Beast, I'm sorry about your father, and I know you've been disappointed in the past, but I think you are comparing two processes that are very different.
First of all, the domestic fibers built in large facilities and funded by the Air Force, will first likely be used for military applications, not medical.
2nd, medical applications would only need very small amounts that COULD be created in small sterile lab conditions, but that's not really necessary because...
3rd, regular silk has already been used in medical applications in the past. Silk can be made at normal sericulture facilities and then sterilized. Kraig Labs wouldn't be supplying medical facilities or hospitals with packaged and sterilized sutures or valves, like Millipore/Bayer. Kraig Labs would sell fibers to a medical supply company as a raw material for them to develop whatever medical device is needed. Simply, Kraig Labs isn't trying to become a Millipore/Bayer type company. They want to supply raw materials to a medical device/pharma company, and that's where the huge facility costs that you seem familiar with come into play.
The temperature and humidity levels for rearing silkworm could easily be maintained the same way indoor cannabis is grown. And if the facilities are in places like southern Texas or Florida, then maintaining an adequate range for silkworms to simply survive would not be too difficult. Capital costs would be high at first, which is why Kraig Labs has never done it. But if those capital costs are assisted by the AF RFI, then there is no reason not to produce in the U.S.
Take care, and I'm glad you are at least back in with a few shares.
