Re: RE: RE: RE: starship-design: YES, we might do it.

[KellySt@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/16/98 6:38:09 AM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:

>Kelly,
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>> Also there are the practical problems.  The space infastructure to do the
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>> mining would take so much lift and cost to set up, that it would greatly
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>> outweigh any on orbit damand for resources.  For the cost of 
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>> seting it up, you
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>> could ship years, maybe decades of material up from Earth.  But 
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>> by then the
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>> mine could be obsolete.  Worse, without the mines, you'ld never need the
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>> masive facilities in orbit.  So you might wind up seting up a 
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>> mine, that does
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>> nothing but support itself.
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>The point at which it all becomes practical ia $100/lb to LEO.
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>Lee

But, if it costs you $10 billino to lift the mineing gear and get it working,
but you only need enough stuff to equal $4 billion in lift costs.  You
wouldn't launch the mine.  As lift costs drop.  Low tens (may be singles) of
dollars per pound to orbit is now technically possible if their is enough
demand.  So lifting all the mass from Earth could save you so much lift costs
it would save more then the mine could.

Kelly