China now equals US in space

government to/for china?

their own?

That might be, but Monica thing... come on.

last few years.

Send Slowman. He can observe.

last few years.

Because no one is really that interested in doing it. NASA needs something to do though.

the last few years.

Without a space-suit ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

last few years.

(Hotbird) via satellite).

Lots of asteroids are solid lumps of nickel-iron. It wouldn't be all that expensive to drop them on some Chinese desert, and cheaper enough ship them from there to Chinese factory - at the moment the Chinese are paying a lot of money to import iron ore from Australia.

Why not? You've got robots that would do the job?

-- Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

the last few years.

He is already bloated...

We could do that, though, and then send you inside the bloated SlowmanVessel. Since you think you are such a hard guy, you probably would bloat as much.

It would look like Giant Japanese Computer Art.

Especially if the Slowman would bloat to the point of being transparent.

last few years.

(Hotbird) via satellite).

Maybe, there is a shitpot of delta V involved.

last few years.

(Hotbird) via satellite).

Perhaps not too bad with some large solar sails and an investment return over a longer period than the first quarter.

last few years.

(Hotbird) via satellite).

An extraordinary claim, please provide extraordinary backup.

last few years.

(Hotbird) via satellite).

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

last few years.

(Hotbird) via satellite).

last few years.

One of the biggest man based contributors is South American deforestation. Mainly because they kill Oxygenating plants at the same time they are killing CO2 consumers... those same plants.

last few years.

(Hotbird) via satellite).

I read somewhere that it'd be cheaper to mine the rings of Saturn. The guy was specifically talking about a fairly big chunk of ice, and just drop it on Mars, to give it an atmosphere. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

last few years.

(Hotbird) via satellite).

Solar sails to move asteroids around? First quarter what? Quarter century? ;)

....

A terawatt of solar panels in the desert would be nice.

Michael

last few years.

(Hotbird) via satellite).

Instead of just sails, how about a parabolic reflector focused on the 'stroid, pointing in a direction such that when the rock melts and starts outgassing, or actually boils, that the stuff that shoots out makes the rock a little rocket motor. You'd probably get more thrust that way than just with sails. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

Yeah, good idea - but from where comes the 10-20 terabucks to get them?

Thanks, Rich

Not that much, maybe around 2 to 3 terabucks. About the cost of an Iraq war plus a capitalism bailout. Both money well spent eh? Better than wasted on industry with something to show for it afterwards.

show for it afterwards.

Yeah, you could show those endless fields of PV to the collateral, resulting starving unemployed millions; that would be something to show for it.