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| Science & Technology |
| US company aims to 'harvest' asteroids |
| 2013-01-23 |
| [FRANCE24] A US company said Tuesday it plans to send a fleet of spacecraft into the solar system to mine asteroids for metals and other materials in the hopes of furthering exploration of the final frontier. "Using resources harvested in space is the only way to afford permanent space development," said David Gump, chief executive of Deep Space Industries, noting that more than 900 new asteroids that pass near our planet are discovered each year. "In this case, metals and fuel from asteroids can expand the in-space industries of this century. That is our strategy." In a first step, the company plans to send "asteroid-prospecting spacecraft" into the solar system, with the first -- 55-pound (25-kilogram) "FireFlies" -- to be launched in 2015 on journeys of two to six months. These will be followed as of 2016 by heavier 70-pound "DragonFlies" that will go on two- to four-year missions and bring back samples. "This is the first commercial campaign to explore the small asteroids that pass by Earth," said Deep Space Chairman Rick Tumlinson. "Using low-cost technologies and combining the legacy of our space program with the innovation of today's young high tech geniuses, we will do things that would have been impossible just a few years ago." If all goes according to plan, Deep Space Industries predicts that, in a decade, it will be harvesting metals and other building materials from space rocks to build large platforms to replace communications satellites -- followed by solar power stations that would beam carbon-free energy back to Earth. Sounds good. How do you "beam" power? Microwave. It works. Don't stand too close... "We will only be visitors in space until we learn how to live off the land there," Tumlinson said in a statement that also made a pitch for customers and sponsors. "We are squarely focused on giving new generations an opportunity to change not only this world but all the worlds of tomorrow. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?" Deep Space Industries is the second company to enter into the asteroid-mining business, following in the footsteps of Planetary Resources, which launched in April 2012 with the backing of top Google executives and film director James Cameron. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #15 Redneck. You bet. But somebody else would have to be flying it first. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2013-01-23 19:17 |
| #14 Yup, and I know what Religion the Pirates would be. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2013-01-23 18:31 |
| #13 I actually thought that would be a good plot for a SciFi book. Terrorists hijack a asteroid mine and have it smash into the earth. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2013-01-23 17:23 |
| #12 rjschwartz Right you are. However, in the words of the Master, TANSTAAFL. Take a bit at a time, you need a lot of bits to be useful. Cumulatively, a lot of energy. Change orbit? Ditto. The letter to the editor referenced asked how much energy would be necessary when you have a million-ton NiFe asteroid rotating once an hour. Memory fades, but iirc, the guy said, eighty-two Saturn Fives blasting for a week. Something like that. Then you've got that puppy continuing its orbit, but at least it isn't rotating. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2013-01-23 15:46 |
| #11 Better off in a Lagrangian orbit, L4 or L5. Cislunar is too close for comfort. |
| Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 2013-01-23 15:05 |
| #10 Richard Aubrey, if they find that out they can be on the forefront of asteroid defense. I suspect they intend to hitch a ride and prospect and then drop off allowing the vast bulk of the mass to continue along its course. They can then try again in a few decades when it returns. That or you send a robot mission with a mass driver and take a long time to bring the asteroid into cislunar orbit where we can get to it. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2013-01-23 15:01 |
| #9 You have to slow an asteroid down, to drop it into a lower solar orbit - and avoid running into anything. Like a planet. |
| Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 2013-01-23 14:52 |
| #8 SciFi story on this theme in Analog decades ago. Problem was, as a letter to the editor explained, that the asteroid or whatever mass is taken from it, is going one way, and we're going another. How much energy does it take to get it--asteroid or mined mass--to where we want it? Say, to a stable orbit far out. Then, once the item is manufactured, to get it to the customer. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2013-01-23 13:58 |
| #7 Maybe by "prospecting" they mean seeing if they can successfully land a probe and return it with payload in a viable and economical way. Bring back samples to be assayed, test out sensors for detecting other valuable minerals and metals. I say good, sooner the better, because at the rate government is going it wouldn't get done. |
| Posted by: High Heeled Boy 2013-01-23 12:53 |
| #6 Gonna need some serious genetic engineering to develop space burros for the prospectors. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2013-01-23 11:35 |
| #5 I remember when NASA landed the probe on the asteroid Eros back in '99 or so. 900 trillion worth of platinum on that one asteroid IIRC. What's the need to prospect when density and composition can be determined before landing? Maybe by "prospecting" they mean seeing if they can successfully land a probe and return it with payload in a viable and economical way. |
| Posted by: Lowspark 2013-01-23 11:08 |
| #4 You can use various microwave-based schemes or high-powered lasers. Do not look into laser with remaining eye. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2013-01-23 10:39 |
| #3 Rods from God would be cheap with these platforms. Of course even cheaper would be Rocks from God - (redirected asteroids) |
| Posted by: Water Modem 2013-01-23 10:37 |
| #2 I want to see them land a Million Ton Freighter, that should end this nonsense. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2013-01-23 10:34 |
| #1 They wouldn't allow an oil pipeline, they would allow SPS? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2013-01-23 02:13 |