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It's probably not super realistic to mine resources in space and send the raw material down the gravity well but it's hard to imagine any space-based manufactur
by jcgrillo 2y ago
It's probably not super realistic to mine resources in space and send the raw material down the gravity well but it's hard to imagine any space-based manufacturing without mining. Whether our species will ever attempt such a thing is.. who knows? But hauling heavy loads to and from Earth makes very little sense.
- mmooss 2y ago> It's probably not super realistic to mine resources in space and send the raw material down the gravity well I wonder about it: Gravity pulling through zero drag (before the atmosphere) sounds like cheap transportation of just about any mass. We have lots of experience aiming the landing site of deorbiting objects. How much would the ship cost - can we do it without an engine or fuel, with a little boost in the right direction from an orbital base? What would be needed for the cargo to survive reentry and 'landing' - for exampple, a heat shield? After landing, how much would recovery and transportation of the cargo cost? You don't want to be retrieving it from under 3,000 m of water.
- jcgrillo 2y agoThat is an interesting question. Doing it without losing the load seems challenging but could work if you're basically pummeling an area with raw ore then subsequently mining and refining it? I wonder what the atmospheric consequences would be?
- mmooss 2y agoAlso, the ore may be affected by the heat. It's enough to incinerate many things falling from space.