Going through the U.N.'s All or Nothing type of communistic rigidity (iron curtain) guarantees the nothing we've seen over the past decades since the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Treaty (administration after administration has followed along with it regardless of the fact we've never officially ratified the Moon Treaty). Revolutionary evolutionary Individuality (including the economic entrepreneurial) is the sole route of progress that has ever existed. Bureaucracy's deadweight is the heart of all or none. It is the whole of the U.N.
Power corrupts. Absolute power, all or none power, commune power or nothing, corrupts absolutely. If I had enough money and enough time left, I would be willing to bet that neither China nor Russia will wait on the U.N. for anything having to do with Space, though both will demand vehemently that the U.S. wait. They will be as slow as all get out, at a hellish cost to their people since they [will] go in totalitarian wrong directions far more often than not, but regardless they will try for Space.... And thus Space Power! Any weak U.S. administration will wait, whine, and lament, until it's too late... until China and/or Russia own the space frontier, space power, and control all the means to it.
Has anyone here ever read Mahan's 'The Influence of Sea Power Upon History'? His included essay discourse on sea power 130 years ago applies ten times over, a thousand times over, to space power now and tomorrow, and if humanity reaches it on a permanent basis, forever more. The U.S., the West, Western Civilization (high dynamic civilization), needs to lead the way (with its way).