Impressed Mining asteroids - finally.

[DaGaffer]

So pleased that I might be around to see this:

A new company backed by two Google Inc. billionaires, film director James Cameron and other space exploration proponents is aiming high in the hunt for natural resources—with mining asteroids the possible target.
The venture, called Planetary Resources Inc., revealed little in a press release this week except to say that it would "overlay two critical sectors—space exploration and natural resources—to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP" and "help ensure humanity's prosperity." The company is formally unveiling its plans at an event Tuesday in Seattle.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303513404577356190967904210.html

 

[Moriath]

in a couple hundred years maybe ...

 

[Ch3tan]

Weyland is becoming a reality then.....

 

[Punishment]

Biggest problem for space exploration always has been leaving the Atmosphere.

To make it viable would require a number of hugely expensive launches from the surface of the earth and the building of some form of base on the moon or orbital manufactury.

 

[cHodAX]

I was brilliant at mining roids in Elite and Jumpgate, wonder if I could get a job?

 

[Punishment]

I used to have 3 hulks and an orca on the go in eve online too, they can ask me for advice !

 

[cHodAX]

I used to have 3 hulks and an orca on the go in eve online too, they can ask me for advice !

Pfft that is no skill mining, spreadsheets in space!

Elite and Jumpgate were punishing, hardcore mining was an artform!

 

[Shagrat]

Surely the best investment research and cash wise would be on a sustauinable environment in orbit?

Once thats achieved we can build any craft in orbit and get past the headache of getting craft out of our atmosphere before they can do anything useful

 

[Punishment]

Surely the best investment research and cash wise would be on a sustauinable environment in orbit?

Once thats achieved we can build any craft in orbit and get past the headache of getting craft out of our atmosphere before they can do anything useful

This is the next step and the hardest one into space travel but the sourcing of materials would be nightmarish (maybe they can perfect the harvesting tech cleaning up all the metallic debris orbiting earth while also saving any orbital facilaties the wear and tear they would create.

 

[Wij]

You chose this to be impressed by in a week where we've been promised robot hookers?

 

[DaGaffer]

Surely the best investment research and cash wise would be on a sustauinable environment in orbit?

Once thats achieved we can build any craft in orbit and get past the headache of getting craft out of our atmosphere before they can do anything useful

Why? You don't need astronauts to mine asteroids, and you don't necessarily need to travel that far to get to them; there are asteroids in NEO and at the LaGrange points, and once you've started to mine them you then have resources already up in orbit to build habitats for humans later (if necessary).

You can also start the mining process with relatively low cost, low yield tools because you don't have deliver tons and tons of pure alloys and volatiles back to Earth or into orbit all at once (in fact economically that's a really bad idea); instead you start to deliver a pipeline of packets of material (tiny at first but growing) and then the commodities market effectively buys up the future supply, giving the mining companies the cashflow to expand further.

There's an incredibly strong logic that says go mining first and everything else follows (including Moon mining for ice and Helium 3) because you get resources and you can learn techniques to do other stuff relatively cheaply. Once the mining pipeline gets going, the growth rates can start to look pretty stunning.

 

[DaGaffer]

You chose this to be impressed by in a week where we've been promised robot hookers?

We've been promised that we'll find the idea of robot hookers socially acceptable, when they do arrive, which isn't quite the same thing. (I would imagine that by then I'll be mostly made of ceramics and alloys myself anyway).

 

[old.Tohtori]

Well they've got the workforce ready as we got plenty of oilrig workers around.

 

[Shagrat]

Why? You don't need astronauts to mine asteroids, and you don't necessarily need to travel that far to get to them; there are asteroids in NEO and at the LaGrange points, and once you've started to mine them you then have resources already up in orbit to build habitats for humans later (if necessary).

You can also start the mining process with relatively low cost, low yield tools because you don't have deliver tons and tons of pure alloys and volatiles back to Earth or into orbit all at once (in fact economically that's a really bad idea); instead you start to deliver a pipeline of packets of material (tiny at first but growing) and then the commodities market effectively buys up the future supply, giving the mining companies the cashflow to expand further.

There's an incredibly strong logic that says go mining first and everything else follows (including Moon mining for ice and Helium 3) because you get resources and you can learn techniques to do other stuff relatively cheaply. Once the mining pipeline gets going, the growth rates can start to look pretty stunning.

Good point, forgot about the relatively local asteroids, in this case mining these first would seem logical as like you say once we have the techniques the foods themselves will become the habitats

 

[Wij]

We've been promised that we'll find the idea of robot hookers socially acceptable, when they do arrive, which isn't quite the same thing. (I would imagine that by then I'll be mostly made of ceramics and alloys myself anyway).

*fap*

 

[TdC]

Is banging a robot hooker morally wrong?

 

[old.Tohtori]

Is banging a robot hooker morally wrong?

I'd say it's in the same category as using a rampant rabbit.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Not long until the vidcast...

 

[Raven]

Not long until the vidcast...

Robot hookers or space mining?

 

[ECA]

I for one, am waiting for three breasted midget hookers.

 

[Shagrat]

Well the announcement was very Hollywood style over substance wasn't it. Wasn't a lot of detail in there.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Aye, lacked for detail but they at least seem serious

 

[cHodAX]

Would have thought it was obvious, they are sending little chinamen (cheap labour and expendable, i.e. Apple/Foxconn) with pickaxes and shovels. Solves the population problems meights!

 

[Shagrat]

Let's hope they've optimised their build queue then, or the Martians will have their base up before we do

 

[Cyradix]