Asteroid retrieval by rotary rocket, by Jerome Pearson

> If we can build robotic mining sites, to extract oxygen,
> combustible fuel, water, metals, soil and shielding mass, and have
> these materials ready to go when humans do venture into space, the
> cost of human spaceflight will go down enormously. Paradoxically
> we need to perfect robotic mining to enable human exploration.

I mostly agree, but I'm thinking that we don't need to completely
perfect robotic mining and processing first. I think we should do a
crude separation at the source (whether it's the moon or an
asteroid), get the resulting high-value material to earth orbit
(whether it's by EM launch, lunar seed-beanstalk, or asteroid
retrieval, or what), and work it there with humans close enough for
real-time telepresence.

One other quibble is the list of materials. Structural materials
are often assumed to be metals, but basalt fiber is good stuff. It
has about the tensile strength of kevlar and about the composition
of unprocessed moon rock, which makes it sound to me like a second
cousin of unobtainium. Other glasses and ceramics will probably
turn out to be useful too.

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "Brad Walsh"
>
> >One big way that the paper differs from my thought is that they're
> >assuming a crew would be sent, whereas I figured that it better be
> >all automated, with only a very crude separation and the simplest
> >available means of throwing the tailings overboard with a decent
> >velocity.
>
> IMHO I believe we need to change to crewed mission paradigm that
so many
> people labor under when planning space missions. The Mars rovers
have shown
> what a (reasonably) intelligent and properly equipped robotic
probe can
> accomplish. The rover program has spent orders of magnitude less
money for
> the results it has gotten than a crewed mission with the same
objectives
> would have. What humans bring to a space mission (whether it's
asteroid
> mining or any other mission) is their retinas, opposale thumbs and
frontal
> cortexes, and the synergy of these parts. We're already making
great
> strides at building substitutes for the human workman in space,
ones that
> will not require massive radiation shields, food production,
atmospheric
> gasses, or a minimum number of cubic feet of living space to stave
off
> insanity. If we can build robotic mining sites, to extract
oxygen,
> combustible fuel, water, metals, soil and shielding mass, and have
these
> materials ready to go when humans do venture into space, the cost
of human
> spaceflight will go down enormously. Paradoxically we need to
perfect