That's entirely because of the cost of lifting to orbit. If resources were available at reasonable cost, demand would soar. It would be the largest expansion of commerce since the discovery of the new world. It cannot be underestimated the impact this would have on human development.
Current space industry is dominated by intensively manufactured goods (satellites) that provide enormous value to ground based users. Having literal tons of steel available isn't going to help with the intensively manufactured part.
I can see space hotels or whatever, but that is not a huge market, even with Musky launch prices.
It enthuses that colonization should be the end goal because it will drive funding. I remain unconvinced that there are actually enough incredibly wealthy people that want to go die in space to drive a vast economy.
Skim the first 6 parts too; they deal more with what is now than what might be in the far future.
There's enough interest, demand and money in current space activities to justify a small cislunar economy; after that happens, well, hard to predict, but I think you're underestimating the amount of people with ideas about what to do in the Solar System.
The cost of colonies becomes small(er) with the incredible resources available in space. It wasn't the incredibly wealthy that colonized the New World.
It could be colonies on the Moon or whatever. But I'm thinking a space-based industry to produce more space-based industry. If it could be self-sufficient, the question of "what does this do for Earth?" becomes moot. Like the Americas are not here to serve the old world.
Getting started, it could be a scheme of space development futures. Bet on the value of things in space, which puts money into the development of more things in space.
By 'in space' of course we mean everywhere in the Universe except tiny 'ol Earth.
Exactly. This is a chicken-and-egg problem, and to break out of it, you need to address supply and demand simultaneously.
Asteroid mining isn't happening in a vacuum (well, it is in a physical one, but not metaphorical). Fortunately, there are people working on using the mined material to manufacture things in space too; missions plans are being sketched around those capabilities.
Tethers Unlimited is working on ways to build antennas larger than could be flow up on a rocket in GEO, I'm sure they're pay for refined metal once that gets going. Any location with humans in space would probably like to buy some loose gravel just for greater radiation/impact shielding, especially for anything outside the Van Allen belt. Space is currently a $300 billion industry and I wouldn't be surprised if you could sell $1 billion worth of raw materials. It's getting an asteroid to Earth for that cheap that's the really hard part.
