4 ms·

That technology doesn't exist...

• m4rtink 6y ago
  Until someone starts working on it, no technology usually exists.
  • metalliqaz 6y ago
    Yeah, well, right now a mining and manufacturing operation on Earth weighs more than the entirety of everything humankind has ever lifted into space, by at least an order of magnitude, probably several orders of magnitude. And it still relies on a worldwide transportation network to move materiel. We could build 10 JWST and still come in well under budget compared to developing that tech.
    • nitrogen 6y ago
      Watching Cody's Lab on YouTube, it seems people used to mine and refine (distill) some metals with what looks like less than a ton of equipment.
      • metalliqaz 6y ago
        And then manufacture it into a high-precision instrument... in space?
        • m4rtink 6y ago
          Just turning asteroid material to below average 3D printer feed could be a big and useful first step - just overengineer everything by a factor of 3+ and you can build a big part of your mining operation in place from local resources, to refine/proces/manufacture from the good stuff.
          • mkoubaa 6y ago
            Build a crude tool, then use the crude tool to build a less crude tool, repeat. This is more or less how civilization happened