Carnival of Space 250

The Carnival of Space 250 is up at Vintage Space

The public emergence of the 100 Year Starship organization prompts thoughts from Paul Gilster at Centauri Dreams.

Universe Today – With the recent announcement of the asteroid mining company, Planetary Resources, some of the most-asked questions about this enticing but complex endeavor include, what asteroids do we mine? Which are the easiest asteroids to get to? Could it really be profitable? A new website called Asterank, uses available data from multiple scientific sources on asteroid mass and composition to try and compute which asteroids would be the best targets for mining operations.

Nextbigfuture – Here are details of the Spacex launch of Falcon 9 rocket with a dragon capsule to the space station. The launch was delayed but is on track for a possible Tuesday morning launch.

Nextbigfuture- Zero Hedge did not understand why Planetary Resources would go for Space minerals if there are plenty of minerals here on Earth.Planetary Resources is making a space telescope that is about 100 times cheaper. They do not have that kind of cost advantage here on the Earth. In Space Adventures, the space tourism company, of two of the founders they have sold $500 million in trips to space. Why didn’t they compete with Southwest airlines ? Because they had the unique advantage for space tourism. Planetary Resources will be able to use passive and active arrays of telescopes to increase resolution and capture more of the Earth observing imaging market

Nextbigfuture – Arxiv paper has an improved analysis of an antimatter propulsion system. If can achieve 69% of light speed instead of 31% and is buildable with todays technology

Nextbigfuture – Why go to space ? Because the developed world wants to catch up to the US and people in the US still want to get richer. Fulfilling this will mean increasing the economy and energy that we need. The alternative is a plan for a lot more poverty, death and conflict. It is not a utopian view it is a view that recognizes and accepts the true nature of people.

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