PER YEAR

I KNOW OF NO COMPARABLE UNITED STATES SPACE TOURISVL PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY. CERTAINLY THE U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EXHIBITS ESSENTIALLY NO INTEREST TODAY IN FURTHERING THE PROSPECTS OF A SPACE TOURISM BUSINESS

ONE FINAL OBSERVATION THAT ILLUSTRATES THE PRESENT MIND SET RE SPACE TOURISM OF THOSE LONG INVOLVED IN CIVIL SPACE ACTIVITIES:

WHILE I AM SELDOM LAUGHED AT ANY LONGER WHEN I SPEAK OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SO-CALLED ORDINARY PEOPLE, IN CONTRAST TO TECHNICIANS, BEING ABLE TO TAKE A TRIP TO SPACE, I AM OFTENTIMES ASKED, ESPECIALLY BY THOSE IN THE SPACE-RELATED MEDIA: WHATEVER WOULD PROMPT A PERSON, OTHER THAN AN ASTRONAUT/COSMONAUT, TO TAKE A TRIP TO SPACE ?

MY RESPONSE IS: "IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS".

THAT IS, HOW OFTEN DO WE ASK FELLOW TRAVELLERS ON THE UNDERGROUND, A BUS OR AN AIRCRAFT: "WHY ARE YOU MAKING THIS TRIP ?" THERE ARE, AFTER ALL, SUCH THINGS AS INDIVIDUAL MOTIVATiON AND PRIVACY -- AT LEAST OUTSIDE OF THE GOVERNMENT SPACE AREA. IF WE WISH TO GO TO SPACE FOR ANY LEGITIMATE REASON WHATSOEVER, AND WE ARE WILLING TO PAY TO DO SO AND TAKE THE ASSOCIATED RISKS, WHY SHOULDN'T WE ?

FOR INSTANCE, LAST YEAR THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION EXPECTED 8,600 PEOPLE TO MAKE A VERY LONG, OFTENTIMES SOMEWHAT UNCOMFORTABLE AND, AT TIMES, SOMEWHAT HAZARDOUS, TRIP BY SHIP OR AIR TO/FROM A REMOTE AND HARSH LOCATION -- ANTARCTICA -- FOR REASONS THAT THEY FOUND PERSONALLY PERSUASIVE.

AND THEY EACH SPENT BETWEEN $10,000 AND $30,000 DOLLARS TO DO SO.

IF THIS MANY PEOPLE WERE TO TAKE A TRIP TO/FROM LEO FOR SUCH A PRICE, WE WOULD HAVE AN ANNUAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION PAYLOAD OF SOME 3 MILLION POUNDS -- 5X THE TOTAL MILITARY, CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL PAYLOAD LAUNCED BY THE UNITED STATES EACH YEAR ! -- AND A SPACE TOURISM MARKET OF 100-200 MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR.

I CONSIDER THE FACT THAT UPWARDS OF 10,000 PEOPLE PAY TO VISIT ANTARCTICA AS TOURISTS EACH YEAR TO BE AN OBJECTIVE QUASI-DATA POINT FOR THE PROSPECTS OF SPACE TOURISM

WHAT COULD WE, AND ESPECIALLY THE U.S. NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY, DO TO ENHANCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF A WIDE-SCALE SPACE TOURISM BUSiNESS COMING INTO BEING ?

1. A. FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, NEVER EVER AGAIN USE THE EXPRESSION "THE SPACE PROGRAM" IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE ARE THREE, FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT, AREAS OF SPACE ACTIVITY:

   PUBLICLY SUPPORTED GOVERNMENT MILITARY

   PUBLICLY SUPPORTED CIVIL, AND

   PRIVATELY FINANCED COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL

   ALWAYS DISTINGUISH CAREFULLY IN YOUR SPEAKING AND WRITING WHICH AREA IT IS TO WHICH YOU REFER.

   FOR IT IS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR THAT GROWTH IS NOW TO BE SOUGHT, AND IN WHICH MORE INTERESTING AND, OFTENTIMES, MORE IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES ARE TO BE CONDUCTED, NOT THE DECAYING PUBLIC CIVIL SECTOR. MIXING UP THE TAXPAYER-SUPPORTED FEDERAL PROGRAM WITH PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE ACTIVITIES CAN BE QUITE HARMFUL TO THE PROSPECTS OF THE LATTER.

2. ADOPT AS THE OVERARCHING NATIONAL SPACE GOAL FOR THE NEXT DECADE OR TWO: OPENING UP LOW-EARTH-ORBIT TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND FREE ENTERPRISE.

   SET ASIDE PUBLICLY COSTLY CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE MOON, THE PLANETS AND THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE FOR THE NEXT DECADE OR TWO UNTIL WE GET OUR HOUSE BACK IN ORDER AS IT WAS IN THE 1960s.

   RATHER, CONCENTRATE UPON LOW EARTH ORBIT.

   THINK ABOUT LEO AS THE EVENTUAL GATEWAY TO THE MOON AND THE REST OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, JUST AS THE AZORE ISLANDS AND THE CANARY ISLANDS WERE TO THE VOYAGERS TO/FROM THE NEW WORLD 500 YEARS AGO. CONCENTRATE UPON LEARNING HOW TO RESIDE AND WORK THERE, AND CONDUCT BUSINESSES THERE, AT AN ACCEPTABLE FINANCIAL COST AND AN ACCEPTABLE PHYSICAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL/SOCIAL RISK.

3. ADOPT AS THE HIGHEST NATIONAL SPACE PRIORITY FOR THE NEXT DECADE OR TWO THE SHARP REDUCTION IN THE UNIT COST OF BASIC SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE, ESPECIALLY SURFACE- LEO SPACE CARGO AND PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION, AND RELATED SHARP INCREASES IN SAFETY, RELIABILITY AND CONVENIENCE.

4. SUPPORT, VIGOROUSLY, THE DEVELOPMENT OF FULLY REUSABLE VEHICLE-FLEETS AND THEIR OPERATION IN COMMERCIAL AIRLINE-LIKE FASHION.

5. IN PARALLEL, INSIST THAT A LARGE FRACTION OF OUR SHUTTLE FLEET'S CAPACITY BE DEVOTED TO EXPLORING, DEMONSTRATING AND INDUCING A LARGE SPACE TOURISM BUSINESS.

6. ENCOURAGE THE CONDUCT OF SPACE SPORTS -- AN ACTIVITY THAT WOULD EMPLOY THE SHUTTLE FLEET, COULD BE STARTED SOON AND AT RELATIVELY LITTLE COST, AND WOULD IMMEDIATELY REFOCUS BROAD PUBLIC ATTENTION ONTO A FEDERAL CIVIL SPACE PROGRAM THAT, FOR MOST OF US, MOST OF THE TIME, HAS BECOME DULL, DULL, DULL.

   AND AN ACTIVITY THAT COULD IMMEDIATELY SEE PRIVATE CAPITAL IN THE COMMUNICATIONS AREA ATTRACTED TO THE SUPPORT OF SPACE ACTIVITIES INVOLVING PEOPLE.

7. SEARCH OUT WAYS TO COOPERATE, AT A BASIC LEVEL, WITH JAPANESE SPACE TOURISM INTERESTS.

8. INSIST THAT OUR CABINET RANK DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION ASSUME A MUCH GREATER RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR FUTURE IN SPACE, THAT THEY ORGANIZE AND STAFF THEMSELVES TO DO SO, AND PROMPT OUR EXTRA-SPACE INDUSTRY PRIVATE BUSINESS SECTOR TO DO SO ALSO.

9. UNITED STATES PROFESSIONAL GROUPS INTERESTED IN SPACE MATTERS -- GROUPS SUCH AS THE INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS (IEEE), THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS ( ASCE), AND THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS ( AIAA) -- COULD FORM A SPACE TOURISM STUDY GROUP, ONE ANALOGOUS TO THAT FORMED BY THE JAPANESE ROCKET SOCIETY A YEAR AGO.

10. AND THE U.S. NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY COULD GIVE ACTIVE CONSIDERATION TO BECOMING ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE CREATION OF A SUBSIDIARY FOR-PROFIT SPACE TOURISM BUSINESS. WHY NOT "JUMP IN AND GET WET ALL OVER" ? AFTER ALL, THE NSS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LORI B. GARVER, RECENTLY OBSERVED: "IN A RECENT INTERVIEW I WAS ASKED WHAT MY LONG-TERM CAREER GOAL WAS. I ANSWERED THAT I WOULD LIKE TO RUN A SPACE TRAVEL AGENCY."

11. AND REMEMBER -- NEVER, EVER, AGAIN SAY: "THE SPACE PROGRAM".

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    THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME HERE