The 74/26 Principle: Entropy Minimisation and\\ Physics-Constrained Stability in Cislunar Resource Networks

This paper proposes a physics-constrained architectural framework for near-Earth asteroid resource extraction that resolves the central paradox of prior commercial ventures: returning raw materials to Earth at scale destroys the commodity markets needed to sustain the operation. The governing principle — return only finished products whose value derives from orbital manufacturing advantages that cannot be replicated on Earth — is enforced by the unit economics of the Helix Pod delivery system rather than by policy. The 74/26 mass-retention ratio (74% of extracted material retained in orbit for capital formation, 26% returned as finished goods) is derived analytically as the entropy-minimising stable partition of a two-channel cislunar flow system under the Kepler–Hales sphere-packing constraint, and confirmed independently by simulation converging from arbitrary initial conditions. The architecture is validated against three historical economic crises using a rank-n resource-allocation tensor and stress-tested across four operational failure-mode simulations. A phased roadmap from Phase 0 (Apophis 2029) through Phase 3 (2038–2045) defines the implementation pathway. The Hive Framework multi-specialist AI deliberation methodology is documented in full, and five highest-priority unresolved parameters are structured as falsifiable predictions.