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Capturing an asteroid into Earth orbit
Behind the Black ^
| August 26, 2011
| Robert Zimmerman
Posted on 08/25/2011 10:03:57 AM PDT by BobZimmerman
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To: BobZimmerman
gee, what could go wrong?
2
posted on
08/25/2011 10:05:48 AM PDT
by
AdSimp
To: BobZimmerman
In before the ‘we are doomed’ crowd.
3
posted on
08/25/2011 10:06:42 AM PDT
by
mnehring
To: AdSimp
wow, my thoughts exactly. This is a terrible idea, we can’t even put a satalite into orbit 100% of the time, do we really want to risk the extinction of the entire planet on a silly idea like this?
To: BobZimmerman
Worse, an explosion might rip a rubble pile apart, sending the wreckage on a collision course with Earth. To put it mildly, such an event would have serious liability concerns for any private company. Oops!
5
posted on
08/25/2011 10:09:11 AM PDT
by
HerrBlucher
("It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged." G.K. Chesterton)
To: BobZimmerman
30’ wide? They propose doing something like this for a rock that will fit in a big mining loader with room to spare?
That thing better be made of solid gold to justify the price.
6
posted on
08/25/2011 10:09:54 AM PDT
by
Abathar
(Proudly posting without reading the article carefully since 2004)
To: AdSimp
Trying it on a thirty foot wide asteroid would be almost risk free to try.
7
posted on
08/25/2011 10:09:56 AM PDT
by
Jonty30
To: BobZimmerman
One 30-foot-wide asteroid, 2008EA9, will actually be in the right place for this technique in 2049And what benefit does this 30 ft lump of rock have over any other 30 foot lump of rock already on the surface of the earth? Typical space cadet stuff. Spend a 100 million dollars and get nothing for it but a rock.
8
posted on
08/25/2011 10:11:38 AM PDT
by
from occupied ga
(your own government is your most dangerous enemy)
To: HerrBlucher
Is a 30 foot wide asteroid of sufficient value? Most houses are bigger. However, it does underscore the revolutionary effect of starting to get stuff from outside the Earth.
9
posted on
08/25/2011 10:12:09 AM PDT
by
Williams
(Honey Badger Don't Care)
To: AdSimp
“gee, what could go wrong?”
Too much too even contemplate.........
10
posted on
08/25/2011 10:12:32 AM PDT
by
roaddog727
(It's the Constitution, Stupid!)
To: BobZimmerman
I'm noticing an alarming trend in that most published papers concerning the sciences these days usually mention at least one person of Chinese decent.
I've heard the Chinese have more gifted students than America has students. Just sayin'...
11
posted on
08/25/2011 10:15:50 AM PDT
by
Errant
To: BobZimmerman
Robert Zimmerman
12
posted on
08/25/2011 10:18:09 AM PDT
by
Izzy Dunne
(Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
To: from occupied ga
Here’s the benefit: not having to launch raw materials into orbit for later construction of space stations and space faring vehicles.
Launching stuff is very expensive per pound. If, instead, you could launch a small metal producing factory, that could produce hundreds of times it’s own weight in metal from mined asteroids, it would have astronomical savings.
Pun intended.
13
posted on
08/25/2011 10:18:24 AM PDT
by
bolobaby
To: BobZimmerman
Sounds like a perfect government project. Spend a trillion dollars for a 30 foot rock.
Shhhhhhh......don't let Obama learn about it!
14
posted on
08/25/2011 10:25:24 AM PDT
by
PALIN SMITH
(In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.)
To: BobZimmerman
MOOOOOOOOOOON ZERO TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
15
posted on
08/25/2011 10:26:34 AM PDT
by
struggle
To: from occupied ga
benefit does this 30 ft lump of rock have over any other 30 foot lump of rock already on the surface of the earth? Some of these rocks are almost solid nickel for one and contain even more valuable elements. Another reason would be that it offers possibilities of becoming a building block for a better space station. It would offer much more protection from solar radiation and space junk. It could also be used to block or deflect an incoming asteroid - saving the planet from serious catastrophe or the life on earth from annihilation. How much would that be worth? ;)
16
posted on
08/25/2011 10:28:00 AM PDT
by
Errant
To: AdSimp
If something bad happenned women and minorities would be disproportionately affected.
17
posted on
08/25/2011 10:36:04 AM PDT
by
grumpygresh
(Democrats delenda est)
To: AdSimp
Just another mass extinction. No big deal.
To: bolobaby
what leads you to believe that you could process metals from a lump of rock? Pick any 30 foot lump of rock randomly on earth and see just what you can get from it. Asteroids are rocks, not chunks of metal waiting to be processed
What good is a spece station- economically speaking? (BTW that does have an answer, just not one that most people think of)
19
posted on
08/25/2011 10:40:28 AM PDT
by
from occupied ga
(your own government is your most dangerous enemy)
To: BobZimmerman
Nothing new here... The problem, as they will find, is safety. If the rock gets out of control, do you want to be the one to tell the earths population that they’re now a possible target for an extinction level event?
Yeah...
20
posted on
08/25/2011 10:46:02 AM PDT
by
Freeport
(The proper application of high explosives will remove all obstacles.)
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