If they wait any longer it will become impossible to send any team into space. Or is it the cost of bureaucracy and could be done by a private corporation for 1/100th of the cost?
On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 3:16 AM, Martin Baxter <martinbaxt...@gmail.com>wrote: > > > We can, but it's expensive as all get-out. > > > On Sat, Sep 4, 2010 at 11:50 PM, Mr. Worf <hellomahog...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> >> >> I was watching a show about mining the moon last night. They said that the >> cost of returning to the moon would be about $100 Billion now. I don't >> understand how it could cost so much money to do a manned mission. I wonder >> how much of the cost would change if they were to use a >> different propulsion system? >> >> One question I do have is why can't they make H3 here? They are saying >> that one ton of H3 would be worth several billion. >> >> >> On Sat, Sep 4, 2010 at 8:00 PM, Keith Johnson >> <keithbjohn...@comcast.net>wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> Somewhere in my old house in Fort Worth is a schematic of an ion drive I >>> did in second grade, after watching an ep of "Star Trek" (had to be "Spock's >>> Brain"), and reading about electrolytes in my encyclopedia set. I'd read >>> about how cesium, when immersed in water, would produce ions in solution, >>> and I'd read about theories for Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), the idea of >>> using fusion power to drive plasma as a source of motion. Then there was >>> that Trek ep where they said the aliens who took Spock's brain used ion >>> power, which Kirk said was even beyond Federation tech. So, sure that I'd >>> stumbled on a major secret, I took pen to paper. I drew a cutaway of the >>> Jupiter Two from Lost in Space. Inside was a giant water tank. Sitting next >>> to the tank, like a coal scuttle on a stem locomotive, was a big pile of >>> cesium bricks--just sitting there. Next to them were some crazy robot arms >>> with gloved "hands" (think of all the robot extremities as depicted in old >>> cartoons). The robot hands--two of them--would take turns dumping cesium >>> bricks into the water tank. Attached to the tank was a big A battery and >>> wiring so that the ions in solution could be driven to one side of the tank >>> by the negative pole of the battery. I then had what was for all the world a >>> tailpipe sticking out the side of the ship, through which the electrons >>> would shoot into space. >>> Of course, my eight year old self was certain I'd just solved the problem >>> of both ion drive and FTL travel. To this day I remember how excited I was >>> at what I thought I'd created! >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "Mr. Worf" <hellomahog...@gmail.com> >>> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com >>> Sent: Saturday, September 4, 2010 4:02:26 PM >>> Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Subcritical accelerator driven thorium nuclear >>> reactor >>> >>> >>> >>> The truly futuristic stuff is starting to appear. Once people completely >>> move away from the big government thinking on energy I think the flood gates >>> will open with new ideas. >>> >>> On Sat, Sep 4, 2010 at 9:20 AM, Martin Baxter >>> <martinbaxt...@gmail.com>wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Took them long enough. >>>> >>>> One of my college instructors had a similar thought back in the late >>>> 70s. A shame he's passed on. >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sat, Sep 4, 2010 at 8:04 AM, Mr. Worf <hellomahog...@gmail.com>wrote: >>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Here are details of the subcritical accelerator driven thorium nuclear >>>>> reactor designed by Nobel Laureate Carlo Rubbia. >>>>> <http://www.feedblitz.com/t2.asp?/64651/17726256/0/http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/08/uk-telegraph-supports-new-thorium.html>This >>>>> reactor was given a supportive article by the UK Telegraph. It has been >>>>> extensively studied for over 15 years and is expected to have half the >>>>> cost >>>>> of existing light water reactors and burn up almost all of the nuclear >>>>> fuel. >>>>> The Norwegian group Aker Solutions has bought Dr Rubbia’s patent for the >>>>> thorium fuel-cycle, and is working on his design for a proton accelerator >>>>> at >>>>> its UK operation. 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