Digest 1105 Msg 7

Just an added thought. The US military has some pretty sophisticated
technology in its arsenal. Why doesn't it sell that to all comers?

Why don't Boeing and LockMart sell the plans for the Delta and Atlas?
Why doesn't Coke sell its secret formula or Colonel Sanders and his
secret Herbs and Spices mix?

Anyway you look at it, the group that puts up the initial orbital
enterprise has an incentive not to give the keys away. Doesn't matter
if the group is wholely private enterprise or at the other end of the
spectrum a NASA/ESA consortium. NATO won't sell its competitive
advantage, technology, to the Chinese and NASA/ESA won't be inclined
to make the job easier for the Chinese or the Russians or whatever
group that is not in the original consortium.

Does Saudia Arabia or Venezuela or any other oil producing country
willingly give up sovereignty over their oil fields. In a sense, I
think the sovereignty model may be illustrative to our purposes. Does
the US sanction using seafill/landfill technology to create new
microstates around the world because it would create employment for US
companies and citizens?

TangoMan