The 2nd International Symposium on Space Tourism took place in Bremen from April 21-23, organised by Professor Uwe Apel of Bremen Technical University as Chair of the Program Committee, and Hartmut Mueller of Space Tours Gmbh as Chair of the Host Committee. Among the 26 papers presented, several are destined to become recognised as 'classic' papers in the field, establishing an important new element of accepted wisdom among professionals in the field, or creating what will be seen as a milestone in the future.

Kistler Aerospace is the recipient of an $8 million investment by the Industrial Bank of Taiwan, one of seven banks approved by the Taiwanese finance ministry to invest a total of $50 million in a move to develop advanced space technology generally.

The Space Tourism Pavillion will be a feature at this year's Tomorrow's World Live exhibition, organised and sponsored by the BBC Tomorrow's World programme, the UK's most popular science and technology show.

The newly formed Space Travel and Tourism devision of the STA will be hosting a space tourism conference in Washington this coming June, entitled:

Space Capitalists, a new group being formed by some of the members of the Houston Space Society, is planning a party at the International Space Development Conference being held here in Houston. The party will take place in our corner suite at the Radisson Hotel near Hobby Airport on Sunday 30 May 1999, starting at 9 p.m. and going as late as we please. Ask the hotel operator (from any house phone) to connect you with Jim Davidson's room, and someone will tell you the room number. Or look for the Space Pork Dollar posters.

Over the past few weeks, two self-made billionaire businessmen have established companies with the stated objective of playing roles in the commercial space tourism industry that is becoming increasingly widely recognised as the true future of space activities.

"October Sky" is a delightful film based on the autobiographical book "Rocket Boys" by Homer Hickham Jr, which tells of his inspiration as a teenager by the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957. As a result he decided he wanted to build rockets, although his father wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a coal-miner. Encouraged by his school-teacher and his mother, Homer began building model rockets with some friends, and through persistence they ultimately won a national science competition - and scholarships that allowed them to escape from coal-mining. (Homer himself ended up working for NASA, from where he recently retired.)

The following are events open to the public that concern space tourism

SATMS? ISFO? STC? No idea what they mean? Are you behind the times - or what?

If attending the ROTON ATV rollout at Rotary Rocket Company’s facility wasn’t cool enough, the party afterward was the ultimate schmooze fest. Old friends and fellow space activists conversed with business and government leaders. It was like a joint National Space Society, Space Access Society, and Space Frontier Foundation conference.