Checkout the trailer for the upcoming documentary The High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O’Neill which was shown for the first time yesterday on the live stream of Yuri’s Night annual celebration party. The trailer begins with an introduction by Rick Tumlinson at 2:57.
Executive order authorizes the commercial use of space resources
The document states that “Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law. Outer space is a legally and physically unique domain of human activity, and the United States does not view it as a global commons. Accordingly, it shall be the policy of the United States to encourage international support for the public and private recovery and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law”
Interstellar travel using Q-Drive
An analysis of this innovative propulsion system credited to Jeff Greason of the Tau Zero Foundation is provided by Alex Tolley. The method for powering a starship saves fuel by extracting energy from plasma streams in the interstellar medium (or closer to home, from the solar wind) and converting it to momentum using onboard fuel to propel the ship. Although there are engineering challenges, the physics is sound and the savings in fuel enables the system to accelerate payloads to 20% of the speed of light.
Asteroid mining spacecraft under development
An Embry-Riddle alumna uses 3D-printing and partial-gravity simulations to validate the design of an asteroid hopper spacecraft under a NASA funded research project
A trip back in time
A nostalgic view from 1991 brought to you by my old newsletter Space Colonization Progress. Ahhhh memories!
Update: all issues of SCP are now available on the Vintage page
Mining for ices in the solar system
George Sowers of the Colorado School of Mines has published the final report of his NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I study: Thermal Mining of Ices on Cold Solar System Bodies.
Property rights and space settlement
Does the Outer Space Treaty allow the establishment of property rights for space settlement? Rand Simberg explains that through the use of multilateral agreements among like-minded nations, the accord may actually be more permissive then originally thought
Partial Ownership of Space Resources for the New Space Economy
This paper introduces the concept of Partial Ownership of Outer Space Resources while not conflicting with the Outer Space Treaty. The system allows competition for resource utilization, while preventing monopolies through open ownership and preserving the incentives for investment, thus benefiting all participating nations.
The motivation for space settlement
Here is why we have such a positive view and faith in humanity’s future in space.