Industry / manufacturing in zero -G ?
Discussion
Just an idle question....
Are there any industrial processes that are particularly suited to space? I was just thinking about the various possible projects being talked up and wondered if there is anything that could be done that would actually generate something worthwhile to defray costs or if moon/mars bases are always likely to be economically dependent on earth.
I could imagine that maybe you could grow better crystals (chips?) or maybe some sort of drug synthesis that could be done in zeroG and give significantly better yields?
Are there any industrial processes that are particularly suited to space? I was just thinking about the various possible projects being talked up and wondered if there is anything that could be done that would actually generate something worthwhile to defray costs or if moon/mars bases are always likely to be economically dependent on earth.
I could imagine that maybe you could grow better crystals (chips?) or maybe some sort of drug synthesis that could be done in zeroG and give significantly better yields?
They've been doing experiments under microgravity for decades. Here's just some that could be useful:
Crystals can be grown bigger and more consistent, enabling items like very high quality fibre optical cable or wafers for microprocessors.
Space-made precious stones perhaps? It was first done with diamond in 1995.
The elements which make up alloys mix more evenly, leading to stronger materials.
More here:
https://www.space.com/40552-space-based-manufactur...
https://www.factoriesinspace.com/diamond#:~:text=D...
It's an interesting potential industry, but as Eric says, it's not really viable at the moment. Who know though, if SpaceX's Starship can revolutionise the cost of going to and from space, I'm sure we'll see some investment in it.
Crystals can be grown bigger and more consistent, enabling items like very high quality fibre optical cable or wafers for microprocessors.
Space-made precious stones perhaps? It was first done with diamond in 1995.
The elements which make up alloys mix more evenly, leading to stronger materials.
More here:
https://www.space.com/40552-space-based-manufactur...
https://www.factoriesinspace.com/diamond#:~:text=D...
It's an interesting potential industry, but as Eric says, it's not really viable at the moment. Who know though, if SpaceX's Starship can revolutionise the cost of going to and from space, I'm sure we'll see some investment in it.
I doubt the economic viability of space will be based in niche processes. It’s more likely to be based in massive scale engineering. Let’s say that in 30 years climate change becomes a real problem. What’s the value of an industrial facility on the moon that can knock out solar shades/panels for buttons and get them into earth orbit easily? If you can make solar panels up there, you’ve got limitless energy as well, no pesky sunset to worry about.
rxe said:
I doubt the economic viability of space will be based in niche processes. It’s more likely to be based in massive scale engineering. Let’s say that in 30 years climate change becomes a real problem. What’s the value of an industrial facility on the moon that can knock out solar shades/panels for buttons and get them into earth orbit easily? If you can make solar panels up there, you’ve got limitless energy as well, no pesky sunset to worry about.
That was the type of thing being advocated by Arthur C Clarke as far back as the 1950s. He came up with the idea of using magnetic levitation mass drivers to accelerate materials off the lunar surface in glorified space dumpsters. The mass drivers would be solar powered (no shortage of solar power on the moon).
Eric Mc said:
rxe said:
I doubt the economic viability of space will be based in niche processes. It’s more likely to be based in massive scale engineering. Let’s say that in 30 years climate change becomes a real problem. What’s the value of an industrial facility on the moon that can knock out solar shades/panels for buttons and get them into earth orbit easily? If you can make solar panels up there, you’ve got limitless energy as well, no pesky sunset to worry about.
That was the type of thing being advocated by Arthur C Clarke as far back as the 1950s. He came up with the idea of using magnetic levitation mass drivers to accelerate materials off the lunar surface in glorified space dumpsters. The mass drivers would be solar powered (no shortage of solar power on the moon).Eric Mc said:
What is lunar orbital velocity?
You don't need full escape velocity to get into orbit.
A typical moon orbit is In the region of 2300mph, although it depends on the height of the orbit.You don't need full escape velocity to get into orbit.
The moon is interesting in this regard - because of the lack of atmosphere there's no drag; consequently, you can have a pretty low orbit if you want, if you're willing to give up some stability and add some speed.
CraigyMc said:
A typical moon orbit is In the region of 2300mph, although it depends on the height of the orbit.
The moon is interesting in this regard - because of the lack of atmosphere there's no drag; consequently, you can have a pretty low orbit if you want, if you're willing to give up some stability and add some speed.
Thanks. I knew it was fairly slow (by spaceflight standards).The moon is interesting in this regard - because of the lack of atmosphere there's no drag; consequently, you can have a pretty low orbit if you want, if you're willing to give up some stability and add some speed.
Eric Mc said:
rxe said:
I doubt the economic viability of space will be based in niche processes. It’s more likely to be based in massive scale engineering. Let’s say that in 30 years climate change becomes a real problem. What’s the value of an industrial facility on the moon that can knock out solar shades/panels for buttons and get them into earth orbit easily? If you can make solar panels up there, you’ve got limitless energy as well, no pesky sunset to worry about.
That was the type of thing being advocated by Arthur C Clarke as far back as the 1950s. He came up with the idea of using magnetic levitation mass drivers to accelerate materials off the lunar surface in glorified space dumpsters. The mass drivers would be solar powered (no shortage of solar power on the moon).Which is why sticking stuff on the moon (or any other planet) is probably a bad idea if you’re talking about heavy industry, You’ve got all the shading issues, but most importantly you’re at the bottom of a gravity well. Those pictures look cool, but you’re not accelerating to 5000 mph in one mile of track without turning everything to mush. 20 miles maybe. And that’s a big ass track.
Put yourself in solar orbit, and you have 100% sunlight and the ability to move stuff with minimal effort. From a solar orbit, sending a 100 tonne chunk of copper back to earth over the course of a few years costs sod all in fuel. An ablative shield made of the crap left over from refining, a simple guidance system and some big parachutes. The first lump will be a billion times more expensive than digging it out of the ground today, but the billionth lump will cost almost nothing.
Put yourself in solar orbit, and you have 100% sunlight and the ability to move stuff with minimal effort. From a solar orbit, sending a 100 tonne chunk of copper back to earth over the course of a few years costs sod all in fuel. An ablative shield made of the crap left over from refining, a simple guidance system and some big parachutes. The first lump will be a billion times more expensive than digging it out of the ground today, but the billionth lump will cost almost nothing.
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