General Eberhart, commander in chief for the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Space Command, used those remarks to set the stage for the 38th Space Congress. During his speech, the general focused on the congress's theme: "A Space Odyssey - The Next 50 Years" and talked about the past, present and future of space launch.

"As we reflect on these past 50 years, if only those pads out there could talk. The stories they'd tell of science, engineering and great accomplishments, of tragedies. Those stories would remind us of space true grit," the general said.

He moved from the past to the present by saluting the launch teams involved with the recent successful launches of the Titan IV-B MILSTAR, Delta II Mars 2001 Odyssey and STS-100 missions.

The future was brought into the mix when the general expressed excitement about the upcoming arrival of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle era -- with the Delta IV and the Atlas V. "I'm looking forward to the first launches next year. They will open another chapter in our space launch odyssey," he said.

He went on to liken America's space odyssey to the story of Homer's Odyssey, comparing budget shortfalls, changing priorities and technology that didn't live up to expectations to the ill winds and Cyclops that hampered Odysseus. But the general urged America to stay the course and recommit itself to space exploration.

In General Eberhart's view, to do those things the nation will have to invest the capital -- both the intellectual capital and the dollars -- to stay on course and realize our destiny in space. He said among the keys to staying on course are making sure America's space launch bases and ranges can compete by modernizing the ranges and better understanding the cost of space launch.

"I also believe that as we move from the realm of force enhancement to space control, space launch will be increasingly important," he said.

The general described space control as a way to protect our assets in space -- military and commercial -- from potential adversaries. "It's a protect and defend type of approach," he said. "I think the citizens of this great nation will count on us to do just that," he added.

General Eberhart concluded by paying tribute to the spirit of those who have made America's space program one of the technological wonders of the world. He said, "Jules Verne said, 'What one man can dream, others can make real.' And that's what's been happening here on Florida's Space Coast for 50 years. I'm optimistic it will happen for another 50."

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