“we cannot afford as a nation and a society to surrender the High Ground or the extraterrestrial economy to China, Russia, or any other totalitarian regime”
Luckily, none of those regimes are as silly as you and aren’t chasing that fantasy.
“An iron-nickel asteroid and its mining operation are worth more than its weight in the gold found here on the Earth.”
Still fantasizing about complete hypotheticals here...
“we cannot afford as a nation and a society to surrender the High Ground or the extraterrestrial economy to China, Russia, or any other totalitarian regime”
“Luckily, none of those regimes are as silly as you and aren’t chasing that fantasy.”
You sure are determined to destroy your credibility with false statements.
Example 1, Russia:
Russia Scoffs At NASA Plans To Send Astronauts To Asteroid And Mars By 2015
by Staff Writers
Moscow, Russia (RIA Novosti) Jul 20, 2010
U.S. NASA does not have capacities to build an asteroid mission spacecraft by 2015, the head of Roscosmos’ manned flights department, Alexei Krasnov, said in the wake of NASA’s announcement to create the spacecraft for deep space missions....
“It is unreal by 2015,” Krasnov said.
“[They] probably won’t be able to any sooner than by 2023-2025. They do not have the necessary spacecraft, and we will be ready with the project by 2018-2020”.
Example 2, China:
China Preparing for Mars, Asteroid Exploration
World | Press Trust of India | Updated: March 03, 2015 23:09 IST
Beijing: China has been researching the technical feasibility of exploring Mars and asteroids, a Chinese space scientist has said.
Ye Peijian, from the China Academy of Space Technology and chief scientist with the country’s lunar probe mission, said Chinese space researchers had tackled some of the technical difficulties associated with the exploration of Mars and asteroids.
However, he added, the projects are only at the technical preparation stage, which suggests that it will be some time before an official project is announced.
Ye is a vocal advocate for a Chinese Mars mission. If the project was given the green light, he said, the probe should orbit, land, and explore the surface of Mars all in one mission.
Ye said that as a developing country, China should narrow its space exploration focus to certain planets.
The country should also explore asteroids as many preserve information dating back to the Big Bang, not to mention that some pose a risk to the human race, he said.
“I hope (these plans) win the support of the people of China, and things kick off as soon as possible,” Ye, who is in Beijing for the annual session of China’s top political advisory body, told state-run Xinhua news agency.
An earlier report said that a feasibility study on China’s first Mars mission had been completed. In November last year, a model of a Mars rover prototype was displayed at the Airshow China 2014.
Story First Published: March 03, 2015 23:09 IST
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/china-preparing-for-mars-asteroid-exploration-744059
“An iron-nickel asteroid and its mining operation are worth more than its weight in the gold found here on the Earth.”
Example 3, Russia, U.S.
Russia-linked Company Invests in Asteroid Mining
Vedomosti
Aug. 17 2012 00:00
Last edited 21:45
A Russia-linked company has invested in a space venture worthy of a science fiction novel, betting that asteroids could be mined for gold and platinum.
The company, called I2BF Global Ventures, put its money on U.S.-based Planetary Resources, said Ilya Golubovich, managing partner of the venture fund. Michael Murray, a consultant for Planetary Resources, confirmed the report.
Planetary Resources might also use water-rich asteroids to supply orbital “filling stations” with fuel and water, making spaceflights less expensive, Golubovich said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russia-linked-company-invests-in-asteroid-mining/466721.html
Example 4, Russia:
Russia pushes forward plans to mine the moon
Cecilia Jamasmie | October 28, 2014
[....]
The Sternberg Institute’s Head of the Department of Lunar and Planetary Research, Vladislav Shevchenko, told RBTH he believes the lunar surface is rich on rare earth metals. He sees moon exploration as a solution to the current shortage of rare earth metals, whose production is controlled by China, and trusts deliveries from space being potentially more cost-effective than mining for metals at home.
http://www.mining.com/russia-pushes-forward-plans-to-mine-the-moon-13769/
“Still fantasizing about complete hypotheticals here...”
You are blatantly wrong again, because commercial asteroid mining space flights are already a reality and not a fantasy. Example:
Planetary Resources, The Asteroid Mining Company, is already launching spacecraft for the first stages of their exploration and development of commercial asteroid mining operations.
http://www.planetaryresources.com/news/
Also note the cost of Gold by the Kilogram on the Gold markets is currently $36,571.15; whereas the cost per kilogram to transport cargo to a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) has been running between $16,620 and $30,249. The cost of transport beyond GTO into deep space is well beyond the cost for GTO and well beyond the cost of Gold. Asteroid mining operations and metal fabrication industries in deep space drastically lowers those costs once the infrastructure has been established. The lowered spacecraft manufacturing costs in deep space then unlocks the financial feasibility for a wide range of commercial space activities and economies. Those are real world facts already being utilized in business plans and commercial operation of spacecraft and not mere fantasies.
What is the current cost per kg to send something into GSO/GEO?
http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/2015/what-is-the-current-cost-per-kg-to-send-something-into-gso-geo
GOLD PRICE - WHERE THE WORLD CHECKS THE GOLD PRICE
http://www.goldprice.org/gold-price-per-kilo.html