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To: NicknamedBob

I think that is a fair estimate.


14 posted on 07/11/2005 4:25:35 PM PDT by RightWhale (withdraw from the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty)
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To: RightWhale
Early human migrants over the face of the Earth were limited by their ability to cross barriers, particularly water, and to learn how to use the resources of their new lands.

Later industrialized migration patterns depended on trade routes and access, and on the economical exploitation of recognized resources.

The migration through the solar system and beyond will be similar. Early encampments will depend on solar energy and limited fission power capabilities. Only the most promising locations, such as Mars and the moon, will be attractive.

As fusion power becomes available, fewer limits will be seen. The asteroids in all orbits, the moons of the outer planets, and even some rather intimidating planets themselves, such as Mercury and Uranus, will be settled.

The Oort cloud could well be swimming with decent real estate, requiring only cheap energy to wake it up.

The distances will be vast. Isolation will be reminiscent of the old west. But available energy from fusion will push the speed envelope faster and faster, until the nearest stars don't seem so far away after all.
18 posted on 07/11/2005 4:45:38 PM PDT by NicknamedBob (Mighty and enduring? They are but toys of the moment to be overturned by the flicking of a finger.)
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