[ExI] Millions of tons to space

[Stefano Vaj]

On 27 March 2011 21:18, Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Mar 27, 2011 at 5:00 AM,   Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com> wrote:
>> "Develop"? In my understanding, the technology was already more or less
>> there in the sixties. The fuel is already stocked in strategic arsenals, and
>> has already been paid for. And by no means you are easily taking thousands
>> of tons out of the earth gravity wells with chemical rockets...
>
> We have already taken out thousands of tons, though I agree it wasn't easy.
>
> A power satellite project of significant size (enough to make a
> difference in world energy) requires at least a million tons per year
> lifted to GEO.

My (unrhetorical) question is: once you have bootstrapped space-based
solar power can you make use of its proceeds to maintain it?

And if yes, would a series of Project Orion launches (the
effectiveness of which I understand actually to increase with the
scale of the launch...) enough to bootstrap it?

If this is another yes, the increase in environmental radioactivity,
as unpleasant as it may be, could well amount to a lower price than
the alternatives.

We are not going down that way anyway? Well, at least we would
remember things could have gone differently when we are gathering
around a wood fire during the next stone age... :-)

-- 
Stefano Vaj