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A more or less self sufficient LEO colony could also become the primary means of travel between Earth and Mars. Put some engines on it (using asteroid water fo
by keenerd 9y ago
A more or less self sufficient LEO colony could also become the primary means of travel between Earth and Mars. Put some engines on it (using asteroid water for propellant) and slowly kick it into interplanetary space on an Aldrin Cycler orbit. After that it provides nearly free travel between the planets. Still needs some high-G taxis to jump between the station and the surface as it flies by but that is unavoidable.
- bmcusick 9y agoOne of the main benefits of a LEO colony is you can design it with 1/10th or less of the shielding mass of deep space colony, because it's shielded from radiation by Earth's magnetic field. Such a design would not be able to keep people healthy beyond LEO. A LEO colony would be a staging point for colonists and ships, but not a ship itself.
- keenerd 9y agoYou'd have to add shielding to it too. The whole point is that a single large shielded Cycler makes a lot more sense than smaller ships.