Btw, thanks for your response, which puts things in a much more realistic light.

So here's my follow-up. Sometime after 2020, NASA will supposedly be retiring Alpha. After the mega-billions that will have been spent on this white elephant, the last thing I want to see is it following Mir into the Pacific.

Let's get the most mileage out of it that we can. Why not have NASA turn over management and maintenance of the outpost to the Pentagon after NASA is done with Alpha? Could be an asset to the NMD or its successor.

I don't care if the Pentagon gets ahold of Alpha, or if some pool of commercial interests - perhaps headed up by the notorious MirCorp - gets it. I just want to see infrastructure build up in space.

Yes, this is my agenda. To my way of thinking, the more resources there are up in orbit, the more likely it is that something will happen beyond orbit. I believe humans first need to establish an active and permanent presence on the shores of space. Unfortunately, that means LEO. And one day, we hope, HEO.

But the day will come when there's enough going on in orbit that an expedition to Cruithne, the Moon, or an NEA will not seem such a big deal. It will be doable. There will be resources readily available right there in orbit to make such missions more easy to attempt.

I don't care if it's NMD or MirCorp or Elmer Fudd. Let's just get the material up in orbit so we can get on with the business of stepping out into the Solar System.