especially it if impacts the surface.
Posted on 01/16/2017 4:24:39 PM PST by COBOL2Java
The apocalyptic economic claims about the asteroid are the height of stupidity.
The “wealth” contained in the asteroid would, if it could be exploited, take probably more than a century to be gradually obtained and made use of, and thus making only a small annual contribution to the global economy.
Yes, there are plans for basing a lot of the "space mining" effort on the Moon. It's a natural jump off point for the rest of the Solar system. Part of the problem with going back to the Moon is a lack of political will to do so via our GOVERNMENT run NASA. Now that private individuals are stepping up to the plate, this will change. We already have our first Private Astronaut. More will follow.
Apples and parakeets on the Space X booster. The booster and it's recovery vehicle are mission purposed to be a reusable SSTO vehicle and nothing more. It isn't DESIGNED to go to the Moon.
Shawyer's drive is a lot more than fantasy. Even China's open ended drive currently in orbit is giving results. Cannea's superconducting drives in vacuum testing produce more thrust than Hall effect and photonic thrusters at a fraction of the energy cost.
My opinion is the naysayers shouldn't interrupt those people who are currently DOING the very things they say are impossible.
At 230 plus kilometers in diameter (143 miles) that would make it an Earth Killer.
The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was only 7 miles in diameter.
What if you could send a swarm of small "thruster bots" out to attach to an asteroid and push it into an Earth/Moon L point for harvesting and that you could do this for just a few million dollars? At a return of investment 1:1000.
Because the technology to get in space is exactly the same as it was in 1967 - primarily liquid fuel rockets with the occasional use of solid fuel boosters. Strictly Newton conservation of momentum is the only thing that gets you off the planet. Gravitational assist PLUS NEWTON is what gets you further out than Mars. Cassini a ONE WAY Saturn probe cost $5,000,000,000 in today's dollars You come up with a quantitative measure of how much it will cost - not some BS you concoct out of air and wishfull thinking. and remember you will need to get sufficient propellant to brake at the asteroid and to break out of solar orbit and return to earth.
The problem with space enthusiasts is that they NEVER figure out how much something will cost - THey read too much science fiction and confuse it with facts
Running around saying it is "too expensive therefore can never be done" is exactly like saying Usain Bolt can't be as fast as he is because you can't sprint that fast with a beer keg strapped to your back.
Running around saying it is "too expensive therefore can never be done" is exactly like saying Usain Bolt can't be as fast as he is because you can't sprint that fast with a beer keg strapped to your back.
It’s not in earth orbit. Which you are well aware. It’s between Mars and Jupiter. I gave a reasonable cost structure based on FACTS. Do they same to support your viewpoint and we can continue this discussion
BUT... COMMA...
However, you are completely dismissing the promise of new technology that is now being tested both in labs on Earth and in orbit. Coupled with PRIVATE companies speculating on $2Q in potential returns? You'd have to be a complete Luddite lunatic to think they won't find a way...
DIY testers are currently building their own EM drive test rigs for around $10k. These units produce enough Newtons in thrust to out perform photon rockets and ion drives. Couple that with the fact that robotic mining probes aren't going to need a full science package like Cassini, won't have the fuel costs associated with other probes/missions, etc... The costs aren't nearly what you are portraying them as.
New space drive technologies remind me of the promise of fusion power - always just 10 years away. I remember reading about ion propulsion 40 years ago and it was just around the corner then. If it’s proven to work then OK otherwise it’s just science fiction.
especially it if impacts the surface.
especially it if impacts the surface.
I think it's more like saying Usain Bolt will never break the sound barrier.
Imagine the price of doing the prerequisite environmental impact study... :-)
Note: this topic is from . Thanks COBOL2Java.
I say we claim it, bring it here and use the gold to buy out the entire world......................
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