Space frontier foundation

The Space Frontier Foundation is an organization of people dedicated to opening the Space Frontier to human settlement as rapidly as possible. Our goals include protecting the Earth’s fragile biosphere and creating a freer and more prosperous life for each generation by using the unlimited energy and material resources of space. Our purpose is to unleash the power of free enterprise and lead a united humanity permanently into the Solar System.

The Frontier Enabling Test
Our definition of a “frontier enabling” technology or policy is one which has as its effect the acceleration of the creation of low cost access to the space frontier for private citizens and companies, enables or accelerates our use of space resources, and/or accelerates the rate at which wealth can be generated in space. In other words, is the project or policy going to provide a return on the national investment, if we define “return” to be the economically sustainable human habitation of space?

A Sterling Record of Accomplishment

Since 1988, the Space Frontier Foundation’s goal has been to unleash the power of free enterprise to enable human migration into space. We are supporting the NewSpace community in the development of commercial Earth-orbit transportation, which will lead to economically sustainable (and thus permanent) space settlements. How are we doing this? In addition to our official projects listed in the left frame, the Foundation and its members work throughout the space, science and business communities, as seen in this sampling of accomplishments:

Who we are

The Space Frontier Foundation

The Space Frontier Foundation is an organization composed of space activists, scientists and engineers, media and political professionals, entrepreneurs, and citizens from all backgrounds and all nations. We are transforming space from a government-owned bureaucratic program into a dynamic and inclusive frontier open to people. We are determined to convert the image held by many young people that the future will be worse than the present, and we reject the idea that the world’s greatest moments are in its past.

Our central goal is the large-scale permanent settlement of space. We believe people have the "right stuff’ and that everyone will benefit from opening the space frontier. We believe that free markets and free enterprise will become an unstoppable force in the irreversible settlement of this new frontier, and that our world is on the verge of a truly historic breakthrough – cheap access to space.

We are changing the basic assumptions about space. Foundation speakers present a future that excites and inspires citizens from all nations, and through awards and briefings, our ideas are driving the portrayal of space into new directions. According to Dr. Robert Zubrin, “The Space Frontier Foundation is pound for pound the most effective space group in the world.”

Leaders

The Advocates are the heart of the Space Frontier Foundation. Each year, at the Foundation’s annual business meeting (held in conjunction with our annual conference), the Advocates elect the Board of Directors for the following year. The newly elected Board then elects officers for the following year, including President, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Founder and Chairman of the Board

Bob Werb (Founder)

bobwerb@space-frontier.org – Bob Werb was an active partner in Rivercrest Realty Investors from 1976 until 2011. Rivercrest Realty Investors is a privately held, real estate firm that owns and manages a portfolio of garden apartments, shopping centers and office buildings with properties in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina and Florida. Since 2011 he has assumed a more passive role in Rivercrest Realty Investors and has been spending more time working on a variety of projects including the Space Frontier Foundation. Bob is one of the three founders of the Space Frontier Foundation.

Executive Director & Director of Development

William Watson

wwatson@spacefrontierfoundation.org – William Watson is presently Executive Director of the Space Frontier Foundation (SFF). He endeavors to create new business relationships for the Foundation and to communicate their vision. He is also serving as Chair of their annual NewSpace conference. This year the conference takes place in Washington DC, from July 17-19. Will chaired NewSpace 2017 in D.C. and was part of the SFF’s management team during NewSpace 2016 in Vegas.

Before the Foundation, Will worked for the Tauri Group as an analyst on the Space Foundation’s The Space Report and on spaceport related business development. Mr. Watson’s professional involvement with the NewSpace industry started with his graduate placement at the Transformational Space Corporation, LLC (t/Space) during the Summer of 2015.

Will received his Master’s in Space Management from the International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg, France. The year long MSM graduate program focused on aerospace business, marketing and law. Prior to ISU, Mr. Watson received a BA in Russian Literature & History from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He has studied in Moscow at Lomonosov University and as part of the Institute for Biomedical Problems’ Summer space program.

Board of Directors

Kevin Greene
frontier535@att.net – Kevin’s involvement in space engineering and construction began in 1992, at ASCE’s “Space-1992” conference in Denver, CO. He’s attended, and helped to organize, every ASCE space engineering conference since. His involvement in the Space Frontier Foundation began in 1999, and he’s now on their board of directors and involved in organizing their annual ‘Lunar Development Conference’ series – based in Las Vegas. Kevin is also an investor and participant in several New-Space ventures.

Michael K. Heney
mike@heney.net – Mike Heney has been an active member of the space development and commercialization community for the past 30 years. He has been affiliated with the National Space Society (formerly the L-5 Society) since 1978. In 1993, he worked with SpaceCause to present the initial results from the DC-X program to the United States Senate. He has worked with ProSpace, a space policy lobbying organization, since its inception in 1995, and served as its Vice President in 1997. He was invited to join the Space Frontier Foundation in 1996, and as served as a member of the Board of Directors, as Chairman of the Board, and as Corporate Secretary.

He was awarded the 1997 ProSpace “Space Activist of the Year” award jointly with his wife Susan for their efforts in the space commercialization field, and the 2015 “Service to the Frontier” award from the Space Frontier Foundation for his continued service to that organization.

Mike is an all-around “computer guy”, space policy consultant, and home handyman who enjoys playing bridge and harmonica, juggling, reading, surfing the net, and spending time with his wife and adorable daughter.

Jeff Krukin

www.jeffkrukin.com – Jeff’s direct space involvement began in 1979 with a summer job at NASA Headquarters. July 11th was a particularly exciting day, as Australia called to report the impact of Skylab debris. Jeff answered the phone, and feeling somewhat unqualified to handle this he immediately delegated the task to someone else. Talk about leadership!

Jeff returned to NASA Headquarters in 1981, with a six-month graduate internship in the International Affairs Division. He was in the auditorium when the space shuttle Columbia was first launched on April 12th.

Returning to Houston and determined to participate in the space program, Jeff became an IBM Systems Engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Thus began the unraveling of Jeff’s commitment to NASA, as he realized this wasn’t the same agency that had brilliantly succeeded with its lunar challenge. His emotional commitment to NASA died a slow and painful death, and Jeff searched for a different way to support human space activity.

Returning to Houston and determined to participate in the space program, Jeff was hired by IBM and became a Systems Engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Thus began the unraveling of Jeff’s commitment to NASA, as he realized this wasn’t the same agency that had brilliantly succeeded with its lunar challenge. Instead, Jeff discovered that NASA had become just another government agency. His emotional commitment to NASA died a slow and painful death, and Jeff searched for a different way to support human space activity.

Invited to become a Space Frontier Foundation Advocate in 1990, Jeff spent several years conducting research for various projects. Combining his passions for space and writing, in the early 1990’s he wrote a monthly column on space issues entitled “Think About It,” which appeared in the Journal for Space Development and other space newsletters. He has also been published online and in Ad Astra, Space News, the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Business Journal, and Chelsea House published his first book essays in Spring 2015. Jeff is also a noted conference speaker and has been interviewed on radio and television news programs. Speech and interview excerpts and writing sampl demonstrate the breadth of Jeff’s work around the world.

Jeff became a Foundation Board Member in 1995, and the first Director of Advocates the following year. In 1997 he vacated both Foundation positions to become a ProSpace Board Member and Director of the 1998 March Storm lobbying event. For the latter, Jeff received the 1998 ProSpace Activist of the Year Award. In 1999 he became Vice President and continued as Director of March Storm. Jeff became Chairman in 2012 and served until 2014, and was Executive Director from 2015 to 2017.

Charles E. Miller

cmiller@constellationservices.com – Mr. Miller became Constellation Services’ 1st employee in September 1998, and since then has lead the development of the company from small startup to major player in the quest to provide on-orbit services. Under his direction, CSI became a subcontractor under NASA’s 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle and Alternate Access to Station (AAS) “Phase 0” Concept Study programs, and then beat out at least seven other bidders to win one of the four NASA prime contracts under the AAS Phase 1 program. During this time, CSI worked with an established aerospace major hardware system supplier and AAS subcontractors to take CSI’s design from concept through system design and into preliminary design. Mr. Miller has not only assembled and led the CSI executive team that achieved these accomplishments, but also has been responsible for raising over $1 million in private investment in CSI’s business.

Prior to CSI, Mr. Miller managed his own management consulting firm that provided services to small businesses and community organizations. Mr. Miller’s services included general strategic planning; employee recruitment and retention, training, and retention; business management and control procedures; team building; conflict management strategies; and government affairs.

Mr. Miller was the founding Chairman and President of ProSpace, where he served from 1996 to 1999. Known also as “The Citizens’ Space Lobby,” ProSpace is one of the most effective space policy groups working on Capitol Hill. Under Mr. Miller’s leadership, ProSpace was instrumental in the passage of vital space-related legislative initiatives, including the Commercial Space Act of 1998, funding for NASA’s X-33, Future-X and Space Solar Power programs, and the U.S. Air Force RLV Technology Development program. Mr. Miller has also served as Administrator and a director of the National Space Society, Vice President for Development and a director of the Space Frontier Foundation, and Vice-President for the California Space Development Council.

Because of the depth of his knowledge of space policy issues and his numerous contacts in Congress and NASA, the leading firms in the commercial space industry often seek Mr. Miller’s advice. In addition, he has received several awards for his work in the field, including the “Vision in Action” award from the Space Frontier Foundation, the “Space Pioneer” award from the National Space Society, and the “Exceptional Leadership” award from the California Space Development Council.

Mr. Miller studied engineering at the California Institute of Technology and has a BS in Business Administration (Finance) from the California State University of Chico.

James A. M. Muncy (Founder)
jim@polispace.com – James A. M. Muncy founded PoliSpace, an independent space policy consultancy, in early 2010 to help space entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs succeed at the nexus of business, public affairs, and technology. His clients have included several companies in the emerging private human space flight industry, firms offering commercial services to NASA spaceflight programs, and government managers of Air Force military space projects.

In 2014 and 2015 Muncy led two successful industry lobbying efforts: winning enactment of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2014 (P.L 108-492), and securing an amendment to the Iran Nonproliferation Act to allow NASA to buy commercial space goods and services with Russian content.

Immediately prior to establishing PoliSpace, Muncy spent over five years working for the U.S. House of Representatives. From 1997 through early 2010 he served on the Professional Staff of the House Science Committee’s Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee. In addition to being Chairman Dana Rohrabacher’s staff designee, Muncy held the lead responsibility for issues and programs such as reusable launch vehicles, human space flight commercialization, military space technology, export control reform, range modernization, and future NASA programs. Prior to this, Muncy spent over two years on Rep. Rohrabacher’s personal staff as his Legislative Assistant for Space.

Before joining congressional staff in late 1994, Muncy spent nine years as a space policy and marketing consultant for various clients including NASA, NOAA, several private firms, and the not-for-profit space community, while also securing a graduate degree. In the mid-1980’s he worked for two and a half years as a policy assistant in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Reagan, where he served as the White House’s Staff Liaison to the National Commission on Space. Muncy began his career in space policy in 1981 as a staff advisor in the Office of Congressman Newt Gingrich, where he helped Mr. Gingrich co-found the Congressional Space Caucus and develop visionary space policy legislation and initiatives.

A long-time leader in the space advocacy community, Muncy co-founded the Space Frontier Foundation in 1988 and served as its Chairman of the Board for six years. Earlier he had served on the Board of Directors of both the National Space Society and the L5 Society. He is a frequent speaker and writer on space policy issues.

Muncy holds an MS in Space Studies from the Center for Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota and a BA from the University of Virginia, where he was an Echols Scholar.

Misuzu Onuki
mszmail@aol.com – Ms. Misuzu Onuki has been an innovator in the development of space tourism and space commercialization research for over 15 years, and she has created space cultural projects such as Fashion in Space and Weddings in Space.

She worked for the Space Systems Division of Shimizu Corporation, one of the largest general construction companies in Japan, and participated in some of the earliest studies of commercial space travel in Japan and other countries for NAL (now JAXA). She founded the Japan Women’s Space Forum in 2011. She was an associate researcher of Japan Women’s University from 2013 to 2017, and a part time senior specialist for space education with JAXA from 2014 to 2016.

Ms. Onuki has been an independent aerospace business consultant since 2013. Her space related research themes are space tourism, space commercialization, space architecture, space education, space psychology space casual wear, space food, and so on. She is the CEO of Zspace LLC, and has been doing professional space business development and consulting work in these fields.

She has several professional affiliations including serving as a Board member of Spaceweek International Association (SIA). She has joined the Space Frontier Foundation as Advocate & Asia Liaison in 2015 and was elected to the SFF Board of Directors in 2017.

She loves scuba diving and travel. Certification: Color Coordinator

Rick Tumlinson (Founder)

www.ricktumlinson.com – Named one of the world’s top “Visionaries” and one the top one hundred most influential people in the space field by Space News, Rick Tumlinson is the Co-Founder of the Space Frontier Foundation, which has been called “pound for pound the most effective space organization on Earth.” From an old Texas family whose pioneering credits include helping start the Texas Rangers and fighting in the Alamo, Rick has spent his life fighting to open the space frontier. The son of an Air Force Sergeant and his English wife, he was educated primarily in England and Texas.

Mr. Tumlinson worked for noted scientist Gerard K. O’Neill at the Space Studies Institute, founded the New York L-5 Society, and was a key player in starting the Lunar Prospector project which discovered hints of water on the Moon. He also helped pass the Space Settlement Act of 1988, testified before President Reagan’s National Commission on Space, and was a founding trustee of the X-Prize. Over the years he has been a lead witness in six congressional hearings on the future of NASA, the U.S. space program and space tourism, including testifying before Senator John McCain and the Senate Space and Technology Committee on the Moon, Mars and Beyond program.

To support his activism in his early years, Tumlinson produced the animated videos used to gain funding for the Air Force’s DC-X rocket project, the International Space University, the X-33 rocket program and the Air Force’s Space Command. He also created the first ever paid political announcement for space, which was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. Not satisfied to just talk, write about and help get funding for projects, Mr. Tumlinson has put his time and money where his mouth is. He co-founded the firm LunaCorp which produced the first ever TV commercial shot on the International Space Station for Radio Shack. He led the team which turned the Mir Space Station into the world’s first commercial space facility, and was a co-founder of the space firm MirCorp. (The story is told in the book NASA: Lost in Space.) Along the way he personally signed up Dennis Tito, the world’s first “citizen explorer,” to fly on the International Space Station, and has assisted in numerous other such projects.

Rick was also Executive Director and co-Founder of the Foundation for the International Non-Governmental Development of Space (FINDS), a foundation which funded breakthrough projects and activities such as Helium 3 research, laser launch studies, and asteroid processing projects. The organization provided the first $100k in seed money for the founding of the Mars Society, operated the Cheap Access to Space Prize and supported such projects as The Watch asteroid search program. FINDS also underwrote and co-sponsored a very successful series of Senate Roundtables on space issues. Rick founded the Permission to Dream project, which has over the years placed dozens of telescopes in the hands of schools and educational groups around the world, from Sri Lanka to Iran and Russia. In 2015 Rick also Co-Founded The Institute for Space Law and Policy, a Washington based think-tank.

A regular contributor to the space industry paper Space News, Tumlinson’s writings and quotes have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Washington Post, Reader’s Digest and dozens of other publications. He has appeared on the front page of the New York Times, has been featured in two issues of Popular Science and around the world from Britain’s conservative Economist to the People’s Daily in China. He has appeared on such television programs as ABC’s World News Tonight, and Politically Incorrect and appeared as an expert guest on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, CNBC’s Open Exchange and is a frequent commentator on CNN. Internationally he has appeared on TV sets from Russia to China’s CCTV and the BBC.

In 2014 Rick was one of only 20 guests invited by the White House to hear President Bush announce his plans to return to the Moon and explore Mars. Often a public critic of the agency, last year he joined NASA’s prestigious Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, helping behind the scenes to lay out the framework for the first human outpost on the Moon and steps towards putting humans on Mars. He has also been a consultant to the Heinlein Prize Organization, and is starting his own space firm “XTreme Space.” His book, Return to the Moon was just published and is available at your local bookstore.

Mr. Tumlinson is known as one of the best speakers in the field of space. His stirring and freewheeling talks range from critiques and discussions of current national space policy, to the presentation of a “Frontier” ideology for opening space, to the how and why of returning to the Moon, to a deeply spiritual discussion of our place in the universe, the search for other life and the reasons we are reaching for the stars.

Click here to watch a video of Rick’s informal comments on opening the Space Frontier at International Space Development Conference 2017.

Michael K. Heney
mike@heney.net – Mike Heney has been an active member of the space development and commercialization community for the past 30 years. He has been affiliated with the National Space Society (formerly the L-5 Society) since 1978. In 1993, he worked with SpaceCause to present the initial results from the DC-X program to the United States Senate. He has worked with ProSpace, a space policy lobbying organization, since its inception in 1995, and served as its Vice President in 1997. He was invited to join the Space Frontier Foundation in 1996, and as served as a member of the Board of Directors, as Chairman of the Board, and as Corporate Secretary.

He was awarded the 1997 ProSpace “Space Activist of the Year” award jointly with his wife Susan for their efforts in the space commercialization field, and the 2015 “Service to the Frontier” award from the Space Frontier Foundation for his continued service to that organization.

Mike is an all-around “computer guy”, space policy consultant, and home handyman who enjoys playing bridge and harmonica, juggling, reading, surfing the net, and spending time with his wife and adorable daughter.

Peter Thorpe

pthorpe@space-frontier.org – Peter Thorpe has spent 27 years designing and illustrating book covers for various publishers, including Warner Books, Random House, Doubleday, Putnam, HarperCollins and Penguin USA. His covers for such varied authors as Gerard K. O’Neill, Garrison Keillor, Frederick Forsyth, Walter M. Miller, Jr. and Tony Hillerman have gained him world wide recognition. His paintings have been exhibited at The Society of Illustrators and Art Directors Club, and have appeared in Communication Arts and Print Magazine. His work can bee seen at www.peterthorpe.net.

Thorpe designed the Space Frontier Foundation’s logo in 1988, and since then has been involved in many Foundation projects, including designing print material for the Foundation and designing the Foundation’s web site.

Our Advisory Board

The Space Frontier Foundation is very proud of its Board of Advisors, comprised of respected members of the space, media, entertainment, business and scientific communities. These people have chosen to make their names and their time available to us to help us achieve our goals.

The Space Frontier Foundation Advisory Board

The Space Frontier Foundation is very proud of its Board of Advisors, comprised of respected members of the space, media, entertainment, business and scientific communities. These people have chosen to make their names and their time available to help us achieve our goals.

Our advisors share with us their ideas on policy, strategy and/or operations, and keep us informed about new developments and targets of opportunity from their own unique vantage points. Like the rest of the Foundation, we operate on a casual, yet consensual level. Internal debate is encouraged.

We do not always agree with all of our Advisors, nor they with us, on all of the issues we face in our fight for the frontier, but we value a diversity of opinions in our deliberations and planning. Our Board of Advisors provides the honest and constructive sounding board that we require to remain effective.

The Foundation’s vision of a free and open frontier in space are at times seen as unachievable or extraordinary to some people. As leaders in their fields, our advisors lend the weight of their own credibility to our stand for a bold new future on the High Frontier, and act as carriers of our message to their peers and associates, spreading our vision in a personal way to opinion formers and decision makers at the very top levels of our society. We are fortunate to have these individuals working with us.

Advisors

David Brody
Imaginova Corp.

Michael S. Kelly
AMPAC Technology Group, LLC

Dr. Philip Chapman
Center for Enterprise in Space

Eric Kotani
Author

Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Author

Chuck Lauer
Rocketplane, Ltd.

Freeman Dyson
Physicist Dr. John Lewis
University of Arizona

Rene Echeveria
Producer - “Deep Space Nine”

Tasha O’Neill
Photographer

Dr. George Friedman
Space Studies Institute

Dr. Thomas Rogers
The Sophron Foundation

Israel Galvan
GHG Corp.

Allen Steele
Science Fiction Writer

David Gump
Transformational Space Corp.

Frank White
Author - “The Overview Effect”

Gary Hudson
AirLaunch, LLC

Herman Zimmerman
Chief Designer - “Star Trek”

Annual Awards

The Space Frontier Foundation gives annual awards to space activists who have made, in the Foundation’s view, the greatest contributions that year to opening the frontier. Categories include Service to the Frontier, Vision to Reality, Vision of the Future and Best Presentation of Space. A special award, The Founder’s Award, is given each year to honor a space activist for overall and long-term achievement. The awards are presented at the Foundation’s annual conference each year, during the awards banquet. For more info on our annual awards, click here.

2023

2022

2021

2019

2013

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2019

History of The Space Frontier Foundation

The Space Frontier Foundation was created in 1988 by a group of space community leaders who were dedicated to opening the space frontier to human settlement as rapidly as possible. These individuals had worked for years – some professionally and some as volunteers – in space research, policy and public outreach. For more info on the Foundation’s History, click here.

The Space Frontier Foundation was created in 1988 by a group of space community leaders who were dedicated to opening the space frontier to human settlement as rapidly as possible. These individuals had worked for years – some professionally and some as volunteers – in space research, policy and public outreach. From their experiences they had come to realize three truths:

• They knew, from research done since Apollo (primarily by Gerard K. O’Neill’s Space Studies Institute), that it was technically possible to realize their shared vision of large-scale industrialization and settlement of the inner solar system within one or two generations.

• They knew this was not happening (and couldn’t happen) under the status-quo centrally planned and exclusive U.S. government space program.

• They knew the responsibility fell to them to replace the existing bureaucratic program with an inclusive, entrepreneurial, frontier-opening enterprise, primarily by working on the outside to promote radical reform of U.S. space policy.

These space activists quickly concluded that no existing organization was appropriate to this task. Most citizen’s space groups were trying to promote the current space program; those few entities working seriously to advance the human settlement of space were focused on research (e.g., the Space Studies Institute) or some other non-advocacy function.

And so the Space Frontier Foundation was born. Its vision came directly from the work of Gerard O’Neill and other visionaries such as Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert A. Heinlein, and Arthur C. Clarke. Its strategy would be to wage a war of ideas in the popular culture for a new American space agenda, in effect transforming “the public conversation” about space from a government program for the few to an open frontier for everyone.

The High Frontier

One of the earliest Foundation projects developed from the activities of the Space Studies Institute. In December of 1989 the Foundation was granted the rights to market The High Frontier, an award-winning book on space industrialization and colonization by Dr. Gerard K. O’Neill, Professor Emeritus of Physics at Princeton and Founder of the Space Studies Institute.

Over the years, this book has given many people the opportunity to view their world from a new perspective and share a powerful dream. These people influenced countless others with the book’s ideas and the hopeful future those ideas made possible. The Foundation is now committed to keeping this book in print and available forever.

Going on the Offensive

Returning to 1989-90, while the Bush Administration may have been receptive to the RTTM petition, the Foundation was less amused with NASA’s response: a $400+ billion program to go to Mars. So were most American taxpayers and their representatives in Congress.

As NASA’s Space Exploration Initiative began to fizzle out in 1990, the delayed and diminished Space Station Freedom project was left naked to public scrutiny. Over budget and out of excuses, Freedom’s supporters attacked private initiatives like the Industrial Space Facility and external tank-based station options as the cost-effective political threats they were to the bureaucratically bloated program.

So the Foundation became the only space organization to take on the manned space station on pro-humans-in-space grounds, namely that it was not opening up space for the American people, and therefore should be replaced with a variety of commercial alternatives that would.

In July of 1990 the Foundation came out swinging, taking on NASA in the New York Times, Aviation Week & Space Technology, and the quickly growing medium of talk radio. When the Vice President ordered a major restructuring, we fought to have an external tank-based station considered as a low-cost alternative. But within a year it became clear that it was impossible to have a real debate about “what was the right station.” NASA and some contractors had become so defensive about station problems that anyone not 100% in agreement was the enemy.

After setting up a small office in Houston in 1991, the Foundation produced its first annual conference in March of 1992. The conference was a dramatic success, including the keynote address by then-House Space Subcommittee Chairman Ralph Hall who called for the U.S. to use the Russian Mir station as a precursor to Freedom. It seemed he too wanted timely results.

The Foundation has been just as aggressive in fighting for government projects that help to open the space frontier. In 1990 the Foundation took aim at the most basic - and neglected - step needed to open the space frontier: slashing the high costs of carrying people and cargo into orbit and back. Using the proven tools of language and the media, the Foundation coined a new phrase and began its crusade for “Cheap Access to Space” (CATS).

In a multi-year effort, Foundationers spotlighted the new Delta Clipper-Experimental (DC-X) program in the Defense Department to expose the folly of one-use expendable rockets based on 1950’s technology and a nationalized space fleet based on 1970’s technology. The critical fight was to dominate the discussion of space transportation policy in the trade and general media, and a few Foundation volunteers painstakingly built up trusted relationships with key broadcast and print reporters. At the same time, volunteers worked behind the scenes in Washington, DC, to educate key decision makers, and through the new media of the Internet to create a knowledgeable and active public constituency that would fight for its right to pioneer and live on the space frontier.

Working with a coalition of other pro-space groups and individual experts, the Foundation succeeded not only in stopping NASA’s pre-1994 plans to maintain its monopoly on human space flight well into the 21st century, but in defining “Cheap Access to Space” as the primary goal for federal investments in space transportation technology. Several times, the Foundation saved funding for the DC-X project, publicly taking on its bureaucratic adversaries.

Later, but still before the Clinton Administration moved reusable rocket research to NASA, the Foundation was involved in acquiring NASA Administrator Dan Goldin’s financial support for the DC-X, which would lead to the DC-XA and the creation of NASA’s follow-on project, the X-33.

Space Front

In 1993 the Foundation started publishing a quarterly journal. Space Front has grown in both circulation and sophistication. A cadre of dedicated volunteers has allowed us to continually improve Space Front’s content, look and feel. This publication was designed to inform the Foundation’s network of friends and serious professional activists of the most current issues related to the opening of space frontier.
The Frontier Files
In 1995 the Foundation began distributing a series of short thought-provoking essays, collectively entitled The Frontier Files, through the internet to generate excitement about the incredible possibilities awaiting us in space. This new technology has allowed the Foundation to deliver its undiluted message to thousands of people across the world.

Taking the Fight to the Nation’s Capital

By 1994 the Foundation’s work on Cheap Access to Space and related issues had won strong support from the more visionary space policymakers in Washington, DC From the top floor of NASA Headquarters to the leading advocates of space commercialization on Capitol Hill to the community of think tanks and journalists they swim in, more and more leaders began to echo the Foundation’s themes: “open the frontier…cheap access…privatize space operations…build ‘X-vehicles’…use the space station to spur economic development…” and even “space tourism.”

Just as the fall of the Berlin Wall presaged the end of the Soviet Empire, the increasingly numerous and rapidly widening fiscal and political cracks in the old space program seemed to indicate an opportunity for the Foundation to “come down from the hills and invade the capital.” And so they did.

At the start of 1995 the Foundation’s founding Chairman joined the staff of the leading Congressional DC-X advocate, while its then-Vice President joined the staff of an important Senate space committee. While these changes could have created devastating gaps in any other all-volunteer organization, the Foundation had grown substantially due to its successful CATS advocacy and conferences, due to the popularity of Space Front and The Frontier Files, and due to the effectiveness of its flexible project-based structure. A growing synergy of the Foundation’s external advocacy and the professional efforts of these “outsiders on the inside” became strongly evident.

For example, in March of 1995 the Foundation’s President (Tumlinson) was invited to testify on NASA restructuring before the House Science Committee. Later that month, the Foundation helped organize the first-ever public seminar in Congress on “A 21st Century Space Policy from the People.” This seminar had Members of Congress from both parties asking to speak - further validating the Foundation’s frontier orientation. The new Speaker of the House spoke directly to several Foundation themes, including space tourism, large scale space settlements and commercialization, and publicly introduced the idea of privatizing the Space Shuttle.

In conjunction with the seminar, the Foundation invited citizens to come to Washington, DC to personally brief Members of Congress on a “citizen’s space policy.” Empowering individual Americans to share their personal visions of our future in space was a complete break with the conventional wisdom of the space community, but consistent with the Foundation’s goal of opening the frontier to everyone. Nine citizens briefed 52 congressional offices on Cheap Access to Space, the X-33 RLV program, and space commercialization. Two results of this 1995 “March Storm” were: full initial funding for the X-33 program in a year when Congress rejected most NASA “new starts,” and a new appropriation “in law” for RLV research and development in the US Air Force.

The “outsiders on the inside” strategy has continued to pay major dividends in recent years. The Foundation began 1996 with a huge success - the rapid expansion of its citizen-based lobbying effort. Forty citizens briefed 203 congressional offices on a “citizens space policy,” while a seminar was held in the House of Representatives and a breakfast in the US Senate. One hundred forty congressional offices asked for a copy of the Foundation’s “Cheap Access to Space” video, and 33 offices asked for detailed technical briefings on the X-33 RLV program. Finally, this effort lead directly to a one-hour radio show (Science Friday on National Public Radio) where two Foundation leaders talked directly to a national audience about our future in space.

One result of this success was that Foundation Director of Development (and March Storm creator) Charles Miller announced that he, along with several Foundation-supporting political experts were creating a new frontier-aligned citizens’ lobbying group, ProSpace, to manage future legislative campaigns. This allowed the Foundation to invest more resources in educational activities, such as conferences, which resulted in the July 1997 “Cheap Access to Space” Symposium sponsored by NASA and co-sponsored by the U.S. Air Force Phillips Lab. The August 4, 1997 edition of Military Space, an industry journal of Pasha Publications, reported in story a entitled “Sometimes The Little Guys Do Have the Most Juice”:

“Turns out the Space Frontier Foundation…put on a surprising show July 21-22 in Washington. The group, paid $100,000 by NASA to hold a public forum about space transportation issues, brought together nearly everybody in the RLV world, from Lockheed Martin to Kistler Aerospace and from NASA’s Gary Payton to the Air Force’s Col. Jess Sponable and Col. Pete Worden…Kudos to the (Foundation) for doing what others have just talked about.”

Alpha Town

In 1994 and 1995, the Foundation devised a new strategy for bringing NASA’s International Space Station in line with the space frontier agenda. Instead of trying to change the station program head-on, the new approach is to create a powerful future vision for the station that will help guide its future development. Specifically, the station would be given a much stronger strategic purpose: in the context of settling the space frontier, the station would serve as the “seed” of the first human town in space…AlphaTown. Operationally, AlphaTown requires a significant break with traditional space policy to maximize the amount of economic activity in and around the station.

With the publication of an op-ed in Space News in late 1995 and the testimony of Advisory Board Chairman Tom Rogers to the House Science Committee in early 1996, the Foundation began to articulate this new vision, with surprisingly positive responses from NASA and the aerospace industry, as well as predictable enthusiasm from the entrepreneurial sector. Starting in the Spring 1997, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, made the concepts of AlphaTown a central theme in several major speeches when he declared that NASA would privatize the station after construction was complete.

Taking the Fight to the Media Capital

In March of 1994, the Foundation held its third annual conference in Houston. In addition to the “Vision to Reality” award, which was given to the DC-X team, a new award for “Best Presentation of the Vision” was created and given to J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5 (the popular science fiction television program situated at an O’Neill-style space colony). This mixing of real-life space pioneers (such as DC-X ‘pilot’ Pete Conrad) with artistic visionaries began the Foundation’s long-planned campaign to use Hollywood and popular culture to help promote the frontier message.

Thanks to recruiting several top leaders in the space community in California, in 1995 the Foundation took the next step by moving the annual conference to Los Angeles, the media capital of the world. The awards ceremony again brought together the serious, frontier-enabling technology of the Clementine lunar probe team with the lighter, frontier-inspiring creations of the producers of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (for their episode on solar sails.) This fourth conference also initiated another tradition of the television culture: an experts-plus-audience talk show called “Star Council” sponsored by the Sci/Fi Channel’s Inside Space program.

The Challenge of Success

In recent years, the Foundation’s success at spreading its message has opened up many new opportunities for the Foundation. By advocating new-style programs and policies, the Foundation has helped many agents of change within the space program, in turn winning their support for the Foundation’s ideas and initiatives.

This and other “inside the beltway” successes, the growth of the annual conference, the expansion of our network of serious professional activists, and the huge potential of new projects like AlphaTown suggest it is time for the Foundation to move beyond its initial, all-volunteer structure and create a resource base sufficient to the opportunities at hand.

The Foundation has started its move from being a guerrilla band to a professional fighting force for opening the space frontier to all humanity. The Foundation invites you to help write the rest of history…the History of the Space Frontier Foundation.

International


Space Frontier Foundation International Liaison Contacts
As the Space Frontier Foundation’s message spreads around the globe, we are pleased to provide overseas liaisons. While delivering our ideas to their local media and aerospace industries, they are also available as your connection with the Foundation.

USA Address:

Space Frontier Foundation, 16 First Avenue, Nyack, NY 10960
Phone: toll-free 800 78-SPACE (800-787-7223)
Media contact: 800-787-7223 or press@space-frontier.org
Contact webmaster: Peter Thorpe pthorpe@space-frontier.org

Asia Liaison:

Misuzu Onuki mszmail@aol.com
+81 (0)90 4457 0451
2-18-20, Oizumigakuen-cho, Nerima, Tokyo 178-0061, Japan

Canada Liaison:

Eva-Jane Lark lark.evajane@gmail.com
(613)798-4230
Suite 700-1600 Carling Avenue
Ottawa ON K1Z 1B4 Canada

Europe Liaison:

Andreas P. Bergweiler bergweiler@space-travellers.com
Space Travellers, c/o IB-Marketing GmbH
Wiesengrund 5, D - 56323 Waldesch, Germany
Tel.: +49 2628 987420, Fax: +49 2628 987419
www.space-travellers.com

India Liaison:

Ajay Chahar ajay@lunarexplorer.com
Mobile : 0919831256711
Address: P/161/12, Ballygunge Military Camp, Circular Road, Kolkata - 700019, India

Middle East Liaison:

Phil Mills FBIS philmils@hotmail.com
Mobile: 07855 976320
Phone number: 009664 4282977 ext 1554
371435 Mr P Mills, BAE, P.O. Box 2, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

UK Liaison:

M.V. “Coyote” Smith coyoteorbit@gmail.com
Cell: 07942 486563
Flat 3, 28 Bulmershe Road
Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5RJ UK

Foundatoin Action Reports

In 2016, the Space Frontier Foundation tightened its focus on supporting NewSpace, the emerging commercial space industry. This has led to increased activity in both our traditional projects and in new areas crucial to opening the space frontier. Significant events are highlighted in these Foundation Action Reports, which you may read by clicking the links below. And if you like what we’re doing, then please support us by becoming a member.

Policies

The Frontier Enabling Test

Our definition of a “frontier enabling” technology or policy is one which has as its effect the acceleration of the creation of low cost access to the space frontier for private citizens and companies, enables or accelerates our use of space resources, and/or accelerates the rate at which wealth can be generated in space.
In other words, is the project or policy going to provide a return on the national investment, if we define “return” to be the economically sustainable human habitation of space?
All Foundation Policy Flows from the Frontier Enabling Test
Why a Frontier Enabling Test? For Foundationers, space is the next great human frontier. A frontier such as what the so called “New Worlds” of the Americas represented for the last 500 hundred years. A frontier we have to take from no one. A frontier to which we can bring the gift of life. A frontier for all humanity. A frontier we do not believe is being opened.

If we are truly committed to change we need a criteria by which to judge what we will and will not do to effectively advance our cause. Thus, the Foundation has created a relatively simple litmus test for projects and/or initiatives on which we may choose to take a position. We call this “The Frontier Enabling Test,” and it can be applied to both government and commercial systems, technologies or policies.

Foundation Policy re: NASA’s Exploration Systems Architecture Study

Los Angeles, CA, October 5, 2015 – The Space Frontier Foundation’s current strategic focus is to enable the growth of the NewSpace community. Since January of 2014 when President Bush announced his ‘Renewed Spirit of Discovery’ vision, our policy toward NASA has been evolving as NASA’s reaction to this change of direction has evolved.
Read the Policy

Foundation Proposes Space Policy

On June 23, 2013 The Space Frontier Foundation unveiled a proposed U.S. Space Transportation Policy, in the spirit of the current re-examination of space policies being conducted by the White House.
Read the Policy

A 2011 Cheap Access to Space Policy Recommendation

The Space Frontier Foundation advocates a new national space transportation policy with incentives for commercial development of reliable, routine and radically cheaper access to space. Radically cheap access will open the space frontier to private enterprise and eventually the general public creating new wealth and high-wage jobs.
Read the Policy.

Senator John Glenn’s Shuttle Flight

Taxpayers pay for John Glenn Flight:
Read the extensive publication of Foundation material in the media during the John Glenn Shuttle flight.
Read the Material

A Space Frontier Agenda

Testimony by Rick Tumlinson, President of the Space Frontier Foundation, before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics on October 1, 1998.
Read the Testimony

Building Alpha Town

The International Space Station as a Precursor to the First City in Space
Testimony by Rick Tumlinson, President of the Space Frontier Foundation, before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics on April 9, 1997.
Read the Testimony

Manifesto for the Frontier

Testimony by Rick Tumlinson, President of the Space Frontier Foundation, before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics on March 16, 1995.
Read the Testimony

Bantam Lifter

In restructuring the Bantam Low-Cost Boost Technology program, the US government has an opportunity to spark a significant increase in private investment and innovation in the small payload space transportation market. This will lead towards much lower cost access to Low Earth Orbit for payloads in the 100 - 250 kilogram class.

To accomplish this, the United States should use its purchasing power in a commercial, market-oriented manner to jump-start the market, as it did with the Air-Mail contracts during the 1920s, and consistent with the 1984 Commercial Launch Act, the 1990 Launch Services Purchase Act and the President’s 1994 National Space Transportation Policy.

At the same time, the United States should avoid any mechanism that involves any government direct government funding of the development of operational vehicles. Direct investment in selected companies would reduce private investment in companies not picked by the government. The resulting reduction in private investment, and the reduction in innovation that is driven by free market forces, would be contrary to the goals of the Bantam program.

If appropriate changes were made to the Bantam program, the Space Frontier Foundation would become a major advocate for additional funding for Bantam.

Foundation Reports

Foundation Action Report (FAR) #4: Spreading the NewSpace gospel… on the road again!

April 30, 2017 A core mission of the Space Frontier Foundation is to change the conversation about space. Accomplishing this means getting in front of new audiences and helping them understand that the decades-old view of space activity as a “program” is woefully inadequate for appreciating the full potential of human space activity. It’s like the Black Knight in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” who, after having an arm cut-off by King Arthur, says, “It’s only a flesh wound.” He know’s something is amiss, but the picture isn’t clear.

So like King Arthur, I packed my vision and set-off with not much more than a PowerPoint presentation and two coconuts to bang together (if you don’t get the reference, rent the movie… you’ll love it!). This is my story… along with a closing tale of a significant accomplishment by several of the Foundation’s Advocates… the NewSpace equivalent of the Knights of the Round Table (not to be confused with the Knights Who Until Recently Said “Nee”).

Presenting our Vision to Reality award to Anousheh Ansari
Each year we present several different awards at our annual banquet, and “Vision to Reality” is reserved for those with the passion and tenacity to do precisely what the award states. Ms. Ansari did just that with her recent trip to the International Space Station. Since she is unable to attend NewSpace 2017 to receive her award, I traveled to St. Louis (she was there for the National Science Teachers Assoc. conference) to present the award to her at the Planetarium.

Despite an intense and hurried schedule, Ms. Ansari was gracious with her time, telling me: “I truly appreciate receiving the Vision to Reality Award from the Space Frontier Foundation. It is clear we share some common goals around demonstrating to the world that private sector and private citizens have the ability to assist in opening the space frontier to all the citizens of Earth. The reactions I’ve received from young people around the world tells me that space represents hope for the future, and they are eager to be part of creating a better future. I wish my schedule permitted me to be at your conference. Thank you for traveling to St. Louis to present the award to me.” See previous award winners.

Advancing NewSpace in Europe
Did you know the Space Frontier Foundation is an international organization, with members in Europe, Asia, South America and Australia? And while the bulk of our work is in the US, we are focusing more on overseas activity. In late February I traveled to The Netherlands to present The Emerging Commercial Space Industry’s Contribution to Sustainable Local Economic Development at the European Space Agency 2nd Space and Society Conference.

Although there are NewSpace entrepreneurs in Europe, and presenters from numerous government entities (ESA, European Space Policy Institute, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, etc.) discussed the need for private space endeavors, it’s clear that the leaders of these organizations don’t have the desire and/or political muscle to transform how Europe “does” space. Traditional space is even more entrenched on that side of the Atlantic than in the US.

And yet I feel I planted NewSpace seeds, for many people took notes during my presentation and much lively discussion ensued afterward. Sometimes change is brutally quick, other times it is glacially slow. Europe has experienced both, and however NewSpace grows in Europe (and it will!), the Space Frontier Foundation will contribute through the work of its European members and future visits such as mine. More about ESA 2nd Space and Society Conference.

Engaging Students
It’s been said that a student has a better chance of becoming an NBA player than a NASA astronaut. As the NewSpace industry matures and grows in the years ahead, there will be many more in-space jobs besides being a government astronaut, and students need to hear this.

I live in Chapel Hill, NC (near Raleigh and Durham) and have presented to students at Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University. Most recently I visited the NC School for Science and Mathematics, where my presentation was video-broadcast to students at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Fairfax, VA.

Wherever I go, students absolutely love hearing about a NewSpace future. What really excites them is my suggestion that the three universities buy a Bigelow Aerospace module next decade and operate the world’s first orbiting campus.

As I said, students need to hear this, so please visit your local schools and excite them about NewSpace.

National Defense University Spacepower Symposium
On April 26th I spoke on the “Space and the Commonwealth of Mankind” panel, part of the symposium entitled “Towards a Theory of Spacepower” held by the Institute of National Strategic Studies of the National Defense University.

As described at the event, “This symposium will review the progress of a year-long research effort headed by the Institute for National Strategic Studies, commissioned by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, to articulate an overarching spacepower theory. This spacepower theory is designed to provide policy makers and space professionals - whether in the national security, civil, or commercial sectors - with a shared intellectual foundation to address space activities. The goal is a comprehensive, robust, and articulate Spacepower theory that describes, explains, and anticipates principles governing the uses of space.”

As this project continues, the Space Frontier Foundation will remain involved. Listen to my speech, read about the symposium (top of page).

Space Investment Summit
Although I’ve been talking about my recent activities, I’ll finish with an event that signifies the power of teamwork (and where my role was quite small).

On April 17 the Space Frontier Foundation and Space Commerce Roundtable (led by Boeing’s Paul Eckert) hosted a Space Investment Summit in Manhattan. Angel investors, venture capitalists and financial consultants converged to tell us that they see now as the time to invest in NewSpace. It’s one thing to tell ourselves this, as we have been for years, but quite another to hear it from seasoned financial professionals. Several speakers even commented that the financial potential is greater than the heyday of the Internet boom.

This was a superb event, and the following Space Frontier Foundation Advocates deserve our thanks for a tremendous effort: Tom Olson, Rich Pournelle, Rick Tumlinson and Ed Wright. This team is already planning additional events. More about the Space Investment Summit.

And there you have it… a glimpse of how Foundationers work to earn your confidence and support as we advance NewSpace around the globe.

Sincerely,

Jeff Krukin

Foundation Action Report (FAR) #4: Space Frontier Foundation at the Wirefly X Prize Cup

November 2, 2016 – From roaring rockets to the space elevator competition to Armadillo Aerospace’s Pixel lander, the Wirefly X Prize Cup held in Las Cruces, NM Oct. 20th-21st was fun and educational. It demonstrated the power of commerce and creativity, of profit and purpose. As written in this week’s Aviation Week & Space Technology, “… venture capital and serious public money is finding its way into the nascent U.S. commercial spaceflight industry.”

The Space Frontier Foundation demonstrated its commitment to NewSpace by greatly expanding its presence this year, contributing to both the fun and education… what a great blend!

Fun
Expanding our tradition of having hospitality suites at space events, our party was the place to be Saturday evening, with over 300 people filling the room.

Newly-inducted Space Frontier Foundation Advocate Will Watson did a tremendous job pulling this together. And many SFF members were there to show the flag… thank you all.

I’d also like to thank our co-sponsors, excellent examples of NewSpace firms and entrepreneurs:
RocketplaneKistler
Orbital Outfitters
ZSpace (Misuzu Onuki, SFF Advocate and Asia Liaison)
SpacePartnerships.com (Frank Schowengerdt)

Education
Our Teachers in Space project booth was featured at the entrance to the exhibits tent. With 6000 children at the Wirefly X Prize Cup on Friday, the connection between NewSpace and education is clearly important. Congratulations to Project Leader Bill Boland and his entire team for another successful outreach event.

Learn about our Teachers in Space project.

See you at the X Prize Cup next year!

Jeff Krukin

Foundation Action Report (FAR) #3: At the UP Aerospace launch A vision in the desert

On Monday, September 25th, I stood in the New Mexico desert with other UP Aerospace guests as it launched its blue-tipped SpaceLoft XL rocket into a magnificent cloudless blue sky at Spaceport America. Although the rocket suffered a still-to-be determined anomaly and did not reach its intended altitude, company and spaceport officials aren’t singing the blues. As New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans said, “Spaceport America is open for business.” There are plenty of news reports about the mission, so I won’t repeat here what you can read elsewhere. And you can ready the company’s latest update by clicking the link below.

UP Aerospace, Inc. Recovers Rocket and Payloads after the Inaugural Launch.

Instead, I’d like to share my personal thoughts on the significance of the launch; its success on soaring off the launch rail, and its failure to reach altitude.

The successful launch, like that of SpaceX Corporation’s Falcon 1 in March, demonstrate the growing capabilities of America’s emerging NewSpace industry, as different companies produce varied vehicles for a wide range of payloads. The diversity and low cost of our Earthly commercial transportation industries is coming to space transportation.

The failures of SpaceLoft XL and Falcon 1 to accomplish their missions demonstrate the difficulties of Earth-to-orbit transportation, and we must stand by these companies and their brethren as they work to open the space frontier to all of us. This support is so very important, because those who wish to maintain the traditional NASA-dominated methods of space access will use these mission failures as justification to attack the NewSpace industry. You can just hear the cry, “Look what happened, these small companies just can’t do it.” Well, permit to respond with some historical perspective.

Historical Perspective #1
Commercial aviation didn’t begin with Boeing 747’s circling the globe. It was initiated with a 3.5 second, 105 ft. flight on Dec. 14, 1903. And yet, in the days before their flight, “… aviation’s man of letters, Octave Chanute, came to visit and, in ensuing conversations, he made it clear that the brothers had been wildly over-optimistic in calculating the efficiency of their drive system. Troubled by doubt, the Wrights anxiously devised a means of testing the efficiency of their transmission. The trials were conclusive. They had been right, Chanute wrong.” (Source: Kandebo, Stanley, “The Wright Brothers and The Birth of an Industry,” Aviation Week and Space Technology, Dec. 30, 2012). By 1931, commercial aviation is well established. Amelia Earhart is Vice President of Ludington Airlines, with a half-million passenger miles flown between New York and Washington.

Historical Perspective #2
“On 28 July 1960, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced a new manned spaceflight program. Called Apollo, its aim was to put three astronauts into sustained earth orbit, or into a flight around the moon. The timing of the announcement was not auspicious. The next day, NASA’s first Mercury-Atlas (MA01) disintegrated and fell into the ocean 58 seconds after takeoff from Cape Canaveral. This disaster ushered in a bleak four months during which the test rocket Little Joe 5 joined the MA-1 in the ocean, and the first Mercury-Redstone lifted a fraction of an inch and settled back on its launch pad.” (Source: Benson, Charles D. and Faherty, William Barnaby, “Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations,” The NASA History Series, 1978).

Launching rockets is difficult.

Jeff Krukin

Foundation Action Report (FAR) #2: NASA Exploration Strategy Workshop

NASA held its invitation-only Exploration Strategy Workshop in Washington, DC last week, the first step in a process that will continue through the year, culminating in the Integrated Global Lunar Exploration Strategy.

OVERVIEW
After a day of background briefings, everybody was assigned to one of seven multi-disciplinary breakout teams for two days. Each team was chartered with the same tasks (summarized):

It’s important to note we were not asked to discuss how to execute a lunar exploration strategy, but rather to focus on why we are going to the Moon and what we should do upon arrival.

PARTICIPANTS
Foundation co-founder and Vision Project Manager Rick Tumlinson and I participated, along with app. 201 others from various backgrounds, including:

Several Foundation Advocates were also invited, representing their own companies and organizations. These included:

RESULTS
What was initially planned as a primarily NASA-only small workshop became, at Administrator Mike Griffin’s direction, this workshop for obtaining non-NASA, non-govt. input… and NASA got an earful.

The results were astounding! Since 1988 the Foundation has been working to change the conversation about space, and its core message permeated this workshop. Every one of the seven breakout teams determined that NASA’s lunar exploration strategy and architecture must include, at the outset, processes to ensure that commerce/economic development and permanent settlement are part of an international endeavor. It was understood that this is the only way to have unending science and exploration on a massive, and ultimately solar system, scale.

One of the planners of the original small workshop told me how valuable this larger workshop was, because it generated ideas that could not have come from within NASA. Similarly, all the teams emphasized that these ideas must not be lost within NASA, and that NASA alone cannot champion the ideas created outside the organization. Considering the comments of NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, Deputy Assoc. Administrator for Exploration Systems Doug Cooke, and other NASA managers, I am very hopeful that NASA has truly reached a turning point in its acceptance of the Foundation’s themes.

And yet, it is by no means certain how and at what level our ideas will prevail. There are still NASA managers who ask why they need to think of commerce and work with the NewSpace industry. There are still those at NASA who do not see that commerce serves settlement, and settlement serves science and exploration. So, the Foundation will remain engaged in this process and do everything possible to ensure that this incredible workshop is but the beginning of opening the space frontier to all humanity.

Jeff Krukin

Foundation Action Report (FAR) #1: Teachers in Space at National Science Teachers Conference

Thurs, Fri and Sat of last week, the Foundation’s newest project - “Teachers in Space” exhibited at the National Science Teachers Association annual convention in Anaheim, California. The TIS team consisted of Bill Boland, Jeff Krukin, Traci Ivory, Jason Marcks, and Don McMahon (Mesa Public School System - AZ).

Our exhibit booth, on loan from Jason’s Space Education initiative was modern and had our new signage. (Thanks Jason!) Our booth was well placed between NASA’s really, really large space and the food court. In fact several of the NASA folks dropped by, complimenting the effort and expressing support.

Hundreds of teachers, educators and others dropped by the booth, to learn of the TIS project and add their support.

Our primary activities in the booth were:

We got 263 Declarations and 405 sign ups. Among them were many who offered help through their own contacts and networks, who will be followed up with in coming weeks. Thanks to the software set up at the TIS website, all of these people will get emailed thankyou notes.

Foundation Advocate Traci Ivory lugged her totally professional video equipment down from Redmond, WA and filmed our effort. It’s obvious she’s a pro, and we are very lucky to have her talents. From her work we will be able to produce various multi media products to support our efforts. Don McMahon also brought video from his project (Mesa) that we’ll work into finished products.

A press release went out Thursday evening, which we subsequently revised. The final press release may be seen at http://www.space-frontier.org/PressReleases/2016/20160411teachersinspace.html.

If you want to get involved as a volunteer for this growing and important project, contact Bill Boland, the project manager, at us@teachersinspace.org.

For a cash or in-kind contributions (up to and including a scholarship for a teacher to fly) contact Rick Tumlinson at Rick@RickTumlinson.com.

Thanks!
Bill Boland

Foundation Projects

Return to the Moon

The Return to the Moon (RTM) Project is a self explanatory, long term goal of the Space Frontier Foundation. The project encompasses all of the Foundation’s efforts geared to achieving this goal.

In keeping with the Space Frontier Foundation’s stated mission of “opening space exploration for all humanity within our lifetime” there are three crucial aspects to the RTM project goal of a lunar settlement:

  1. It must be large scale so that it is accessible to the greatest possible number of people from every cross section of the population.
  2. It must be economically viable (i.e. profitable). Profitability is key to ensuring permanence. “If it pays, we will stay.”
  3. It must be done within our lifetime: we want to see an operational settlement within the next 25 years.

If our efforts are successful, then normal everyday people may have a real shot at visiting the Moon in our lifetimes. If you are a little older than 40, the chance still exists that you could have the opportunity to take that trip of a lifetime.

Return To The Moon Conference
The Space Frontier Foundation runs an annual event called the Return To The Moon Conference as a critical part of the RTM Project. The purpose of the conference is to advance both government and private efforts to return to the moon. In previous years, it has been held in both Houston and Las Vegas and has enjoyed the participation of many well known and accomplished scientists, engineers, authors, astronauts, visionaries, entrepreneurs and people from many different backgrounds. We have been honored by the presence and support of Captain John Young, Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Dr. Harrison Schmitt, and Gene Cernan, all of whom have walked on the surface of the Moon. Additionally, we have hosted presentations from such authorities as Dr. Alan Binder (Lunar Prospector mission), Dr. Paul Spudis, Dr. David Criswell, Dr. Wendell Mendell, and many others.

The RTM Conferences share a number of general objectives:

  1. To serve as a forum for sharing new ideas, discoveries, and achievements related to lunar exploration, science, and development.
  2. To create an opportunity for attendees to network and establish new links with members of the community who share similar interests.
  3. To refine the objectives of the RTM project, assess progress, and develop plans and strategies to deal with the changing social, economic, and political environment.
  4. To bring critical information about what is happening in space exploration generally, and lunar exploration specifically, to the public.

Additionally, each year we concentrate on a specific theme or area where it is perceived that more attention or emphasis may be warranted. This year for example, we are focusing on the impact and the potential of the private sector on government activities in space.

Our most recent event was Return to the Moon VI Conference (RTM VI) in Las Vegas on July 21-23 2015. For more information please click here to visit the Conference page.

We expect that you may have a number of questions on your mind.
Questions such as: How large is large scale? How many people would this first settlement support? Can it really be done in 25 years? Who will build it?

And probably many more questions. We want to give you all the information available and help you understand our project and our objectives as clearly as possible.

For that purpose we have compiled a list of FAQs that you can use to familiarize yourself with general details about the RTM Project.

Finally, If you don’t see your question, or a sufficiently similar one on the list below, please take the time and e-mail it to us. We will be glad to forward it to one of many experienced and accomplished experts in that field and get you the most accurate and complete answer possible. We may even add it to our FAQ list below.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Question 1: Why do we want to go to the Moon?

The short answer is based on three key elements (listed in order of priority):

The Survival angle is perhaps best summarized by Captain John Young’s statement that “A single planet civilization cannot survive in the long term.”

We need to spread ourselves outward. To establish new beach heads and plant new civilization roots in as many places around the Universe as possible. We also need to do this quickly; if we don’t, we may not have the chance to even get started.

There are too many threats to our planet and to our civilization. There are perhaps hundreds of millions of asteroids as yet unaccounted for which could cause catastrophic damage to the Earth. Even a small strike by an asteroid less than 100 meters in diameter could disrupt weather patterns on a global scale and wipe out one or more years of the global rice crop (a staple subsistence crop for a very large portion of the world’s population). Larger asteroids or comets, have in the past driven thousands of species to sudden extinction. Humans are not invulnerable to this same fate, especially if they continue to refuse to take advantage of their unique survival adaptation: the ability to think, to explore and decipher the mysteries of our universe, and the ability to predict future long term consequences of our present day actions.

Near Earth Object (NEO) impacts are just one of the risks to our survival. The list includes other, even more dangerous and likely catastrophic events. These can be either natural or man made. They include (but are not limited to) the following:

Prosperity: Achieving mastery of space technology and beginning the earnest exploration of its riches will create entire new and unlimited economies that will generate wealth and resources sufficient to allow every man, woman, and child on this planet (and off planet dwellers alike) a life of dignity, freedom, and above all hope in a better future. This point actually accrues an additional benefit that could be listed under the Survival category: people who have hope are also patient and do not commit acts of desperation against their fellow human beings.

Adventure: Having taken the necessary measures to assure our survival, having created new sources of wealth that will benefit all of humanity, we can indulge ourselves in the perhaps the most satisfying of human endeavours – the quest for adventure.

Adventure, in all its various incarnations, is the primal force or essence of our very humanity. Whether it manifests itself as thrill seeking, or competition, or discovery, or epic travels, or just the yearn to feel alive and connected deeply to the Universe, human beings have a need for change and a boundless curiosity about their world.

Just imagine what it will be like to visit another planet. To be able to travel to the Moon one day. To experience being lifted from the Earth’s surface up into orbit where you can look down on your glorious home planet. Then break free of the Earth’s gravitational bonds and float out towards the Moon. Once arriving in lunar orbit you would descend to the surface of the Moon. At touchdown, the engines stop and you realize that you have just done what many billions of people throughout history have considered “the impossible”. Some of those people who were saying it was impossible are living members of your own family perhaps, or friends, or neighbors.

Just imagine what it will be like when people arriving on the Moon, or on Mars will feel like that have arrived at their home planet. Try to visualize a time, in the not so distant future, when free floating archipelagos of colossal space colonies, shaped like the giant Bernal spheres envisioned by Dr. Gerard O’Neil, each inhabited by 10,000 or more living souls, are spread throughout our solar system. Each one a self contained and self sufficient capsule of civilization. Just imagine…

Question 2: Why spend money going to the Moon when there are urgent needs here on Earth?

Undeniably, there are serious and urgent problems here on Earth which cannot be ignored. It is an atrocity that in the 21st century there should be a single human being dying of starvation. We have the technology to grow food in much greater abundance than we could possibly consume. Sometimes the blame for these horrors can be laid directly at the feet of an individual, a group, or a system of government. Sometimes the reasons for human suffering are not as clear. To those that suffer, the reasons are irrelevant! The resources to fully address these injustices are never sufficient.

These problems require immediate attention and the suffering of people (and it always seems to be the most innocent who suffer most) must take highest priority. However, if you only address the immediate needs and neglect the underlying causes, you have utterly failed in your duty to your fellow humans. In fact, we would go so far as to say that in many cases, if there was only one choice between addressing the immediate needs versus addressing the root causes of suffering, the wiser choice would be to sacrifice the former for the latter. Fortunately, this is not usually a dilemma that we must face. There is usually something that can be done for those suffering in the present. What we cannot do, however, is expend all of our resources on them. If we did that, we would only guarantee a recurrence of the same conditions and would be multiplying the pain many fold for future generations.

No, sensible solutions to problems MUST have two components: the first to address the immediate concerns of those involved AND a second component (and the most crucial), the second is a long term solution to prevent a future recurrence by addressing the root causes.

Space exploration is the long term solution to many, if not all of the serious problems that challenge our world today. Every dollar invested in space exploration, if it contributes to the eventual human expansion and settlement of space will directly reduce the pain and suffering of future generations for ever. The unimaginable riches of space and the hope that they provide for limitless expansion in all areas of human endeavour are so vast that we will have the power to eliminate injustice in the world. The day when every man, woman, and child will assured their God given rights so eloquently enumerated by Thomas Jefferson of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness is within sight.

Question 3: What will the first large-scale lunar settlement look like?

It is not possible to say with certainty what the first lunar settlement will look like. It is based on our best knowledge of what is technologically possible within the 25 year time frame we have stipulated. You may think of it as what we could and would build right now if we were able to completely fund this project. It is based on an engineering model of a lunar settlement design. It will change and evolve with each new piece of information incorporated into the model. At some point this will be converted into an interactive, highly detailed, visual representation of the engineering design solutions selected as best for each lunar settlement system and component.

Our goal is to make an accurate virtual representation of the lunar settlement design that can assimilate and incorporate changes as they happen in real time. As we get closer and closer to the completion deadline for the actual building of the lunar settlement facility, our model will continuously evolve and approach the “real world” solution. At the end of this process, our virtual design and the real world design should, ideally, be indistinguishable.

Question 4: How much will it cost to visit the Moon?

To answer this question with some degree of precision requires much research to be done and a number of studies completed. A simple but useful approximation can be reached by the following method:

Let us use an arbitrary, rough order of magnitude number and say that it will cost about $15 Billion per year to operate the lunar settlement. For simplicity let us assume that this figure includes all debt service (loan and investor) payments for the financing required to build it. Since approximately 2/3 of the people in this settlement will be made up of tourists and the people who provide the hospitality services (about 201 people all together) we would have to ascribe 2/3 of the total operating expenses to be covered by tourism related gross sales. That turns out to be $10 Billion/year.

Since we have designed the lunar settlement for a transient tourist population of 100 people per week, or approximately 5,000 per year, then we would have to charge at least $2.1 Million per person for a one week stay to make a 5% profit on $10 Billion gross yearly revenue.

We don’t really know, at this point, what the operational cost of such a facility would be. But as we perfect our models and incorporate the right set of assumptions we will adjust the economic variables as necessary to keep the figures realistic and supportable by the best quality research possible.

There are currently just under 8 million millionaires on Earth today. If we arbitrarily choose to consider that 1% of that population represents our total market for the lunar tourism sector, that yields a total number of 80,000 customers or $168 Billion dollars. At 5,000 tourists per year, it would take 16 years to exhaust that initial market.

Teachers in Space

The Vision

Since the beginning of the Space Age, 50 years ago, students have been told that if they studied math and science, they could grow up to become astronauts and go into space.

Unfortunately, that was a false promise. Even at the height of the Shuttle program, a student had a better chance of becoming an NBA basketball player than a NASA astronaut. No wonder today’s students show more interest in athletics than math and science.

What if we could turn that around and show students that they have a real chance for a future in space?

Imagine thousands of astronaut teachers, in schools all across the country, sharing their spaceflight knowledge and experiences with millions of students. This vision could become a reality within the next ten years.

Private companies are now developing a new generation of reusable space vehicles, which will dramatically improve safety and reduce the cost of human spaceflight. In the next few years, these vehicles will allow many thousands of people to fly in space.

The Teachers in Space program is working with many of these new spaceflight companies to make sure that teachers are among those who have a chance to go. As a new age of opportunity opens up, who better than teachers to lead the way?

Unlike the Educator Astronaut program, which takes teachers out of the classroom to join the NASA astronaut corps, Teachers in space will allow teachers to “keep their day jobs.” Training will take only a few weeks; many teachers will be able to complete the program during school breaks and not have to take any time off.

The selection process for the “pathfinders” will soon begin. When the first vehicles enter commercial service a few years from now, we will have teachers who are trained and ready to go.

Pathfinders of the New Frontier

Every journey begins with a single step. The Teachers in Space program will begin with the selection of a small group of “pathfinder” teachers. These pathfinders will help us to test our concepts for selecting and training teachers. As the first Teachers in Space, they will blaze the trail for the large number of teachers who will follow.

The process of selecting the first pathfinder will begin this fall. We are currently refining details of the selection process, which will be announced at a special event taking place at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico on October 26.

In the 1960’s, Holloman AFB was home to much of the aerospace medical research that made early spaceflight possible. Holloman is where Air Force physician Col. John Paul Stapp conducted many of his famous (and dangerous) rocket sled tests, which not only proved the ability of astronauts and aviators to withstand high gee forces but also led to the introduction of seat belts and other advances in automotive safety.

Today, Holloman is home to the Wirefly X-Prize Cup and Holloman Air and Space Expo: the first public event to combine a major military airshow with a public spaceflight exposition. Along with performances by F-22 Raptors and US Air Force Thunderbirds, visitors will see exciting rocket flights as part of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Competition.

Against this background of pioneering, we will announce the start of a new pioneer program. Just as teachers helped lead the way in the opening of the American West, so too will they lead the way in the opening of the space frontier.

We hope you can see us in New Mexico, but if you can’t, watch this website for further details and application procedures after October 26.

Space Settlement

Marketing Space to the General Public
While the exploration of space is valuable in and of itself, the most important reason for exploring space, the reason that robots alone simply don’t count, can be summed-up in one word: settlement. In the 21st Century, human needs cry out for the extension of civilization into orbit and beyond. Why? Because space is:

  1. A mere 62 miles above us, and thus a continuation of our environment
  2. An extension of the economy, and thus part of our lives
  3. A place of abundant resources, and thus crucial to our survival and prosperity
    Stated concisely yet profoundly, space is nothing less than the ultimate economic growth engine for the entire world, and nothing more than another place for people to live, work, study, and play. The Space Settlement Project believes this is how space must be marketed to the general public. When people understand space in this manner, they will care about space and demand action.

Please use the buttons on the left for more information about the Space Settlement Project, as follows:
About the Project: Goals and Activities
Why Space Settlement: Declaration of the Space Settlement Project

Ten Reasons for Space Settlement

Articles, Websites, Speeches, and more that explain the reasons for Space Settlement
In the News: Press Releases, Op-Ed’s, and more about the Space Settlement Project
Donate: Scroll down on this page to contribute directly to the Space Settlement Project

Announcement

Jeff Krukin spoke at the Foundation’s Return to the Moon Conference V in Las Vegas about the importance of making settlement a fundamental goal of all space activity. Among other things, he points out that the word “settlement” is never used in the Aldridge Commission’s report. You can read his speech at Why Space Settlement.

Why Human Space Settlement
Our Declaration
The human settlement of space is a noble cause that deserves the attention and support of every American for the following reasons:

Because…

  1. Harnessing the abundant—virtually limitless—energy and material resources of outer space will alleviate our dependence on non-renewable, terrestrial resources and create new avenues of wealth.
  2. Relocating industrial complexes to outer space will help preserve the Earth’s biosphere from further deterioration exacerbated by human civilization (e.g. global warming, ozone depletion, toxic waste, etc.) and protect endangered species and ecosystems.
  3. The intellectual and cultural evolution of the human race depends on frontier migration, and space is the only true frontier left. Human beings are explorers; it’s what we do. It inspires— and demands—the best in us.
  4. Opening the space frontier to settlement and development will provide the necessary resources to raise the standard of living in undeveloped nations, inspire youth, and foster international unity by shrinking the gap between rich and poor societies.
  5. Focusing specifically on human space settlement as a national space goal insures that the core purpose of space science and exploration is to improve the human condition— physically, intellectually, culturally and spiritually.
  6. Invigoration of existing industries, as well as the creation of new markets and off-world industries, will stimulate the economy, driving innovation and technological breakthroughs.
  7. In addition to insuring that human civilization will always have room to expand and grow, space settlement would guarantee survival of the human species in the event of global catastrophe such as asteroid impact, plague or other disasters (e.g. war/terrorism.)
  8. The human spirit longs to be free, to move unfettered to unknown destinations, the freedom to choose one’s destiny and lifestyle. While some might characterize it as the “will of God,” the drive to reach out and explore, to know and experience all of creation, resonates deeply in the human psyche.
  9. Our efforts towards the permanent human settlement of space allow us to use our time and talents creatively and passionately. We believe that beyond being good for us, settling space will be fun, and we are having fun along the way.
  10. Getting there first ensures America’s leadership in creating a better world and a peaceful, prosperous future for all humankind.

Permission to Dream

Permission to Dream connects students around the world through the wonder of space and astronomy.
Permission to Dream is a space adventure for students, teachers and parents. Our goal is to inspire students to achieve great things, like:

Check out photos from around the world of various Permission to Dream telescope donations, programs and seminars. Photos
Permission to Dream received a generous donation from Yuri’s Night in 2015. Click here to read the accompanying letter. Space 101: click here!
Team Telescope is an international astronomy network created by Permission to Dream, a space education project of the Space Frontier Foundation. Click here to learn more. Team Telescope: click here!
Over 70 students participated in Permission to Dream’s very successful Space 101, hosted by the California Institute of Technology during the Spring of 2012. Click here to learn more.

The Watch


Will Mankind Go the Way of the Dinosaurs?
Fact, Not Science Fiction: You have a greater chance of dying as the result of an asteroid impact than in a jetliner crash. A quarter-mile-wide asteroid slamming into our planet would cause more destruction than a hundred hydrogen bombs. The latest research reveals that, sooner or later, a catastrophic terrestrial impact is inevitable. The Watch believes in the importance of finding these Near Earth Objects (NEOs) before they find us.
NASA NEO Survey and Deflection Analysis of Alternatives Report to Congress
March 13, 2017 – Section 321 of the NASA Authorization Act of 2015, also known as the George E. Brown, Jr. Near-Earth Object Survey Act, directs the NASA Administrator to transmit an initial report to Congress that provides: (1) an analysis of possible alternatives that NASA may employ to carry out the survey program of near-Earth Objects (NEO), including groundbased and space-based alternatives with technical descriptions; (2) a recommended option and proposed budget to carry out the survey program pursuant to the recommended option; and (3) an analysis of possible alternatives that NASA could employ to divert an object on a likely collision course with Earth. Download NASA’s March 2017 NEO Report to Congress as a PDF.
Record Meteorite Hits Norway
June 13, 2016 – As Wednesday morning dawned, northern Norway was hit with an impact comparable to the atomic bomb used on Hiroshima. The meteorite hit a mountainside in Reisadalen in North Troms. Norwegian astronomers believes the meteorite was a giant rock and probably the largest known to have struck Norway. The record was the Alta meteorite that landed in 1904. That one was 90 kilos (198 lbs) but the meteorite that landed Wednesday was considerably larger. More info: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1346411.ece
NASA Scores a Hole in One from 2.9 Billion Miles Away
January 15, 2016 – Congratulations NASA! This morning, a little past 5 a.m. EST the return capsule from NASA’s Stardust comet sample return mission parachuted down precisely onto a desert salt flat in Utah. The mission involved a trip of 2.9 billion miles including circling the Sun 3 times. This is the most spectacular hole in one in the history of our species. The Stardust project shows what excellent work NASA is capable of.

NASA’s project to collect samples from the comet Wild II accomplished many scientific firsts. It was not only the first capsule to collect dust and small particles from a comet fly by mission and return them to Earth, but he vehicle used in the mission achieved the fastest speed of any object made by human beings.

Anyone with an interest in comets simply must read the information NASA has on its website about the Stardust mission. Click here: NASA’s Comet Tale Draws to a Successful Close in Utah Desert.
Deep Impact Success
July 4, 2015 – Read The Watch Project Manager Richard Haase’s letter to the New York Times regarding the success of Deep Impact’s rendezvous with Tempel I.
HR1022 (Near Earth Objects Survey Act)
June 25, 2015 – Recommended: Visit the NASA Ames Asteroid Comet and Impact Hazards web site for up to date info on pending legislation in Congress this year on HR1022 (Near Earth Objects Survey Act): http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/.
NASA’s Deep Impact Probe On It’s Way to Rendezvous with Comet Tempel I
January 11, 2015 – At 1:47 p.m. (EST) NASA launched the Deep Impact probe on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fl. The probe is equipped with a device which will spike comet Tempel I on July 4, 2015 and report back details about the comet’s composition.

It is hoped that this research will provide valuable information about the makeup of the comet class of Near Earth Objects which humans may want to mine at some time in the future.

Comets are believed to contain huge amounts of water ice which could possibly be tapped for use on future space missions, thus saving the expense of shipping water up from Earth. It is also to our advantage to learn as many details as possible about comets because one day we may have to contend with one which could be as serious as the one described in the motion picture Deep Impact.
Changes to Bill in Congress to Adequately Fund NEO Projects
July 16, 2014 – Please note that a member of Congressman Rohrabacher’s staff has advised us that the number of the bill in Congress to adequately fund efforts to detect, track, catalogue, and characterize Near Earth Objects has been changed from HR3813 to HR4544.

The bill, introduced in the House on February 11, 2014, by U. S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher was originally given the short title of, “The George R. Brown Near-Earth Objects Survey Act” with the number HR 3813. Because of a typographical error (“R.” instead of “E.”) the bill recently had to be renumbered. The new short title is, “The George E. Brown Near-Earth Objects Survey Act and the new number is HR 4544.”

Mr. Rohrabacher, a Republican, wanted to call attention to the bi-partisan nature of this bill by naming it after Mr. George E. Brown (a Democrat) who served many years on the House Science Committee.

Representative Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat, is now a co-sponsor of this bill and it is anticipated that other members of Congress from both parties, will soon sign on.
Good News
June 24, 2014 – Congratulations to Scaled Composites and SpaceShipOne for their recent historic flight which carried the first private astronaut into space, and to all the people involved with The X Prize, and all the other spacecraft in the competition.

Additional good news:
“The George Brown Near Earth Object Survey Act” HR3813 introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R., CA) now has a Co-sponsor – Rep Jerrold Nadler (D., NY). The bill, HR3813, may have to be renamed and renumbered due to a typographical error in the “Short Title”. We will post the new name and number as soon as possible.

I have been told that the bi-partisan support will help ensure passage of this important bill, IF MORE OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN THE HOUSE ARE INFORMED AND BECOME CO-SPONSORS of this $20 million Authorization of Appropriations to adequately fund the efforts to detect, track, catalogue, and characterize near-earth asteroids and comets.

If your member of Congress would like more information about the importance and urgency of these NEO projects, I will be glad to meet with him or her in Washington. Our web site ( www.SpaceFrontierFoundation.org) can also provide a lot of the necessary information.

Many thanks for your anticipated help.
Richard Haase
Project Manager, The Watch (The NEO Project of the Space Frontier Foundation)
2014 Planetary Defense Conference: Protecting the Earth from Asteroids
This conference was organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. and took place February 23 - February 26, 2014 in Garden Grove, California. Participants at the conference developed a list of recommendations that when implemented will help prevent our species from suffering the same fate as befell the dinosaurs. Topics included deflection options, mitigation projects and disaster preparedness. Missions were designed to deal with various Near Earth Object scenarios.

For more information about this event, please visit:
http://www.aiaa.org/calendar/index.hfm?cal=5&luMeetingid=865.

For a report on this conference by Andrew Bridges, Associated Press, please visit:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4356390/.
At Last! Near Earth Object Survey Act HR 3813 Introduced in Congress
February 12, 2014 – On February 11, 2014, Representative Dana Rohrabacher, (CA) introduced the "George R. Brown Near-Earth Object Survey Act " in the House of Representatives. The purpose of the bill is to provide for “a Near-Earth Object survey program to detect, track, catalogue, and characterize certain near-earth asteroids and comets.” Full Story.
Great News - Hermes Rediscovered
October 24, 2013 – Dr. Brian Marsden, of the Minor Planet Center, said the rediscovery of Hermes is one of the most exciting events of the year. The asteroid has not been seen for almost six decades. Hermes is classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid because it passes so close to the Earth as it completes each orbit. However, it poses no immediate threat to the Earth. Hermes is also unusual in that it appears to be a binary. Each of the two objects are approximately 300 to 450 meters in diameter. Full Story.
Richard Haase and The Watch Helping to Prevent Collisions with Huge Near Earth Objects
October 23, 2013 – At the annual meeting of The Space Frontier Foundation in Los Angeles, CA, the Board of Directors picked Richard Haase to head The Watch, an international project to promote efforts to find, monitor and deflect near earth objects (comets and asteroids) in time to prevent collisions with our planet. Full Story.
The NEO Threat and Recommendations for Dealing with It – An Open Letter to Congress on Near Earth Objects
July 8, 2013 – A distinguished group of Americans joined together today to send a remarkable letter to Congressional leaders about the danger our planet faces from near earth objects (NEOs). The letter was also sent to President Bush and his cabinet, the Secretary General of the United Nations and to leaders around the globe. To see the letter, click here. To see Biographical Information on the signers of the letter, click here. To download all of the information as a PDF file, click here.
Bill Atkins Visits Minor Planet Center
September 20, 2012 – Bill Adkins, Majority staff director of the Space & Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House Science Committee, was taken for a visit by Marc Schlather of ProSpace to the Minor Planet Center in Boston. Atkins was very impressed but shocked by the small amount of monies that were available to pay for the MPC. This visit was a direct result of the Senate Asteroid Roundtable that was put together by Marc Schlather and Lee Valentine, along with help from The Watch, FINDS and Apogee Books.
UK NEO Taskforce Report
Click above to download the PDF Report of the September 2010 UK NEO Taskforce Report on Potentially Hazardous Near Earth Objects.

Space companies

New Space Launch Service Companies

Garvey Spacecraft Corporation: a small aerospace company focusing on cost-effective development of advanced space technologies and launch vehicle systems.

Orbital Expressways, Inc., America’s new rocket-launch resource. Through Orbital Expressways, low-cost space access is now available for civil, commercial, scientific, government / military, and university customers that wish to perform research, experiments, and other missions throughout and above the Earth’s atmosphere.