Whew! It's been a busy year. In the last few months I've had the chance to criss-cross the country on behalf of LAUNCH, from the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) in Virginia to the International Space Development Conference in Texas and the Tripoli Rocketry Association's annual national launch in Nevada. In fact, within 10 days of the trip to the desert near Las Vegas in July, I was traveling again, this time to the National Association of Rocketry's annual meet in Michigan. And between all of these trips were flights to Los Angeles and Chicago for business meetings.

And each time I returned to New York City it was a culture shock to some degree. There is a famous New Yorker magazine cartoon that shows the world as being between the Hudson and East rivers in New York--essentially, of course, that world being Manhattan. And in fact, from our offices in the Empire State Building, we can actually see both rivers in a sweeping view that we sometimes take for granted.

But one thing I don't take for granted, having grown up in the Deep South, is that America is a huge, diverse nation. My trips this year certainly underscored that: At the Tripoli event—LDRS 26—in Nevada, the launch range was a barren, dusty dry lake with mountains rising in the distance and not a tree in sight. At the TARC event in northern Virginia, the site was a lush, green meadow framed by trees and rolling hills. I enjoyed both of these trips, and the others as well. And coming up this fall, I have several other trips planned to cities ranging from Washington, D.C. to Seattle, Washington. No one can accuse us at LAUNCH of staying glued to our desks and just enjoying the view!

I've said it before, but I'll repeat it here: Covering space and rocketry is the most exciting thing I've ever done. All of us here in New York—Deb, Tom, Keith, Vicky, Barbara and myself—along with those who help us from a distance like Walt, Mario, Ken, Jim, Matt and others—are committed to making LAUNCH better with each issue as we enter our second year.
And there is so much to be covered. In the September/October issue, we have a package of articles on the 50th anniversary of orbital spaceflight. It is remarkable how far the technology has developed in that time, yet it's only the beginning. I have a feeling the next few years will see a resurgence in the national consciousness regarding space. Private companies are putting billions of dollars into unmanned and manned suborbital and orbital programs. 

A Worthy Cause

All of us were shocked and saddened in late July by an explosion that killed three people and injured others during a Scaled Composites test in California. But the great work they were doing will go on. I have seen no retreat among the companies that, liked Scaled, are interested in providing suborbital--and eventually orbital--flights to tourists. In fact, LAUNCH will report exclusively in our next issue on an exciting and major new announcement by one of those companies.

And I completely agree with a statement issued the day after the Scaled Composites tragedy by George Whitesides, executive director of the National Space Society.

"The frontier of space is far from tamed," he said. " The men and women of Scaled Composites are engaged in one of the great efforts of our time: opening space for all humanity. That is a noble pursuit, perhaps the most noble of all, and we must all be thankful for their work, and for their sacrifice. Let us not shirk from what happened yesterday. Professionals will find the cause. The program will continue. The effort to open space cannot be stopped. Now is the time to honor those men by honoring the cause that they were engaged in. Those of us who are part of this great endeavor, whether as participants or as supporters, let us carry forward this message of perseverance to our own communities, to our elected leaders and to the media. Now more than ever, the nation needs to hear your voices."

—Mark Mayfield