It appears that Interstellar inadvertently vindicated

Launch loop.

Launch loops are an order of magnitude or more cheaper per kg for payload
costs, and have more than an order of magnitude higher launch capacity, and
are much cheaper to build in the first place, and don't require any
unobtainium.

On 21 November 2014 15:20, 'Combs, Mike' mikecombs@... [spacesettlers] <
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
> It could happen even in the absence of space elevators. Suppose a
> future society could mount a space transportation system at 1/10 the scale
> of current air transportation. That could support pretty massive
> immigration and trade.
>
> Regards,
>
> Mike Combs
>
> *From:* spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:
> spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com]
> *Sent:* Friday, November 21, 2014 8:40 AM
> *To:* spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
> *Subject:* Re: [spacesettlers] It appears that "Interstellar"
> inadvertently vindicated Gerald K. O'Neill's space settlement vision
>
> I remember reading in an academic journal that frontier areas in the past
> == Australia, California, even Argentina -- could sustain themselves for a
> long time simply on the business of housing, feeding, clothing,
> entertaining, etc the new arriving migrants, until they developed an
> export industry. A booming space settlement might only need one or two
> major exports -- such as space-based solar power, or products from
> asteroid mining.
>
> I guess my question is whether transportation from Earth into space could *ever
> *become easy and routine enough for mass migration and trade. If the
> technology for a space elevator were developed, for example -- material
> strong and light enough for a tether -- how much tonnage could space
> elevators realistically transport back and forth? Would it take hundreds
> of years to build enough tethers? Would you only need one or two space
> elevators?
>
> On Fri, Nov 21, 2014 at 6:12 AM, 'Combs, Mike' mikecombs@...
> [spacesettlers] wrote:
>
> It will require better economic opportunities. And can't happen in their
> absence.
>
> Regards,
>
> Mike Combs
>

--
-Ian Woollard

Launch loops are an order of magnitude or more cheaper per kg for payload costs, and have more than an order of magnitude higher launch capacity, and are much cheaper to build in the first place, and don't require any unobtainium.
On 21 November 2014 15:20, 'Combs, Mike'
mikecombs@...m
[spacesettlers]
<
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
>
It could happen even in the absence of space elevators. Suppose a future society could mount a space transportation system at 1/10 the scale of current air transportation. That could support pretty massive immigration and trade.

Regards,
Mike Combs

From:
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
]
Sent:
Friday, November 21, 2014 8:40 AM
To:
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Subject:
Re: [spacesettlers] It appears that "Interstellar" inadvertently vindicated Gerald K. O'Neill's space settlement vision

I remember reading in an academic journal that frontier areas in the past == Australia, California, even Argentina -- could sustain themselves for a long time simply on the business of housing, feeding, clothing, entertaining, etc the new arriving migrants, until they developed an export industry. A booming space settlement might only need one or two major exports -- such as space-based solar power, or products from asteroid mining.

I guess my question is whether transportation from Earth into space could
ever
become easy and routine enough for mass migration and trade. If the technology for a space elevator were developed, for example -- material strong and light enough for a tether -- how much tonnage could space elevators realistically transport back and forth? Would it take hundreds of years to build enough tethers? Would you only need one or two space elevators?

On Fri, Nov 21, 2014 at 6:12 AM, 'Combs, Mike'
mikecombs@...
[spacesettlers] <
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
> wrote:

It will require better economic opportunities. And can’t happen in their absence.
Regards,
Mike Combs
-Ian Woollard