0191 -9067/82/010001-01 $03.00/0 Copyright ® 1982 SUN SAT Energy Council EDITORIAL Ben Bova's new book, The High Road, makes a compelling case for a stronger U.S. space program. The book is important because it speaks to a general audience. It carries the argument for space to the American people in a very forceful way. In the book, Bova deplores the lack of commitment and follow-through following the Apollo program. He examines the fallacy of the “Politics Scarcity" and how the “we can't afford it syndrome” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. He demonstrates how the space program has paid for itself many times over. But the real message of The High Road is the necessity for commitment and determination. Space can give this country a new beginning, but human “will” must make it happen. That “will” must transcend political winds. Two ways in which this can happen are through a greater private enterprise interest in space and through private foundation support for space research. Two new U.S. initiatives have recently emerged aimed at this goal. These are the establishment of Space Services Inc. and The Space Foundation. Space Services Inc. has set itself the ambitious goal of developing its own launch vehicle system for commercial use. The Space Foundation is supporting the industrialization of space by providing graduate student fellowships and thesis awards for space utilization related graduate research. The first of these awards were made to eight students in Houston, Texas, October 27, 1981. These two initiatives are bold symbols that the American “will” is alive and well. Again, the follow-through must continue. John W. Freeman Editor-in-Chief
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