While I delight in the remarkable
success of DS1 [something positive for a change], I have to comment on
the negative side of what's coming for American space-programs; amateur &
professional; NASA & the military space efforts & commercial & exploratory space programs.

Because of those evil men [terrorists] who turned America, and the rest of the world, upside down on Sept/11th/2001, space programs are
not going to escape the adverse effects
of it all.
President Bush and Congress have already given the US military, intelligence community & law-enforcement TOP PRIORITY [budgetary, and otherwise].
NASA will receive low priority
as result.
NASA is already being targeted
for a 5-percent cutback because
of the looming war effort.
(1) It means less money for the ISS.
(2) Less money for Mars exploration.
(3) Likely cancellation of any Pluto-flyby mission.
(4) No money for shuttle upgrades.

The US military may find that plans
for "Missile Defence" will be put on the "backburner", though plenty of money will be available for MORE spy satellites...There's a possibility
that the idea for a dreamed of
hypersonic orbital "space bomber"
may get a R & D boost from Bush and
Congress, though [private corporations
may offer economical alternatives to such a military space vehicle; I'll develop that thought a little later].

The looming recession</b. may kill
may commercial space projects, like the
one Bill Gates dreamed of; like
MirCorp has [had] plans for, like those proposed by the Artemis group & LunaCorp & NEAP, etc...
Those corporations, and their plans, projects and dreams are now in real trouble, thanks to the impending recession & Wall Street meltdown.



If you're a private, "amateur rocketeer", good luck in trying to get
a NOW hostile, suspicious federal
bureaucracy [and associated agencies
& authorities] to approve any of your
high-altitude rocket-launching
attempts from American soil...or elsewhere....You'll need it.

As far as private corporations
developing space vehicles [for the X-Prize, etc], they would be better off
trting to develop military space vehicles that might interest the Pentagon.
Tom Brosz? You're colleagues, who
are still working on that rotary-rocket
might find it worthwhile to see if
they can develop military applications for the rotary rocket
concept, that may interest the Pentagon brass [A space booster/vehicle that can launch a platoon of Special Forces personnel to a speed of over 15,000 mph, and deliver them to any spot on the globe in less than an hour would hold obvious attractions to Pentagon officials.]
Why not? Burt Rutan managed to interest Pentagon officials in some of his designs and projects.

OK! You can't keep mourning for months, it's time to get back to the business of life.
cheers.

Jacob