Engineering - Revision history

John: /* Mining */

2021-04-15T08:47:53Z

Mining

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:47, 15 April 2021
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	So, with no more ado, [[here is the engineering specification]].		So, with no more ado, [[here is the engineering specification]].

			== Patent restriction ==

			It is certain that existing patents might constrain engineering aspects of the swarm. The current Mirrorswarm assumption, which needs checking, is that patents do no apply to in-house processes, only to items sold (or maybe transferred) to third parties. Another issue is whether patent restrictions apply off-world. We need a section on jurisdiction anyway.

	== Mining ==		== Mining ==

John: /* These minibots need designing as replicable units */

2020-01-25T16:36:09Z

These minibots need designing as replicable units

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:36, 25 January 2020
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	Every bot has to be mobile. The site bots are in a gravity well, the mirror bots aren't, that's two forms of mobility.		Every bot has to be mobile. The site bots are in a gravity well, the mirror bots aren't, that's two forms of mobility.

	So, with no ~~further~~ ado, [[here is the engineering specification]].		So, with no more ado, [[here is the engineering specification]].

	== Mining ==		== Mining ==

John: /* These minibots need designing as replicable units */

2020-01-24T12:19:43Z

These minibots need designing as replicable units

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:19, 24 January 2020
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	Every bot has to be mobile. The site bots are in a gravity well, the mirror bots aren't, that's two forms of mobility.		Every bot has to be mobile. The site bots are in a gravity well, the mirror bots aren't, that's two forms of mobility.

			So, with no further ado, [[here is the engineering specification]].

	== Mining ==		== Mining ==

John: /* Getting factory units from the Mercury surface site into orbit */

2020-01-22T21:57:10Z

Getting factory units from the Mercury surface site into orbit

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:57, 22 January 2020
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	That's not bad at all. 1600 tonnes of energy store to get a 20 tonne factory into Mercury orbit. The rail itself will be a lot more than that. I assume we can pulse the rail so it can have several packages spaced along it at once, and that each zone has several supercapacitors, and that each supercapacitor has a charge-discharge cycle and we can determine how fast it is, which will show how many need to be switched in and out to keep the launch frequency at the rail's optimum. And perhaps the supercapacitor is a buffer and most of the energy can come from the receivers rather than the store.		That's not bad at all. 1600 tonnes of energy store to get a 20 tonne factory into Mercury orbit. The rail itself will be a lot more than that. I assume we can pulse the rail so it can have several packages spaced along it at once, and that each zone has several supercapacitors, and that each supercapacitor has a charge-discharge cycle and we can determine how fast it is, which will show how many need to be switched in and out to keep the launch frequency at the rail's optimum. And perhaps the supercapacitor is a buffer and most of the energy can come from the receivers rather than the store.

	There is very little extra energy needed to get from escape velocity to solar orbit velocity. I have no idea how much of that can be performed by using the mirror as a sail to get out of Mercury orbit into solar orbit but if it works we only need have one mirror design. All the mirrors shuffle away from the Mercury plane to keep their distances, which makes continuous room for newly inserted ~~replacements~~ mirrors.		There is very little extra energy needed to get from escape velocity to solar orbit velocity. I have no idea how much of that can be performed by using the mirror as a sail to get out of Mercury orbit into solar orbit but if it works we only need have one mirror design. All the mirrors shuffle away from the Mercury plane to keep their distances, which makes continuous room for newly inserted replacement mirrors.

	== Upgrading ==		== Upgrading ==

	Once the swarm is complete, replacements are produced continuously as worn mirrors drop out of the swarm for recycling. Those need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to Mercury orbit to scrap themselves. I have it in mind that stripping them back to atoms and rebuilding them afresh is best achieved in orbit, but that requires a future minibot design. If we ever get to that point, the swarm is self-sustaining with few new top-up launches from the surface. It can also have continuous replacement upgrades as fresh designs are uploaded from Earth. Mercury remains the hub of the swarm because it provides an accessible parking orbit for the rebuild operation.		Once the swarm is complete, replacements are produced continuously as worn mirrors drop out of the swarm for recycling. Those need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to Mercury orbit to scrap themselves. I have it in mind that stripping them back to atoms and rebuilding them afresh is best achieved in orbit, but that requires a future minibot design. If we ever get to that point, the swarm is self-sustaining with few new top-up launches from the surface. It can also have continuous replacement upgrades as fresh designs are uploaded from Earth. Mercury remains the hub of the swarm because it provides an accessible parking orbit for the rebuild operation.

John: /* Upgrading */

2020-01-13T22:10:56Z

Upgrading

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:10, 13 January 2020
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	== Upgrading ==		== Upgrading ==

	Once the swarm is complete, replacements are produced continuously as worn mirrors drop out of the swarm for recycling. Those need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to Mercury orbit to scrap themselves. I have it in mind that stripping them back to atoms and rebuilding them afresh is best achieved in orbit, but that requires a future minibot design. If we ever get to that point, the swarm is self-sustaining with few new top-up launches from the surface. It can also have continuous ~~upgrade~~ as fresh designs are uploaded from Earth. Mercury remains the hub of the swarm because it provides an accessible parking orbit for the rebuild operation.		Once the swarm is complete, replacements are produced continuously as worn mirrors drop out of the swarm for recycling. Those need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to Mercury orbit to scrap themselves. I have it in mind that stripping them back to atoms and rebuilding them afresh is best achieved in orbit, but that requires a future minibot design. If we ever get to that point, the swarm is self-sustaining with few new top-up launches from the surface. It can also have continuous replacement upgrades as fresh designs are uploaded from Earth. Mercury remains the hub of the swarm because it provides an accessible parking orbit for the rebuild operation.

John: /* Upgrading */

2020-01-13T22:04:48Z

Upgrading

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:04, 13 January 2020
Line 39:		Line 39:
	== Upgrading ==		== Upgrading ==

	Once the swarm is complete, replacements are produced continuously as worn mirrors drop out of the swarm for recycling. Those need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to Mercury orbit to scrap themselves. I have it in mind that stripping them back to atoms and rebuilding them afresh is best achieved in orbit, but that requires a future minibot design. If we ever get to that point, the swarm is self-sustaining with few new top-up launches from the surface. It can also have continuous upgrade as fresh designs are uploaded from Earth. Mercury remains the hub of the swarm because it provides a parking orbit for the rebuild operation.		Once the swarm is complete, replacements are produced continuously as worn mirrors drop out of the swarm for recycling. Those need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to Mercury orbit to scrap themselves. I have it in mind that stripping them back to atoms and rebuilding them afresh is best achieved in orbit, but that requires a future minibot design. If we ever get to that point, the swarm is self-sustaining with few new top-up launches from the surface. It can also have continuous upgrade as fresh designs are uploaded from Earth. Mercury remains the hub of the swarm because it provides an accessible parking orbit for the rebuild operation.

John: /* Getting factory units from the Mercury surface site into orbit */

2020-01-13T22:03:24Z

Getting factory units from the Mercury surface site into orbit

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:03, 13 January 2020
Line 35:		Line 35:
	That's not bad at all. 1600 tonnes of energy store to get a 20 tonne factory into Mercury orbit. The rail itself will be a lot more than that. I assume we can pulse the rail so it can have several packages spaced along it at once, and that each zone has several supercapacitors, and that each supercapacitor has a charge-discharge cycle and we can determine how fast it is, which will show how many need to be switched in and out to keep the launch frequency at the rail's optimum. And perhaps the supercapacitor is a buffer and most of the energy can come from the receivers rather than the store.		That's not bad at all. 1600 tonnes of energy store to get a 20 tonne factory into Mercury orbit. The rail itself will be a lot more than that. I assume we can pulse the rail so it can have several packages spaced along it at once, and that each zone has several supercapacitors, and that each supercapacitor has a charge-discharge cycle and we can determine how fast it is, which will show how many need to be switched in and out to keep the launch frequency at the rail's optimum. And perhaps the supercapacitor is a buffer and most of the energy can come from the receivers rather than the store.

	There is very little extra energy needed to get from escape velocity to solar orbit velocity. I have no idea how much of that can be performed by using the mirror as a sail to get out of Mercury orbit into solar orbit but if it works we only need have one mirror design. All the mirrors shuffle away from the Mercury plane to keep their distances, which makes continuous room for newly inserted replacements mirrors. Once the swarm is complete, replacements ~~launch~~ continuously ~~and~~ worn mirrors ~~dropping~~ out of the swarm for recycling need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to Mercury orbit to scrap themselves. I have it in mind that stripping them back to atoms and rebuilding them afresh is best achieved in orbit, but that requires a ~~totally new~~ future minibot design. If we ever get to that point, the swarm is self-sustaining with few new top-up launches from the surface. It can also have continuous ~~improvement~~ as fresh designs are uploaded from Earth.		There is very little extra energy needed to get from escape velocity to solar orbit velocity. I have no idea how much of that can be performed by using the mirror as a sail to get out of Mercury orbit into solar orbit but if it works we only need have one mirror design. All the mirrors shuffle away from the Mercury plane to keep their distances, which makes continuous room for newly inserted replacements mirrors.

			== Upgrading ==

			Once the swarm is complete, replacements are produced continuously as worn mirrors drop out of the swarm for recycling. Those need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to Mercury orbit to scrap themselves. I have it in mind that stripping them back to atoms and rebuilding them afresh is best achieved in orbit, but that requires a future minibot design. If we ever get to that point, the swarm is self-sustaining with few new top-up launches from the surface. It can also have continuous upgrade as fresh designs are uploaded from Earth. Mercury remains the hub of the swarm because it provides a parking orbit for the rebuild operation.

John: /* Getting factory units from the Mercury surface site into orbit */

2020-01-13T21:59:10Z

Getting factory units from the Mercury surface site into orbit

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:59, 13 January 2020
Line 35:		Line 35:
	That's not bad at all. 1600 tonnes of energy store to get a 20 tonne factory into Mercury orbit. The rail itself will be a lot more than that. I assume we can pulse the rail so it can have several packages spaced along it at once, and that each zone has several supercapacitors, and that each supercapacitor has a charge-discharge cycle and we can determine how fast it is, which will show how many need to be switched in and out to keep the launch frequency at the rail's optimum. And perhaps the supercapacitor is a buffer and most of the energy can come from the receivers rather than the store.		That's not bad at all. 1600 tonnes of energy store to get a 20 tonne factory into Mercury orbit. The rail itself will be a lot more than that. I assume we can pulse the rail so it can have several packages spaced along it at once, and that each zone has several supercapacitors, and that each supercapacitor has a charge-discharge cycle and we can determine how fast it is, which will show how many need to be switched in and out to keep the launch frequency at the rail's optimum. And perhaps the supercapacitor is a buffer and most of the energy can come from the receivers rather than the store.

	There is very little extra energy needed to get from escape velocity to solar orbit velocity. I have no idea how much of that can be performed by using the mirror as a sail to get out of Mercury orbit into solar orbit but if it works we only need have one mirror design. All the mirrors shuffle away from the Mercury plane to keep their distances, which makes continuous room for newly inserted replacements mirrors. Once the swarm is complete, replacements launch continuously and worn mirrors dropping out of the swarm for recycling need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to ~~a surface site~~ to scrap themselves. ~~They will not land gently~~.		There is very little extra energy needed to get from escape velocity to solar orbit velocity. I have no idea how much of that can be performed by using the mirror as a sail to get out of Mercury orbit into solar orbit but if it works we only need have one mirror design. All the mirrors shuffle away from the Mercury plane to keep their distances, which makes continuous room for newly inserted replacements mirrors. Once the swarm is complete, replacements launch continuously and worn mirrors dropping out of the swarm for recycling need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to Mercury orbit to scrap themselves. I have it in mind that stripping them back to atoms and rebuilding them afresh is best achieved in orbit, but that requires a totally new future minibot design. If we ever get to that point, the swarm is self-sustaining with few new top-up launches from the surface. It can also have continuous improvement as fresh designs are uploaded from Earth.

John: /* Getting factory units from the Mercury surface site into orbit */

2020-01-13T21:55:21Z

Getting factory units from the Mercury surface site into orbit

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:55, 13 January 2020
Line 35:		Line 35:
	That's not bad at all. 1600 tonnes of energy store to get a 20 tonne factory into Mercury orbit. The rail itself will be a lot more than that. I assume we can pulse the rail so it can have several packages spaced along it at once, and that each zone has several supercapacitors, and that each supercapacitor has a charge-discharge cycle and we can determine how fast it is, which will show how many need to be switched in and out to keep the launch frequency at the rail's optimum. And perhaps the supercapacitor is a buffer and most of the energy can come from the receivers rather than the store.		That's not bad at all. 1600 tonnes of energy store to get a 20 tonne factory into Mercury orbit. The rail itself will be a lot more than that. I assume we can pulse the rail so it can have several packages spaced along it at once, and that each zone has several supercapacitors, and that each supercapacitor has a charge-discharge cycle and we can determine how fast it is, which will show how many need to be switched in and out to keep the launch frequency at the rail's optimum. And perhaps the supercapacitor is a buffer and most of the energy can come from the receivers rather than the store.

	There is very little extra energy needed to get from escape velocity to solar orbit velocity. I have no idea how much of that can be performed by using the mirror as a sail to get out of Mercury orbit into solar orbit but if it works we only need have one mirror design. All the mirrors shuffle away from the Mercury plane to keep their distances, which makes continuous room for newly inserted replacements mirrors. Once the swarm is complete, replacements launch continuously and recycling ~~mirrors~~ need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to a surface site to scrap themselves. They will not land gently.		There is very little extra energy needed to get from escape velocity to solar orbit velocity. I have no idea how much of that can be performed by using the mirror as a sail to get out of Mercury orbit into solar orbit but if it works we only need have one mirror design. All the mirrors shuffle away from the Mercury plane to keep their distances, which makes continuous room for newly inserted replacements mirrors. Once the swarm is complete, replacements launch continuously and worn mirrors dropping out of the swarm for recycling need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to a surface site to scrap themselves. They will not land gently.

John: /* Getting factory units from the Mercury surface site into orbit */

2020-01-13T21:54:22Z

Getting factory units from the Mercury surface site into orbit

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:54, 13 January 2020
Line 35:		Line 35:
	That's not bad at all. 1600 tonnes of energy store to get a 20 tonne factory into Mercury orbit. The rail itself will be a lot more than that. I assume we can pulse the rail so it can have several packages spaced along it at once, and that each zone has several supercapacitors, and that each supercapacitor has a charge-discharge cycle and we can determine how fast it is, which will show how many need to be switched in and out to keep the launch frequency at the rail's optimum. And perhaps the supercapacitor is a buffer and most of the energy can come from the receivers rather than the store.		That's not bad at all. 1600 tonnes of energy store to get a 20 tonne factory into Mercury orbit. The rail itself will be a lot more than that. I assume we can pulse the rail so it can have several packages spaced along it at once, and that each zone has several supercapacitors, and that each supercapacitor has a charge-discharge cycle and we can determine how fast it is, which will show how many need to be switched in and out to keep the launch frequency at the rail's optimum. And perhaps the supercapacitor is a buffer and most of the energy can come from the receivers rather than the store.

	There is very little extra energy needed to get from escape velocity to solar orbit velocity. I have no idea how much of that can be performed by using the mirror as a sail to get out of Mercury orbit into solar orbit but if it works we only need have one mirror design. Once the swarm is complete, replacements launch continuously and recycling mirrors need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to a surface site to scrap themselves. They will not land gently.		There is very little extra energy needed to get from escape velocity to solar orbit velocity. I have no idea how much of that can be performed by using the mirror as a sail to get out of Mercury orbit into solar orbit but if it works we only need have one mirror design. All the mirrors shuffle away from the Mercury plane to keep their distances, which makes continuous room for newly inserted replacements mirrors. Once the swarm is complete, replacements launch continuously and recycling mirrors need to steer themselves back from anywhere in solar orbit to a surface site to scrap themselves. They will not land gently.