Forum Overview :: The Knuckle Shuffle
 
Re: Yay. And a question. by Chairman Mao 08/11/2003, 6:35pm PDT
Lizard_King wrote:

You mean earth's orbit, right? Yes, that sounds like an awful idea, especially when attached to the track record of mining companies. Has there really been serious discussion of that?


There has definately been discussion of it, but I don't know how serious is serious. Its actually not a terribly difficult thing to do, set up a processor, a small nuclear reactor (or solar panels) and an electromagnetic mass driver dragonfly tail and the thing will take maybe a decade to get here. I think its a bad idea because while our models of planetary mechanics is pretty good, we really don't have alot of good experience with this sort of thing so I rather it was a mining system that stayed a good ways outside the Moon's orbit and flung its already-refined wares back here with mass drivers or space tethers. All we need is one accident and the damn thing could wipe out most of life as we know it.

The temptation is there, though, as a single 2-mi iron asteroid represents more metal than has been extracted from the Earth since the beginning of civilization. We're gonna need it if providing a car for every nuveau Chinese capitalist is going to be a possibility.

I mean, we've all seen the generic scifi future of mining companies on other planets and that kind of thing, which vary in unpleasantness depending on what was there before (from what I've learned of our solar system, at least, I gather we don't have much to lose by drilling away on those fuckers).


No, not really, with the possible exception of some outer moons and maybe Mars. For all the wild ideas about terraforming Mars though it would remain climactically unstable cause the damn planet wobbles so badly. That would take some genuinely creative plaetary engineering to fix so we can probably get away with soiling at least some of Mars in the meantime.

But that asteroid thing you mention, while no doubt in consideration due to the shipping costs alone, isn't really in the running. Is it?


Not for a while. We need to get over the hurdle of heavy lift if we're going to be transporting anything back and forth. Some people think Space Elevators are the answer, but I remain curious to see how they're going to get 100,000 miles worth of carbon in orbit in the first place, or deal with its taper as it descends to the Earth.
PREVIOUS NEXT REPLY QUOTE
 
Boeing loss of mindshare a possible cause for Columbia blowingthefuckup by Entropy Stew 08/04/2003, 11:46am PDT NEW
    Re: Boeing loss of mindshare a possible cause for Columbia blowingthefuckup by laudablepuss 08/04/2003, 1:29pm PDT NEW
        Oh yeah by laudablepuss 08/04/2003, 1:32pm PDT NEW
        Re: Boeing loss of mindshare a possible cause for Columbia blowingthefuckup by Comic Book Guy 08/04/2003, 1:53pm PDT NEW
            Fucking ATOR. That's what I get for going away for three days. NT by Chairman Mao 08/04/2003, 1:56pm PDT NEW
            Re: Boeing loss of mindshare a possible cause for Columbia blowingthefuckup by laudablepuss 08/04/2003, 2:58pm PDT NEW
            Re: Boeing loss of mindshare a possible cause for Columbia blowingthefuckup by Lizard_King 08/09/2003, 6:05pm PDT NEW
                Why by Senor Barborito 08/10/2003, 5:22am PDT NEW
                    Re: Why by Lizard_King 08/11/2003, 6:02pm PDT NEW
                        Re: Why by Senor Barborito 08/12/2003, 12:11pm PDT NEW
                            Re: Why by Lizard_King 08/12/2003, 4:07pm PDT NEW
                Re: Boeing loss of mindshare a possible cause for Columbia blowingthefuckup by Chairman Mao 08/11/2003, 5:47pm PDT NEW
                    I see by Lizard_King 08/11/2003, 5:54pm PDT NEW
                        Tourism = fine with me. by Chairman Mao 08/11/2003, 6:04pm PDT NEW
                            Yay. And a question. by Lizard_King 08/11/2003, 6:11pm PDT NEW
                                Re: Yay. And a question. by Chairman Mao 08/11/2003, 6:35pm PDT NEW
                                Yes, it's under as serious consideration as planetary colonization in general by Senor Barborito 08/12/2003, 11:46am PDT NEW
        The Challenger Launch Decision is awesome. by laudablepuss 08/10/2003, 3:30am PDT NEW
            WTF? by laudablepuss 08/10/2003, 6:23pm PDT NEW
                Re: WTF? by corax 08/10/2003, 6:33pm PDT NEW
                    Re: WTF? by laudablepuss 08/10/2003, 6:50pm PDT NEW
                        Re: WTF? by corax 08/10/2003, 7:32pm PDT NEW
                            Re: WTF? by laudablepuss 08/10/2003, 7:40pm PDT NEW
                                Re: WTF? by corax 08/11/2003, 5:13pm PDT NEW
                                    Re: WTF? by Chairman Mao 08/11/2003, 5:35pm PDT NEW
                                        Re: WTF? by corax 08/11/2003, 7:20pm PDT NEW
                                            Ah. True. NT by Chairman Mao 08/11/2003, 7:23pm PDT NEW
                                            Re: WTF? by laudablepuss 08/12/2003, 11:07am PDT NEW
    I personally blame Texas Rangers SS Alex Rodriguez for this. by Ice Cream Jonsey 08/04/2003, 1:57pm PDT NEW
    "workers in Texas" = Mexicans by I need clarification 08/04/2003, 2:48pm PDT NEW
        Re: "workers in Texas" = Mexicans by laudablepuss 08/04/2003, 2:59pm PDT NEW
        Re: "workers in Texas" = Mexicans by Entropy Stew 08/04/2003, 9:32pm PDT NEW
    Re: Boeing loss of mindshare a possible cause for Columbia blowingthefuckup by E. L. Koba 08/04/2003, 6:06pm PDT NEW
    "Mindshare?" How many business consultants can you fit in your ass? NT by Zebco Fuckface 08/09/2003, 4:04pm PDT NEW
        Ask my VP of cavities NT by Entropy Stew 08/09/2003, 6:26pm PDT NEW
            You rang? NT by whydirt, caltrops HALFLIFE2 08/10/2003, 11:03pm PDT NEW
 
powered by pointy