Posted on 10/27/2011 9:22:03 PM PDT by Captain Beyond
Astrobotic Technology's Red Rover, a lunar exploration vehicle that the company claims will be able to scout and drill for precious resources at the moon's poles.
Moon, we just cant quit you.
NASA has shifted its goals from returning to the moon to visiting an asteroid or even Mars, but not everyone has given up on going back. The space agency's attention deficit has sparked a race among private companies eager to return to Earth's satellite.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/27/race-to-mine-moon-heats-up/#ixzz1c2sHUuBP
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I agree. Government is not good at innovation.
To make a profit I think rockets will have to replaced by another method of lifting. Having to lift tons of fuel while lifting the payload is too close to lifting yourself by your own boot straps.
I see the use of a superconducting Mass Driver to accelerate payloads to escape velocity as the most practical at this time. But a Space Elevator may be doable in the future.
I just dont see rockets ever being able to turn a profit transporting goods to and from space. The overhead is just too high.
It is probable that such considerations (cost of transportation) are being considered, but the specifics aren’t clear in the article. (it says probes to be sent to drill for “fuel” but the specifics aren’t clear how profit can be made. Of course, every private enterprise probably wouldn’t be too eager to explain in detail their strategy for making money)
To the best of my knowledge no one currently working on commercial lifting rockets is looking to mine anything in space. (If you know of some one seriously working on space mining I would be interested to know who, how and what. Dreaming doesnt count. )
Those working on commercial lifting are planning on doing exactly what government space agencies are doing lifting satellites, servicing satellites and one new thing namely space tourism.
Now for tourism lifting cost is not a problem because the market is overloaded with demand. The space companies can pretty much charge anything they want.
Since the private space companies are competing against government space agencies they can probably do it much cheaper. The real question is will the government agencies allow them to compete. After all running at a profit is something that governments are not required to do.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.