[Lysandru]

Speaking as someone in "the business," I am not completely shocked by this.

As a practical matter, the U.S. Space Force and its Russian and Chinese counterparts will have something to say. Furthermore, Space X still is based on Earth. It will be a couple of generations before a completely non-terrestrial supply chain can be developed.

I can tell you that forward thinkers in the U.S. national security space enterprise are already thinking about the importance of controlling the La Grange points in the Earth-Moon region. I have been wondering for a couple of years how corporations like Space X will protect themselves from space pirates.

The article gave me some nostalgia about the old Polesotechnic League stories of Poul Anderson or maybe some Heinlein stories.

[zeugma]

In the short term the La Grange points and the moom are more important than things like the other planets. For the foreseeable future, the logistical tail for any adventures in space are simply too long, and are ultimately all based on Earth. 200 years from now, that might not be the case. If you can't launch resupply missions, any colony is doomed, and any protests of 'independence' are pretty much moot.