I attended the X-Prize Cup on Saturday, October 27th. It was a
different world.

From the moment we entered Holloman Air Force Base, we were in a
different culture. I’ve never seen more efficient parking
management. Each entering car met a director at every turn, and a
three person team lined up our vehicles precisely. It was a great
display of American organization.

Security went smoothly and politely. The Air Base deserves
congratulations for outstanding logistics.

Once inside, there were many booths from airplane and rocket
companies from around the world. There were rockets on display and
t-shirts for sale. A rocket launched soon after we arrived,
visible to the eye and on a huge screen. It rose to a great
height, deployed its parachute, and landed safely.

Inside a hangar, ten high school teams competed for the Pete Conrad
prize for space innovation. They had developed ideas from lunar
washing machines to nozzle stabilizers to education in space to an
entire orbital colony.

Not just the grand outline of life in space, but the details are
coming into focus. Space had not felt so real and close to me since
the Apollo landings.

The greatest drama of the day came as Armadillo Aerospace aimed to
win the first phase of the Lunar Lander X-Prize, for $350,000. The
challenge is to drive a rocket to a pad, fuel it, lift off to a
height of 50 meters, stay in the air 90 seconds, and land 50 meters
from the takeoff site — then refuel, and return to the original
launch pad along a similar flight — all within two and a half
hours.

The remote-controlled rocket made the first flight flawlessly. The
second flight launched on schedule, went up high enough, descended,
and began to hover over the pad to reach 90 seconds. We saw a lot
of dust billowing around the landing area. On landing — so close!
— the rocket tipped over.

Compare this to the six month cycle to prepare the Space Shuttle to
launch again. We are making progress.

It was great to be surrounded by so many people working on Space
Flight. Gathered together, it was easy to believe and continue to
try.

So that’s my tip for today — if you have a dream, surround
yourself with people who believe in it. Or hire a professional
coach — it’s my job to create the space where your dreams can
bloom.

May you soar!
Anna

————

Now available! From Wishing to Writing: A Workbook for Writers
(with special attention to science fiction)

It’s here! A complete package to overcome seven writing problems
and increase your writing productivity forever. Buy From Wishing
to Writing and get the 30 Day Kickstart Your Writing E-Course free.
All the details are here: annaparadox.com/from-wishing-to-writing.

————

Small Steps – new feature!

“That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Neil Armstrong, as he placed the first footprint on the Moon.

Each issue, this new section offers a suggestion for an action you
can take now to help humans return to space. We can do it! We
have forty year’s technical advancements since we last sent men to
the Moon!

This issue’s Small Step for Space: Get informed. Subscribe to a
space website or magazine and keep up with space developments.

My favorite source of space news is spaceports.blogspot.com. A few
more resources worth checking are Space.com, Moon Miner’s Manifesto,
Ad Astra magazine, and the newly launched Launch! magazine.

————

Book Recommendation

Candle (Meme Wars) by John Barnes

Earth is a battlefield — not between nations or corporations, but
between the immense, self-aware memes that live in human minds.
When two men meet in an isolated area, they must decide if either of
them is free, and whether they can trust each other. Taut story-
telling and interesting speculation in a small package.

————

We are smarter together! Please forward this newsletter to a friend.

————

Creating Space is my twice-monthly newsletter. In my usual
fashion, I chose the name for more than one reason. One goal of my
newsletter and my coaching practice is to create a space that opens
new perspectives on my clients’ lives. Another goal is to offer
information and support for creating a spacefaring civilization.
It will take many, many steps for humanity to leave the nest of
Earth. Better to take the steps we can than to despair at the size
of the project.

You can subscribe to Creating Space at
www.annaparadox.com/newsletter. And you can ask any questions you
have about my life coaching and editing services by calling me at
505-640-0979 or emailing me at anna@annaparadox.com.

I wish you the power of creating space.
Anna Paradox