NEW YORK CITY, New York USA — It is one thing to know that a new day is coming in the space industry. It's quite another to witness an extraordinary preview of it. This past week I had the opportunity to spend the better part of a day (and night actually) with the Virgin Galactic group.

THE COW PASTURE NEAR WHITAKERS, North Carolina, was one of the finest East Coast rocketry sites for eleven years, from 1994 to 2005. The recent launch of that field sent shockwaves through the Carolina rocketry scene as members scrambled to find a new site.

AS ANOTHER YEAR'S SUMMER DRAWS TO A CLOSE, it becomes more apparent to me that things have changed in our world and unless we adapt, we are only going to suffer more collectively because of it. This year's LDRS had all the right ingredients ... if you happen to be a lizard.

SINCE THE ARTICLE ABOUT A HOBBY ROCKETRY MANUFACTURER'S PARTING 'JOKE' was posted, I have received some very interesting e-mail. A few said that by posting the article, that action had the potential to be injurious to the hobby, suggesting that the primary motivation must be sensationalism to drive traffic to Rocketry Planet.

THE RECENT FLAP over the Bluegrass Rocketry Society flying rockets near Lexington, Kentucky's Blue Grass Airport points out a fact that is unlikely to change as long as model rocketry exists: the perception by people unfamiliar with rockets that they are dangerous.

PLEASE DON'T START A STAMPEDE OR KILL EACH OTHER TRYING TO JUMP THE LINE, but would someone please tell me what I am doing wrong?  I know there are plenty of takers that would love the opportunity to tell me where to get off, but I think I must be losing touch with reality here. After all, it wasn't that many years ago when I discovered hobby rocketry on the Internet and founded a similar hobby rocketry portal.

Rocketry Planet is pleased to bring you a guest editorial by Mark Mayfield, editor-in-chief of LAUNCH Magazine.  Mark has been in the publishing business long enough to know what works, having served as editor-in-chief of House Beautiful, America's oldest home magazine.  Mark also had a unique role as an founding staff member of USA Today, where he spent 10 years.  Today, he leads what has already become recognized as the largest circulation rocketry publication after just three issues.