> I'm told on good authority that one result has been for European > satellite makers proscribing US sourced componentry, not out of > nationalistic considerations, but so that they don'r risk having > critical parts suddenly rendered unavailable. Not so much having them become unavailable, but if you use ITAR constrained components, such as radiation hardened FPGAs and other chips for space craft, them you are limited to two launch countries around the world, namely USA and French Guiana. By using components that are not ITAR constrained, then it is allowable to have satellites launched by China and Russia as well, thereby widening the bidding market in an endeavour to keep launch costs down. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist