[KaiserJeep]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Keith_McClary', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KaiserJeep', 'N')ever in my wildest dreams would I have thought that anybody would give credence to some weirdo tree-worshiping cultist ideas about space technology.

I mean really - Druids?

[Sixstrings]

(hey kaiser that pic is from the Creationist Museum in kentucky. They did that on purpose. They say the earth is only 6,000 years old)

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'I')t's not enough for these computer 'geniuses' to have ridden the microprocessor train to its conclusion---the phenomena of selfies.

[KaiserJeep]

I can't help thinking that Elon Musk is in it for the money. Yes, he is a visionary, but as a means to an end, which is Elon Musk's continuing and growing personal wealth.

Still, trickle down does work. Tesla is one of the brightest stars in Silicon Valley.

Some people are true believers in the power of governments. When we have a massive, no-holds-barred, effectively unlimited budget, governments can succeed in record time. The Manhattan Project and the Apollo Program are good examples.

When you have to make things cheaper, better, and safer all at once, only private industry can do it. Governments seem to fail regularly at these tasks:

The Space Shuttle is an example of a system that was supposed to make space travel cheaper, and made it more expensive.

The F-16 is an example of a fighter jet that was supposed to be smaller, simpler, and much cheaper than the big twin-engined F-15 it would replace. Instead it was a new complex "electric jet", with fly-by-wire, that ended up costing more than the bigger plane. Then the government decided to produce both, and to keep trying....

The likes of Burt Rutan and Elon Musk will make space travel cheaper, I have no doubt. Some such technological pioneers will go broke, but success is near IMHO.

[Withnail]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KaiserJeep', '
')When you have to make things cheaper, better, and safer all at once, only private industry can do it. Governments seem to fail regularly at these tasks:

The Space Shuttle is an example of a system that was supposed to make space travel cheaper, and made it more expensive.

The F-16 is an example of a fighter jet that was supposed to be smaller, simpler, and much cheaper than the big twin-engined F-15 it would replace. Instead it was a new complex "electric jet", with fly-by-wire, that ended up costing more than the bigger plane. Then the government decided to produce both, and to keep trying....

[KaiserJeep]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Withnail', '
')But surely these things weren't directly built by the government anyway, but private contractors.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KaiserJeep', 'I') can't help thinking that Elon Musk is in it for the money. Yes, he is a visionary, but as a means to an end, which is Elon Musk's continuing and growing personal wealth.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'M')usk isn't a visionary. He's just another in a long line of American hucksters. His EV is runs on wind all right . . . it's hot air. Nothing game-changing since Chevy rightfully gave up on the EV. As for his "rocket ship" it just another kerosene candle with a Iputz attached.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')img]http://i.space.com/images/i/000/042/195/original/ark2-weird-payloads-140918a-02.jpg?1411073855[/img]


SpaceX Dragon Supply Ship Delivers Mice, 3D Printer to Space Station
http://www.space.com/27235-spacex-supply-ship-space-station.html

[Sixstrings]

Sexy rocket pictures. This appears to be the resusable rocket test one, look at the cool landing gear on that thing:



And those shiny handmade American Merlin engines! No Russian engines here!

The upcoming Falcon Heavy:



Dragon capsule doing a rocket landing -- eventually, no parachutes! How badass is that. Do the Russians land with just rocket power? No.



I'm guessing this is a Falcon 9 getting readied for launch:



Dragon capsule getting loaded onto a Falcon 9 booster:



Spacex's longterm term plan:



You can see the comparisons to the old Saturn V, on the left.

And they're working on liquid methane rocket engines, called the "raptor:"

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')paceX advances drive for Mars rocket via Raptor power

SpaceX Co-Founder and Vice President of Propulsion Development Tom Mueller has revealed the company is deep into the development of the first “full flow methane-liquid oxygen” rocket engine. Known as the Raptor, nine of these immensely powerful engines – on one or three cores – will be utilized to send SpaceX’s Super Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (SHLV) uphill on missions to Mars.
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/03/spacex-advances-drive-mars-rocket-raptor-power/

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Next Great Gold Rush Won't Be Taking Place on Earth

Already, private companies are betting big on the potential of asteroid mining and working hard to get there first. Japan launched its own asteroid mining operation last year. Serial entrepreneur and X Prize founder Peter Diamandis believes the first trillionaire will be made in space.

That's right: trillionaire.

If that's hard to imagine, just take a look at the value of one asteroid compared to what we normally think of as expensive or high-value:

What exactly makes asteroids so valuable?




By mining resources in space instead of transporting every material from Earth in a rocket, asteroid miners could save millions of dollars for future space missions. The mineral-rich asteroids have orbits that bring them close to Earth's atmosphere, making them relatively accessible to space miners. These mining operations could enable an unprecedented level of autonomy to future space missions, empowering bigger and better exploration efforts.

"Resources have allowed us to move into every frontier on planet earth," Chris Lewicki, president and "chief asteroid miner" at Planetary Resources, told Mic. "If we can find the same opportunity in space, we will find an economic engine to fund the exploration of space."

"Robotic missions up to asteroids are relatively recent, and we know that there are all sorts of different asteroids up there," NASA's Rebecca Keiser told Mic. "It's really hard to guarantee for these companies exactly what they are going to find when they go up and mine the asteroids."

That uncertainty is leading to a secondary market for space prospecting tools, like a new telescope. These tools will be able to locate the asteroids outside of Earth's atmosphere before choosing which one to mine. After they locate the right asteroids to mine, small robots will cling to the asteroid's surface and use drills to extract resources.

While asteroid platinum quarries might seem far away if companies are still searching for their next asteroid-shaped gold mine now, experts insist that these realities are right around the corner.

"The development, exploration and settlement of space is going to happen a lot faster than I think people think it will naturally," Lewicki said. "This isn't 50 years away, it's 10 or 20 years away."

If asteroid mining is right around the corner, the large fortunes these companies plan to cash in on isn't far off either. That means in just a few short years, we may not be looking at financiers or heirs to Wal-Mart on top of the Forbes billionaire list. We may be looking at asteroid miners.
http://mic.com/articles/115786/the-next-great-gold-rush-won-t-be-taking-place-on-earth

[Tanada]

You might get rich mining platinum from an asteroid, but just like everything else the more of anything on the market the cheaper that thing is. Adding that much platinum to the market would instantly crash the price, it would be cheaper than copper not greater than the GDP of country X Y or Z

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tanada', 'Y')ou might get rich mining platinum from an asteroid, but just like everything else the more of anything on the market the cheaper that thing is. Adding that much platinum to the market would instantly crash the price, it would be cheaper than copper not greater than the GDP of country X Y or Z

[sparky]

.
the largest gold mining companies are Goldcorp , Newmount , Barrick and Newcrest
all have been loosing their shirts for two years , at below 1300$ per ounce, this is a mug game .
after a bout of the vapors following the great ( unresolved ) financial crisis
the appetite for gold has gone down to the level of a coma patient ,
the usual demand for industrial gold and the vanity jewelry trade plus the odd private hoarder
is barely holding the market , recycled gold is not helping much either

I suggest you go on the market with a proposal to use one hundred millions spending to bring back ten thousands and watch the mirth all around ,
there even might be the statistically certain mug which will sink its pension fund on the concept

good luck , have fun !

[Sixstrings]

but what about rare earths?

supply is limited on those, no, and we'll only need more and more of them with all the new battery tech / tech in general?

Anyhow.. there's a cost-profit breaking point, at some point, where a small space mining company could make a lot of money just on platinum.

It can't be too hard, it's not like rocket science or something.

(here's something to calculate.. how much platinum could a soyuz or other reentry vehicle carry, then times that by the current market price and see what that is -- compared to launch cost and getting out to the asteroid, and of course the VERY expensive mining probe / return vehicle.. or.. don't think "big" at all, make a SMALL system and if it's making profit then that's still profit. Maybe you don't have to fill a whole soyuz up with platinum, maybe something smaller and cheaper would be more profitable overall.)

[sparky]

.
beside the small detail that no one has ever been to the asteroid belt and that , so far , functional humans hardly can last more than 9 months in space ?
the soviets had people in space for a year , the guys were wrecks coming back , muscle wastage and calcium bone losses made them into cripples in need of re-habilitation

fully automated drones might be an interesting concept to play with ,
but with transmission delay of the orders from Earth as long as minutes that make a control feedback loop pretty awkward loosing expensive gear so far out would be a budget sinker ,
only taxpayer funded enterprise could afford this kind of wastage

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . .

Good one GASMON , my sentiments exactly, some of these folks live in a different world . . . just waiting with bated breath to see KJ's take on this one. (big grin)

Cheers.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('GASMON', 'W')hat a load of bollocks.

America cant even send toilet paper to the space station at the moment. Russia's supply ship to same blew up last week.

Mining asteroids ?. More likely mining haemorrhoids !!!!!!!!!!

Gas