To create a spacefaring civilization

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The envronmentalists will never approve of Vasimir because it requires plutonium which could be disastrous if there is a launch failure.

Even if this Stone Aerospace actually launched in 4 years it would be a test. There is no market for fuel in orbit and no gas stations to store it.

There are a lot of power point plans for space. Skepticism is warranted until someone flies.

You mean to tell me that Vasimr can make Mars in 30 days with solar power?

I have constructed a highly alternate Earth where humans, as of 2011 CE, have cites of over a million on Titan, Venus, Europa and Ceres and smaller cities on Mars, the Moon, Triton, Callisto, Umbriel, Io and in the Trans-Neptunian Objects, while they sent out a huge asteroid starship with over 300,000 people to Proxima Century a few years ago. This is all made possible by a united humankind and D-D fusion power.

Now, for the real world, I think, until fusion power comes along, the best solution for space travel is to use nuclear thermal rockets: They are capable of exceeding Earth's escape velocity and they are over twice as efficient as the best chemical rockets. In the inner solar system, solar thermal rockets could make cheap hauls between asteroid mines and Earth, but for most things, nuclear thermal is the way to go.

Easier than a space elevator is a space fountain, as it would be cheaper to make (though it would require a constant source of power input.) Until then, to get supplies into space from Earth, I suggest using cheap, disposable rockets in the manner of the Chinese and the Russians. And use in-situ resources as much as possible.

For a first colony, I suggest the Venusian cloudtops for their Earth-like temperature and pressure via the use of vacuum aerostat floating cities. Solar power would be superb on Venus, while power could easily be stored in molten carbonate fuel cells hanging beneath the aerostats so that the near surface heat of Venus would eliminate the need to use energy in heating the molten carbonate fuel cells. For materials, one could simply use nuclear or solar thermal rockets to haul mined Near Earth Asteroids' resources to low Venusian orbit and bring them down to the cities via a cheap glider of some sort. Also, the carbon in the Venusian atmosphere would be useful for making nanotubes and the sulfuric acid would be useful for industrial processes.

That is why I was thinking of how we could get beyond low Earth orbit, at least to the planetary stage.

I don't think we have the technology or the resources to make a floating research station on Venus. I think we should study Europa. We already know it has water on it (not necessarily as a liquid, though).

We already have fusion power. Its called nuclear pulse propulsion. Carl Sagan proposed an interstellar mission to get rid of the worlds nuclear weapons. This is a mission we can't afford to pass up.