National Public Radio's Marketplace is interviewing Lou Dobbs, former CNN Financial News anchor, and now producer of Space.com on Wednesday, October 6 at 6:30 pm PST (check your local radio listings). Space.com is a new web site devoted to all types of space-related news.

A short article entitled, "Human Mars mission not a priority, Clinton says" (_Space News_, August 2, p 2) reports that on July 21, 1999, the US President told a press conference "...the benefits to us here on Earth of continued advances in space..." would capture the imagination of the American people more than going to Mars. This reflects what public opinion polls show and is perhaps to be expected from a President who became famous for his campaign slogan, "It's the economy, stupid".

"October Sky" is a delightful film based on the autobiographical book "Rocket Boys" by Homer Hickham Jr, which tells of his inspiration as a teenager by the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957. As a result he decided he wanted to build rockets, although his father wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a coal-miner. Encouraged by his school-teacher and his mother, Homer began building model rockets with some friends, and through persistence they ultimately won a national science competition - and scholarships that allowed them to escape from coal-mining. (Homer himself ended up working for NASA, from where he recently retired.)

The November/December 1998 issue of "STA Spacetrans", the newsletter of the Space Transportation Association, describes the first time that a NASA Administrator spoke out formally and positively in public about space tourism.

On C-SPAN 1, Saturday, 11/07/98 at 08:40pm to 10:15pm ET or 05:40pm to

Buzz Aldrin, space tourism's most famous supporter, appeared with David Letterman "the most powerful man in American broadcasting" on November 3. His invitation was triggered in part by the orbital trip being taken by the 77-year-old John Glenn.

At 2:19 pm today, the Space Shuttle Discovery carried US Senator John Glenn and six other astronauts into orbit in a nearly flawless launch. Glenn, the second American in space in 1961, returns to space at age 77.

Under the headline "Vacations in Orbit" journalist Jeffrey Kluger subtitled Time magazine's first article on the recent activities aimed at realising space tourism "Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin has flown in space twice. Now he's hoping to send you there too."

Under the dramatic headline "Allegre Blasts Station, ESA Management" Space News (June 22-28) reported on some blunt comments by the French Space Minister, Claude Allegre. While complaining about a long list of things (including ESA, the European Commission, Britain, etc) he explained why the French government would not support crewed space activities:

It seems that space tourism is becoming a topic of interest in the mainstream press. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times 'Gearing Up for the New Race to Space' discusses the X-Prize and how it's competitors will soon allow anyone to fly into space: