[ExI] De-Orbiting Gold

[Jeff Davis]

On Sat, May 19, 2012 at 11:15 PM, Kelly Anderson <kellycoinguy at gmail.com> wrote:

> This isn't the same as retrieving a sensitive satellite, it's a big
> dang ball of gold... unhurt by being jostled around, crushed or even
> broken apart, come on?!?
>
> You would design the trajectory for the minimal speed of reentry as
> possible, and the heating seems like it could be kept under control
> somehow. What am I missing here?
>
> -Kelly

I'm with you on this one, Kelly.  The others seem to be saying that
you have to factor in and pay for everything since the industrial
revolution, and then you have to de-orbit the thing in some kind of
high tech package to keep it safe.  Puleeeese!

It's a lump of gold fer God's sake!  Stop making it difficult.  Hollow
it out, make it a long, slim tear-drop, spray on some ablative silica
heat shield stuff, and drop it in the ocean.  Add a drogue chute and
marker buoy if you want to get fancy.

When a bear craps in the woods, he doesn't need a six-hundred dollar
toilet seat! (Unless he works for Lockheed-Martin.)

Best, Jeff Davis

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
     Inside a dog it's too dark to read."
                  Groucho Marx