Space trade
Space trade is interplanetary or interstellar trade. Plans and ideas on how trade functions have been published by Futurists and pundits since the 1960s, though science fiction writers have been envisioning such trade for several more decades.
Reality
Though the existence of interstellar trade is unknown, there are several theories developed by well known economists such as
A motivator for colonization of Mars
Several people have considered trade within the Solar System as one of the ways in which
Jim Plaxco, in a paper putting forward the case for colonizing Mars,[3] mentions that Phobos and Deimos can be developed, in the long term, from being short-term testbeds for the techniques of asteroid mining and staging posts for colonization of Mars itself, into key trading posts in interplanetary trade, again because of their favourable position within the Solar System.
It is theorized that if different locations within the Solar System become inhabited by humans, they would need to transport valuable resources between different planets, moons and asteroids.[2] The asteroid belt is theorized to become a source of valuable ores that may develop into industrial asteroid mining infrastructure, whereas Earth may export hi-tech production.[2] The factor of energy-efficiency of interplanetary transportation may become very important to estimate economic value of a trade route.
John Hickman identified the principal obstacle to developing space trade as the distances involved, which will reduce all or nearly all trade to the exchange of intangible goods. That threatens the possibility of conducting business in a genuinely common currency and of enforcing debt agreements incurred by governments.[4]
Building commercial spaceports
Building high-capacity commercial spaceports may require connection with other modes of transportation, such as railroad or sea, which would make spaceports another dimension of national economy. One analysis of commercial, technical, and logistical concerns for an operating spaceport, formulated by the Spaceport Technology Development Office of NASA, is Vision Spaceport.[5]
See also
Commercial uses of space
- Helium-3 (although it cannot currently be exploited as an energy source, that may change in the future if fusion power is developed)
- Space-based solar power
- Space manufacturing
Institutions
References
- S2CID 5201076.
- ^ a b c Zubrin, Robert (1995-09-28). "The Economic Viability of Mars Colonization" (PDF). 4 Frontiers Corp. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
- ^ Jim Plaxco (March 1992). "Making Mars Relevant". Spacewatch.
- S2CID 154447344.
- ^ McCleskey, Carey M. (April 16, 2001). "Vision Spaceport - Renewing America's Space Launch Infrastructure & Operations". NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center: Spaceport Technology Development Office. Archived from the original on July 24, 2003.
.doc download link
Further reading
- John Hickman. "Problems of Interplanetary and Interstellar Trade." Astropolitics. Vol.6, No. 1. (January 2008). pp. 95–104.
- The Political Economy of Very Large Space Projects by John Hickman
- Bryce Walden; Cheryl Lynn York; Thomas L. Billings & Robert D. McGown (2001-11-30). ""As long as we're here...": Secondary Profit Generators for Moon and Mars Bases" (PDF). Space 2002 and Robotics 2002: 495. Bibcode:2002spro.conf..495W.
- Edward L. Hudgins (2002-12-01). Space: The Free-market Frontier. ISBN 1-930865-18-X.
- Joseph A. Angelo (2003-06-30). Space Technology (Sourcebooks in Modern Technology). Greenwood Press. pp. 285. ISBN 1-57356-335-8.