Digest Number 669

I agree.

It would be interesting to prioritize this listing, and I think you've
already got it pretty close to the sequence I would have put it in myself:

Radiation shielding (this comes first because space material can be used for
this purpose without any materials processing, so it's the low-hanging
fruit)
Rocket fuel (because this has the biggest impact on everything else)
O2 for breathing
Water
Simple structures
Food

Things like pencils and toilet paper would be way down the list, and things
like computer chips would be way, way down the list.

Regards,

Mike Combs

From: rmenich@... [mailto:rmenich@...]
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 10:13 AM
To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [spacesettlers] Digest Number 669

The key things upon which to focus in the near term of space manufacture
are the heavy and simple items. We need to produce radiation shielding
from extraterrestrial bulk materials, rocket fuel, oxygen for breathing,
water for a multitude of uses, and ( a little bit later ) food and simple
structures. In the beginning, we'll get our pencils and toilet paper
from Earth, along with other manufactured goods.