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I really want to see asteroid mining prioritized, as well as a space station capable of permanent human habitation (either partial or full gravity). A space sta

I really want to see asteroid mining prioritized, as well as a space station capable of permanent human habitation (either partial or full gravity). A space station is also preferable to another planet for our next big space endeavor IMO because it is easier to get materials to and from it (no extra gravity well to deal with). Also, I feel like a lot of people think "ah, everything has to be done differently because space is a zero-G environment", but I bet it would be easier to adapt a lot of traditional technologies, engineering processes, and biological elements in a rotating station. Once we have the ability to do fabrication and construction in space, everything becomes much cheaper. Lastly, if researchers need to experiment in zero-G, we could construct zero-G modules adjacent to the center of the ring for experimentation. The primary blocker for a rotating station as far as I know has been the mass requirement. If you have a structure above a certain rotational speed with a radius that is too small, the occupants are likely to become nauseous. From the research I've seen, the minimum size for a viable rotating station would be about 600 tons[1]. Moving that amount of mass into orbit would have been extremely expensive, but Falcon Heavy could launch it for under $1.5B, and the BFR for even less. [1]: http://www.nss.org/settlement/space/GlobusRotationPaper.pdf http://www.nss.org/settlement/space/GlobusRotationPaper.pdf (page 22)

GCU-Empiricist 9y ago
It'll happen when there's a business model that reduces the operating margin for a company. My best guess is this will be when the price for lithium or trans-uranics goes up significantly, or some engineering process requires microgravity conditions.
- extrapickles 9y ago
  Lithium will never be that expensive/rare. Its somewhat common, just we haven’t needed as much as we do now. Some rare earths are getting close to being worth it. That why a few companies are looking at nearby asteroids to see if they have enough of them.
- maccam94 9y ago
  My point is that just getting projects started in space has a high barrier of entry due to the expense of moving personnel and structures into space. If we had permanent residents there, and the ability to manufacture the structures in space, it would become cost effective to build those specialized zero-G factories. It's unlikely that any single company will pony up the cost for that space habitat/construction facility, since it will be the most expensive structure to build.

GCU-Empiricist 9y ago

It'll happen when there's a business model that reduces the operating margin for a company. My best guess is this will be when the price for lithium or trans-uranics goes up significantly, or some engineering process requires microgravity conditions.

extrapickles 9y ago
Lithium will never be that expensive/rare. Its somewhat common, just we haven’t needed as much as we do now. Some rare earths are getting close to being worth it. That why a few companies are looking at nearby asteroids to see if they have enough of them.
maccam94 9y ago
My point is that just getting projects started in space has a high barrier of entry due to the expense of moving personnel and structures into space. If we had permanent residents there, and the ability to manufacture the structures in space, it would become cost effective to build those specialized zero-G factories. It's unlikely that any single company will pony up the cost for that space habitat/construction facility, since it will be the most expensive structure to build.