From: vince@offshore.ai (Vincent Cate)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Settle the moon first using tethers
NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.88.68.230
Message-ID: <9186edb5.0404210736.308d9697@posting.google.com>

After a suborbital rocket gets things started, all the 
energy/momentum for lifting people/cargo the rest of the way 
to the moon and then lowering them down onto the moon can 
come from moon rocks going the other way.  This fantastic 
situation is due to using rotating space tethers for momentum
exchange.  You can do this with 2 or 3 tethers.  You need
one in LEO and one around the moon, and might want one at
GEO as a step along the way.  So you only need a rocket to 
get halfway to LEO and then the tethers take you the rest of 
the way to the moon.  The lowering of moon-rocks into the 
Earth's gravity-well is where the energy comes from to lift 
people/cargo up.  

I think this ease of getting to the moon will make 
the moon the first destination for space settlement.

Note that the space tethers I am talking about can be built
with existing Spectra-2000 (used for fishing line) and do not
need any new materials.

Space tethers also mean that small X-prize type reusable suborbital 
vehicles are probably closer to what we eventually need than the
big orbital rockets we have now.  So they may be the important 
evolutionary path for rockets.   Some people have tried to claim 
that X-prize type vehicles are not an evolutionary step toward 
getting to orbit, but with space tethers they really are.  You 
need more delta-V, but should be able to grow to the needed speed.

  -- Vince

PS  I have mentioned this before, but I think it is so important
    it is worth repeating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vincent Cate                           Space Tether Enthusiast
vince@offshore.ai                      http://spacetethers.com/
Anguilla, East Caribbean               http://offshore.ai/vince
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 You have to take life as it happens, but you should try to make it
 happen the way you want to take it.    - German Proverb