Quote:
Originally Posted by Boerseun
Jeez - I wished I shared your optimism, Moontan.
You propose to accelerate ore from a Lagrange Point around Jupiter, to Earth.
1) How do you propose getting the ore to the L point in the first place?
2) How do you expect to stop the ore, Earthside? You proposed atmospheric braking, which means you're happy with it raining rock all over the world? This, of course, is ignoring the utter and total cock-up you'll make of the atmosphere, as 80%+ of your ore burns up into the atmosphere, before hitting somebody's house to smithereens.
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The Trojan Asteroids are already at the Jupiter-Sun L4/L5 points (roughly). Using the
concept of a Mass-Driver (material from the rock itself) is move the orbit of said rock to
in proximity of Earth (not on it). No need to worry about dodging falling rocks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boerseun
Spaceflight is cool. Space colonization is cool. Hell, it's awesome. But so are ten gazillion other pie-in-the-sky concepts. And the amount of available ore of any kind in the Earth's crust will be cheaper by orders of magnitude for many, many years.
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This is what NASA does pie-in-the-sky concepts day-in and day-out to justify their
existence. Are you saying we should STOP all development ???
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boerseun
If we run out of tin, what to do? Did all the tin ever mined, magically disappear? No, they're lying in landfills. Landfill mining will, also, be much more profitable than any space-based mining you can imagine.
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Recycling is a required solution for the near term if not afterwards. However, its efficiency
is not 100% (at best we are 19-22% in capturing across the board, less in some items).
So there is No way that Recycling alone will be the answer. Chromium was one of the
best examples that is now in the past. The rate of production of Chromium in about 1972
would have the expected of all know world reserves depleted by about the year 2000
because of one item -- the Automobile Chrome plated bumper. In the 80's what did we
do -- almost overnight (w/i 1 yr); stop making Chrome plated bumpers and moved to using
plastic resin bumpers on all models.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boerseun
Also, as to the cliché about the Wright Brothers inventing flying: Imagine if the purpose of every flying machine ever built was merely to get the pilot to Antarctica. Would it be such a good idea? Airplanes are cool, because they get you from one perfectly hospitable place to another.
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This would not have made as much sense in 1903, yet would make perfect sense in
1957 (IGY). This is the major problem I see with you logic. You are using expectant
utility of where we are now for some future time. The needs may be different by the
time we are to start moving commerce out to our solar system (w/i 100 years). So it
not fair to assess why we would bother to do something in 2100 with the standards of
2009 ???!!!????
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boerseun
I want humans to go to the planets, the stars, and eventually the entire galaxy. But I need a damn good reason. And I haven't heard a single one. Not a peep. So, convince me.
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I am very skeptical whether a proper convincing argument is even possible when you are
so closed off to the possibility. Your mind has already been made up.
maddog
