“The investors aren’t making decisions based on a business plan or a return on investment,” he told me. “They’re basing their decisions on our vision.”
You know, I really find this genuinely admirable.
At some point you just have to go "fuck making money, I just want this shit to exist".
EDIT: Even if they fail, they lower the cost to entry for every future potential asteroid mining company from that point forward through what technology they do manage to develop.
“The investors aren’t making decisions based on a business plan or a return on investment,” he told me. “They’re basing their decisions on our vision.”
You know, I really find this genuinely admirable.
At some point you just have to go "fuck making money, I just want this shit to exist".
EDIT: Even if they fail, they lower the cost to entry for every future potential asteroid mining company from that point forward through what technology they do manage to develop.
This. Can't wait to see this realized. It's about damn time the future started around here.
Putting aside scientific development for a moment.
This reminds me of reading American history as a kid--that some of the men who became richest during the 19th century gold rushes were the ones running the stores and selling wagons and mules.
Now, that was 20 years ago, and foreign history isn't always accurate, to put it mildly. But if it is...I wonder if I can invest in the Russian corporations that make all the parts for the Soyuz launch systems. Because unless this whole venture is completely automated, those are going to sell very well. The sooner, the more sales.
Isn't it a little suspicious that James Cameron started this so soon after he visited the deepest part of the world's oceans?
It is strange. Maybe he's dying and has decided that he's going to a) the bottom of the ocean and b) space before he goes.
I thought it was interesting in his little press release blurb he was described as "explorer and filmmaker", because apparently explorer comes first :P.
So I had a short conversation with another guy here in the lab about this, and his stance was that it's a complete waste of money and we should spend that money on helping out the developing world more instead. To which my only real reply was, "But man, SPACE! Space mining! It's awesome!"
Because it is awesome, and I like living in a world where people are still willing to try spectacular things that have a high chance of failure.
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AegisFear My DanceOvershot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered Userregular
So I had a short conversation with another guy here in the lab about this, and his stance was that it's a complete waste of money and we should spend that money on helping out the developing world more instead. To which my only real reply was, "But man, SPACE! Space mining! It's awesome!"
Because it is awesome, and I like living in a world where people are still willing to try spectacular things that have a high chance of failure.
What's this 'we' he's referring to? It's a privately funded venture, not some governmental program opting to throw money here and not there.
I think he's just decided to do something awesome with his hundreds of millions of dollars I've got to say I've a lot of respect for him for that. Dude's going to go down in history one way or the other.
Maybe the military can help fund this. I'm sure they'd like to weaponise asteroid mining in space somehow. Mass drivers pointed towards unfriendly countries. That's be cool, in a genocidal sort of way. We've had to make do with nukes and secret biological weapons as the only possible self-inflicted instant lose buttons so far, so it'll be nice to get a new one.
But this is incredibly cool. Space mining. Yessssssss.
So I had a short conversation with another guy here in the lab about this, and his stance was that it's a complete waste of money and we should spend that money on helping out the developing world more instead. To which my only real reply was, "But man, SPACE! Space mining! It's awesome!"
Because it is awesome, and I like living in a world where people are still willing to try spectacular things that have a high chance of failure.
It will help the developing world in the long run. Space exploration tech has always been filtered down through the systems to produce some pretty sweet stuff, astronaut ice cream aside. It's trickle down awesome.
So I had a short conversation with another guy here in the lab about this, and his stance was that it's a complete waste of money and we should spend that money on helping out the developing world more instead. To which my only real reply was, "But man, SPACE! Space mining! It's awesome!"
Because it is awesome, and I like living in a world where people are still willing to try spectacular things that have a high chance of failure.
What's this 'we' he's referring to? It's a privately funded venture, not some governmental program opting to throw money here and not there.
Perhaps I spoke poorly, but his point was that any money spent on reaching for something fantastic is a waste because it should be spent on fixing the world we have instead (more or less). So 'we' was referring to humanity in general, I guess. It's not exactly a sentiment I agree with, because if we truly applied that process I don't think the world would be better off. I like that humanity can chase big dreams.
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
If EVE has taught me anything, it's that space mining isn't profitable at all.
Oh come on, are you guys really falling for this? This isnt the start of some glorious new space age. This is just a bunch of billionaires pooling their money to see what kind of cool spaceship they can build to show off.
Might make it easier to build space habitats if we can just hollow out a relatively solid asteroid and use it for shielding. Won't help the whole "zero g degradation issue", but one problem at a time.
So I had a short conversation with another guy here in the lab about this, and his stance was that it's a complete waste of money and we should spend that money on helping out the developing world more instead. To which my only real reply was, "But man, SPACE! Space mining! It's awesome!"
Because it is awesome, and I like living in a world where people are still willing to try spectacular things that have a high chance of failure.
What's this 'we' he's referring to? It's a privately funded venture, not some governmental program opting to throw money here and not there.
Perhaps I spoke poorly, but his point was that any money spent on reaching for something fantastic is a waste because it should be spent on fixing the world we have instead (more or less). So 'we' was referring to humanity in general, I guess. It's not exactly a sentiment I agree with, because if we truly applied that process I don't think the world would be better off. I like that humanity can chase big dreams.
Throwing money at the third world isn't going to magically solve all the problems (just create more, judging by history). A fundamental change in world politics and "the way things work" is the only hope. One way to do that is to get people over "We don't like/think about them because the map has a line here", which is a (distant) benefit of space exploration. Another way is advancing technology, another thing space exploration and things like this does a great deal for.
Might make it easier to build space habitats if we can just hollow out a relatively solid asteroid and use it for shielding. Won't help the whole "zero g degradation issue", but one problem at a time.
You could put said asteroid in a spin, and use centripetal force. You're already on the inside of it, after all.
So I had a short conversation with another guy here in the lab about this, and his stance was that it's a complete waste of money and we should spend that money on helping out the developing world more instead. To which my only real reply was, "But man, SPACE! Space mining! It's awesome!"
Because it is awesome, and I like living in a world where people are still willing to try spectacular things that have a high chance of failure.
What's this 'we' he's referring to? It's a privately funded venture, not some governmental program opting to throw money here and not there.
Perhaps I spoke poorly, but his point was that any money spent on reaching for something fantastic is a waste because it should be spent on fixing the world we have instead (more or less). So 'we' was referring to humanity in general, I guess. It's not exactly a sentiment I agree with, because if we truly applied that process I don't think the world would be better off. I like that humanity can chase big dreams.
Throwing money at the third world isn't going to magically solve all the problems (just create more, judging by history). A fundamental change in world politics and "the way things work" is the only hope. One way to do that is to get people over "We don't like/think about them because the map has a line here", which is a (distant) benefit of space exploration. Another way is advancing technology, another thing space exploration and things like this does a great deal for.
Also making things so cheap we can pretty much just give them away. OLPC hasn't yet achieved it's aims and it'll be a difficult journey to get there, but the fact it's something we can even consider doing is dramatic - and also a direct product of our highly consumerist culture, rather then any specific effort in that direction (other then the project itself - what I mean is, the various pieces of it had their groundwork laid long before hand).
Oh come on, are you guys really falling for this? This isnt the start of some glorious new space age. This is just a bunch of billionaires pooling their money to see what kind of cool spaceship they can build to show off.
Seems a lot more likely to work than a bunch of [GOVERNMENTS] pooling their [TAX REVENUE] to see what kind of [MILITARILY APPLICABLE] spaceship they can build to [DOMINATE LOW EARTH ORBIT].
That's not to say it's pie in the sky, but hey, gotta dream somewheres round here.
So I had a short conversation with another guy here in the lab about this, and his stance was that it's a complete waste of money and we should spend that money on helping out the developing world more instead. To which my only real reply was, "But man, SPACE! Space mining! It's awesome!"
Because it is awesome, and I like living in a world where people are still willing to try spectacular things that have a high chance of failure.
Earth is about to begin suffering critical shortages of rare metals, as prices rise uncontrollably and demand also rises wars will ensue as countries seek to secure dominance over their supplies. Most of the people losing out the most in this rush for resources will be the people of poor countries who do not have the political clout or economic power to secure their rights to their own resources. You can already see this in the rush of Chinese companies to buy mining rights across Africa from governments whose lack of accountability means that they didn't really have the right to sell those resources in perpetuity to Chinese (and Western) companies. These companies ravage the local ecosystem, bring in their own skilled workers who will leave when they do, and create dependent economies and then when the resources run out just move on out leaving nothing but environmental collapse in their wake.
Mining on earth is very polluting, and operating on a highly limited supply. One of the best decisions we could make environmentally would be to move mining into space and either use them in space, or use very accurate orbital positioning to drop the resources on earth. (Parachute them in 100 tonne blocks into Nevada or something).
Scarcity, inneficiency and corruption create inequality. By addressing scarcity of resource supply we can move towards solving the problem of poverty.
Also, when someone brings back a 100,000 tonne asteroid made out of 95% gold we can finally have the satisfaction of seeing Ron Pauls head explode.
"That is cool" - Abraham Lincoln
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FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
So this is going to end with face ripping, and either a parasite worshiping cult, or a government mole sent to retrieve a sample to turn it into a bioweapon.
The quantity of metal resources in those asteroids is unimaginably huge. They're also really nice places to do manufacturing, because you don't have to worry about shitting up the ecology and environment of a lifeless rock in hard vacuum.
Hey, blue LEDs are exciting! Especially as the material we generally use for them can be alloyed to cover the full visible spectrum. Plus it's the blue ones that you use with YAG phosphors to give those ultra-bright white LEDs.
I'm actually writing a term paper right now about InGaN solar cells (short summary: it's not looking good). I can shoot you a copy when I'm done if you want :P
Oh come on, are you guys really falling for this? This isnt the start of some glorious new space age. This is just a bunch of billionaires pooling their money to see what kind of cool spaceship they can build to show off.
Seems a lot more likely to work than a bunch of [GOVERNMENTS] pooling their [TAX REVENUE] to see what kind of [MILITARILY APPLICABLE] spaceship they can build to [DOMINATE LOW EARTH ORBIT].
That's not to say it's pie in the sky, but hey, gotta dream somewheres round here.
So they've got, what, like 10 billion between them? And with that they think they can add "trillions" to world GDP. NASA has an annual budget of $18 billion- if something like this were possible, I'm pretty sure NASA would have done it by now.
Oh come on, are you guys really falling for this? This isnt the start of some glorious new space age. This is just a bunch of billionaires pooling their money to see what kind of cool spaceship they can build to show off.
Seems a lot more likely to work than a bunch of [GOVERNMENTS] pooling their [TAX REVENUE] to see what kind of [MILITARILY APPLICABLE] spaceship they can build to [DOMINATE LOW EARTH ORBIT].
That's not to say it's pie in the sky, but hey, gotta dream somewheres round here.
So they've got, what, like 10 billion between them? And with that they think they can add "trillions" to world GDP. NASA has an annual budget of $18 billion- if something like this were possible, I'm pretty sure NASA would have done it by now.
But NASA has to split that money thousands of ways between different research priorities. Obviously the odds of this company succeeding are really low, but if some rich guys want to piss away a bunch of money and we at least get some new telescopes and NEO detection programs out of it, I'd call it a win.
Oh come on, are you guys really falling for this? This isnt the start of some glorious new space age. This is just a bunch of billionaires pooling their money to see what kind of cool spaceship they can build to show off.
Seems a lot more likely to work than a bunch of [GOVERNMENTS] pooling their [TAX REVENUE] to see what kind of [MILITARILY APPLICABLE] spaceship they can build to [DOMINATE LOW EARTH ORBIT].
That's not to say it's pie in the sky, but hey, gotta dream somewheres round here.
So they've got, what, like 10 billion between them? And with that they think they can add "trillions" to world GDP. NASA has an annual budget of $18 billion- if something like this were possible, I'm pretty sure NASA would have done it by now.
But NASA has to split that money thousands of ways between different research priorities. Obviously the odds of this company succeeding are really low, but if some rich guys want to piss away a bunch of money and we at least get some new telescopes and NEO detection programs out of it, I'd call it a win.
Sure. But I will mock all the people who think that this is about to suddenly about to end all resource constraints on Earth, or who think that James Cameron is some kind of God amongst men.
Maybe the military can help fund this. I'm sure they'd like to weaponise asteroid mining in space somehow. Mass drivers pointed towards unfriendly countries. That's be cool, in a genocidal sort of way. We've had to make do with nukes and secret biological weapons as the only possible self-inflicted instant lose buttons so far, so it'll be nice to get a new one.
One of the better ways to move matter and energy around in space is probably giant lasers - which also have the side benefit of being GIANT LASERS that any self-respecting military should get boners over.
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Are you kidding? The benefit of being first is that you get to take all the generic names which make you just "the people" who do that.
I mean "Standard Oil" - that's a brilliant name.
The only real problem here is they should've named it the Post Terran Mining Corporation.
This is true.
Well he already has the "relocation"/genocide plans drawn up, at least.
You know, I really find this genuinely admirable.
At some point you just have to go "fuck making money, I just want this shit to exist".
EDIT: Even if they fail, they lower the cost to entry for every future potential asteroid mining company from that point forward through what technology they do manage to develop.
This. Can't wait to see this realized. It's about damn time the future started around here.
This reminds me of reading American history as a kid--that some of the men who became richest during the 19th century gold rushes were the ones running the stores and selling wagons and mules.
Now, that was 20 years ago, and foreign history isn't always accurate, to put it mildly. But if it is...I wonder if I can invest in the Russian corporations that make all the parts for the Soyuz launch systems. Because unless this whole venture is completely automated, those are going to sell very well. The sooner, the more sales.
I thought it was interesting in his little press release blurb he was described as "explorer and filmmaker", because apparently explorer comes first :P.
I don't post these things so I can hear rational hypotheses about things.
Because it is awesome, and I like living in a world where people are still willing to try spectacular things that have a high chance of failure.
What's this 'we' he's referring to? It's a privately funded venture, not some governmental program opting to throw money here and not there.
Currently DMing: None
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But this is incredibly cool. Space mining. Yessssssss.
An alien life form trapped in the Marianas trench is now piggybacking on his consciousness and wants to get back to its home asteroid. Awesome.
Choose Your Own Chat 1 Choose Your Own Chat 2 Choose Your Own Chat 3
It will help the developing world in the long run. Space exploration tech has always been filtered down through the systems to produce some pretty sweet stuff, astronaut ice cream aside. It's trickle down awesome.
Perhaps I spoke poorly, but his point was that any money spent on reaching for something fantastic is a waste because it should be spent on fixing the world we have instead (more or less). So 'we' was referring to humanity in general, I guess. It's not exactly a sentiment I agree with, because if we truly applied that process I don't think the world would be better off. I like that humanity can chase big dreams.
And then another lifeform will be released from the Asteroid and want to get back to its home in the trench. Hilarity ensues!
Red faction anyone?
In Space, there are no human rights or anti-slavery laws..
James Camereon has anticipated this, and brought condoms and lube with him in preparation.
Throwing money at the third world isn't going to magically solve all the problems (just create more, judging by history). A fundamental change in world politics and "the way things work" is the only hope. One way to do that is to get people over "We don't like/think about them because the map has a line here", which is a (distant) benefit of space exploration. Another way is advancing technology, another thing space exploration and things like this does a great deal for.
You could put said asteroid in a spin, and use centripetal force. You're already on the inside of it, after all.
Also making things so cheap we can pretty much just give them away. OLPC hasn't yet achieved it's aims and it'll be a difficult journey to get there, but the fact it's something we can even consider doing is dramatic - and also a direct product of our highly consumerist culture, rather then any specific effort in that direction (other then the project itself - what I mean is, the various pieces of it had their groundwork laid long before hand).
Seems a lot more likely to work than a bunch of [GOVERNMENTS] pooling their [TAX REVENUE] to see what kind of [MILITARILY APPLICABLE] spaceship they can build to [DOMINATE LOW EARTH ORBIT].
That's not to say it's pie in the sky, but hey, gotta dream somewheres round here.
:^:
This post didn't get nearly the love it deserved.
Yep. We're better off shooting space pirates and refining the loot.
Earth is about to begin suffering critical shortages of rare metals, as prices rise uncontrollably and demand also rises wars will ensue as countries seek to secure dominance over their supplies. Most of the people losing out the most in this rush for resources will be the people of poor countries who do not have the political clout or economic power to secure their rights to their own resources. You can already see this in the rush of Chinese companies to buy mining rights across Africa from governments whose lack of accountability means that they didn't really have the right to sell those resources in perpetuity to Chinese (and Western) companies. These companies ravage the local ecosystem, bring in their own skilled workers who will leave when they do, and create dependent economies and then when the resources run out just move on out leaving nothing but environmental collapse in their wake.
Mining on earth is very polluting, and operating on a highly limited supply. One of the best decisions we could make environmentally would be to move mining into space and either use them in space, or use very accurate orbital positioning to drop the resources on earth. (Parachute them in 100 tonne blocks into Nevada or something).
Scarcity, inneficiency and corruption create inequality. By addressing scarcity of resource supply we can move towards solving the problem of poverty.
Also, when someone brings back a 100,000 tonne asteroid made out of 95% gold we can finally have the satisfaction of seeing Ron Pauls head explode.
I'm actually writing a term paper right now about InGaN solar cells (short summary: it's not looking good). I can shoot you a copy when I'm done if you want :P
So they've got, what, like 10 billion between them? And with that they think they can add "trillions" to world GDP. NASA has an annual budget of $18 billion- if something like this were possible, I'm pretty sure NASA would have done it by now.
They're a textbook example in public policy classes about how not to run a public agency.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
But NASA has to split that money thousands of ways between different research priorities. Obviously the odds of this company succeeding are really low, but if some rich guys want to piss away a bunch of money and we at least get some new telescopes and NEO detection programs out of it, I'd call it a win.
One of the better ways to move matter and energy around in space is probably giant lasers - which also have the side benefit of being GIANT LASERS that any self-respecting military should get boners over.
Well, "Weyland-Yutani" was already taken.
I'm so excited about this. If my infant daughter doesn't grow up to be a space miner, she's out of the will.