Harnessing this energy

Your welcome, I also recommend looking into MIT open
courses. There was one put up earlier this year on
space policy:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Aeronautics-and-Astronautics/16-891JSpace-Policy-SeminarSpring2003/CourseHome/index.htm

Mr. Z, thank you, too, for the info. Now I have some
reading to do!

Val

>Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 08:43:24 -0800 (PST)
>
>I've been looking hard into this issue over the past
>two years myself. I started along a similar path at
>first, writing my congresswoman and senators. They
>didn't seem to big on it. Then I tried talking with
>various academics and scientists in the field and
>found out that most cannot agree past their own pet
>projects and field of research (though there are some

>notable exceptions to this).
>
>I then also started attending conferences held by
NSS,
>Mars Society and Space Frontiers. While those are
>definitely encouraging, it was disappointing to see
>the low turnouts relatively.
>
>During this time I also decided to go back and
educate
>myself on the issues more indepthly by pursuing a
>masters. Currently I am wrapping that one up. During
>that time, I found several books that have helped me
>understand the politics surrounding Space and I
highly
>recommend them:
>
> - Space Politics and Policy: An Evolutionary
>Perspective by Eligar Sadeh - a great text book that
>details all the actors involved in space policy and
>their motivations.
>
> - Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential
>Leadership by Roger D. Launis and Howard McCurdy
>
> - The Heavens and the Earth: A Political History
>of the Space Age by Walter A. McDougal
>
> I would also recommend looking at your local
>library for Space Policy journal which is a a
>peer-reviewed journal on space policy.
>
> That all being said, some of the most influential
>policy concerning space comes out of think tanks such

>as RAND and the Aerospace Corp. Another influential
>group is the Space Policy Institute at George
>Washington University. A great research arm that the
>department of commerce uses alot for space issues is
>the Futron Corp.
>
> If you really want to influence policy look to
>these groups. To understand who the other actors are,

>start reading up on the various commitees in congress

>and see who is testifying the most in front of them.
>These are the people you need to be aware of.
>
>Ryan Z
>
>Thank you very, very much. This information is
>extremely valuable to me, never having been involved
>in trying to sway the political powers. Of course, my

>original idea was to make SPS and the like an issue
>with the general public first, and than the politicos

>would follow by their own necessity (yes, yes, in my
>perfect world). This approach has worked many times,
>and for things nearly as big in scope.
Never-the-less,
>you have provided an illuminating view inside an
>integral part of the process.
>
>Val
>

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