GLIMPSES OF SPACE PHYSICS IN THE 1960S AND 1990S

The author describes his experiences and impressions of space physics in the 1960s and on his return to the field in the 1990s. The field ha s made significant progress and has changed its operating style to tha t of a more mature science. It has also become a more closed society w ith less interaction with outside groups. There is a consequent pessim istic mood including a feeling of lack of progress. The author suggest s that the field should become more outwardly oriented. The opportunit y presented by present interest in space weather forecasting should be taken seriously by the community as an area of applied science. Addit ionally, the numerous basic science questions in the field should be v iewed in terms of the opportunity of sharing basic discoveries with ot her parts of the physics community. Examples are given of particular p roblems where such an outlook will broaden the horizons of space scien ce and allow us to measure our contributions to basic and applied scie nce.