Asteroid-Mining Project Aims for Deep-Space Colonies

FYI,

"Asteroid-Mining Project Aims for Deep-Space Colonies"
Space.com
http://www.space.com/19368-asteroid-mining-deep-space-industries.html

: A new asteroid-mining company launched Tuesday with the goal of
: helping humanity expand across the solar system by tapping the vast
: riches of space rocks.

: The new firm, called Deep Space Industries, Inc., announced today
: (Jan. 22) that it plans to launch a fleet of prospecting spacecraft
: in 2015, then begin harvesting metals and water from near-Earth
: asteroids within a decade or so. Such work could make it possible
: to build and refuel spacecraft far above our planet's surface, thus
: helping our species get a foothold in the final frontier.

: "Using resources harvested in space is the only way to afford
: permanent space development," Deep Space CEO David Gump said in a
: statement. Deep Space Industries will hold a press conference today
: in Santa Monica, Calif., at 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST/1800 GMT) to
: unveil more details of its bold mission plan; you can watch the
: webcast live here at SPACE.com.

: "More than 900 new asteroids that pass near Earth are discovered
: every year," Gump explained. "They can be like the Iron Range of
: Minnesota was for the Detroit car industry last century a key
: resource located near where it was needed. In this case, metals and
: fuel from asteroids can expand the in-space industries of this
: century. That is our strategy."

: Deep Space is the second company to jump into the asteroid-mining
: business. The first, the billionaire-backed firm Planetary
: Resources, had its own unveiling last April.

: Prospecting spacecraft and asteroid sample-return

: Deep Space will inspect potential mining targets with 55-pound
: (25 kilograms) spacecraft it calls Firefly, the first of which are
: targeted for launch in 2015.

: Fireflies will conduct asteroid reconnaissance on the cheap.
: They'll be made from low-cost "cubesat" components and will hitch a
: ride to space aboard rockets that also carry large communications
: satellites, Deep Space officials said.

: "We can make amazing machines smaller, cheaper and faster than ever
: before," Deep Space chairman Rick Tumlinson said in a statement.
: "Imagine a production line of Fireflies, cocked and loaded and
: ready to fly out to examine any object that gets near the Earth."

: The Firefly fleet's work will pave the way for 70-pound (32 kg)
: spacecraft called Dragonfly, which will blast off beginning in
: 2016. These Dragonflies will bring asteroid samples back to Earth
: during missions that last two to four years. Some samples will help
: the company determine mining targets, while others will probably be
: sold to researchers and collectors, officials said.

: The public will get to fly along with both probes, whose activities
: will likely be funded in some measure by corporate sponsorship,
: Deep Space officials said.

: "The public will participate in Firefly and Dragonfly missions via
: live feeds from Mission Control, online courses in asteroid mining
: sponsored by corporate marketers and other innovative ways to open
: the doors wide," Gump said. "The Google Lunar X Prize, Unilever and
: Red Bull each are spending tens of millions of dollars on space
: sponsorships, so the opportunity to sponsor a Firefly expedition
: into deep space will be enticing."

: Building and refueling spacecraft off Earth

: These activities are all precursors to Deep Space's ultimate goal,
: which is the harvesting and in-space utilization of asteroid
: resources.

: The company intends to begin extracting metals and other building
: materials from space rocks within 10 years, officials said. These
: components will first be used to build communications satellites
: off-Earth, with the construction of space-based solar power
: stations coming later. Precious metals such as platinum will also
: be delivered to Earth for terrestrial use.

: Deep Space's construction activities will be aided by a patent-
: pending 3D printer called the MicroGravity Foundry, officials said.

: "The MicroGravity Foundry is the first 3D printer that creates
: high-density, high-strength metal components even in zero gravity,"
: company co-founder and MicroGravity Foundry inventor Stephen Covey
: said in a statement. "Other metal 3D printers sinter powdered
: metal, which requires a gravity field and leaves a porous
: structure, or they use low-melting point metals with less
: strength."

: Deep Space Industries will also focus on extracting asteroid water,
: which can be split into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen the
: chief components of rocket fuel. The company's mining efforts could
: thus lead to the establishment of in-space "gas stations" that
: allow satellites and journeying spacecraft to top up their tanks
: relatively cheaply and efficiently.

: "We will only be visitors in space until we learn how to live off
: the land there," Tumlinson said. "This is the Deep Space mission
: to find, harvest and process the resources of space to help save
: our civilization and support the expansion of humanity beyond the
: Earth and doing so in a step-by-step manner that leverages off
: our space legacy to create an amazing and hopeful future for
: humanity."

: Deep Space Industries' ambitions are similar to those of Planetary
: Resources, which also plans to tap asteroid metals and water to
: help open the solar system up to exploration and exploitation.

: Planetary Resources could prove to be a tough competitor. It was
: founded by private-spaceflight pioneers Peter Diamandis and Eric
: Anderson, and its deep-pocketed investors include Google execs
: Larry Page and Eric Schmidt.

Mark Reiff