Space-based industry
Encyclopedia
Space-based industry is a blanket term sometimes used to cover a variety of future forms of human activity in outer space
, including asteroid mining
, space manufacturing
, space trade
, construction performed in space such as the building of space station
s, space burial
, and space advertising
.
This term is not to be confused with the space industry
, meaning Earth-based businesses which produce or affect technology required for space travel and space exploration.
Space-based industrial efforts are presently in their infancy. Most such concepts would require a considerable long-term human presence in space, and/or relatively low-cost access to space. The majority of proposals would also require technological or engineering developments in areas such as robotics
, solar energy and life support system
s.
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
, including asteroid mining
Asteroid mining
Asteroid 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...
, space manufacturing
Space manufacturing
Space manufacturing is the production of manufactured goods in an environment outside a planetary atmosphere. Typically this includes conditions of microgravity and hard vacuum.Manufacturing in space has several potential advantages over Earth-based industry....
, space trade
Space trade
Space trade is interplanetary or interstellar trade. Futurists and pundits have been publishing plans and predictions about such trade since the 1960s...
, construction performed in space such as the building of space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
s, space burial
Space burial
Space burial is a burial procedure in which a small sample of the cremated ashes of the deceased are placed in a capsule the size of a tube of lipstick and are launched into space using a rocket...
, and space advertising
Space advertising
Space advertising is the use of advertising in outer space or related to space flight. While there have only been a few examples of successful marketing campaigns, there have been several proposals to advertise in space, some even planning to launch giant billboards visible from the Earth...
.
This term is not to be confused with the space industry
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
, meaning Earth-based businesses which produce or affect technology required for space travel and space exploration.
Space-based industrial efforts are presently in their infancy. Most such concepts would require a considerable long-term human presence in space, and/or relatively low-cost access to space. The majority of proposals would also require technological or engineering developments in areas such as robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, solar energy and life support system
Life support system
In human spaceflight, a life support system is a group of devices that allow a human being to survive in space.US government space agency NASA,and private spaceflight companies...
s.