The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which was given responsibility for regulating commercial space activities in 1995 (though the funding authority remains different from that of the rest of the FAA) has started a study on how best to merge the monitoring and handling of aircraft traffic with rockets and space vehicles that travel to and from outer space.

On May 8 an 8ft (2.4m) long model of Bristol Spaceplanes' "Ascender" spaceplane performed its first test flights, flying at upwards of 80 kph (50 mph). The model is being used to study the low-speed handling of the full-scale "Ascender" which is the size of a business jet, and will carry 4 people to space and back.

Jim Benson, Chairman and founder of SpaceDev, the San Diego company developing the first commercial satellite mission to an asteroid, has decided to establish the "Space Development Institute" in San Diego.

Pierre Bartholome, former head of ESA's office in Belgium argued that commercial profits from space activities have been earned from satellite operation, ground equipment manufacturing, satellite manufacturing and rocket manufacturing, in that order.

The final report of a study of General Public Space Travel and Tourism performed cooperatively by NASA and the Space Transportation Association (STA) under a Space Act Agreement dated 12th September, 1995 was released at a press conference on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. on March 25.

The Final Report of the joint study on General Public Space Travel and Tourism released March 25 by NASA and the Space Transportation Association (STA) concluded that "Our national space policy should be examined with an eye to toward actively encouraging the creation of a large general public space travel and tourism business." However, one of the problems which the Report specifically discusses is that the concept of "space tourism" is not taken seriously by many technical experts who might be expected to support it:

After a reception starting at 8.00 am, a press conference will be held at 9.00 am on Wednesday March 25th on Capitol Hill at the Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-354 (corner of Independence Avenue and South Capitol Street, SW) Washington D.C. to announce the release of the final report of the joint study by STA and NASA on General Public Space Travel and Tourism.

NASA has announced that Senator John Glenn (D Idaho), the first US citizen to orbit the Earth (in 1962) will fly on board the space shuttle in late 1998. Scepticism has been expressed about claims that this will be useful for research on ageing, and it is acknowledged that his case is exceptional. (There's a long queue of other ex-astronauts who'd like a flight!)

A joint press conference by NASA and the Space Transportation Association (STA) was planned for January 21st at the Press Club, Washington DC, and publicised in the STA Newsletter. However it was cancelled by NASA at the last minute, and a new date has yet to be announced.

On October 24 the US House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing to examine the viability of microwave energy from space. They discussed the need to direct NASA to study SPS, since it is not working on this project, despite its promise to provide an economic return on taxpayers' huge investment in space. For a fuller report see http://www.nss.org/alerts/capsules/capsule17.html