L4-L5 and HEO

On Nov 18, 2003, at 10:13 PM, rick000brooks wrote:

> --- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "babbler36"
> wrote:
>> Where is it better to locate space settlements: High Earth Orbit or
>> the L4 and L5 points?
>
> Give me about 100 years and dozens of space settlements in each and I
> could make a good guess. Last I noticed, L4 and L5 were
> the preferred sites. But we won't know until we try both out. (I
> assume you mean L4 and L5 of the Earth-Moon system.)
>

In this case trying is unbelievably expensive (trillions), so a little
modeling (one guy and some computer time) might be in order. Actually,
in the long run we'll probably have colonies at both. For the first
couple of colonies, access to materials and transportation to Earth are
probably the most important trade offs. If I remember correctly,
Heppenheimer calculated that certain high Earth orbits were easier for
a lunar mass driver to deliver materials to than L4 or L5. Probably
easier to get to from Earth as well, although I don't really know.
However, if you use a lunar space elevator to deliver bulk materials to
a colony the preferred orbit will almost certainly change. If you use
asteroidal materials the preferred orbit is also different.

> As far as I'm concerned, we won't know until we've tried both. I got
> my engineering degree in 1968. I still think that cut and try is
> better than computer modeling. Computer modeling can save time in the
> early stages, but should never be used for a final answer.
>
> A model is rarely more than close to the real thing.
>
> Rick
>
> Canada.
>

Space tourism could be our ticket to the stars. Save your pennies,
suborbital flights for $100,000 may start in 2005! See
http://www.spaceadventures.com/suborbital for details.

Al Globus
CSC at NASA Ames Research Center
http://www.nas.nasa.gov/~globus/home.html

Views expressed in this email are only my opinions and are not the
position of any organization I'm familiar with.