Mining Asteroids

[Eric Mc]

"There's gold (and other stuff) in them thar asteroid".

[PW]

Thank you very much Leigh, for taking the time to provide an answer that was informative and constructive.

[Eric Mc]

I'm extremely joyful and hopeful about this project - and I'm an accountant.

See, we're not all moaning minnies.

Good luck to 'em I say.

[SystemParanoia]

Bedazzled said:

how is manufacturing going to be implemented in space? It can take astronauts several hours to undo a single bolt with limited dexterity in space-suits, and the ISS was just assembly rather than manufacturing. Do you envisage large-scale manned orbital processing plants and manufacturing facilities? How would we get them into orbit?

With my Cylindrical/spherical tent idea, you only launch the tent with power supply, and the first induction coil,

once you zip the first asteroid inside and start to process it, the tent will inflate as the gasses expand. the molten rock and metal can spread evenly along the inner surface to create a large empty pressurised composite "cavern" in space that is armored against micrometeorites and radiation.

cut one end off the cylinder and re-attach to create an airlock so asteroids can be inserted and removed

i.e - like this.. but more complicated and actually fit for purpose!


when that process is complete, workers will be able to work without their space suits in a shirt sleeve environment although it will still be zero G

PW said:

Outer Space Treaty 1967. "Article VI vests the responsibility for activities in space to States Parties, regardless of whether they are carried out by governments or non-governmental entities."

Regardless of what it actually says & who it applies to or not, lawyers will have a field day (they're much like accountants in their ability to suck the enjoyment out of things, subtext actually implied & intended this time, rather than assumed), and if they do hit the jackpot, given Mankind's history, I'd be amazed if someone didn't kick up a fuss.

its unenforceable!

if i created a colony in L5 to process asteroids or around Saturns ring system to process the ice ring, nobody could stop this colony ( it would take years to get there for a start ), and nobody could tax it either as it falls under nobody's jurisdiction. so it would be an invasion and an act of war against a peaceful people.

and if earth really tried to agitate the colony, there are a near unlimited supply of weapons to throw at the earth to make sure they stop being tts lol

Edited by SystemParanoia on Wednesday 2nd May 07:47

[Eric Mc]

PW said:

Eric Mc said:

I'm extremely joyful and hopeful about this project - and I'm an accountant.

Bully for you. Shame you're doing your darnedest to spoil it for others by interpreting questions as criticisms, putting words in people's mouths, and focusing your efforts on making unhelpful and unwelcome remarks instead of informative contributions, as others have done.

I have been the most helpful of all. I gave you a link to their website so you can read their plans in far fuller details than anyone has posted here.

What more could I do?

[SystemParanoia]

http://youtu.be/fZ1SC-vUe_I

gravity doesn't seem to play a huge role in the production process.

but if it is needed, then just build a 2nd cylinder and add rotation, bingo 1g gravity




Also.. why bother working out how to manufacture small consumables, like a builder constructing warehouses.. make the space and provide plentiful raw materials and resources then business ( tenants ) will definitely follow! let them work it out

Edited by SystemParanoia on Wednesday 2nd May 09:47

[Eric Mc]

Bedazzled said:

Jam jars in space, love it! But it sort of dodges the manufacturing question - how are we going to process the minerals and then manufacture things like solar panels, satellites, etc in space?

Figuring it out will be part of the challenge - and the fun.

[MartG]

There are at least two other ways to make large structures in space which have been proposed over the years.

One is a process called Vacuum Vapour Deposition, and is basically the process used to make microchips scaled up massively. Metal is vapourised then sprayed onto an inflatable mould to produce the structure.

Another is to drill a hole down the middle of an asteroid, fill it with bags of water, then seal the end of the hole. Heat the asteroid up using induction or solar mirrors - the heat softens the material of the asteroid and when the heat reaches the bags of water they boil, and the steam pressure forms the asteroid into a huge cylinder which can then be pressurised.

Note that all the materials required for the above are sourced from asteroids

Edited by MartG on Wednesday 2nd May 10:54

[SystemParanoia]

plenty of 6+ km asteroids for that

also useful as generation ships for slow interstellar travel if you fit engines

[Eric Mc]

I was always a big fan of David A Hardy's space art.

here's a picture that was originally printed in his 1978 book "New Challenge of the Stars".

[Eric Mc]

I'm reknowned for it in these parts.

[russman777]

I think what they should do to make maximum money is sell the crush the asteroid rock down to powder and sell it for drugs,I mean people snort any old crap for like £40 a gram for coke,golds only like 30. Gram,if they would snort any crap that's made from crushed up glass,snorting an asteroid would make a killing,all big firms are corrupt so don't see why space firms would be any different lol

[Eric Mc]

They could call it Star Dust and sell it to kids.

[jmorgan]

I wonder what was in that stuff?

[Einion Yrth]

jmorgan said:

I wonder what was in that stuff?

Dunno, but further to the recent trend of the thread, I had a flatmate at uni who snorted a line of the stuff. It was not a good experience apparently.

[Eric Mc]

Or was it Space Dust?

[Einion Yrth]

Eric Mc said:

Or was it Space Dust?

Yes.

[Hooli]

Eric Mc said:

They could call it Star Dust and sell it to kids.

Would all the dealers be called Ziggy?

[jmorgan]

Dealers were Doris behind the sweet counter at the local shop. Bet it was full of chemicals that would scare the bejesus out of you today.

[russman777]

It will happen soon,look at total recall they're mining mars although not an asteroid for some mineral forgot which,if its in a film from the 90's imagination starts of everything,1st space launch some imagined that,also if its on tv then its true didn't you know