SETI again

On Jul 27, 2006, at 2:36 PM, Robert wrote:

> basically they would end up with a war for resourses, one side saying
> they need to send off colonies, the other demanding the resourses be
> used for new homes. since its most likely the group wanting to
> colonize would be smaller, they would most likely lose.

None of the plans for settlements rely on individual settlement
structures lasting forever. Being man-made, they will have to be
replaced from time to time. If they last >1000 years, settlers can
concentrate on building new settlements. If they last <100 years,
much of their time/energy/resources will be spent building/rebuilding
their own station. Also, if they last <100 years, they will have the
perhaps very difficult problem of having to rebuild/renovate their
colony out in interstellar space. Right now we can really only guess
how easy that may be.

Can we build them strong enough to last more than 100 years without a
major overhaul? Obviously there will be ongoing maintenance, but how
often will the population have to be removed from part or all of the
station so major renovations can take place? Keep in mind that as
technology evolves, the initial systems (life support, propulsion,
etc) will also have to be replaced with better, shinier ones. Not
very many naval vessels, aircraft, or even buildings go more than 30
years or so without being drydocked for major work (I guess you don't
drydock a building, but you know what I mean). This could be a
limiting factor on colonizing to the stars. At least for now.

doug