Re: Space Exploitation

From: Dez Akin (dezakin_at_usa.net)
Date: 06/11/04 

Date: 11 Jun 2004 02:06:59 -0700

"Terry Goodrich" <terry@csmgdesign.com> wrote in message news:<anPuc.15286$Yf6.3677@bignews1.bellsouth.net>...
> Hello All,
>
> I was just noodling an idea and realized that I really didn't know very much
> about it, so I decided to throw it out to the group and see what would
> become of it. So here it goes.
>
> I think most will agree that getting the price per pound to orbit down to
> something reasonable is the most important thing thats got to happen before
> spaceflight can become common place (i.e., I want to take a vacation in
> space and I'm not and probably won't ever be a multi millionare). This is
> not going to happen until a space resource can be exploited and there is
> money to be made.

The best way to get the price per kg down is to have lots of space
flights. The best way to have lots of space flights is to have a lower
price per kg... Catch-22 hey? Well, there is one way around it. Grow
the global economy more to pump up demand.

> My question is, what resources are there that will support space industry
> and development? I know there is the telecommunication industry but it
> seems that it would be rather limited. I've heard of experiements in
> material science and pharmacutical developement on board ISS and the
> shuttle, but nothing has been developed that would come even close to paying
> for the development cost. We all have heard of placing solar power stations
> and such in orbit, but if electric power grows in price to justify the cost
> of that, we've got a whole lot bigger problem the power. Tourism and
> advertising pop up as two means of making money, at least for the Russians,
> although I suspect that it will never pay for the whole thing.

Communications are the only thing that makes real money right now.

> Where should we be investing our money?
>
> Terry

Whatever grows the economy the fastest so we can afford the luxuries
of space tourism... After that infrastructure will slowly follow. I'd
say pump money into AI research. That seems the best way to do it if
you manage to avoid the terminator or matrix scenario. Economic
analysis indicate human level AI can afford a global GDP growth rate
of around 40-50 percent per annum.

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