Conference 7.286::space

889.0. "QUEST Magazine" by VERGA::KLAES (Quo vadimus?) Mon Feb 07 1994 18:23

From:	US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Dennis Newkirk"  6-FEB-1994 
To:	[email protected]
CC:	
Subj:	Quest Magazine Press Release

                  Quest: The History of Spaceflight Magazine

                               Press Release
                                 Jan. 1994
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Magazine Summary

Quest was first published in 1992, during the International Space Year, 
by founding editor and publisher Glen E. Swanson.  The main goals of Quest are 
to chronicle the past international achievements in the fields of both manned 
and unmanned spaceflight, to preserve these histories in a professional 
readable form and to provide a network for correspondence with others who 
share a similar interest.  Published quarterly, Quest has the unique 
distinction of being the world's only publication dedicated to the history 
of spaceflight.  The magazine contents feature:

International Perspectives:  Historical analysis of the Soviet Union's 
space program.

NASA History News and Notes:  Written by NASA's Chief Historian, this column
focuses on inside news of symposiums, conferences, new publications, 
research opportunities and other scholarly items relating to NASA history.

Re-Entry:  Features historical contributions of various manned and unmanned
spacecraft complete with detailed scale drawings for the model builder.

Book & Film Reviews:  Reviews the latest books and videos on historic 
spaceflight topics.

Rockets Red Glare:  Focuses on launch vehicles and their role in the history
of spaceflight.

Resources:  Most popular column which lists and reviews assorted catalogs, 
services, programs and other news, information and related resources of 
interest to readers.

Letters:  Prints letters from readers which may include editorial responses.

YourSpace Reader Classifieds:  A free service provided to all subscribers 
for the purpose of publishing announcements, wants, trades or disposals 
of space-related items of a noncommercial nature.  

Feature Articles:  Leading experts in spaceflight history provide articles 
which include many b&w photos and drawings.

Specialists:  Subscribers include major aerospace companies in the U.S. 
and Europe, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the 
United States Air Force and Navy as well as many other international 
agencies; spacecraft manufacturers, colleges, universities, public and 
private schools, museums and individuals; engineers, scientists, 
managers, astronauts and cosmonauts (both active and retired), students,
faculty and  teachers.

Education & General:  The intelligent layperson wishing to learn the 
history of manned and unmanned space exploration.

A Worldwide Readership:  In addition to subscribers in all 50 states and
Canada, Quest is received in the following countries:  England, Russia, 
Germany, Italy, Malta, Brunei, Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland 
and the Netherlands.

Distribution:  Quest is distributed by mail to annual subscribers 
throughout the world.  1993 data records 481 paid subscribers total 
(434 in the U.S. and 47 overseas).

Subscriptions:  A one year subscription (four quarterly issues) is 
$19.95 U.S., $25 foreign (Canada and Mexico) and $35 overseas air mail.
Complimentary subscriptions are available for qualified individuals 
and organizations.

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Unique Magazine Chronicles Making of Space Age

GRAND RAPIDS, Mi.  "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for 
mankind."  It seems like only yesterday that astronaut Neil Armstrong 
spoke these famous words while a world watched breathless as he first 
set foot upon the surface of another world, twenty-five years ago this 
July 20.  Can it be that the futuristic space program already has a past?

	Grand Rapids based historian Glen Swanson thinks so and has launched 
a publication to make sure that the legacy of Apollo 11 and all other 
achievements in space prior to and since then are never to be forgotten.

	Armed with a degree in history and a life-long passion for space 
exploration, the 30-year-old Swanson combined his two interests to creat 
Quest, the world's only publication dedicated to the history of spaceflight.

	"I was giving a school program on the space program to a group of high 
school students while working as Program Director for the Michigan Space 
Center," explains Swanson on how he got started with the publication.  
"A student in all due sincerity asked 'When will we land on the moon?'  I 
thought he was at first joking, but nobody laughed.  I realized then that 
there is a whole new generation that was born, grew up and graduated long 
after the dust had finally settled from man's last lunar journey."

	Determined to not let our achievements in space lay resting with the 
remains of Apollo on the moon's surface, Swanson created Quest.

	"The idea for a magazine on the history of spaceflight had been tossing 
around in my head for several years," says Swanson.  He at first tried to 
find an existing publication to fill the void but found none.  He found 
magazines on the history of aviation, biblical history, the Civil War and 
American history but nothing specifically on the history of spaceflight.  
That became all the more incentive for him to create one.

	Using a desktop Macintosh-based system, Swanson became author, editor 
and owner, doing everything by himself.  He even does his own printing on a 
small offset press tucked away in his home office.  "Quest has a staff of 
one, that's me, but the magazine would have surely died after the first 
issue if it were not for the strong support of its readers."

	"After I published my first issue in April of 1992, I told myself that 
if I did not receive at least 100 subscribers by the end of the year, I 
would throw in the sponge," says Swanson.  To his surprise, Quest received 
over 100 subscribers after the very first issue.  And not only subscribers 
but articles as well.  "I cannot afford to pay contributors, yet I am amazed 
at the quantity and quality of articles received for publication.  There is 
a definite interest in this subject."

	Apparently so, for today Quest is in its third year of production and 
now has over 500 subscribers in all 50 states and Canada.  Quest can also 
boast a worldwide readership with subscribers in England, Russia, Germany, 
Italy, Malta, Brunei, Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland and the 
Netherlands.  His advertising budget is zero and subscribers generally 
learn of the publication by word of mouth.

	Readership includes both makers and writers of spaceflight history.  
Among them are astronauts, cosmonauts (both active and retired), engineers,
scientists and major aerospace museums and aerospace companies in the U.S. 
and overseas including NASA, Rockwell, Martin Marietta, McDonnell Douglas, 
Lockheed, the Air Force and Navy.  "In addition to the movers and shakers,"
says Swanson, "many readers are like myself, an 'armchair astronaut', with 
an intense interest in the space program, its past as well as its present 
and future."  

	The modern space age began with the launch of the world's first 
artificial satellite, Sputnik 1 in 1957.  "Major space-related achievements 
had been made prior to that," says Swanson "but the launching of Sputnik 1 
was a real eye opener and had the most effect politically.  As a result, it 
really got things moving."

	Today however, the space program seems to be in trouble.  The
Challenger accident, continuing launch delays with the space shuttle,
troubles with Hubble, a crippled spacecraft bound for Jupiter and a
lost probe to Mars all have combined to cause many to lose faith in
our nation's space program. Some have gone so far as to believe that
all that may be left of America's space program is its history.  For
Swanson, such talk is disturbing. 

	"Most people forget that the problems NASA has experienced
recently pale in comparison to those it endured in the past during
what many refer to as 'the golden age of space exploration,' those
days associated with Project Apollo and the manned lunar landing,"
says Swanson.  The Apollo 1 fire in 1967 in which three astronauts
were killed during a routine test on the launch pad caused many in
Congress to question the merits of a manned space program.  Many
wanted to kill the space program right then and there saying that
space exploration was not worth the risk. 

	At Cape Canaveral, rockets were blowing up daily as scientists and 
engineers struggled to learn the secrets of breaking free from Earth's 
cradle.  In the early 1960s, one critical program according to Swanson,  
involved launching unmanned probes to the moon as a precursor to manned 
exploration.   "Six launches in a row out of nine total failed to make it 
to the moon," says Swanson.  "Today when a launch vehicle explodes, fails 
to achieve orbit or its payload refuses to function in space, the media 
exposes the event as a major setback and decry the millions of dollars lost
to the effort."

	The space race launched by the early triumphs of the Soviet Union set 
the pace for America's space program, a pace that never really returned once
the race was over and a winner declared.  "In the early 1960s, Kennedy's goal
of committing the nation to achieving a manned lunar landing before the end 
of the decade was, after sifting through the rhetoric, a formal challenge 
in the grandest traditions of a medieval duel," says Swanson.  The challenge 
was placed before the American public and our Soviet counterparts.  It had 
the overwhelming support of both our political leaders and the public during
a period in our history when many Americans strongly began to question our 
nation's abilities in both science and technology.  However, he continues, 
"I believe that the space race was a mistake for like all races, it had 
multiple players but only one winner.  We became the winner but at the 
severe price of not having a clearly defined goal that would carry the space
agency beyond Apollo."

	When Neil Armstrong set foot upon the surface of the moon, America was 
informally declared, in the eyes of the public, the winner in the race to 
the moon,  Once the race was over,  the crowds began to leave and support 
dwindled.  When astronauts made repeated successful returns to the lunar 
surface, the public got bored.  Dwindling public interest led to dwindling 
congressional support.  Once the darling of Congress, NASA's budget came 
under ever increasing scrutiny.  Drastic cutbacks soon followed.  Attempts 
to maintain continued public interest produced the post-Apollo manned 
programs of Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz and eventually the Space Shuttle, but peak
interest and spending levels that lead to Apollo 11 never returned.  Swanson 
sums up the feeling by recalling what Lyndon B. Johnson once said.  "One of 
my favorite quotes is a candid remark made by President Johnson while touring 
a space contractor facility with a group of astronauts.  He was expressing 
concern over public opinion following the fatal Apollo 1 fire and said 'It's 
unfortunate, but the way the American people are, now that they have developed
all of this capability, instead of taking advantage of it they'll probably 
just piss it all away.'"

	"Reflecting back, it is really quite remarkable that our achievements 
in space exploration are numerous enough to create a history all of its own," 
says Swanson.  And by stating "our achievements" he is careful to point out 
that this includes more than just America's accomplishments.

	"America certainly has played a leading role, but our achievements are 
not alone in the history of spaceflight," says Swanson.  "The recent 
disillusion of the former Soviet Union has created a windfall of new 
information about their space program.  Readers are hungry for articles on 
all aspects of the former Soviet space program.  England, France, China, 
Japan, India, Canada and the European community also have their own space 
programs with histories to tell,"  he ads. "Even Poland, Argentina, Brazil 
and Spain have been involved in space exploration."	For now, Swanson works 
on the magazine part time.  His other job is running a freelance printing and
graphics business from a garage in back of his home.  The yearly subscription
rate of $19.95 for four issues with an average of 40 pages per issue, is a 
good value for its readers.  "I have had only one complaint that the price 
was too high and that reader still chose to renew," says Swanson.  Readers 
are apparently sold on the magazine for he has a 80% renewal rate.  "Readers 
have given me a good vote of confidence by choosing to renew," says Swanson 
"which has helped me to more efficiently plan for the magazine's future."

	Looking toward the future, Swanson's goal is to be able to
work full time on Quest.  "Once I hit 1,000 paid subscribers, Quest
will get even better because it will become a vocation rather than a
hobby," says Swanson. "Turning a labor of love into a modest living is
my goal through Quest." In other words to do what others dream. 

	For a free sample issue of Quest, send either six stamps or a
check for equivalent to cover postage and handling to:  Quest, P.O.
Box 9331, Grand Rapids, MI 49509-0331.