Shackleton Energy Company
Encyclopedia
Shackleton Energy Company was formed in 2007 in Del Valle, Texas
with the explicit goal to prepare the equipment and technologies necessary for mining
the Moon
. Shackleton is a subsidiary of Stone Aerospace.
. If significant reserves of ice are located, they plan to establish a network of "refueling service stations
" in low Earth orbit
and on the moon to process and provide fuel and consumables for commercial and military customers.
If the prospecting is successful—ice deposits
are located, the appropriate legal regime
is in place to support commercial development, and the ice can be extracted—Shackleton proposes to establish a fuel-processing operation on the lunar surface. Equipment would melt the ice and purify
the water, "electrolyze the water into gaseous hydrogen
and oxygen
, and then condense the gases into liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen
and also process them into hydrogen peroxide
, all of which could be used as rocket fuels. Should other volatiles like ammonia
or methane
be discovered, they, too, would be processed into fuel, fertilizer, and other useful products."
The economics that would make the enterprise potentially profitable are based on the relatively low costs of getting the fuels and other consumables from the moon into low Earth orbit. "Because of the peculiarities of celestial mechanics
, such a haul requires just 1/14th to 1/20th of the fuel it takes to bring material up from Earth."
major world space agencies, including NASA
, have put in place a coordination framework for encouraging the type of commercial activity proposed by Shackleton.
funding round in November 2011, working with crowd funding
partner RocketHub
.
Del Valle, Texas
Del Valle is an unincorporated community in southeastern Travis County, Texas, United States. It is about miles southeast of Downtown Austin, and is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area...
with the explicit goal to prepare the equipment and technologies necessary for mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. Shackleton is a subsidiary of Stone Aerospace.
Approach
Shackleton intends to undertake lunar prospectingProspecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
. If significant reserves of ice are located, they plan to establish a network of "refueling service stations
Propellant depot
An orbital propellant depot is a cache of propellant that is placed on an orbit about the Earth or another body to allow spacecraft to be fuelled in space. Launching a spacecraft separately from some of its propellant enables missions with more massive payloads...
" in low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
and on the moon to process and provide fuel and consumables for commercial and military customers.
If the prospecting is successful—ice deposits
Lunar ice
Lunar water is water that is present on the Moon. Liquid water cannot persist at the Moon's surface, and water vapour is quickly decomposed by sunlight and lost to outer space...
are located, the appropriate legal regime
Space law
Space law is an area of the law that encompasses national and international law governing activities in outer space. International lawyers have been unable to agree on a uniform definition of the term "outer space," although most lawyers agree that outer space generally begins at the lowest...
is in place to support commercial development, and the ice can be extracted—Shackleton proposes to establish a fuel-processing operation on the lunar surface. Equipment would melt the ice and purify
Water purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...
the water, "electrolyze the water into gaseous hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
and oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, and then condense the gases into liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
and also process them into hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent...
, all of which could be used as rocket fuels. Should other volatiles like ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
or methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
be discovered, they, too, would be processed into fuel, fertilizer, and other useful products."
The economics that would make the enterprise potentially profitable are based on the relatively low costs of getting the fuels and other consumables from the moon into low Earth orbit. "Because of the peculiarities of celestial mechanics
Celestial mechanics
Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of celestial objects. The field applies principles of physics, historically classical mechanics, to astronomical objects such as stars and planets to produce ephemeris data. Orbital mechanics is a subfield which focuses on...
, such a haul requires just 1/14th to 1/20th of the fuel it takes to bring material up from Earth."
Legal regime
Although the requisite legal regime to enable the ice mining technology is not fully in place,major world space agencies, including NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, have put in place a coordination framework for encouraging the type of commercial activity proposed by Shackleton.
"Entrepreneurs are thinking about further commercial expansion into space. As space exploration extends to the Moon and Mars, there will be potential opportunities for companies to provide ... space-based resource extraction and processing capabilities. For example, Moon rocks are rich in oxygen that might be exploited to provide life support systems for lunar operations. Liquid oxygen can also be used as a rocket propellant – and it might be more economical to manufacture it in space than to lift it off the Earth. Mining the Moon might also yield titaniumTitaniumTitanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
– a strong but light metal favoured for high-end aerospace applications. Finally, the Moon’s known abundance of Helium-3Helium-3Helium-3 is a light, non-radioactive isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron. It is rare on Earth, and is sought for use in nuclear fusion research...
could prove valuable if fusion reactors ever become feasible in the future.
"For business to be confident about investing, it needs the certainty of a long-term commitment to space exploration, the opportunity to introduce its ideas into government thinking, and the rule of law. This means common understanding on such difficult issues as property rights and technology transfer. The Coordination Mechanism foreseen as part of the Global Exploration Strategy will provide a forum to discuss these important issues."
Funding
Shackleton began a million seed stageSeed money
Seed money, sometimes known as seed funding, friends and family funding or angel funding , is a securities offering whereby one or more parties that have some connection to a new enterprise invest the funds necessary to start the business so that it has enough funds to sustain itself for a period...
funding round in November 2011, working with crowd funding
Crowd funding
Crowd funding describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations...
partner RocketHub
RocketHub
RocketHub is an online crowdfunding platform for creative projects. Creatives including musicians, filmmakers, photographers, theatre producers/directors, writers, entrepreneurs, fashion designers, etc. use RocketHub to raise funds and awareness for particular creative projects and...
.
See also
- Asteroid miningAsteroid miningAsteroid mining refers to the possibility of exploiting raw materials from asteroids and planetoids in space, including near-Earth objects. Minerals and volatiles could be mined from an asteroid or spent comet to provide space construction material , to extract water and oxygen to sustain the lives...
- Exogeology
- Lunar water
- Geology of the MoonGeology of the MoonThe geology of the Moon is quite different from that of the Earth...
- Moon ExpressMoon ExpressMoon Express, or MoonEx, is a privately held seed-stage company formed by a group of Silicon Valley and space entrepreneurs, with the goal of winning the Google Lunar X Prize, and ultimately mining the Moon for resources of economic value.-History:...
- Propellant depotPropellant depotAn orbital propellant depot is a cache of propellant that is placed on an orbit about the Earth or another body to allow spacecraft to be fuelled in space. Launching a spacecraft separately from some of its propellant enables missions with more massive payloads...
- Space colonizationSpace colonizationSpace colonization is the concept of permanent human habitation outside of Earth. Although hypothetical at the present time, there are many proposals and speculations about the first space colony...
- Private spaceflightPrivate spaceflightPrivate spaceflight is flight above Earth altitude conducted by and paid for by an entity other than a government. In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Union and United States pioneered space technology augmented by collaboration with affiliated design...