Columbus only managed 5 trips to the new world in 10 years. They had to wait for favorable "windows" as well, else the currents and weather would likely kill them. They did not wait for clippers to be invented. Okay, right, that was discovery (before you point it out).
Do you want to talk about how long it took to get a load of tea from Shanghai to Liverpool? They did not wait for diesel propulsion to be invented.
Now I'm not championing the idea that there's a business model out there that will ever make belt asteroids profitable. I'm just pointing out that slow trip time does not destroy that possibility. Hell, that wasn't even my point - that's what you morphed my point into (you've been hanging around TB too long, buddy). My point was that you do not need rockets to stop a vehicle when it arrives at its destination, providing its destination has a favorable atmosphere.
Space/Science » in reply to Sails were a kind of warp drive.
My point
The whole thread (22 posts)
- Mars; here we come.
- A long way to go but I'm glad it's his mission
- Apollo cost $100G in today's dollars.
- Colonization ain't gonna happen.
- It's not impossible, just unprofitable.
- So what's wrong with constant resupply from a home base?
- The tensions facing this Earth and species won't allow those expenditures.
- You need a reason to go there.
- Good point.
- So what's wrong with constant resupply from a home base?
- It's not impossible, just unprofitable.
- Colonization ain't gonna happen.
- Apollo cost $100G in today's dollars.
- A long way to go but I'm glad it's his mission