While neither of these two companies have the proven track of a SpaceX, their goals are more modest than other space initiatives like Golden Spikes plans for profitable commercial flights to the moon by 2020. The more exotic space projects we often hear about may begin to be announced as the projects gain momentum. One of DSIs collaborations with an undisclosed aerospace company includes plans for spaced-based construction of solar power stations to beam energy down to Earth. Construction of moon or asteroid bases are not even on the table yet. If these projects can successfully attract backers, and new technologies like zero-g printing lives up to its promise, the age of the space pirate might emerge.
DSI will likely have some competition from other companies including Google-backed Planetary Resources which announced its own asteroid harvesting plans last April. Planetary Resources just recently completed its Arkyd-100 space telescope as part of its plan for the first commercial operations in deep space in other words, education beyond Earth orbit. Planetary Resources hopes to be able to mine everything from water to fuel for commercial satellites. In addition to harvesting metals for construction, it hopes to also be able to extract significant quantities of rare earths, including platinum for terrestrial use back on Earth. If PR can delivery asteroid-derived propDeep Space Industries to begin asteroid prospecting by 2015 mining by 2020 satellite companiesellant to orbiting communication satellites, it could generate anywhere from $5 million to $8 million each month per satellite.
Beyond the FireFly and DragonFly spacecraft, DSI has an even more ambitious plan to establish a microgravity foundry based on 3D printing technology. The plan is to use a patent-pending nickel gas process developed by one of DSIs co-founders, Stephen Covey. Normally 3D sintering processes require gravity-fed powdered metal which would be unsuitable for space-based manucture. Apparently zero-g printing has already been attempted and some of the expected problems including porosity and other structural anomalies have been addressed.
A new space company called Deep Space Industries (DSI) will be a live broadcast later today to announce its plans to begin asteroid prospecting operations by 2015. DSI will be launching a fleet of mini spacecraft into solar orbit to identify potential targets near to Earth that would be suitable to mine. Lacking the resources of some of the bigger players in the space rush, DSIs probes will ride-share on the launch of larger communications satellites and get a discounted delivery to space.
Several space luminaries have begun to coalesce around DSIs bold initiative. Chairman Rick Tumlinson was a founder of the Space Frontier Foundation and also Space Diving and Orbital Outfitters. Geoff Notkin, host of the Science Channels Meteorite Men TV series, will be joining the venture as well. CEO David Gump, formerly from Astrobotic, Benefits Of Attending School In Chicago emphasizes public participation in both the FireFly and DragonFly projects via live feeds from mission control and through online courses in asteroid mining sponsored by corporate marketers.
That is so very cool. Reminds me of the Troy Series by John Ringo
At 55 pounds, I am not sure that these initial craft will be large enough to spin and create their own earth-like gravity fields but at least it suggests a beginning.
Now read: NASA working on ster-than-light space travel, Technical Schools Minnesota technical schools in minnesota says warp drives are plausible
How long before astronomy ns are swamped with C&D orders from corporate lawyers forcing them to stop staring at certain areas of the asteroid belt?
The news brief will be broadcast from the Santa Monica Museum of Flying via Spacevidcast and will detail DSIs plan for a two-pronged approach. Initially, 55-pound (25kg) FireFly cubesats will be launched on journeys lasting from two to six months. Then, in 2016, the 70-pound (32kg) DragonFly spacecraft will begin their two-to-four-year expeditions and return with up to 150 pounds (68kg) of bounty each.
