[TML] Asteroid Mining (was Molding Ships)

[Richard Aiken]

On 10/6/07, Timothy Little <tim at little-possums.net> wrote:
> "It's not the fall that kills, it's the sudden stop at the end"  :)

Ah.  Maybe a large spring in the weight?  It wouldn't activate unless
there was a sudden major strain.

> The more closely the spin axis is aligned with angular
> momentum axis, the better.  Unfortunately from some test sims it looks
> like this sort of operation is more likely to widen a small axis
> deviation than to narrow a larger one - but at least it still does
> slow.

Maybe we don't try to slow the spin until we can establish a common
axis.  How about two sets of paired weights, deployed from as near the
"ends" of the rock (as defined by the major spin axis) as possible.
Yo-yoing these in and out might eventually elimnate the minor
axis(es).

-- 
Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident."  Robert A. Heinlein