Thunderbirds are...

[James Deuce]

Nudge the valuable stuff to land on North America.

Win-win.

Fixed it for you.

[Ocean1]

I think technologically, we could do away with the cumbersome multi-stage lifters in my lifetime, but whether the funds become available is another matter.

I knew we could do away with Buck Rogers tech in MY lifetime. But not enough people are prepared to sacrifice their flat white with cinnamon.

Might change. Hope so, this planet is far to small to hold the ambitions I reckon we should aspire to.

[Ocean1]

My main problem with this little PoS is that it is a people mover. We don't need another one. We have three serviceable methods available right now with another coming on-stream soon, that are combined people/payload movers. We need tonnage movers. Computers navigate better than humans and robots build better. Stop putting people in space until you're doing it to manage a commercial mining operation is all I'm saying.

We need to learn to live in space sooner or later, sooner is fine by me. The political/social will is focused on manned space science for now, and I'll take that in the absence of more useful development projects. Also, no matter how much equipment is manufactured in orbit the sheer tonnage any major mining project would need to lift from Earth would make half a dozen humans completely irrelevant.

[pzkpfw]

Fixed it for you.

What'd Canada ever do to you?

[James Deuce]

Said, "Eh" too often.