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Mike Dougherty wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:r2v62c14241004302039y23df2e11z116fc1e1d97aa629@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 10:57 PM, Adrian
Tymes <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:wingcat@pacbell.net">wingcat@pacbell.net</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><br>
Yes. However, retrieval isn't as big a problem as<br>
securing the area against others who would like to<br>
"retrieve" what you de-orbited (ruining the whole point<br>
of the operation). (You'll also need to secure against<br>
spectators.) Unless you can get at least Predator-grade<br>
unmanned vehicles, you're going to need your own humans<br>
present, for security at least.<br>
<div><br>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
I thought our big problem was getting stuff out of earth's gravity
well, not flinging stuff down into it.<br>
<br>
If you can gather enough mass together from outside earth, why not park
and use it for a space elevator? Then you'd just ferry the useful bits
down the elevator to counter other useful (probably expensive) stuff
going up to do more elaborate processing. After you get enough useful
mass parked, processed and upgraded for other cool uses wouldn't we be
in a better position to launch new efforts directly from space?<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
A space elevator comes much later. You need exotic materials, very
fancy engineering and an awful lot of red tape and insurance to tackle
that one. A lot more than dropping a few things in deserted areas
requires. <br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:r2v62c14241004302039y23df2e11z116fc1e1d97aa629@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite"><br>
Hurling rocks at the ground (no matter how accurately) seems like a lot
of inefficiency.<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
Heck, gravity does the work for you except for packing it up and a bit
of small scale cosmic pool to set its trajectory. <br>
<br>
Personally, the main wonderful thing to me about developing near earth
resources is that you get all that lovely useful very heavy material
"out there". out of the gravity well, without having to mortgage the
entire planet to get it there. Using that material you can build out
space based solar and solve what is probably I most pressing immediate
issue on earth, the pending Energy Crisis. You can also drop down
critical materials we are running low on down here. The precious
metals are mainly, in my mind, a way to quickly fund more launches and
amass a lot of working capital while the groundlings come to understand
the huge future value of what you are gathering in orbit.<br>
<br>
Space elevators? Sure, but a bit down the road.<br>
<br>
- samantha<br>
<br>
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