Space trade
Space trade is interplanetary or interstellar trade. Futurists and pundits have been publishing plans and predictions about such trade since the 1960s. Science fiction writers have been envisioning such trade for much longer.
A motivator for colonization of Mars
Several people have considered trade within the solar system as one of the ways in which colonization of Mars is both important and can be made self-sufficient. Zubrin, of Lockheed Martin Astronautics, in a paper on the economic viability of colonizing Mars[1], puts forward interplanetary trade as one way in which a hypothetical Martian colony could become rich, pointing out that the energy relationships between the orbits of Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt place Mars in a far better position for involvement in any future asteroid mining trade than Earth.
Jim Plaxco, in a paper putting forward the case for colonizing Mars[2], mentions that Phobos and Deimos can be developed, in the long term, from being short-term testbeds for the techniques of asteroid mining and staging posts for colonization of Mars itself, into key trading posts in interplanetary trade, again because of their favourable position within the solar system.
It is theorized that if different locations within the Solar System become inhabited by humans, they would need transport valuable resources between different planets, moons and asteroids[1]. The asteroid belt is theorized to become a source of valuable ores which may develop into industrial asteroid mining infrastructure, while Earth may export hi-tech production.[1] The factor of energy-efficiency of interplanetary transportation may become very important to estimate economic value of a trade route.
Building commercial spaceports
Building high-capacity commercial spaceports may require connection with other modes of transportation, such as railroad or sea, which would make spaceports another dimention of national economy. One analysis of commercial, technical, and logistical concerns for an operating spaceport, formulated by the Spaceport Technology Development Office of NASA, is Vision Spaceport [3]
Predictions
References
- ^ a b c Robert Zubrin (1995-09-28). "The Economic Viability of Mars Colonization" (PDF). (Google cache)
- ^ Jim Plaxco. "Making Mars Relevant", Spacewatch, March 1992.
- ^ Vision Spaceport, Carey M. McCleskey, Technical Manager, Spaceport Technology Development Office, NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center
Further reading
- Bryce Walden, Cheryl Lynn York, Thomas L. Billings, and Robert D. McGown (2001-11-30). ""As long as we're here...": Secondary Profit Generators for Moon and Mars Bases".
- Edward L. Hudgins (2002-12-01). Space: The Free-market Frontier. Cato Institute. ISBN 1-930865-18-X.
- Joseph A. Angelo (2003-06-30). Space Technology (Sourcebooks in Modern Technology). Greenwood Press, 285. ISBN 1-57356-335-8.
See also
Commercial uses of space
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