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The cost and risk associated with such a task is way out of SpaceX's scope.

mabbo 10y ago
Is it? The IPT can theoretically go anywhere inside Saturn's orbit (maybe it was only Jupiter?). It's entirely possible to reach some pretty valuable asteroids in that range. Send an IPT with mining equipment, leave the equipment behind and fill the ship with the processed or semi-processed precious metals. 50 tonnes could be turned into a cool billion dollars[1] without absolutely destroying the market (ease them in slowly). There's risks, but that's sort of Elon Musk's thing. And the money would help cover this Mars colony plan. [1] ballparking using the going price of gold and platinum of around $1200 USD/ounce.
- erikpukinskis 10y ago
  I don't think Elon Musk's thing is risks... his thing is goals. He's not building rockets because it's risky, he's taking risks to make humankind multiplanetary. He's not starting a car company because it's risky, he's making cars to accellerate the transition to sustainable energy. What's the goal for getting 50 tonnes of gold and platinum to Earth? Cash? Musk is just raised $1.2 billion for Tesla this week, no asteroid required.
  - lucaspiller 10y ago
    Just wait until a metal rare on earth, but abundant in asteroids, is discovered to make much better batteries than we have now.
  - mabbo 10y ago
    He borrowed $1.2 billion. He took on an incredibly large debt. No one ever got rich applying for credit cards. The purpose of getting 50 tonnes of rare earths is to pay back those debts, and pay for the next big project that needs a billion dollars. Lowering the cost of rare metals would also be a big boon for humanity. Mining in Earth is not an industry known for its safety or cleanliness, and lower prices of those metals would bring down the cost of many technological innovations to levels that more people can have them. I see asteroid mining as not just a profitable thing, but a project worthy of doing at a level beyond finance.
    - geezerjay 10y ago
      According to Bloomberg, Musk sold 250 million dollars worth of Tesla shares and emitted 750 million dollars in convertible debt. That's not exactly the same as borrowing 1.2 billion dollars.
- darpa_escapee 10y ago
  > Is it? Yes. The company is piggybacking on the millions of dollars and man-hours that went into past government research on space exploration. It is going out of its way to recover and reuse equipment that went through the extremes of being shot into orbit and reentering the Earth's atmosphere to lower costs.
  - geezerjay 10y ago
    Just as you're piggybacking on the countless cash and man-hours that humanity spent developing computing and network tech, as well as literacy programs, just to post comments online. If you feel your posts are your own work in spite of all the piggybacking you do to post them, do give Musk some credit for actually doing the work no one ever did.
    - darpa_escapee 10y ago
      I know Musk is a sacred cow around these parts, but maybe you should reread my post as an explanation as to why I don't believe SpaceX is in the business of taking on such risks instead of a polemic against an HN ubermensch.

mabbo 10y ago

Is it? The IPT can theoretically go anywhere inside Saturn's orbit (maybe it was only Jupiter?). It's entirely possible to reach some pretty valuable asteroids in that range. Send an IPT with mining equipment, leave the equipment behind and fill the ship with the processed or semi-processed precious metals. 50 tonnes could be turned into a cool billion dollars[1] without absolutely destroying the market (ease them in slowly). There's risks, but that's sort of Elon Musk's thing. And the money would help cover this Mars colony plan. [1] ballparking using the going price of gold and platinum of around $1200 USD/ounce.

erikpukinskis 10y ago
I don't think Elon Musk's thing is risks... his thing is goals. He's not building rockets because it's risky, he's taking risks to make humankind multiplanetary. He's not starting a car company because it's risky, he's making cars to accellerate the transition to sustainable energy. What's the goal for getting 50 tonnes of gold and platinum to Earth? Cash? Musk is just raised $1.2 billion for Tesla this week, no asteroid required.
- lucaspiller 10y ago
  Just wait until a metal rare on earth, but abundant in asteroids, is discovered to make much better batteries than we have now.
- mabbo 10y ago
  He borrowed $1.2 billion. He took on an incredibly large debt. No one ever got rich applying for credit cards. The purpose of getting 50 tonnes of rare earths is to pay back those debts, and pay for the next big project that needs a billion dollars. Lowering the cost of rare metals would also be a big boon for humanity. Mining in Earth is not an industry known for its safety or cleanliness, and lower prices of those metals would bring down the cost of many technological innovations to levels that more people can have them. I see asteroid mining as not just a profitable thing, but a project worthy of doing at a level beyond finance.
  - geezerjay 10y ago
    According to Bloomberg, Musk sold 250 million dollars worth of Tesla shares and emitted 750 million dollars in convertible debt. That's not exactly the same as borrowing 1.2 billion dollars.
darpa_escapee 10y ago
> Is it? Yes. The company is piggybacking on the millions of dollars and man-hours that went into past government research on space exploration. It is going out of its way to recover and reuse equipment that went through the extremes of being shot into orbit and reentering the Earth's atmosphere to lower costs.
- geezerjay 10y ago
  Just as you're piggybacking on the countless cash and man-hours that humanity spent developing computing and network tech, as well as literacy programs, just to post comments online. If you feel your posts are your own work in spite of all the piggybacking you do to post them, do give Musk some credit for actually doing the work no one ever did.
  - darpa_escapee 10y ago
    I know Musk is a sacred cow around these parts, but maybe you should reread my post as an explanation as to why I don't believe SpaceX is in the business of taking on such risks instead of a polemic against an HN ubermensch.