NASA Watch: "Bob Zubrin Steps In It Again"

James Nicoll wrote:

In article ,
Hop David wrote:

James Nicoll wrote:


In article ,
Scott Lowther "scottlowtherAT ix DOT netcom DOT com" wrote:


John Savard wrote:



A spaceship going *to* the Kuiper Belt, or coming back from it,
certainly can rotate for artificial gravity.

Spaceships are largely short-term transportation systems, not permanent
homes.


A spaceship destined for the Kuiper doesn't seem likely to be short
term with any technology much below highly efficient [1] fusion. Take
MEDUSA: Vexhaust of perhaps 1000 km/s. Say we use a mass ratio of e^2 and
a total delta vee of 2,000 km: even with a high acceleration before
reaching the terminal velocity of 1,000 km/s (Because it would be nice
to slow down), you're looking at round trip times of at least seven
months, plus however long you want to stay to work. Voyage duration
comparable to the epic expeditions of the 1700s don't seem out of the
question.

I imagine the Main Belt, Trojans, Centaurs, and moons of the gas giants
will be colonized before we start sending people to the Kuiper Belt.


While I have an irrational interest in Saturn and Neptune,
I expect Jupiter's system will turn out to be the most useful site to
exploit, if we exploit space. While most of the resources of Jupiter
aren't easily accessable due to its escape velocity, the moons are
nicely various and both Jupiter's mass and its planetary magnetic field
are potentially useful resources.

Ah. You like to exploit the Oberth effect. A man after my own heart.

I seem to recall Manx' daughter using one of Jupiter's moons and the
strong Jupiter magnetic field to generate a ridiculous amount of power.
(Manx is a character appearing in a good number of Charlie Stross stories).


In fact, if you can use Jupiter, access to the rest of the
Solar System can become easier.

I believe you are correct.

Hop

In article ,
Hop David wrote:
James Nicoll wrote:

While I have an irrational interest in Saturn and Neptune,
I expect Jupiter's system will turn out to be the most useful site to
exploit, if we exploit space. While most of the resources of Jupiter
aren't easily accessable due to its escape velocity, the moons are
nicely various and both Jupiter's mass and its planetary magnetic field
are potentially useful resources.

Ah. You like to exploit the Oberth effect. A man after my own heart.

The Brain Eater gets us all and I don't want my later writings
to be entirely about the desirability of a trillion person Earth and
perfidity of benderites. Although they probably will be. Anyway, I'm
collecting mania now for use later.

I seem to recall Manx' daughter using one of Jupiter's moons and the
strong Jupiter magnetic field to generate a ridiculous amount of power.
(Manx is a character appearing in a good number of Charlie Stross stories).


I just read the sequel to ACCELERANDO, in fact. GLASS HOUSE,
out in late June.


In fact, if you can use Jupiter, access to the rest of the
Solar System can become easier.

I believe you are correct.

It therefore follows that [sf/x: voice of Dick Tracy] the nation
that controls Jupiter controls the Solar System.
--
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll

More uses for a gas giant (I think this one is from John
Schilling): use the planet to brake small, extremely dense bodies
almost to orbital speeds, then finish the job within the small
bodies of the rings (Obviously, Jupiter wins in the "a very large
planet" contest, while Saturn wins in the "huge ring structures"
contest). This might allow us to recover stranglets and other
such exotic materials.

I'd take a close look at any small body with an unexplained
internal source of heat energy.
--
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll

James Nicoll wrote:
More uses for a gas giant (I think this one is from John
Schilling): use the planet to brake small, extremely dense bodies
almost to orbital speeds, then finish the job within the small
bodies of the rings (Obviously, Jupiter wins in the "a very large
planet" contest, while Saturn wins in the "huge ring structures"
contest). This might allow us to recover stranglets and other
such exotic materials.

I'd take a close look at any small body with an unexplained
internal source of heat energy.

Enceladus?