Digest 1105 Msg 7

to build a space settlement to start with there must
be a strong economic reason and a profit generated
activity from the settlement to justify any type of
expense made by earth institutions.
Once a settlement is established and has a local
economy that will justify its existence expansion of
the first habitat is more probable, economic and
feasible than to build an entirely new one.
Like cities on earth the habitats must be designed and
built with flexibility and expansion capability in
mind so they can grow in a step by step process in
accordance with their functional requirements.
Let also keep in mind that the society that will
master space settlement construction will be far
advanced than the existing, they will utilize robots
for most construction and manufacturing activities,
will use new materials and processes with nanotech
improvements, will be composed by humans with enhanced
capabilities, mental and physical, including much
longer life spans than now.
In that scenario is very difficult to predit easons
and motivations for people to go there unless such
society realizes that human destiny is to move away
from its native planet to assure future survival and
unlimited expansion.
Probably extraterrestrial advanced civilizations have
already left their planet of origin and has built
space settlements in other planetary systems and are
or have alraedy expanded in interstellar space in a
pattern similar to Kardashev's society classification
--- "Combs, Mike" mikecombs@... ha scritto: