Re: Juno yes, Moonrise no

Mike Combs <mikecombs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > assuming you are talking about using mass drivers to move lunar soil
> > into GEO to build solar arrays, the total cost of the lunar soil
> > factory and launch facility, plus the cost of manufacturing the arrays
> > in GEO would probably far exceed the cost of simply shooting everything
> > prefab from Earth straight to GEO.
>
> Well, it depends on the scale of the operation. To build one prototype, or
> even half-a-dozen, I'm sure you're right. To build enough SPS to make a
> significant contribution to global new energy needs, you can be sure the
> savings in lift costs will begin to exceed the expense of the initial setup.

That might be so - definite and believable numbers are so far,however not
really around.

>
> > When they get a fusion reactor powerplant running, and can show that
> > they can mine and bring helium-3 back from the Moon in a way that makes
> > it economical to use, that might be worth considering.
>
> I, too, wish people would leave that off their lists at least until designs
> for commercial reactors get to the paper stage.
>
> > Let's just build a big-ass Antarctic or Australian Out-Back colony, or
> > one on the continental shelf; any one of these would be far cheaper to
> > do, and far easier to get to and from.
>
> This oft-heard argument proceeds from a common misperception, and it's that
> we want to build colonies in space because it's getting to be
> standing-room-only in currently-settled places here on Earth, and we need
> new places, not currently filled with people, to put the excess population.
> This is demonstrably untrue. We want to build colonies in space because we
> want to have a destiny that lies beyond this one tiny part of the universe
> which we currently find ourselves in.
>
> > Now mind you, there may be some risk
> > involved with this idea, unlike moving asteroids around the solar
> > system, which would be perfectly safe.
>
> Asteroids could be moved without endangering the Earth.
>
>

--
Sander

+++ Out of cheese error +++
.

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