Quote from: ovvidiy on February 02, 2017, 08:50:47 PM

Quote from: funkenstein on February 01, 2017, 02:39:30 PM

Quote from: criptix on January 31, 2017, 01:18:35 PM

Quote from: funkenstein on January 30, 2017, 10:08:48 PM

Take a look at the costs, you'll find it's absurd.

Going up and down the gravity well is expensive as all hell. You'll never make that back no matter what you find on Ceres or the Moon. Even if it were already stacked in refined bars waiting for you to pick them up!!

OK as a fully subsidized mission with no profitability other than a technology subsidy, sure. But as a proper business? No way.

At least not until we get that space elevator built Wink

There are several projects to build a space elevator until 2050.
I think cost estimates were around 50-100 billion $ with usage of graphene or similar super materials.

It's hard to put a cost estimate on something that doesn't exist. No material has been found which has anywhere near the required strength to weight ratio.

Isn't it easier to do instead of the Elevator start from a space platform? I'm certainly no expert in these matters, but I do not believe in such projects. It seems to me that it just allows you to steal money from the budget.

Space Platform by Murray Leinster

http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2431/space-platform

http://www.loyalbooks.com/book/Space-Platform-by-Murray-Leinster

Cool