ALTAIR VI D.S.F. Portree's Blog - Lunar railroad(1998)

http://altairvi.blogspot.com/2007/11/lunar-railroad-1998.html
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Generally speaking, the most efficient form of cargo transport in terms
of energy expended is a pipeline and the least efficient is a truck on a
road. Somewhere in between are barges on canals and railroad cars on
tracks. In April 1998, David Schrunk, Madhu Thangavelu, Bonnie Cooper,
and Burton Sharpe proposed using robots teleoperated from a near-polar
moon base (perhaps at Newton crater) to build a railroad around the
moon's south pole (bottom image above) at about 85° of latitude. The
circular railroad, which would begin and end at the base, would be used
to build and service solar arrays paralleling its entire 950-kilometer
length.

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It is December 1, 2007 and I have David S. F. Portree's blog listed on
my blog site's 'Links I Like' as one that you should consider for
interesting writing about things Moon, Mars, and Beyond.
http://altairvi.blogspot.com/2007/12/rpif-report.html

On his November 30, 2007 post, he writes about a lunar railroad that
David Schrunk, etal., presented at the Space 1998 Conference back in 1998.
- LRK -

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/"Physical Transportation on the Moon: The Lunar Railroad," David
Schrunk, Madhu Thangavelu, Bonnie Cooper, and Burton Sharpe, Space 98,
Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference and Exposition on
Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, Rodney G. Galloway
and Stanley Lokaj, editors, pp. 347-353; paper presented at the Space 98
Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 26-30, 1998./
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You know David Schrunk, etal. from their book, "The Moon: Resources,
Future Development and Colonization". They have a revised version out now.
http://www.amazon.ca/Moon-Resources-Future-Development-Settlement/dp/0387360557/

You see you are not alone in your interest about humans exploring space.
- LRK -

If you are looking for a lot more information and things to read, then
also take a look at all the material that David Brndt-Erichsen has added
to the National Space Society web site for space settlement. Just
recently he added G. Harry Stine's book Space Power to the SSP Library.
http://www.nss.org/settlement/ssp/spacepower/

More links below.
You will see, much to enjoy.
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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http://altairvi.blogspot.com/
Altair VI
David S. F. Portree's blog

Saturday, December 1, 2007
RPIF adventures
http://altairvi.blogspot.com/2007/12/rpif-report.html

What, December already? Two months have passed since I became Manager of
the Regional Planetary Information Facility (RPIF) at the U.S.
Geological Survey's campus in Flagstaff, Arizona. I like the job because
it places me close to planetary scientists doing exciting work and
because it makes me custodian of an astonishing collection of planetary
maps and unique space history resources.

I enjoy helping researchers. A big part of my job is to make our
collection more accessible. I'm overseeing the creation of a reference
core for our collection, along with weeding superfluous materials,
putting materials online, and proactively seeking new materials. The
goal is a leaner, meaner RPIF that can serve a meaningful outreach
function for the USGS Astrogeology Branch.

That said, I don't have the option of writing when I want to write. I've
grown used to that freedom during my past dozen years of freelancing.
There's been some mention of making use of my writing skills, and I plan
to be proactive about it. But distributing maps, getting our collection
organized, and getting all of our materials into storage conditions
conducive to their preservation are consuming all of my time right now,
and probably will continue to do so for some time to come.

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http://www.amazon.ca/Moon-Resources-Future-Development-Settlement/dp/0387360557/
The Moon: Resources, Future Development and Settlement (Paperback)
by David Schrunk (Author), Burton Sharpe (Author), Bonnie L. Cooper
(Author), Madhu Thangavelu (Author) "People have speculated about the
origin of the Moon for centuries ..."
Snip

Review
"...a comprehensive overview of the peculiar challenges and opportunites
presented by the industrial colonisation of the moon...an inspiring
read..." �Chemistry & Industry
"As a reference book for forward-looking engineers and architects, 'The
Moon' can be recommended... it presents a convincing and detailed
account of the reasons for returning to the Moon and the ways in which
this may be achieved." �Peter Bond, The Journal of the British
Astronomical Association
"Anyone who has an interest in the future development and colonisation
of the Moon will find this book an informative and stimulating read."
�C. Welch, Space Flight --This text refers to an out of print or
unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description
The Moon: Resources, Future Development and Settlement describes
feasible human settlement of the Moon in the coming century. Small
scale, tele-operated and autonomous robotic in-situ resource utilization
(ISRU) projects are first, followed by electric power, communication,
and transportation networks manufactured from lunar resources. These
infrastructure networks are field tested an commissioned in the polar
regions of the Moon, and permanent human settlements are then
established. Through several phases of development, the utility networks
grow, and the number of permanently inhabited bases increases to inculde
all areas of interest on the Moon. The book stresses that the envisioned
"Planet Moon Project" will link the technological and cultural expertise
of humanity to the virtually limitless resources of space. From that
beginning, the people of the Earth reap substantial benefits from space,
and the human species will evolve into a spacefaring civilization.

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Go to the National Space Society web site for much information.
- LRK -

http://www.nss.org/settlement/
Space Settlement Nexus

http://www.nss.org/settlement/library.html
The NSS Space Settlement Library contains over 18,000 pages on site,

http://www.nss.org/settlement/space/index.html
Orbital Settlements

http://www.nss.org/settlement/moon/index.html
Lunar Bases and Settlement

http://www.nss.org/settlement/moon/library/index.htm
Lunar Bases & Settlement Library

http://www.nss.org/settlement/mars/index.html
Settling Mars

http://www.nss.org/settlement/asteroids/index.html
Asteroids

http://www.nss.org/settlement/ssp/index.htm
http://www.nss.org/settlement/ssp/library/index.htm

http://www.nss.org/settlement/L5news/index.html
The L5 News was published from September 1975 until April 1987.

http://www.nss.org/settlement/roadmap/index.html
The NSS Roadmap to Space Settlement

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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