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The idea is probably using ISRU(in-situ resource utilization) with regards to local asteroids to save on launch costs. Manufacturing/assembly would likely be mo
by r2_pilot 4y ago
The idea is probably using ISRU(in-situ resource utilization) with regards to local asteroids to save on launch costs. Manufacturing/assembly would likely be more expensive at first until the techniques and technologies are learned(perhaps one could upsell this as "truly green manufacturing" since there would be no environmental byproducts to affect Earth).
- danans 4y ago> perhaps one could upsell this as "truly green manufacturing" since there would be no environmental byproducts to affect Earth Except for the massive byproducts created on earth to get through the "more expensive" phase. It would be deeply deceptive and cynical to sell that as "green", surpassing even today's deceptive selling of carbon capture and storage technology on fossil fuel power plants.
- DennisP 4y agoStarship uses methane fuel. Make that from water and ambient CO2 using clean energy sources, and the environmental impact of launch will be minimal. Fuel is a pretty small cost for rockets anyway so using more-expensive clean fuel wouldn't be prohibitive.
- Nomentatus 4y agoBut less and less is launched per pound of space-produced product as time goes on, until only rare complex (small) components such as microprocessors come from earth. There will be an industrial chain taking aluminum from lunar regolith that's catapulted out to a Lagrange point and then the raw aluminum or printed products will be lowered to more suitable orbits by ion engines that spit out ions from lunar soil. Hate to be the one to mention it, but the military may well be paying most of the freight to set most of this up (covertly or not) since space based you-name-it including hypersonic projectiles are going to be more and more useful as the decades pass.