The biggest problem I see it is that after a few generations, there would be dissidents that would arise out of the descendants of the objectivists that started the movement. I see within 2 full new generations, 30% of the population becoming like James Taggart and the next generation would cause the percentage to rise even further. You would have the "altruistic philanthropists" who think that all of the wealth that their family has made should go to "help" the "new found" underclass that has also been created. So what I'm basically saying, is Atlas Shrugged would recreate itself in that place in 100 or so years...

You nicely explained why I live in Florida instead of Alaska, Canada, Russia, or Scandinavia.

With enough solar power, growing edible vegetation should be possible. To tap into bleeding edge technology, laboratory grown meats could solve the protein requirement. Water and raw material supply is the challenge, as shipping costs to LEO will be expensive. Eventually, as stations on the Moon and asteroids become productive, supply will become more affordable.

Heinlein addressed many of these issues in his novel "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls". There is a large space colony at a La-Grange point that is owned and operated by a consortium of private enterprise companies. The government of the station has a distinctly objectivist flavor. It is not exact and I don't know what Rand would think of the story but it is an interesting comparison. Check out http://stuffpoint.com/space/image/201...

The Heinleinian smart-meteor defense system would remove any doubt on that score!

Being half-Swedish and fond of Norse mythology (and Greek), a place in the heavens called Asgard strikes me as appealing.
Maybe also due to being half-Swedish, it strikes me that such a place would become a ripe breeding ground for socialism.
Solution? Gulchers only!

No objection to any such first step. just think real settlers on Mars trumps (no pun intended) any BS UN claim that it is not to be governed by a country.

I must remind you, Dr. Zarkov, that ill-natured people can always find an excuse. Therefore a defense would be necessary. But I have the obvious defense to suggest: nickel-iron payloads, harvested from among the meteoroids. In other words, smart meteors. A strike by a heavy-enough payload would devastate its target. And it wouldn't even need any nuclear or even chemical explosive, "high" or "low."

Actually, I must correct myself. I didn't suggest this. Robert A. Heinlein did, in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

A nation-state in space would be in the perfect position to extend itself to a colony on Mars, or at least to help found one.

Self-sustaining, how? I can speculate, of course: by building, owning, and running a network of solar power satellites and beaming this energy to a power-hungry Earth. This, then, would be its export-in-chief. And perhaps also by running scientific expeditions to the Moon, Venus, Mars, and Europa, and maybe by harvesting deuterium from the asteroids (and any stray comets), and tri-alphium (helium-3) from the surface of the Moon. Now that's my speculation. What's yours?

Lay aside for a moment the obvious reference to Asgard, home of the AEsir of Norse mythology. The ideals of this project resemble those of a made-for-TV movie many of you might have seen in the early Seventies, called Earth II. In that movie, the United States launched "Earth II" as a series of orbital lifts. And with the very first of those lifts, the President held an instant referendum: leave your lights on at night, and that will count as a vote for granting the new space colony independence. By a "light-on vote" estimated at 71% to 29%, the referendum carried.

Someone here did mention Babylon 5. If I recall correctly (and I've seen nothing but the program synopses), Babylon 5 did organize itself as an independent state. Its then commander decided he could never accomplish his diplomatic mission by doing anything less.

I have just one question: how much does anyone project the fare will be, whether they call this orbiting nation-station Asgard(ia), Atlantis, or Olympia? That is, for what price does anyone propose to sell a berth aboard this station, or to transport a family and their possessions in a single launch to orbit?

Better to live right here- free and in plain sight- staying below the radar of the statists What they dont know about, they have a hard time taking.

You would have to be totally independent in terms of supplies, launching facilities, and far enough away that the incentive to attack it would be minimal.

This fellow must be living in Colorado or Washington or Oregon because he must be ingestion mind altering substances where it is legal. Or he is just not playing with a full deck.

Beam me up Scotty

I like Mars better.

Humans venture into lots of unforgiving environments on a routine basis. High latitude towns, like many in Alaska, Canada, Russia, and Scandinavian countries see wind and temperature conditions that can freeze human tissue solid in seconds if inadequately protected. There are other examples, but the point is that careful preparation and thoughtful engineering are mandatory for any venture.

I agree that getting a significant population off-planet will be a challenge (as nearly all pioneering ventures are). That doesn't mean we should be so hesitant as to put up barricades to the ventures.

I like the idea of space colonization, but remember Akin's Law #41:

41. Space is a completely unforgiving environment. If you screw up the engineering, somebody dies (and there's no partial credit because most of the analysis was right...)

http://spacecraft.ssl.umd.edu/akins_l...

All good questions, and I think the answers might be:
1. Any commercial spaceport; so long as no hostile intent is indicated, no one is likely to reject a launch
2. Money is money. So long as no weaponry is involved, you'll have a lot of suppliers
3. Only a few have attempted to claim sovereignty into space, and anyone with the capability to put things up there has pretty much ignored them
4. As long as no hostile purpose is apparent, and no complaint given for requested observation, I doubt there'll be any need for defense
5. I would imagine the visa process would work just like for any foreign resident

I would also suspect there would be the opportunity to become the ultimate "offshore" banking resource. Inviting nations currently without spacefaring ability the opportunity to contract for research will be an obvious revenue source.

The idea will likely be practical in 20 or 30 years. With continued advances in technology, it might be possible for such a space nation to be self-sustaining.

Sounds like a really good idea. Babylon 5 type station.
I foresee several non-technical problems:
1. Where do you launch from?
2. Who sells you the supplies?
3. Will the nations of Earth allow over flight of there sovereign states?
4. How do you defend yourself?
5. Where do you return to?
I'm not trying to down play the idea but as indicated I see several problems. That said, sign me up. I'll bring the entire family.

Hello DrZarkov99,
Beam me up! :)
Reminds me of the video game Bio Shock. Hope it ends better.
Respectfully,
O.A.

OK, I signed up to be a "citizen". No email reply yet (but its only been a few minutes.)