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The combination of much cheaper launch costs of SpaceX's Starship, zero to negative interest rates, and a bunch of space-interested billionaires, might just get
by njarboe 7y ago
The combination of much cheaper launch costs of SpaceX's Starship, zero to negative interest rates, and a bunch of space-interested billionaires, might just get some rotating space hotels up and running sooner than you might think.
- ClumsyPilot 7y agoSpaceX has been around for over a decade, and they have only designed and operated one rocket. Even if money falls from the sky tomorrow this kind of stuff takes decades no matter who is doing it, spaceX or NASA.
- ben_w 7y agoI count three, the latter two of which are already doing more for less than most were expecting. And this has all been clearly chosen as a development sequence that leads to them being a space trucking company, so those “decades” plural have already start. But if it takes two more decades, so what? The points, pro and con, still stand. Technologically achievable, but no clear economic reason as yet.
- ClumsyPilot 7y agoI consider 30 years timeline as an optimistic scenario because we will have Super-Heavy rockets in operation in later half of 2020's, and from there onward the priorities for most major space agencies for manned spaceflight is return to the moon and in-situ resources. Which I believe should have been the focus for a while. Most of innovation and commercial activity will be focused around lunar habitation and infrastructure, by the looks of it.