NASA should prioritize low $/kg

NASA is moving in the right direction as far as the Ares V is
concerned. The Ares V should give us the ability to place at least 130
tonnes into Leo and 66 tonnes into lunar orbit.

However, we need a real reusable Earth to orbit people shuttle. So I
think NASA made a big mistake by not pursuing the development of the
Delta Clipper VTOVL.

A space constructed interplanetary light sail similar to the Eric
Drexler concept is a must, IMO, if we are to be able to rapidly travel
within the inner part of the solar system (between Jupiter and the
Sun) and exploit small asteroids (100 to 5000 tonnes) for their
oxygen, water, and mineral wealth which we could easily and safely tug
into Martian orbit for processing . So I see no reason why we can't
build a large ultra-thin aluminum kite in lunar orbit or at L5 that
would weigh less than 50 tonnes. If we can't build these incredibly
simple kite-like structures then we ought to forget about building the
massive, enormous, and far more complex O'Neil type of space colonies
in the future.

Marcel F. Williams

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "sailor.barsoom"
wrote: