Why

Hi there,

Whatever the method "most early colonization activities" adopted, they
will have absolutely no impact on settling space.

While costs to orbit remain phenomenal, there's simply no way anyone
would fund sending a farming community to orbit as stage one of any
process towards permanently living and working in space. It's completely
nonsensical.

The bottom line /is/ economics. If farmers currently in the US can
barely afford to live through growing and selling their foodstuffs, what
reason is there for experimenting in a harsher environment where the
dangers are higher and the returns are going to be even less?

Assuming I had a near-bottomless chequebook, I might be persuaded that
returns could be feasible from the construction of solar power
satellites, and that /maybe/ some on-site engineers and construction
jocks were justified. Or I could be influenced by cost-benefit analyses
of LEO tourism, where a space hotel would require staff to tend to
visiting customers.

But neither of these almost-practical initial steps doesn't immediately
suggest that they'd need to grow their own food in the short-to-medium
term. (For example, water can be recycled relatively easily. Adding a
kilo or so of food per person per day to launch costs is going to be far
cheaper and more dependable than the additional risks of farming in the
sky, for decades to come.)

Early habitats, whatever they are for, and whatever people do in them,
will be like Antarctic bases. Permanently staffed by people on
months-long contracts, given specific tasks to accomplish. These tasks
will not include farming, at least not beyond tending the occasional
tomato plant or eye-candy green shrubbery.

Build small habitats first, spin them up, let people live in them and
experiment with the experiences. Food production is way down the list.

Regards,

Andy Goddard

From: Asgard_97@... [mailto:Asgard_97@...]
Sent: 20 January 2005 02:49
To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [spacesettlers] Re:Why

Hi, VTM
Do you want the short answer to WHY, or the long one? ;)
Short answer-most early colonization activities begin with multi-
family farmhold type colonies. Why try to reinvent the wheel as
these were 'mostly' successful.
Generally speaking we'll start small and work up, hence the early
populations in the 250-1000 people range.

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "victoriatangoman"
wrote:
>
> --- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, Asgard_97@y... wrote:
> >
> > --- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "millenial70"
> > wrote:
> > > By "freeholds" I assume you mean zero-G habitats, correct?
> > ===
> > No actually. :)
> > By 'freehold' I meant farm type habitats constructed and
inhabited
> > by interpreneur families.
>
> Why?
>
> > My take on the situation for the near term is for multi-
> > family 'modified' rotating Bernal class habitats, that are in
the
> > neigborhood of approximately .25 to .50 km in diameter and ~ 1
km in
> > length. These would be classical Italian hilltown type
communities