From the earliest forays into commercial space, competition has been fierce. The United States has an established lead in the design, construction, and marketing of satellites. At the end of the twentieth century, U.S. satellites were being launched routinely for a significant number of nations by launch vehicles provided by eight different nations from launch sites all around the world. The transfer of export license processing from the U.S. Department of Commerce to the U.S. Department of State in 1999 resulted in a conspicuous slowdown in satellite exports, but even this impediment did not compromise U.S. leadership in this world market. The decision to change licensing authority arrangements in the United States was a response to instances of transfer of technological information to China by U.S. companies that the American government deemed inappropriate. This article will explain how space business enterprises had...