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Space Exploration: Jeff Bezos Style
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I didn't have any luck viewing these. One site wanted me to accept cookies; the other didn't work. Can you explain his vision?
His basic view is that the majority of the human population will reside in space habitats rather than the surface of Earth or other solar system planets.The space habitats will be something like the torus from the movie Elysium.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535108/...
With a much larger population, there will be more geniuses...By the same token there will also be more Ted Bundys.
That's what I was thinking. More of every type, not just geniuses.
Graeme wrote: "Summarised here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/8503517...Full video on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv_vk...
Key takeaway: 'Jeff Bezos envis..."
He's basically just ripping off what science fiction writers have been dreaming about for decades. For shame, Mr. Bezos! Thinks people are going to take it more seriously just because he's the richest man in the world... shit, he's probably right ;)
Hi Matt, Bezos, Branson, and Musk - they are all playing in the game of commercializing space.
Frankly, Bezos has deeper pockets than the other two gentleman and deep pockets are a necessity.
It's interesting that reusable platforms are a key technology for all three men.
What commodity is at stake?Colonization has always been done to exploit a commodity. As yet, I have yet to see an economically viable plan to exploit a space based resource.
Mining is only cost effective when acquiring resources for use in space. This is because mining on Earth is cheaper than getting the necessary equipment into space and the ores back to Earth.
You could use those resources to build absolutely massive space based facilities and habitats to support them. But what are you doing with them? Any physical goods would have to be incredibly exotic due to the cost of moving through Earth's gravity well. If you are harvesting energy to beam back to Earth, it won't take long for other nations to realize that you're a gigantic energy based weapon system floating over their heads. People are upset about Iran possibly being able to nuke Israel. Imagine the reaction to someone being able to rain unending fire on anyone, from space. We've gone to war for far less.
The asteroid the Japanese recently landed on and are collecting samples from is believed to be Diamond based. Mind you basing asteroid recovery on an Earth value if recovered is not going to help. A billion tonnes of raw diamond will not keep current prices up. Same for any other commodityAs raw material for building in space then we have a long way to go and Bezos is miles behind Arthur C. Clarke and Larry Niven in terms of thoughts on space usage
The 3 privateers doing Space are all to be applauded for their efforts to keep exploration going and increase usage. I grew up with the dreams of Apollo - we need dreamers...
"believed to be Diamond based" - based on what evidence? This would seem to be extremely unlikely. Space does have some small diamonds, created in novae, but they would hardly join together, and the temperatures and pressures elsewhere in space are inadequate to make diamond. Most elemental carbon in the solar system that we know of is graphitic. Sounds to me like a ploy to raise investment money :-)
Ian wrote: ""believed to be Diamond based" - based on what evidence? This would seem to be extremely unlikely. Space does have some small diamonds, created in novae, but they would hardly join together, and th..."Described as Carbon rich in the reports on space,com which BBC and others reported as possible diamond -
I heard some dudes didn't exactly want to relocate to Australia at the time.. Might be that some space habitats will be populated by volunteers, while others - by those expelled
Nik wrote: "I heard some dudes didn't exactly want to relocate to Australia at the time.. Might be that some space habitats will be populated by volunteers, while others - by those expelled"Maybe they were happy to relocate. The alternative was hanging.
I thought that a sentence of transportation required hard labor at the penal colony for the length of your sentence. Once your sentence was completed you could either catch a boat back home or take up residence in Australia. Graeme you're closer to this than I am, could you weigh in please.
The conditions in Australia were really tough. I have driven over a road carved out by the convicts, and the pick-axe marks were still embedded in the rock. But many did survive and become Australians. Hanging, the alternative, was not exactly desirable.
"Once emancipated, most ex-convicts stayed in Australia and joined the free settlers, with some rising to prominent positions in Australian society."REF: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convict...
Seems about right.
I've got some ex-smugglers on multiple ancestral lines in my family tree.
If you have the chance for a new life in Australia, there's very little reason to go back to England.
Graeme wrote: "If you have the chance for a new life in Australia, there's very little reason to go back to England."Particularly since going back and you have nothing. Australia was big enough that you were bound to have something if you worked.
Graeme wrote: "Hi Matt, Bezos, Branson, and Musk - they are all playing in the game of commercializing space.
Frankly, Bezos has deeper pockets than the other two gentleman and deep pockets are a necessity.
I..."
Yeah, I know. I write about it for a living. I was attempting to be cheeky. In all fairness though, the idea of expanding and becoming a post-scarcity species is very tantalizing and I do hope it remains a possibility.
Not only does it offer the prospect of eliminating all want and poverty, it also presents the opportunity to create new identities and ways of living. Still, as a billionaire in the NewSpace game, he's likely to pitch such things in idealized terms.
Just watched the Space X launch, booster landing (still amazing) and the crew module separation. Have to wait till tomorrow for the docking
Yep, its all in preparation for their plan to build a moon base, which they want to be a successor to the ISS. We're talking domes with 3D printed concrete made of moon dust over top! https://www.airspacemag.com/daily-pla...
I read somewhere that they can make bricks out of regolith, through heat and pressure. However, whatever they build there there will be the problem of thermal expansion-contraction. The temperature differences between day and night are fairly extreme. I would have thought that maybe tunnelling into the rock might be a better bet, but who knows?
Matthew wrote: "Yep, its all in preparation for their plan to build a moon base, which they want to be a successor to the ISS. We're talking domes with 3D printed concrete made of moon dust over top! https://www..."
Sounds good.
Can I get a ticket....
Ian wrote: "I read somewhere that they can make bricks out of regolith, through heat and pressure. However, whatever they build there there will be the problem of thermal expansion-contraction. The temperature..."I have a feeling that these specific issues will be worked through in time.
Philip wrote: "Just watched the Space X launch, booster landing (still amazing) and the crew module separation. Have to wait till tomorrow for the docking"Hi Philip,
Interestingly enough Bezos has a reusable rocket that can land on its tail. REF: https://www.blueorigin.com/
The tech has come of age.
Mind you hovering rockets were invented in Australia decades ago. REF: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nulka
I meant amazing in that all of these attempts are amazing not just Space X even if landing on a platform in the Atlantic adds another motion dimension.Watched 'First Man' last night more nostalgia
Ian wrote: "I read somewhere that they can make bricks out of regolith, through heat and pressure. However, whatever they build there there will be the problem of thermal expansion-contraction. The temperature..."It's sintering technology, at least that's what NASA has planned. They force the regolith through a tube where it is bombarded by microwaves, turning it into a molten ceramic that then cools once its 3D printed. Plus they are planning on building this base in the southern polar region, which is permanently shadowed. Temperatures will be relatively consistent - i.e. cold as all hell! :)
Hi Matt, if it's in the dark, what are they planning to use for electrical power, it would seem that solar would be off the table?
Yes, I recall now that it mentioned microwaves, so I guess it is the same technology. The implication, from memory, was that it could be somewhere somewhat sunnier during the day, but my memory could be poor on that. There is a reason to go to the very cold spots - that is where the water, etc is - but there are also reasons to go elsewhere, e.g. where the 3He and KREEP are.
Graeme wrote: "Hi Matt, if it's in the dark, what are they planning to use for electrical power, it would seem that solar would be off the table?"You position solar arrays around the edge of the craters you build in. I should have mentioned the reason its permanently shades is because of how cratered it is. At this point, I have said this stuff so many times that I say it on autopilot and leave out details.
Is there much of a distance to the crater wall, are we talking a kilometer or 10s of kilometers of power cables? I would imagine the cables would need to be quite solid and capable.
At the crater rim. What's the persistence of sunlight? Can you get continuous sunlight, or does it come and go with the lunar day? (Battery storage options if you have persistent periods of night?)
Graeme wrote: "Is there much of a distance to the crater wall, are we talking a kilometer or 10s of kilometers of power cables? I would imagine they would need to be quite solid and capable.
At the crater rim...."
The Shakleton Crater is the destination of choice, which is 21 km (13 mi) across. And its about 116 km (70 mi) from where the solar arrays would need to be placed in order to get constant exposure. However, there are lots of smaller craters that are closer, but not all of them have the water ice that Shakleton does. Shoemaker is another one, which I believe is closer, though it's over twice as big.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1OID...
Isn't it just? Really hope it can be done. Of course, international cooperation will be needed, and more than just NASA and the ESA. They need to get Russia in on this, like the ISS, and China and India too.
It will also be fascinating to see what they want to do with the other components. As I understand it, the ice there is more or less of the composition as comets, which is probably where it come from originally before it froze out there, and it contains quite a number of chemicals, some of them somewhat toxic, but also potentially useful.
And what looks like a perfect landing today from Space X
Philip wrote: "And what looks like a perfect landing today from Space X"Bring on the BFR already! :)
Triple booster landing two on land one at sea whilst launching major satellite. Another good day for Space XActually another good day for space exploration despite the Israeli moon lander failing - at least they tried
Also the stunning Black hole pictures from NASA.
I assume Philip is talking about the radio telescope picture of the centre of M87. That is spectacular, and a great technical achievement, but I can't help feeling the Xray image from Chandra is even more spectacular in its own way.To get some perspective, if you put our solar system with the sun at the centre of the black hole in the radio telescope picture, Pluto would be only a fifth of the way out. It is a monster, that black hole. Of course it is because it is that big that we can actually get that image.
Philip, that was actually from the Event Horizon Telescope project. But yes, it was remarkable. I did an article about that and the process leading up to it, if anyone is interested.
World, Writing, Wealth
Authors mentioned in this topic
Arthur C. Clarke (other topics)Larry Niven (other topics)
Full video on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv_vk...
Key takeaway: 'Jeff Bezos envisions a new space race of one trillion humans that will spread out across our solar system. The Amazon founder and richest man on the planet - for now, suggested that there would be "1,000 Mozarts and 1,000 Einsteins," adding "Think how incredible and dynamic that civilization will be,"'
Thoughts?