Operational meteorology began a major growth phase as commercial aviation boomed in the 1930s in the aftermath of Lucky Lindburgh’s transatlantic and transformational flight. With the success of the Ansari X Prize showing the path for commercial human space travel, commercial operational forecasts of the near space environment may soon become a requirement and not just a dream. Dr. Peter Diamandis, the man behind the X Prizes, Zero Gravity Corporation and the Rocket Racing League (NASCAR on LOX!), explains the economics of scale that make “routine” space travel in the not too distant future sound not only possible, but likely. From the Series:The American Meteorological Society Journal