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Re: starship-design: Private Asteroid Mining
Jim writes:
>Now this sounds interesting. Maybe we should start a list, or at least a
>discussion, on the requirements for getting all the materials we need for
>starships.
I imagine one of the biggest problems will be transforming a lump of rock
into useful form (glass, steel, wire, tubing, etc.) while still in orbit.
What would that entail? Miniature orbiting steel mills and glass factories?
I know next to nothing about how such things are made on Earth, but I would
imagine that there are members who do. I would also imagine that many
element-separation schemes involve the use of gravity; something we couldn't
use in orbit. Is this right? Or is it all done with different boiling/
melting points? Never really thought much about it before...
Ken