Re: Burt Rutans plans for a manned mission to Mars

On Sun, 14 May 2006 02:19:04 GMT, Fred J. McCall
<fmccall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

royls@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

:On Fri, 12 May 2006 14:00:36 GMT, Fred J. McCall
:<fmccall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
:
:>royls@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
:>
:>:On Fri, 12 May 2006 03:34:02 GMT, Fred J. McCall
:>:<fmccall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
:>:>
:>:>If we can lift enough mass to put up a space elevator we don't need a
:>:>space elevator.
:>:
:>:?? ROTFL!! "If we can send enough men and supplies and equipment and
:>:rails and crossties all the way across the continent to build a
:>:railroad, we don't need a railroad."
:>
:>Cute, but hardly the same thing.
:>
:>Calculate the mass of your space elevator. Now figure out what it
:>costs to put up at current launch costs.
:
:Why? I have already described the bootstrap process that refutes that
:arugment.

Unfortunately for you, I don't buy into arguments based on handwaving,
pixie dust, and wishing real hard.

You mean like your claim, which can be seen quoted in all its
hand-waving, pixie-dust, wishing-real-hard glory at the top of this
post?

:>If launch costs come down enough for a space elevator to be
:>economically practical, launch costs are so low that the elevator is
:>redundant.
:
:It's the elevator itself that brings them down, by building itself. I
:have already informed you of that. Can't you read?

And so you are postulating a large, sophisticated manufacturing plant
up there

No, a simple assembly plant.

churning out stuff that's stronger than anything we can
currently make

No, just longer and cheaper than we can currently make it.

out materials that somehow magically get there

<sigh> No, I have already explained how they get there non-magically,
liar.

(or you
are postulating a hell of a space population already existing, in
which case the elevator is probably unnecessary.

After all, if you can manufacture such a thing starting in space, what
the hell do you need to bring up from Earth?

<sigh> "If you can build a railroad through two thousand miles of
wilderness, whatthe hell would you need it to carry?"

-- Roy L
.

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