Project Icarus was formed in September 2009 back in that little city called London, England. Since then we have grown to an international design team, formed our own non-profit Icarus Interstellar and now expanded our scope. This month saw the announcement of several exciting new projects under the Icarus Interstellar umbrella. This includes: Project Forward: a microwave driven beam propulsion project led by experienced designer Jim Benford. The project will analyze and assess past beamed energy concepts as well as describe the construction and assembly of sail designs. It aims to provide a detailed Starsail system concept. Project Hyperion: a crewed interstellar mission led by designer Andreas Hein. This project is to provide an assessment of the feasibility of manned interstellar missions using current and near-future technology. It will also guide future research and technology development plans, help to reassess the Fermi-Paradox and inform the public about the prospects of crewed interstellar flight. Project Bifrost: a Nuclear Thermal Rocket program led by Tabitha Smith. The project will first begin a period of computational modelling and design, and then look towards the creation of fission (thermal and/or electric) engines. One of the important parts of this work will be building partnerships with the US government for pulsed fission propulsion programs. Whilst Project Icarus, our mainly fusion based design study, will always remain the flagship project until completion, it is important that Icarus Interstellar indeed starts to widen its umbrella as it strives to become the preeminent Starship research organization on Earth, now or has ever existed. This is a very exciting time for Icarus Interstellar as we launch these new projects and several more in the coming weeks. The mission of Icarus Interstellar is to achieve interstellar flight by the year 2100. This is an ambitious and bold aspiration. But with the progress we have made, and the momentum we appear to have, I am confident this can be achieved. If you like what we are doing, we invite you the public to support us where possible as we literally reach for the stars. As one of the co-founders behind our original project, it humbles me greatly to see the progress we have made and its not just with Icarus. The Tau Zero Foundation is also attempting to grow itself and we wish them all the best of luck, as they too strive to effect positive change today, so that we can have a better tomorrow. Then there is the 100 Year Starship Study which I had the honour of attending. It is worth giving my own perspective on that wonderful conference. The conference was a tremendous success, no doubt about that. Although I personally attended very few of the actual talks, mainly because I was so busy meeting people. But that’s what its really about and it is this, I argue, that is the most important function DARPA served by organizing this meeting. Icarus met up with people and organizations we may never otherwise have met. It gave us an opportunity, as is often the case when we attend conferences. But this one was very special. It was, in my view, the most important and historic Starship conference in history and DARPA as well as their executing agent NASA Ames deserve good credit for their achievement on this issue alone. Then there is the actual competition. We hope to be the winners of course, with our teaming partners the Dorothy Jemison Foundation (DJF) and the Foundation for Enterprise Development (FED). All three of our organizations had only met weeks before the 100YSS submission date, yet somehow we managed to work together co-operatively and deliver a report for the seed grant on 11th November. This says a lot about our three groups and how serious we are about winning. Mae Jemison in particular, a former astronaut, is an inspiring figure who is not only an accomplished scientist in her own right, but also ‘gets it’, in terms of the human impact of space exploration. Together FED, Icarus Interstellar and the DJG hope to win 100YSS and become the umbrella organization for interstellar flight on Earth. So what would we do if we won? Well, people will have to wait and see – or will they? You see, we are in this race for the long haul. Icarus as on the scene for sometime before 100YSS was launched and whatever happens we plan to continue anyway and build that Starship driven society we so badly need. Because we believe this is important, for the future generations ahead. Having said this, it would obviously be of tremendous help to us if we did win and we certainly want to win. We could do a lot more and sooner if we had access to that seed grant and the keys to 100 Year Starship. We feel we have worked hard, have constructed a good plan, have demonstrated good teaming and that we understood the problem DARPA had set and what they were looking for. We also felt we demonstrated that we understood the various technological,  sociological, philosophical, political and economic issues relating to interstellar flight. We believe we are deserving winners. The decision is not ours of course and whoever wins we will work co-operatively with them and together build a better future for us all. Similarly, if we win we intend to embrace the entire interstellar community in the spirit of inclusiveness, openness, transparency and participation for all. This is me signing off, goodnight world, and God bless the good Earth and stars above. Kelvin F. Long Vice President (Europe) Icarus Interstellar