I agree, there needs to be assurances from involved nation-states in space matters, but those do not neccessarily extend to bases and govt.-built industrial parks on Luna. There is every indication that as space property issues come up, the legal regime evolves to handle them. Witness issues of com-sat bandwidth and GEO slot assignments. If you can set up a lunar water mining operations as a US company, the US government will protect you on Earth, and back up any property claims. That is a given. <br /><br />At first it's easy to throw your hands up at this apparent chicken-and-egg issue. Past experience, especially with creation of the suborbital testing licenses, suggests that as the need arises, the government will regulate. They have been remarkably hands-off for the suborbital licenses - there was delibrate campaigning to keep the paperwork in-line with experimental aircraft instead of NASA-style mountains of forms. This bodes extremely well for American companies (and other orgs) that have the means to human spaceflight, development and settlement. The thing missing is economic incentive, and right now some very talented companies are bootstrapping toward those incentives. <br /><br />As I see it, right now, the Feds are giving a greenlight to whatever commercial space activities we can brew up. Both the President and Dr. Griffin know that some serious cuts are coming down, they have every incentive to promote entreprenurial space, especially if it is only the cost of writing laws (re. FAA AST office) vs the cost of buying EELVs. There isn't going to be enough money for US govt manned flight unless commercial interests bring it down radically.<br /><br />We will have a piece of the action, or all the action, but it requires citizens doing, not government missions. Space is a place not a program. <br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>