Peter Diamandis

Hachette Publications Inc. has terminated Peter Diamandis as chairman and chief executive of Diamandis Communications Inc. a little more than two years after buying out the magazine publishing firm. Hachette added that Diamandis Communications, which publishes more than a dozen magazines, including Elle, Woman's Day and Audio, was being renamed Hachette Magazines Inc.

More than two years ago, after the first privately funded manned rocket soared into space to claim a $10-million prize, the man behind the contest brimmed with jubilation, a profound sense of relief and visions of the next frontier to conquer. "I'm going to the stars," he said at the time. But, in fact, Peter Diamandis has moved on to something that, in many respects, is even more momentous.

"There's a lot to be said for anonymity," said Peter Diamandis, chairman of the newly named Diamandis Communications Inc. But Diamandis, who led the recent $650-million management buyout of CBS' magazine group, is now anything but anonymous. Apart from operating the country's largest specialty magazine publisher, his bid to make a success of the buyout that created DCI is sure to be closely watched.

Peter Diamandis wasn't thinking about history as he stood in the Mojave desert and watched a small, shuttlecock-shaped craft glide back to Earth after nudging the edge of space. He just thought it looked beautiful. It was only the following day, after the thousands of cheering spectators had disappeared, after the jubilant speeches had dried up along with the champagne, as Diamandis was driving his father back to Los Angeles, that euphoria -- and relief -- swept over him.

More than two years ago, after the first privately funded manned rocket soared into space to claim a $10-million prize, the man behind the contest brimmed with jubilation, a profound sense of relief and visions of the next frontier to conquer. "I'm going to the stars," he said at the time. But, in fact, Peter Diamandis has moved on to something that, in many respects, is even more momentous.

Peter Diamandis wasn't thinking about history as he stood in the Mojave desert and watched a small, shuttlecock-shaped craft glide back to Earth after nudging the edge of space. He just thought it looked beautiful. It was only the following day, after the thousands of cheering spectators had disappeared, after the jubilant speeches had dried up along with the champagne, as Diamandis was driving his father back to Los Angeles, that euphoria -- and relief -- swept over him.

An oddly shaped aircraft took to the skies over the Mojave Desert on Tuesday in a demonstration of a new communications technology proposed for major cities. The High Altitude Long Operation-Proteus aircraft is designed to circle in eight-hour shifts at an altitude of 50,000 feet, functioning much like a communications relay satellite does in space. "What we have done is [take] all the communication capacities of what might be a satellite 22,000 miles high . . .

The president of CBS Publishing Group and 14 members of his executive staff Thursday became the latest to depart from CBS since the appointment of acting Chief Executive Laurence A. Tisch. Peter A. Derow and his staff were forced out as part of the management effort to slim CBS' ranks, a source said. Derow, whose departure is effective immediately, was told of the changes during a morning meeting with Tisch, according to the source.

The designers of the first privately funded manned rocket to burst into space were handed a $10-million check Saturday, a prize designed to encourage technology that would open the heavens to tourists. SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan accepted the Ansari X Prize money, along with a 150-pound trophy, as a chase plane flew over the ceremony in a field adjacent to the St. Louis Science Center.

A new private space company is expected to be unveiled Tuesday at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Planetary Resources Inc. is a Seattle company that intends to mine near-Earth asteroids for raw materials ranging from water to precious metals. “There are precious metals in near-infinite quantities in space. When the availability of these metals increase, the cost will reduce on everything including defibrillators, hand-held devices, TV and computer monitors, catalysts; and with the abundance of these metals we'll be able to use them in mass production,” Peter H. Diamandis, co-founder and co-chairman, said in a statement.

Hachette Publications Inc. has terminated Peter Diamandis as chairman and chief executive of Diamandis Communications Inc. a little more than two years after buying out the magazine publishing firm. Hachette added that Diamandis Communications, which publishes more than a dozen magazines, including Elle, Woman's Day and Audio, was being renamed Hachette Magazines Inc.

"There's a lot to be said for anonymity," said Peter Diamandis, chairman of the newly named Diamandis Communications Inc. But Diamandis, who led the recent $650-million management buyout of CBS' magazine group, is now anything but anonymous. Apart from operating the country's largest specialty magazine publisher, his bid to make a success of the buyout that created DCI is sure to be closely watched.

Times Mirror moved Thursday to expand its consumer magazine group by agreeing to buy Field & Stream, Home Mechanix, Skiing and Yachting magazines from newly formed Diamandis Communications for $167.5 million in cash. Diamandis Communications was formed two weeks ago when senior executives from CBS bought the 21 magazines in CBS' magazine division for $650 million, instantly forming one of the world's major magazine publishers.

This rocket-launching site on the permafrost doesn't have the fancy equipment or big payloads of the Kennedy Space Center or the U.S.S.R.'s cosmodrome at Tyuratam. But given its proximity to the North Pole, its high success rate for suborbital, scientific launches and a unique lack of military red tape, the university-owned Poker Flat may be months away from a contract in the commercial satellite market.