USA prevents sale of SpaceShipTwo to Virgin Galactic

Image: Sir Richard Branson, Gallery of shots
Info: Factbites about SpaceShipOne, Virgin Galactic

Rutan hardly gets the words out of his mouth about how disruptive FAA regulations have been to his design team, (Rutan Speaks!) then we hear the mighty US bureaucracy has been preventing Virgin Galactic executives from even LOOKING at the plans for SpaceShipTwo.

Is there some reason our government should be overseeing spaceship design? Their record has been less than stellar (shuttles Challenger and Columbia) so what makes them think they have special insight?
I have made this point before. In fact, you might say I am beating a dead horse. But unless you want SpaceShipTwo delayed until the next millennium you better get busy writing your Congressmen.
I'm not asking for a complete hands-off approach, but don't regulate what you don't understand: design, engineering, aeronautics, (etc. al.)

Supposedly the sale of spaceship technology is a matter of national security and therefore must be regulated. Why, are they afraid other countries might realize Space is open to everyone and therefore negate our achievements so far?


General Lance W. Lord, commander of Air Force Space Command at the National Space Symposium's Corporate Partner Dinner at the Broadmoor Hotel on April 5 received a standing ovation for declaring the United States will soon lose its edge in space technology if it doesn't do a better job of cooperating with all parties involved.

In a story for Air Force News:

"We've been successful because we work on systems developed for other purposes [like GPS] and adapt them to our needs through an innovative and creative spirit," the general said.
"The [acquisition] process is not broken. Get over it," General Lord said. "It's got some flaws, like we need faster cycle times, but it's not broken."
Key to fixing these flaws and avoiding future legal or ethical issues is a joint effort between space Airmen and the space industry, he said.
"We've got to move on and let's take the high ground. Let's work this together," the general said.

Let's recap what we've learned so far:

New Space technology = Happy (and safe) USA
No new Space technology = Not so happy (or safe) USA.

Your choice.