Remember NASA?

Posted February 12, 2053

Colonial Governor Vladimir Putinovich, reiterated his government's position that it will not release additional power reserves to New Shanghai Colony's medical research facility. The research facility, having achieved significant success in gerontological and osteological research, has nonetheless suffered from poor maintenance management. Significant portions of the facility have been shut down in recent years, resulting in consolidation of operations and living areas. Its most recent innovations have led to advancements in bone regeneration with a focus on joints and arthritis.

Despite these success, the Chinese Central Government has been slow to share the benefits it has received with the lunar colony that created the benefits. New Shanghai officials are a colony without representation, and have been forced to barter with Putinovich, trading supplies in exchange for additional power to maintain systems. Meanwhile, Putinovich's colony, Novapetrigrad, has been attempting to balance its own power needs from a booming tourism trade with the supplies needed to satisfy tourists' needs.

On a related note, Congress has passed new tariffs on space travel, citing Russian, Chinese, and Indian price gouging. According to the Speaker of the House, "These countries' monopoly on manned space flight does not give them carte blanche to disregard their ethical and moral responsibility to the rest of mankind. Their price gouging and profiteering is cost prohibitive to science and research. These tariffs send a strong message that the US will not be bullied or manipulated because of its reliance on their space programs."