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With the cheap kg to orbit heavy lift systems coming online, these near misses are becoming opportunities for vast riches if they can be captured and mined. Les
by le-mark 2y ago
With the cheap kg to orbit heavy lift systems coming online, these near misses are becoming opportunities for vast riches if they can be captured and mined. Less massive making the orbit easier to change.
- dylan604 2y agoWhy change the orbit? Just lift off way in advance, land on it, mine it, then when the orbit is close just lift off at closest approach
- le-mark 2y agoThe mined material (ie the entire asteroid depending on its composition) would still require delta v to a suitable orbit.
- dylan604 2y agoyou have to have delta v regardless. enough for your mined material, or the entire mass of the asteroid. i seriously doubt we'd ever approach ability of completely mining the whole of the asteroid. however, if you removed enough mass from the asteroid, would you end up screwing yourself by now changing the orbit so that the next time it swings by it's more of a direct trajectory?