I met Bob Bigelow on his invitation at his palatial business estate in Las Vegas in 2001. Met by gorgeous women serving coffee and sitting with us... what a place... marble columns and floors, etc... his private space was piled high with all kinds of pricey doodads.... <br /><br />I am not that impressed with the trappings of wealth or power (this estate was over the top in opulance) but his intellect and motivation, his people skills, were certainly impressive. We spent the afternoon discussing various issues related to our trip, he still had NIDS going at the time but was phasing it down. He gave us an over-view of Bigelow Aerospace... looked over his assembly and launch facility models, etc....Toured the NIDS facility... Had dinner with him that afternoon. Very down to Earth guy. It was during that trip that I realized that I had met him once before at a party in the Oakland hills in the mid-80s... called me several times afterward - not a very nice guy at that point, a bit nefarious even, though I won't bother with the details on this list other than to say that I wouldn't want to be on his list of enemies. <br /><br />However, the plans and his ambitions were very focused at the 2001 meeting and I had no doubt at that point he would become a primary mover in commercial space projects. I have watched with interest since... the money incentives he has offered for development of practical and reuseable orbital craft have certainly helped open the door....<br /><br />I do think he opted for an orbital hotel facility vs a "cruise ship"....