Okay shoot me down if you have to but I think that "Ahad" guy had a
neat idea and was on the right track with his "Celestial Titanic" ship:

http://uk.geocities.com/aa_spaceagen...arth-ring.html

Just look at all these squillions of $$$ benefits:

-Save billions of dollars in ferrying up parts from Earth to build the
large-scale outer framework

-Save thousands of man hours and hundreds of radiation-exposed
astronaut spacewalks for station assembly

-Asteroid surface offers strong commercial potential for mining
precious minerals

-Bulk of the project from in-situ excavation, transportation of
asteroid to high Earth orbit and some initial mining, performed
robotically. Human crews arrive near the end to "seal the entrance" and
establish colony

-Opportunity to experiment re-creating a "miniature Earth" with
gravity, biosphere and self-sustaining ecosystem within a natural,
rocky structure much like Earth's own crust

-Logistically more attractive for easier access from the ground than
either a base on the Moon or one established on Mars

-First "truly promising", permanent off-Earth colony potential within
decades!

-Potentially a full-function transportation vessel for sailing the
great interplanetary or even interstellar oceans of space...

Why oh why do I want to go all the way to that grey thing, when there's
more economical business to be done nearer home with the right rock
from outer space? This is a smart idea - was a smart idea... still
plain wishful thinking.

Bounty