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Re: starship-design: The Case for Space




In a message dated 10/15/99 10:54:14 PM, bfranchuk@jetnet.ab.ca writes:

>> As to time periods a big factor is when does a place become a preferred
>home?
>>  When will a filth rich space worker prefer to stay and raise a family
>on a
>> O'Neil rather then go back to Earth (on Luna or Mars he/she couldn't).
>> 
>
>All the filthy rich investors stay at home, with everything run by 
>nano-tech what workers would you have? 

Depends if you need folks there to run the Nano-workers, and folks to support 
those folks.  All industry has the bulk of the real work done by machines.  
The machines are directed by workers.  The workers derected by designers and 
managers.  They work for investors and customers.

>> With nano-tech space industry may have the legs shot out from under them.
>> Why worry about cheap high grade ore, if you can process anything and
>get
>> pure materials?  Why worry as much about cheap power it power plants
>can grow
>> from nanotech seeds?  Zero-G manufacture is a joke if you can assemble
>to the
>> atomic scale down here.  Investment funds to space stations and platforms
>> would be diverted to the more profitable and promising nanotech development
>> projects.  Same way space development funds are now being draw off by
>internet
>> projects.
>> 
>
>Why does everybody think nano-tech is the be-all and end all of our problems?
>A person in the 3rd world is not going to need a tv-computer-datalink-T-shirt
>he just wants a phone for the whole vilage.

Nano-tech as a technology is as major a step as steam or cybernetics were.  
As to the third world, they follow us - and obviously only their technically 
advanced representatives will get involved in space or cutting edge anything.

>What resources are there in space?  LEO does not count as the raw materials
>are still from earth?
>
>               moon  mars.
>oil        nope. nope
>land       less  more
>metals     some  more
>low g industry  more  less
>solar           more  less

You forget the asteroids and old comet cores in space itself oil, high purity 
minerals, zero G, high power solar are all in abundance.  You have to build 
your own land, but their are plenty of minerals to do it with.


>
>Ben.


Kelly