Economics (was Critical time)

Is there any historical precedent for a company or consortium of companies
working together on a commercial project of this massive scale?

Ron Menich

"Combs, Mike"
ssi_list@... ssi_list@...
04/09/01
02:16 PM
Please
respond to
ssi_list

You seem to be saying that you consider a mass SPS construction program or
orbital habitat program to be forever beyond the reach of private
enterprise. I certainly don't believe this.

I'd confess that a consortium of many corporations may be more likely than
a single corporation going it all alone. More likely, the job will be
broken up into many small parts that single corporations will take on.

If what you say is correct, then this is most depressing, because it
implies that there is essentially no way a private entity could ever
justify using extra-terrestrial resources.

...Whenever I mention lunar mass drivers, or use of lunar resources in
HEO,
it's always in the context of a massive SPS construction program, and/or
orbital habitat program. In those cases, launches from the moon will
increase. But I'll be the first to agree that use of lunar ores makes
little sense in any operation much smaller than this.

Mike Combs

Regards,

Mike Combs