Interested in trying the 'blow an egg' trick?
That is where you find a nearly pure NiFe asteroid of the right mass which is solid rather than a load of loosely held together lumps. Then you thoroughly map its internal and external structure. Do some very careful simulations. Bore a hole into the calculated area, then pack that with water ice.
Then you spin the asteroid so as to produce the right dynamics, and melt it with an immense array of mylar solar mirrors. For fun, you wave-up the mirrors so they convert visible light to stored electrical energy in accumulators, which live on the back of the mirror with the radiators, and just use the infra red to do the melting.
As the asteroid starts to melt the spin will control the shape it takes. When the ice evaporates into steam this will blow a large void in the centre. If you get it all right you now have a reasonably smooth asteroid, in the shape you want (probably elipsoid) with a large internal void. The stored electrical energy can be used to run the heat pumps (refridgeration) so you don't have to wait for it to cool down naturally.
Once you get the trick right, this might be quite an effective way of making habitats.
If you can't get a big enough, or solid enough, asteroid, melt, freeze, then map, drill and plant your ice, etc.
Brains is prepared to lease the rights to you. [grin]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_habitat#Bubbleworld
Fun list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroids_in_fiction
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind
That is where you find a nearly pure NiFe asteroid of the right mass which is solid rather than a load of loosely held together lumps. Then you thoroughly map its internal and external structure. Do some very careful simulations. Bore a hole into the calculated area, then pack that with water ice.
Then you spin the asteroid so as to produce the right dynamics, and melt it with an immense array of mylar solar mirrors. For fun, you wave-up the mirrors so they convert visible light to stored electrical energy in accumulators, which live on the back of the mirror with the radiators, and just use the infra red to do the melting.
As the asteroid starts to melt the spin will control the shape it takes. When the ice evaporates into steam this will blow a large void in the centre. If you get it all right you now have a reasonably smooth asteroid, in the shape you want (probably elipsoid) with a large internal void. The stored electrical energy can be used to run the heat pumps (refridgeration) so you don't have to wait for it to cool down naturally.
Once you get the trick right, this might be quite an effective way of making habitats.
If you can't get a big enough, or solid enough, asteroid, melt, freeze, then map, drill and plant your ice, etc.
Brains is prepared to lease the rights to you. [grin]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_habitat#Bubbleworld
Fun list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroids_in_fiction
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind