The sudden loss of the NASA space shuttle Columbia at the end of an otherwise successful mission is one of those startling events that place indelible historical markers in our individual memory, as we create a permanent association between the shock of first realizing what has just happened and the place where we were or what we were doing when we first heard of the tragic news.

In my case, an ordinary Saturday begun very early to drive one of my daughters to a placement test she had to take was transformed into a day of soul searching about my childhood dreams of space flight, the meaning I want to give to my own personal existence, and the role I believe exploring the universe must have in our society. Interestingly, these personal reflections have all led me straight back to the roots from which InterStellar Technologies Corporation arose, over three years ago.

At the time, as a Navigator at the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, I had the opportunity to be involved in an exploratory study about the possibility to travel to extrasolar systems, that is, planetary systems located near stars other than the sun and located at distances impossible to explore with our present technological means. As I participated in this study, I began to be exposed to a free flow of ideas in many fields outside that of my own job at JPL – a very refreshing change over the daily routine of thinking “inside the box.”

Finally, over a period of several months, I matured the belief that an entire new approach to flight in general and space exploration in particular is indeed possible by appropriately engineering the physical properties of the quantum vacuum. I left the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in October 1999 and founded InterStellar Technologies Corporation to pursue this technological promise not only in aerospace, but also in the areas of energy, telecommunications, and medicine.

Over three years later, we find ourselves deeply involved in a number of fascinating activities made possible by investors of vision, courage, and determination who are committed to keeping the United States in a position of technological pre-eminence by building a profitable company dedicated to forever changing the world around us. All of our daily activities, whether experimental or theoretical, were only dreams three years ago – something to consider with great pride as we approach important prototype production targets early in this year 2003.

But, instead of dwelling on any memory of recent successes, this past, tragic Saturday three questions kept returning to my mind: “Are we still engaged in the type of work that motivated me and our visionary investors to pursue the technological revolution promised by quantum vacuum engineering?” Also: “Is what we do truly captured by our company name, InterStellar Technologies Corporation?” And finally: “If we do deservedly claim to have technological answers worthy or our company name, what is our vision of the future of flight and of space exploration?”

Besides my extensive applied research experience as a trained PhD physicist, my having worked on day-to-day navigation operations at NASA/JPL and my being a multiengine instrument-rated, fixed wing pilot provides me with the additional instinct to want to solve problems proper of any pilot. Whether one flies gliders, twin turbo-props, or attack helicopters in battle against the enemy – activities all represented in our present investor base – a flaming trail of debris raining from the ski elicits the same reaction from any of us: we want to eliminate that problem forever and fly many other days!

InterStellar Technologies Corporation is in fact working to create a world in which spacecraft will take off and return without having to deal with the dangers faced by a generation of heroic pioneers, some of whom we must mourn today, who are required to arrive to and return from outer space at speeds comparable to those of meteors we see burn in the night sky. Our company is engaged in realizing the possibility of fuel-free flight by employing concepts solidly grounded in the principles of quantum electrodynamics, one of the most successful fundamental theories of nature ever devised.

We envision vehicles leaving launch pads for near-earth trips much as families in general aviation airplanes leave for a weekend today. Our engineering approach views departure and re-entry as activities to be conducted at low speeds, making the experience safer and much less stressful on materials and passengers.

Eliminating the need to fly at orbital speeds to reach outer space in turn eliminates the requirement to re-enter the atmosphere at speeds that can turn a vehicle into a flaming meteorite in case of an even minor malfunction. And our fuel-free concepts immensely reduce risk, weight, and infrastructure. Even as we offer a vision of much slower and safer take-offs and landings, fuel-free flight also promises unparalleled cruise speeds at large distances from the earth, because of continued thrust over long periods of time, of much smaller payloads in the absence of large loads of propellant, and of the certainty to be able to stop to safe landing speeds once at destination. Our technologies can thus become truly interstellar.

Let it be clear that these technological promises are not just dreams, but goals we are wholly dedicated to accomplishing within a time horizon that will allow this generation to enjoy their benefits. It is for this reason that, at the end of a day of deep reflection, I can say I truly believe we can be proud of the historical name of our company, InterStellar Technologies Corporation. We are in fact engaged in pursuing applications to space flight of quantum vacuum engineering, our activities do reflect the vision formulated when the company was founded, and we most definitely can provide an alternative vision to present-day space exploration approaches.

The exponential growth experienced by the airplane and rocket industries in the 20th century can certainly guide us in forecasting the rate of change of the world around us we can hope to achieve as we introduce our technological concepts to the market. Of course, we remember that the first flight of the Wright Brothers lasted mere seconds, and the first liquid rocket launched by Olbers flew perhaps a hundred feet.

Yet we work incessantly to see the day small children and their parents will be able to look outside the windows of their re-entry vehicles, built according to the ideas designed by InterStellar Technologies Corporation, as they return from a trip around the earth and land safely at a pad near their homes. That day, perhaps, a parent will tell his or her children of a shuttle named Columbia, which was lost along with its crew as they came back to earth in the only way they knew, before revolutionary technologies changed everything. Then, at the end of a descent from hundreds of miles above the ground to a slow and soft landing in the neighborhood, the children will go run in the yard, unaware of a sad, recent past we will still all remember.

This is the vision InterStellar Technologies Corporation is committed to realizing. Personally, this goal represents the answer to all questions I searched for in my own soul just a few days ago. As a company, we reflect upon the tragic deaths we mourn today mindful of Socrates’ immortal words: “The uninvestigated life is not worth living,” and turn once more towards our goals with increased focus and determination.