High efficiency drives

From: Ian Woollard
To: spacesettlers@egroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2001 5:56 PM
Subject: Re: [spacesettlers] High efficiency drives

Tom Tucker (Olympia) wrote:

> Being more pragmatic, I think that we are many decades away from space
> colonization and asteroid mining due to critical "missing technological
> links" in the chain of tools that are needed. Chiefly, these are:
>
> 1) Reduction in cost to achieve LEO and beyond,

The cost of mining is going to be a couple of billion+,
the cost of launching is only a ~hundred mil. I mean
sure, its not inconsiderable, but its not the biggest
part. R&D, fabrication, deployment and maintenance are the
big ticket items.

Tom - I predict that space colonization will take-off when we finally aquire the technology to use robots or telerobots to produce useful metallic fabrications with only remote involvement by humans. Only then will it make sense to mine the asteroids for colonies.

> 2) Advanced remote technology to mine and to maintain mining equipment
> on an asteroid that may be far far away. Neural net ethnology will be
> crucial IMO along with VR and machines able to repair themselves.

Possibly. I think that lunar mining is easier- teleoperation there
is just about possible. Also, radiation issues are much better
(short flight). And the moon seems to have one crucial ingredient-
hydrogen.

Tom - If telerobots are used, then the radiation problem should be minimal. Only when humans are in space will radiation and shielding be a major concern.

> 3) Design and test viable life support systems for space colonies.

Lots of plants? Incidentally you can buy closed life support
systems off the shelf see: www.eco-sphere.com.

Tom - Great! Perhaps we should all grow gills? The energy required per person is likley to asound most. The BiosphereII required about 100KW per person/day. We will need both biological as well as mechanical systems for safety.

> The above steps will open the frontier to space colonization IMO. Am I
> missing any steps? Comments?
>

> Tom

From:
Ian Woollard
To:
spacesettlers@egroups.com
Sent:
Tuesday, January 02, 2001 5:56 PM
Subject:
Re: [spacesettlers] High efficiency drives
Tom Tucker (Olympia) wrote:
> Being more pragmatic, I think that we are many decades away from space
> colonization and asteroid mining due to critical "missing technological
> links" in the chain of tools that are needed. Chiefly, these are:
>
> 1) Reduction in cost to achieve LEO and beyond,
The cost of mining is going to be a couple of billion+,
the cost of launching is only a ~hundred mil. I mean
sure, its not inconsiderable, but its not the biggest
part. R&D, fabrication, deployment and maintenance are the
big ticket items.
Tom - I predict that space colonization will take-off when we finally aquire the technology to use robots or telerobots to produce useful metallic fabrications with only remote involvement by humans. Only then will it make sense to mine the asteroids for colonies.

> 2) Advanced remote technology to mine and to maintain mining equipment
> on an asteroid that may be far far away. Neural net ethnology will be
> crucial IMO along with VR and machines able to repair themselves.
Possibly. I think that lunar mining is easier- teleoperation there
is just about possible. Also, radiation issues are much better
(short flight). And the moon seems to have one crucial ingredient-
hydrogen.
Tom - If telerobots are used, then the radiation problem should be minimal. Only when humans are in space will radiation and shielding be a major concern.
> 3) Design and test viable life support systems for space colonies.
Lots of plants? Incidentally you can buy closed life support
systems off the shelf see:
www.eco-sphere.com
.
Tom - Great! Perhaps we should all grow gills? The energy required per person is likley to asound most. The BiosphereII required about 100KW per person/day. We will need both biological as well as mechanical systems for safety.