Dreams and power sources.

Taking a trip into space may become commonplace sooner than you think, but not without help from outside the space industry. "We have a great saying" said George Whitesides, executive director of the National Space Society. "Amateurs talk about rocket fuel and professionals talk about insurance."

In other words, "in this general area of space, the risks involved mean that insurance is as critical in its way as propulsion," Whitesides said. The National Space Society works to promote changes needed to advance the day when humans will live and work in space. The Society expects that space tourism will be the next big thing in space commerce, Whitesides said, "but it's only going to work if we can set up reasonable and innovative insurance mechanisms."

"Reach for the Stars," our cover story beginning on page 20, explores what some of those mechanisms may be and what coverages are going to be needed. Third-party liability, which operators are required to have in order to launch commercial space vehicles on U.S. soil, is obvious, but there are other opportunities, such as property insurance, customized life insurance and trip cancellation insurance.

Also, "various liability schemes will be needed" Whitesides said. The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act, signed into law in December 2004, "starts to touch on these issues of liability, but we may need to revisit these issues as the industry gets off the ground, and we will have to think more about how interlocking regulations and schemes fit together," he said.

The actual date when average people will be able to travel in space is becoming visible. Virgin Galactic, led by Richard Branson, "is shooting for test flights of their vehicle in 2007," Whitesides said.

The first space travelers are likely to be extreme sports fans and wealthy leisure travelers, according to the National Space Society. One civilian hopeful, Henry Bolley from Polk City, Fla., describes his experience with weightlessness on a zero-gravity airplane flight for "The Last Word" on page 104. As for going into orbit, "I'd do it in a heartbeat," Bolley said.

Sally Whitney is editor. You may reach her at [phone], Ext. 5340, by writing to A.M. Best Co., Ambest Road, Oldwick, NJ 08858, or by e-mail at [e-mail]. The e-mail address for Best's Review is [e-mail].