> I'd prefer countries to cooperate more. There's no need to have dozens of national space stations or even launch systems. Some diversity is Ok, but it's just

> I'd prefer countries to cooperate more. There's no need to have dozens of national space stations or even launch systems. Some diversity is Ok, but it's just too damn expensive. The reason the Ariane (rocket) program exists is because the US put restrictions on European satellites if they wanted to launch on US rockets. I'm all for cooperation, but often times you need a strong alternative in order to negotiate effectively.