In order to deliver the satellite to high geostationary orbit, these powerful rockets like the proton. Therefore, these runs are among the most expensive. But in the future the extraction of minerals on asteroids in an unexpected way can significantly reduce the cost of space missions, including to far greater distances.
The international space station is rotating at an altitude of 400 kilometers from the surface of the Earth. But the communications satellites that have to “hover” over a certain point, go to geostationary orbit, located at an altitude of more than 35 thousand kilometers. Rotation it coincides with the planet rotation around its axis, so that for an observer in the body it still “hang” in the sky.
The founder of the company TransAstra Sercel Joel (Joel Sercel booths.), which plans to start mining beyond Earth, and physicist Phil Metzger (Phil Metzger) from the Space Institute of Florida propose to use a special space Shuttle for delivering satellites into high orbit. Space tug will operate between the near and the geostationary orbit, and refuel at these space stations.
According to the authors ideas, in the future, when automatic space station will be for many years to mine resources on asteroids, and then deliver them to the Earth, they will be able among other things to bring water which is the raw material for the production of hydrogen and oxygen. Both gas are excellent fuels for missiles and can be kept at special filling stations located in low earth orbit.
Space tugs that brought the satellite into a high orbit and returned, will be able to fill their tanks at these gas stations before embarking on a new mission.
Currently, the U.S. space Agency NASA is developing a super-heavy rocket, SLS (Space Launch System) for launching manned expeditions and sending cargo beyond earth orbit. But this concept also implies that the payload will go into space along with a huge amount of fuel required for its delivery. So, such flights will continue to be very expensive.
Sercel believes that the traditional approach to space launches is outdated and requires revision. He notes that the delivery of space vehicles in near-space can enjoy such as the Falcon rocket from SpaceX that can return to earth, significantly reducing the cost of launch. And then it needs to take the tugs, which do not require landing on the Ground, and therefore do not have to spend fuel to overcome its strong attraction.
However, the industry itself is extraterrestrial mining of minerals is in its infancy stage of development. Now the first interested companies fulfill the necessary technologies and looking for suitable asteroids. So to implement the idea of a “space tug” will take place more than a decade.
