The part of the author's claim I was most dubious about was the idea that
all the needed atmospheric guidance could be had by shifting the CG by
moving a mass around inside the hollow airframe. Nonetheless, I thought it
was cool back-of-the-envelope stuff.
Of course, like any ballistic mega-engineering, it's subject to a serious
NIMBY effect.
(solecism side comment: I originally mistyped the phrase above as
"ballsitic mega-engineering". :) )
I'm sure a Reader's Guide index search would turn it up.
MMB
At 02:44 PM 1/1/98 +0000, you wrote:
>At 09:36 PM 12/31/97 -0600, Forrest Bishop wrote:
>
>>>The sensible versions I've read use solar mirrors to melt asteroid metals
>>>in situ, then railgun standardised ingots to a relay station at one of the
>>>earth-moon libration points, for redirection to earth (after, perhaps,
>>>reshaping into lifting bodies). Still pretty scary.
>
>>Where have you read this (besides my proposal)?
>
>Hmm, I wonder. Since I used it in THE WHITE ABACUS, written before I
>joined this list or read any of Forrest's intriguing papers, I guess it
>must have been in Bob Forward or Jerry Pournelle or one of their epigones.
>
>Damien Broderick
>
>
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