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New market for SpaceX launches?

Brian HBrian H
edited August 2012 in General
Asteroid mining; big enough to attract billionaires to invest.
http://www.gizmag.com/planetary-resources-asteroid-mining/22213/

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Comments

  • ggrggr
    edited November -1
    Yay! Not spam! Thanks.
  • TimoTimo
    edited November -1
    Maybe that's the reason why we don't hear about other civilizations: every one of them has started asteroid mining until some less intelligent CEO figures that working with them at the orbit and dropping results at ground costs too much and gives order to "just drop it whole onto ground. We do mining there". BOOOOM!!
  • jerry3jerry3
    edited November -1
    That's what happens when bean counters take over from the engineer founders.
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    It's been estimated that the precious metal and rare earth content of a single 1-mi. diameter nickle-iron asteroid in Earth orbit would be about $7 quadrillion, or $1 million per capita for the planet. Most of it already separated and relatively easy to extract.

    And there are lots of them.
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    P.S. That's about equivalent to all that's been extracted and mined from the crust in all human history.
  • TimoTimo
    edited November -1
    Of course that much precious and rare earth metals would cause them not being rare or precious anymore...

    Gold, platinum etc have uses even when they lose their mainly artificial monetary values though. Platinum is great element for many chemical uses, and gold is great conductor and has plenty of other uses and so on. Obviously nickel-iron asteroid is mostly nickel and iron, so those would be plentiful (just one big nickel-iron asteroid contains more of those than humankind would need for several thousand years with current consumption levels).
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    There are lots of others, like iridium, osmium, etc., that come with the package, too.
  • BYTBYT
    edited November -1
    I heard the want to mine water. Because its heavy and so difficult to get into space.
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    Getting close to the Apr. 30 ISS "double-demo" launch. Several days of orbital maneuvers, then docking, unloading, reloading, return.
  • KlausKlaus
    edited November -1
    That's been delayed a week. tweet by Elon.
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    I blame NASA. The pointy-pencil pushers prevail again!
    >|:(
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    27-min. Apr. 26 Wired interview, wide-ranging, beginning with Dragon simulations of docking.
    http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/04/elon-musk-hangout/
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    "Except where Boeing/Lockheed are protected by egregious contracts, SpaceX wins the competition hands-down."
    "We're getting better faster; our pace of innovation is increasing."
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    And here's another: Bigelow and SpaceX to launch and then accommodate space tourists -- starting in Asia!
    http://www.spacex.com/press.php?page=20120510
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    Watching the Dragon rendezvous with ISS on NASA TV. http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

    Trying to get a camera focused on it at the moment.
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    Just watched Dragon fly under ISS, as they crossed over S.A., birthplace of E.M. Switch-on of strobe light was successful, but it's too bright sunlight to see it yet. Another half hour or less it should be dark enough.
  • TimoTimo
    edited November -1
    Nasa TV schedule related to Dragon mission (all times EST):

    May 25, Friday
    2 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon ISS Grapple and Berthing Coverage - JSC (All Channels)
    1 p.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Mission Status Briefing (Time subject to change) - JSC (All Channels)

    May 26, Saturday
    5:30 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Hatch Opening Coverage - JSC (All Channels)
    11:25 a.m. - ISS Expedition 31 Post-SpaceX/Dragon Hatch Opening Crew News Conference - JSC (All Channels)

    May 31, Thursday
    3:30 a.m. – Coverage of the SpaceX/Dragon Unberthing from the ISS – JSC (All Channels)
    10:15 a.m. – Coverage of the SpaceX/Dragon Deorbit Burn and Pacific Ocean Splashdown – JSC (All Channels)
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    Dragon heading for holding pattern a few hundred meters off ISS; will go thru 2 approach-withdraw "teases" before heading in for actual docking.
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    Doing the 'teasers'; visually about a vehicle length off target at about 250m distance, so (?) approach - hold operation has been altered slightly to hold at 235 instead of coming to 220 meters then withdrawing to 250.

    Delay for a while while CAPCOM examines thermal imagery (from Dragon aiming camera).
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    Extra holds at 200meters and 150 meters, for IR/LIDAR synching. Docking to be somewhat delayed. Near an orbital sunset, may fiddle with timing and lighting so visibility is good.
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    Moving in to 30 meters, still tracking thermal imagery (for discrepancies?).
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    Long hold was in place while they figgered out the LIDAR problem. Turned out to be a reflector on the Japanese module which was confusing the system. They narrowed the beam focus to avoid it. Now setting up for the 10 meter approach.
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    Current time 6:15 PDT.
  • TimoTimo
    edited November -1
    Capture is complete.
  • Brian HBrian H
    edited November -1
    Capture confirmed! 6:56 am PDT.
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