On March 12th, concerned citizens from all over the United States will
gather in Washington DC for the sixth annual March Storm. Their task: to
present the ProSpace Citizen’s Space Agenda to Congressional leaders.
We’d like to invite you to join us in this important endeavor.
Why is it so important? Because a lack of vision afflicts our nation’s
leaders. To understand this, you need look no further than the 2000
Presidential election campaign that is in full swing across the country.
On several occasions, the various candidates have found themselves
confronted with questions about “space” and our future efforts there.
Since space issues have taken such a back seat in the national political
scene in recent years, most of the candidates have no real depth of
understanding of the relevant issues. Instead, they give pat answers,
like one who said, “We want to go out to the stars. We want to go out to
space. We are a curious people, and that’s not going to stop.”
A lovely sentiment but hardly a blueprint for opening the final frontier.
But it is understandable – all of these candidates view space as a
governmental program that necessarily diverts money from other pet
projects.
At ProSpace, we have spent the last six years communicating the idea that
space is a place, not a program! And just as we opened the West to our
forefathers, the time has come to open the vastness of space to all of our
citizens. Only then will we truly be able to take full advantage of the
opportunities that might present themselves to us out there.
The first task is to lower the costs to get there. And we believe that
Washington has a role in getting that task underway.
How? First, by stimulating private investment in new space transportation
systems and technologies. Second, by encouraging the creation and growth
of new markets in space. And most importantly, by making sure that these
new markets and systems can operate on a level playing field, uninhibited
by government interference and excessive controls.
We are not talking about creating massive government programs that bring
with them massive public expense. In fact, the cost to accomplish these
goals is considerably less that you might think.
Just consider what we are spending now: Last year, NASA spent some $3
billion on the Space Shuttle. For that sum we had a total of three shuttle
flights in all of 1999, each with an average of 6 crew members. That
means that NASA spent about $1 billion for each flight or $200 million for
each government employee sent into orbit last year.
By stimulating investment in new privately-owned Reusable Launch Vehicle
systems through the use of investment tax credits and other devices, our
government could save literally hundreds of millions of dollars each year
in the future. And all without billions of dollars in direct investment
in a new government-owned, one-size-fits-all system.
In the past, ProSpace members and March Storm have been credited with
being instrumental in the passage of such groundbreaking legislation as
the Commercial Space Act of 1998, which provides the framework for new
private efforts in space. This year we hope to be just as effective as we
communicate our vision for the future of space transportation, commercial
activities on the International Space Station and other subjects as well.
We’d like to invite you to join with us. We promise you a rewarding
experience that you’ll never forget. And I’ll share a secret with you:
you’ll have a whole lot of fun as well.
If you’re thinking about coming to March Storm, don’t wait. Visit
ProSpace OnLine at www.prospace.org for more information and our handy
registration form. Or email us at prospace@prospace.org and we’ll send
you the form.
I look forward to seeing you in Washington on March 12th. With your help,
we can open the space frontier for us all.
Sincerely,
Ransom Wuller
President
ProSpace America, Inc.
