Not quite sure if this belongs here, but even less sure it goes anywhere else.
In the OTU, most systems have available Hydrogen sources—classically, Gas Giants or H2Oceans—or even most fluid oceans would supply Hydrogen. (An ocean of Carbon Tetra-chloride is most unlikely!) Others might have other planets or moons with ices available to harvest.
But what of those few percent of systems with neither—or where possible sources are forbidden, such as a desert/low water planet with high population, where the locals refuse access or charge high fees? What if the ices on moons are inconvenient to access? On the other hand, what if the local government desires a handy supply of elements to help terraforming the local planet(s)?
Another factor: Skimming has limits. It’s dangerous; the more runs needed, the more danger to the vessels and personnel. A cutter gets 30t LHyd per run? Suppose we had a 5000 ton boat for the job—we’d get maybe 3000t (or 4000t, I won’t quibble. Same order of magnitude) but the bigger boat is a lot more expensive to build (and to transport to where it’s needed, if it’s a C class ‘port). Getting the thousands of tons of fuel needed for many ports each week will take a whole lot of trips. Even hauling it up from a planet surface will not be that easy. And if mining is required, e.g. on a handy moon, that’s another expense.
Are there alternatives?
There are quantities of unrefined ices just hanging out in space. Inconvenient to access, true—but large enough to make up for that in size. We might need only one every year or two, or ten, so a lengthy task to get it would be justified.
I envision that someone be organized to go out, most often to outer system areas (Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud) and survey and acquire suitable iceballs (CHON-balls?) and herd them into orbits as a source of, not only a supply of Hydrogen, but other life-elements.
I first thought of using some variant of the XT XBoat Tender as a tug—but at 1000tons and 1G (I believe), that might not give good acceleration when herding the CHON-ball home:
So we might want a larger ship—perhaps with sub-ships that could help erect the envelope, and then use their M-drives to assist in herding the chosen CHON-ball to the inner system.
Of course, the convenience of a nearby source means that it needs to be protected from solar radiation, lest it begin to emulate a comet and go haring back to its original environment, or as near as it can get. For this, it might be enough to erect a geodesic globe of suitable large panels, with insulation and reflective cover, to keep it more or less frozen and contained. These could easily be modular—the fit need not be that close. An icosahedral frame with triangle panels might be enough. A bigger CHON-ball would use two sets of panels per side, and so on.
I’m also envisioning a dedicated section in the Scouts’ Internal Survey Branch that is concerned with this mission, given the specialized ships and equipment required.
Any obvious problems with this scheme?
In the OTU, most systems have available Hydrogen sources—classically, Gas Giants or H2Oceans—or even most fluid oceans would supply Hydrogen. (An ocean of Carbon Tetra-chloride is most unlikely!) Others might have other planets or moons with ices available to harvest.
But what of those few percent of systems with neither—or where possible sources are forbidden, such as a desert/low water planet with high population, where the locals refuse access or charge high fees? What if the ices on moons are inconvenient to access? On the other hand, what if the local government desires a handy supply of elements to help terraforming the local planet(s)?
Another factor: Skimming has limits. It’s dangerous; the more runs needed, the more danger to the vessels and personnel. A cutter gets 30t LHyd per run? Suppose we had a 5000 ton boat for the job—we’d get maybe 3000t (or 4000t, I won’t quibble. Same order of magnitude) but the bigger boat is a lot more expensive to build (and to transport to where it’s needed, if it’s a C class ‘port). Getting the thousands of tons of fuel needed for many ports each week will take a whole lot of trips. Even hauling it up from a planet surface will not be that easy. And if mining is required, e.g. on a handy moon, that’s another expense.
Are there alternatives?
There are quantities of unrefined ices just hanging out in space. Inconvenient to access, true—but large enough to make up for that in size. We might need only one every year or two, or ten, so a lengthy task to get it would be justified.
I envision that someone be organized to go out, most often to outer system areas (Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud) and survey and acquire suitable iceballs (CHON-balls?) and herd them into orbits as a source of, not only a supply of Hydrogen, but other life-elements.
I first thought of using some variant of the XT XBoat Tender as a tug—but at 1000tons and 1G (I believe), that might not give good acceleration when herding the CHON-ball home:
So we might want a larger ship—perhaps with sub-ships that could help erect the envelope, and then use their M-drives to assist in herding the chosen CHON-ball to the inner system.
Of course, the convenience of a nearby source means that it needs to be protected from solar radiation, lest it begin to emulate a comet and go haring back to its original environment, or as near as it can get. For this, it might be enough to erect a geodesic globe of suitable large panels, with insulation and reflective cover, to keep it more or less frozen and contained. These could easily be modular—the fit need not be that close. An icosahedral frame with triangle panels might be enough. A bigger CHON-ball would use two sets of panels per side, and so on.
I’m also envisioning a dedicated section in the Scouts’ Internal Survey Branch that is concerned with this mission, given the specialized ships and equipment required.
Any obvious problems with this scheme?
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