SkyLab 2 - Deep Space Station proposed

[DinoDoc]

Like Buzz Auldrin, I support a one-way mission to Mars.

New Gulag!

[snoopy369]

There is literally no substance on the Moon, nothing at all, which would be more profitably extracted there than on Earth. I would venture to say the same goes for Mars. This will be true for the foreseeable future.

Right, which is why we would be setting up for asteroid mining. (Also, some of that "profitably extracted" has to do with startup costs - once we're there, and have a cheaper up-down option, that calculus may change.) But nobody wants moon mining, not really. We want asteroid mining, because it's not very expensive and could be massively profitable if we learn to identify useful asteroids.

Maybe that's why Mass Effect's minigame existed? NASA asked Bioware to put it in to test potential future scouts?

[MrFun]

I love this idea. But how far out can a space station be, and still be within Earth's gravitational pull to stay in orbit? 38,000 miles beyond the moon won't be too far?

[The Mad Monk]

In Soviet Russia, MARS lands on YOU!

[DinoDoc]

Maybe that's why Mass Effect's minigame existed? NASA asked Bioware to put it in to test potential future scouts?

The Last Starfighter!

[The Mad Monk]

Right, which is why we would be setting up for asteroid mining. (Also, some of that "profitably extracted" has to do with startup costs - once we're there, and have a cheaper up-down option, that calculus may change.) But nobody wants moon mining, not really. We want asteroid mining, because it's not very expensive and could be massively profitable if we learn to identify useful asteroids.

Maybe that's why Mass Effect's minigame existed? NASA asked Bioware to put it in to test potential future scouts?

You would want lunar mining so you could build spacecraft there. Moving out of Earth's gravity well is a huge energy expenditure. Smelting and other industrial processes in zero G would present all kinds of problems.

[snoopy369]

I love this idea. But how far out can a space station be, and still be within Earth's gravitational pull to stay in orbit? 38,000 miles beyond the moon won't be too far?

Please google "lagrange point", then come back. Read "L2" specifically. Thanks.

[snoopy369]

You would want lunar mining so you could build spacecraft there. Moving out of Earth's gravity well is a huge energy expenditure. Smelting and other industrial processes in zero G would present all kinds of problems.

Was replying to Reg, not you.

[The Mad Monk]

So was I.

[MrFun]

Please google "lagrange point", then come back. Read "L2" specifically. Thanks.

Ah, interesting.

The article I chose to read mentioned some advantages of setting telescopes, satellites, and space stations at L2 as compared to simply orbiting closer around Earth.

[snoopy369]

L2 is nice for a variety of reasons; L5 is easier to get to, but L2 is still pretty easy, and makes moon travel much easier. L2 is technically unstable, so you need to orbit the point rather than just sitting in it (L5 etc. are stable - you place a rock in L5 and it will be there until the end of time), but that's not a problem with a space station.

[MrFun]

ah, I see

[PLATO]

I think an L2 station, once established, could be there a very long time. It is a very good place for lots of reasons. In fact, I believe we have several instruments already in orbit there from what I have read.

Skylab 2...gateway to the solar system.

[Hauldren Collider]

Like Buzz Auldrin, I support a one-way mission to Mars.

Roscosmos can send all the russian gays there so that the country can once again have population growth

[Ecthy]

Roscosmos can send all the russian gays there so that the country can once again have population growth

That is probably the dumbest commentary I have ever read on a space thread.