Author Topic: Diamandis and Simonyi Planetary Resources Company Announcement and Notes  (Read 211770 times)

Offline mrmandias

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Is the feed on now?  I'm still just getting the logo and elevator music.

Offline Jason1701

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On now.

Company website is live.
« Last Edit: 04/24/2012 05:31 pm by Jason1701 »

Offline Jkew

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I'll probably have some pictures on my Twiiter account at @johnvkewii - I'm a terrible photographer and you will probably get the same from the stream.

Offline sdsds

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Dr Simonyi, I think.
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Offline mrmandias

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Yep, their goal is mining asteroids for metals and volatiles.  They are going for gold, maybe literally. 

Granted this is a PR exercise, but so far no effort to moderate the audacity of their aims.

Offline savuporo

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Diamandis is a superstar.
Orion - the first and only manned not-too-deep-space craft

Offline mrmandias

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Diamandis--

Why now? Five reasons.

1. Cost of everything high-tech is falling and/or high-tech is greatly increasing capability, so small teams can afford to build small spacecraft.

2. Commercial space launch has finally arrived. (And proves out small team space model).

3.  New generation of risk-tolerant investors.

4.  Earth is feeling a resource pinch.

5.  NASA's current focus is on extending human presence in space and partnership with private efforts, which coincides nicely.

Difficulty is extraordinary, but so is the payoff.
« Last Edit: 04/24/2012 05:50 pm by mrmandias »

Offline mrmandias

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Diamandis namechecks John Lewis, Mining the Sky.  Very cool.

Says that Space Adventures has sold $500 million in human space flight.  Is that right?  I would have guessed much lower.

Offline mrmandias

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[Eric Anderson is Romney's space advisor.  Does that mean anything?  Unfortunately, probably not.]
« Last Edit: 04/24/2012 08:00 pm by mrmandias »

Offline mrmandias

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Anderson says that whether or not Planetary Resources makes a killing, it will kick off a new industry of imitator companies.

Offline sdsds

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Anderson's slide literally calls it a "gold rush."
— 𝐬𝐝𝐒𝐝𝐬 —

Offline mrmandias

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Anderson --

Why asteroids?

NEOs are co-located.

Water is most valuable space material: drinking, agriculture, radiation protection, and fuel.

Second most valuable is platinum-group metals.  All earthside PMG mining is mining of ancient asteroid impacts.  A pound of platinum is more expensive than cost per pound of space launch, which isn't true of most things.  PMGs are extremely useful but their industrial applications are currently very resource restrained.  New industries will be created that use PMGs, just like with aluminum historically.

Everything in asteroids is useful, but particularly water for the in-space economy, and PMGs for use on earth.

Offline Warren Platts

Who was it the other day that said that the commercial spaceflight concensus is to go for fart-burners?
"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."--Leonardo Da Vinci

Offline mrmandias

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Anderson--

What's our business plan?

We have created a line of spacecraft, the Arkyd line [He is using the past tense--are they already into production on this line?].  We will launch within 24 months.  We are not about paper studies.

We want interest all around the world, we want the public to follow us.  [Possible hints at a media-intensive strategy?].

Our second phase is prospecting.  We know right now of c. 9000 asteroids.  Which is estimated to be 1% of the total that greater in diameter than 50 meters [implying about a million total].  Our next phase after tech development is prospecting.  Launching space telescopes and then "swarms" of prospecting spacecraft to individual asteroids.

Third phase is determining targets, based on composition, orbits, periodicity, spin rates, and markets.
« Last Edit: 04/24/2012 08:02 pm by mrmandias »

Offline JohnFornaro

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Anderson's slide literally calls it a "gold rush."

Well then.  At least it's not a Platinum rush... or is it?

Mr. Mandias: Roger on that philanthropic reminder of Mellon and all.

Everything in asteroids is useful, but particularly water for the in-space economy, and PMGs for use on earth.

You reported a bit earlier that they acknowledge water as the most valuable resource.  So, they must think that it's easier to get from an icy asteroid or comet than from a lunar crater?  Asking generally, not just you.
Sometimes I just flat out don't get it.

Offline mrmandias

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Anderson--

highlights Rina Schulsky (sp?), their very first investor.

What did our investors think?

1.  They knew that there was a huge risk, and the company could fail.  But it was worth it to "move the needle on space."

2.  They believed in our team.

3.  They were fine with making a lot of money, the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow could be big, but they knew it wouldn't happen overnight.

We've been "blown away" by the "fever pitch" of media and public interest.  It's been "super-positive."  And our goal is even bigger than people thought when they were making those positive comments. 

If we can create a network of space gas stations, we'll literally open the solar system.

We can head off resource depletion and enter a new age of abundance.

We see the future of earth as a garden of eden.

Asteroids aren't forever.  Their lifetime is 30 million years.  Grab 'em now, before they threaten us.
« Last Edit: 04/24/2012 08:03 pm by mrmandias »

Offline mrmandias

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You reported a bit earlier that they acknowledge water as the most valuable resource.  So, they must think that it's easier to get from an icy asteroid or comet than from a lunar crater?  Asking generally, not just you.

Or they think it has more synergy with PMG extraction and their intermediate and near-term financing through space telescopes and selling data.

Or, like I suggested earlier, they think that selling asteroids for cash will be much less controversial than selling off parts of the Moon for cash.  I would agree.

Offline Bill White

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If PGMs were available with the abundance of aluminum, global standards of living would significantly increase.
EML architectures should be seen as ratchet opportunities

Offline Bill White

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You reported a bit earlier that they acknowledge water as the most valuable resource.  So, they must think that it's easier to get from an icy asteroid or comet than from a lunar crater?  Asking generally, not just you.

Or they think it has more synergy with PMG extraction and their intermediate and near-term financing through space telescopes and selling data.

Or, like I suggested earlier, they think that selling asteroids for cash will be much less controversial than selling off parts of the Moon for cash.  I would agree.

An interesting and valid point.
EML architectures should be seen as ratchet opportunities

Offline mrmandias

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Lewicki--

Our plan is individual asteroid prospecting craft for single-digit millions, which is two orders of magnitude less than current costs.

Cost reduction innovations are just as important as tech developments.

Our campaign to put a man on the moon started with robotic exploration and tests.  Gave us needed info, experience, and shake-downs of our team.
« Last Edit: 04/24/2012 08:03 pm by mrmandias »

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