Jim Dunstan and Berin Szoka discuss the issue over at Wired.
Category Archives: Space
NASA’s Ambition
This may be a bridge too far, given the state of the agency and Congressional proclivities.
More Asteroid-Mining Thoughts
From David Brin. I disagree with this, though:
It also correlates well with President Obama’s wise decision to abandon a fruitless return to the sterile Moon, in favor of studying objects that might make us all rich.
The moon is no more “sterile” (as far as we know) than the asteroids, and there is plenty there to make us rich as well. It’s going to be a trade off between time and velocity, and there’s probably room for ventures in both places. There’s enough water on the moon to make it very accessible even with high-thrust systems, and likely a lot of asteroidal wealth buried under the regolith. And it’s only three days away.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
I don’t envy Jim Maser his job, especially if XCOR starts to manufacture an RL-10 replacement.
As California Collapses
Obama follows its lead. If California is bailed out, it’s the end of federalism. Unfortunately, it already started, with the “stimulus.”
[Update a few minutes later]
“California can either have all the regulation, or all the business, but it can’t have both.”
Russian’s Space Plans
Looks like their space policy is as much of a politics-driven mess as ours is.
The Legality Of Asteroid Mining
Some thoughts from Michael Listner.
[Update a while later]
The asteroid miners need to get their legal act together.
Improved Lunar Prospecting
Astrobotic has landed a NASA contract for a prospector.
The SLS Problem
Amy Shira Teitel is noticing it as well. It’s too bad that only the space media understand it. I’d sure like to get someone like Sixty Minutes on it.
Asteroid Mining
Does it violate the law?
No, but Tanja Masson-Zwaan has been tweeting that it’s now time to start setting up the “regime” under the Moon Treaty to redistribute the wealth:
Possibly parties to Moon agrmt 79 must start talks about regime governing exploitation, as it seems ‘about to become feasible’ 2/2 #spacelaw
Personally, I think it means that it’s now time to have the Senate actively repudiate it by vote, to indicate that we will have no part of that nonsense.