Sources of Hydrogen and Oxygen for settlements

--- makenamicro wrote:

>
> No, but mine shafts on the moon could be turned into
> "hotels", and
> robots could significantly reduce the initial mining
> costs.
>
> I am only speaking generally, in that without a
> viable ROI, it doesnt
> seem possible to move forward.

I agree. The only way that space will become truly
viable for commerce and industry is if money can be
made from it.

>
> Kindly remember, I am new to the group and thanks to
> all for elping
> me clarify the main issues.
>
> BTW...umm... what is an SPS?
>

SPS stands for Solar Power Satellite, and it is one of
those ways that money can be made from space. Suppose
you have a large satellite that collects solar power
and converts it into electricity, located in a halo
orbit around the Earth-Sun L2 point. Such a device
would receive continuous sunlight, unfiltered by
Earth's atmosphere. The electricity could then be
converted into microwaves (unlike a microwave oven
though, these microwaves would be of a frequency that
will not resonate water) which would then be beamed to
a "rectenna" on the earth. A rectenna is basically
just an array of wires connected by diodes; when
microwaves hit the rectenna, they are converted
directly into electricity. The ground nderneath the
rectenna could be safely used for agriculture, as the
microwaves would not affect plant or animal life.

When building a solar power satellite in orbit, we are
not limited in size even though such a structure would
probably be pretty flimsy. It could be a parabolic
reflector say 100 km in diameter. The power beamed to
rectennae on the earth from such a device would exceed
the total of all commercial nuclear power produced
today.

Ed