1. Space and Resource Updates

2. Economics of Space Infrastructure
• Why space? What justifies the infrastructure costs?
• Proposal is for mining on moon
– Why not going straight to near earth asteroids?
• Using astronauts, robots, what?
• Argument from Resource Shortage
– But see Mining Ocean Floor
– Can bring resources back at about $2600 / kg.
• Many rare earths in $10,000 - $40,000 / kg range
• Cheaper launch FRETOS
– Tether for assembly of packages at L1 for lunar insertion

3. FRETOS
• Reusable Earth to Orbit Stage FRETOS combined with
Tether Upper Stage TUS
• Subsonic aircraft release w/ rocket boost at 12.6 km
• To 2100 km tether for insertion into orbit of 13 ton payload
– Basically a rotovator which we talked about back in May
• Up to 1000 launches per year
– (5 launchers and 4 tethers)
– Note this gives a total not much greater than one SBSP system
so most things must be mined/built in space

6. Mining Ocean Floor
• Enough deposits of many key resources to last for
many centuries at current rate
– Volcanic vents deposit sulfur solubles basically
• Includes gold, zinc, several rare earths
• Nautilus is 1st company exploiting this
– Expect $26/kg production cost for up to $10,000/kg
resource
– Solawara project
– Russian based owership

7. Solawara Project
• US $70/ton production cost for resources
valued at over $1000/ton on market
• $400 million in equipment cost raised
• Environmental permits granted
• Full scale mining of 1.2 million tons / yr
• 30 month build out schedule
• Equipment either existing or straightforward
adaptation

9. Nemesis is real (sort of..)
• Hypothetical red or brown dwarf beyond Oort
cloud
• Analysis of century worth of comet data suggests
a Jupiter sized object at edge of solar system
• Sends about 20% of all comets visible from earth
• Called Tyche
– An object like Tyche could be seen directly by WISE,
NASA’s infrared space telescope.

11. Nuclear Launch Gun
• 150 kiloton nuclear Jules Verne gun
• Kilometers deeps shaft, salt is easiest
• Build giant shell containing payload
• Set of guide rails around perimeter
• Pump in reaction mass and small nuclear bomb.
• Can fire 1000 ton payloads at less that $200/kg
• Putting the entire thing underwater and deep in pit
ensures very little radiation to atmosphere
– Best version puts no more than 1/300000 of debris in air
as one 300 kiloton weapon test

12. SpaceX success
• Dec 8 successful launch
– Dragon capsule to orbit and successful
splashdown
• SpaceX cleared for commercial launches and
re-entry
• Mission to ISS is being planned.
• Volunteer astronauts lining up