Re: Building Real Spaceships

On Feb 6, 2:44 pm, Gene Ward Smith <g...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Willie.Moo...@xxxxxxxxx wrote in news:a6d07b5e-77b0-45db-
910b-d5ab11750...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:



By building vehicles large enough and capable enough to do
it.  I was
quite explicit in my analysis.

"Settling" requires much, much more than building a suitable
vehicle.

It requires larger vehicles. That's part of it. What seems
impossible using canoes that carry only 2 to 8 people, seems easy for
ships that carry hundreds.

If you don't get that,

You haven't demonstrated that you read with understanding what I
wrote, so I wouldn't be talking down to me if I were you.

To you rpoint. Obviously the same technology that permits us to carry
crews of hundreds of men and women under the sea and in space for
years at a time, also allows us to build housing that sits on the
surface of the moon or mars and allow people to live there for years
at a time. There is no difference, early on, especially since you
will be carrying them there on the same ships.

A mission module that suports a crew of 110 for five years - is easily
adapted to create a housing system for the lunar surface or mars
surface that supports a similar number for a similiar time.

These systems today can support one person for a year and consume no
more than a ton of consumables in that year. These systems with an
adequate water supply, can support a person for a year with no more
than 100 kg of consumables.

A ship that carries 1,000 tons to the moon each month sustains 12,000
people on the moon. A fleet of 10 ships this size support 120,000
people.

Now these people are highly dependent on Earth supplies. Like all
early settlers are. They will plainly be in place and be motivated
and have the means to reduce their reliance on Earth over time.

In very short order they'll develop a water resource and begin
developing their own supplies and reduce their needs to the point
where that same small fleet can support over a million people on the
moon.

A 1,000 ton payload is small by shipping standards. A fleet of 10
vehicles is a tiny fleet. Yet even with such a small fleeet, today's
life support technology - with very modest resources in place - like
water - and a nuclear reactor or a large solar array - would support a
city of a million people on the moon.

At this point - the people there - regardless of where they got their
wine or cheese or hundreds of other off-moon products - would consider
themselves a community and identify with the moon.

We must break the mission mentality of space travel and think more in
terms of fleets and strategic goals. We have the means. You say,
gratuitously, we do not. The facts support me. Obviously if even a
small fleet of modest craft can support with modest resources in
place, a city of a million, we are more than ready to take the next
step and begin settling these worlds.


you haven't really thought
about the problem.

Yes I have.

.

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