Asteroid-mining 'FireFlys' will be ready for action by 2015, vowsspace firm

"A second commercial venture to mine the near
infinite resources of outer space has been started,
and Deep Space Industries (DSI) is promising its
spacecraft and 3D printers will allow successful
mining operations within a decade.

The venture says that it will have its first class of
55lb (25kg) "FireFly" probes ready for action by
2015, hitching a ride on other commercial launches,
and during their six-month missions will explore
Near Earth Objects (NEO) for useful materials."

See:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01...teroid_mining/

In article f49aca88-11b2-42de-9314-57a1df9d13b8
@po6g2000pbb.googlegroups.com, says...

"A second commercial venture to mine the near
infinite resources of outer space has been started,
and Deep Space Industries (DSI) is promising its
spacecraft and 3D printers will allow successful
mining operations within a decade.

The venture says that it will have its first class of
55lb (25kg) "FireFly" probes ready for action by
2015, hitching a ride on other commercial launches,
and during their six-month missions will explore
Near Earth Objects (NEO) for useful materials."

See:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01...teroid_mining/

From above:

The second generation of larger probes, dubbed DragonFlies, will
be sent off by 2016 to land on and mine asteroids, producing
around 60lb to 150lbs (27kg to 68kg) of finished cargo on a two
to four-year mission. The design for this second class of
spacecraft is still under review but FireFly designs are
largely sorted.

This is an extremely aggressive schedule. I'm more than a bit skeptical
of their claims because of this.

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer

On 23/01/2013 8:19 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:


This is an extremely aggressive schedule.

Ah yes - engineering management speak for "It'll be late, and then some."

Sylvia.

In article ,
ess says...

On 23/01/2013 8:19 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:


This is an extremely aggressive schedule.

Ah yes - engineering management speak for "It'll be late, and then some."

To be clear, I'm not management.

From the read of the article, it sounds like they've developed a novel
3D printing technology which ought to work in zero gravity. But the gap
between that and actively mining asteroids is quite wide, to say the
least.

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer

On Jan 22, 12:31*pm, wrote:
"A second commercial venture to mine the near
infinite resources of outer space has been started,
and Deep Space Industries (DSI) is promising its
spacecraft and 3D printers will allow successful
mining operations within a decade.

The venture says that it will have its first class of
55lb (25kg) "FireFly" probes ready for action by
2015, hitching a ride on other commercial launches,
and during their six-month missions will explore
Near Earth Objects (NEO) for useful materials."

See:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01...stries_asteroi...

This is good news. My opinion is that space mining will prove to be
the "killer app" that will make space flight routine. More companies
entering the field will increase competition, and increase innovation.
This will serve to advance the speed at which such a venture can come
to fruition.


Bob Clark

On Jan 24, 9:55*am, Robert Clark wrote:
On Jan 22, 12:31*pm, wrote:

"A second commercial venture to mine the near
infinite resources of outer space has been started,
and Deep Space Industries (DSI) is promising its
spacecraft and 3D printers will allow successful
mining operations within a decade.

The venture says that it will have its first class of
55lb (25kg) "FireFly" probes ready for action by
2015, hitching a ride on other commercial launches,
and during their six-month missions will explore
Near Earth Objects (NEO) for useful materials."

See:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01...stries_asteroi...

*This is good news. My opinion is that space mining will prove to be
the "killer app" that will make space flight routine. More companies
entering the field will increase competition, and increase innovation.
This will serve to advance the speed at which such a venture can come
to fruition.

* *Bob Clark


Deep Space Industries. (sales video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIY_fmvFDhM

Deep Space Industries Live Announcement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht1_VIw6C98

I like the optimistic approach taken in these videos. It's the idea
espoused by Peter Diamandis that the upcoming times will be a period
of abundance, not of need.


Bob Clark

On 24/01/2013 15:00, Robert Clark wrote:
On Jan 24, 9:55 am, Robert Clark wrote:
On Jan 22, 12:31 pm, wrote:

"A second commercial venture to mine the near
infinite resources of outer space has been started,
and Deep Space Industries (DSI) is promising its
spacecraft and 3D printers will allow successful
mining operations within a decade.

The venture says that it will have its first class of
55lb (25kg) "FireFly" probes ready for action by
2015, hitching a ride on other commercial launches,
and during their six-month missions will explore
Near Earth Objects (NEO) for useful materials."

See:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01...stries_asteroi...

This is good news. My opinion is that space mining will prove to be
the "killer app" that will make space flight routine. More companies
entering the field will increase competition, and increase innovation.
This will serve to advance the speed at which such a venture can come
to fruition.

Bob Clark


Deep Space Industries. (sales video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIY_fmvFDhM

Deep Space Industries Live Announcement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht1_VIw6C98

I like the optimistic approach taken in these videos. It's the idea
espoused by Peter Diamandis that the upcoming times will be a period
of abundance, not of need.


Bob Clark

Sounds to me exactly like a new generation South Sea Bubble, Tulip
Mania, DotCom Boom using take the money and run IPO. It is a real shame
that there is such a difference between CGI and engineering reality.

Certainly this is more on topic for rec.arts.sf than for sci.*

Lets see how far they get in 5 years and how much money they burn.
Present cost per kg of space rock recovered is about $10bn.

That high price will doubtless come down with cheap autonomous robots
but there is still the tricky bit of getting anything captured back down
to the ground if you want to sell it on Earth. Harvesting pretty
nickel-iron meteorites for collectors might perhaps pay its way
initially, but I think most nations will get a bit upset if a private
company starts lobbing multiple tonne iron meteorites at them.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

"Robert Clark" wrote in message
...
On Jan 22, 12:31 pm, wrote:
"A second commercial venture to mine the near
infinite resources of outer space has been started,
and Deep Space Industries (DSI) is promising its
spacecraft and 3D printers will allow successful
mining operations within a decade.

The venture says that it will have its first class of
55lb (25kg) "FireFly" probes ready for action by
2015, hitching a ride on other commercial launches,
and during their six-month missions will explore
Near Earth Objects (NEO) for useful materials."

See:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01...stries_asteroi...

This is good news. My opinion is that space mining will prove to be
the "killer app" that will make space flight routine. More companies
entering the field will increase competition, and increase innovation.
This will serve to advance the speed at which such a venture can come
to fruition.


Bob Clark

# Yes, hardly likely to be cost-effective. Transport costs will kill it
off.
Why the need?
Well, Pacman is chomping up Planet Earth, and what we call "economics",
ie. political economy (cf. domestic economy) is hardly frugal, in the
original sense of the word.
No, more like extravagance. Dig it all up as fast as possible, until
gone.
Outer Space has always been a good stand-by for solving terrestrial
problems.
If we stuff up here, why then - migrate!
PS: Seeking contact with Aliens in Outer Space is of dubious merit.
They might merely see us as a nice source of food, given that most life
preys on other life.
PPS: Pacman? The Ghosts of Nature, past, present, and future, will get
him, in the end.

whats needed is a cheap way to get heavy loads from space to
earth......

: bob haller
: whats needed is a cheap way to get heavy loads from space to
: earth......

Something leads you to believe that lithobreaking (for raw materials)
or aerobraking (for manufactured goods) would be prohibitively expensive?

How much cheaper do you want it to be?