Solaria tech : High Tech Colonization

[Balakar]

In a large thread on colony requirements and why would colnies be settled there develped a discussion of low tech approach and high tech approach.
This got me to thinking

In Traveller, has any mention been made of the Oort cloud? huge storehouse of hydrogen and metal, enough to build and fuel fleets of ships.

In a high tech colonizing effort. What do you think the advantages of colonizing from the 'top down', and setting up the initial foundry facilites in space? Get your metals from asteroids, fuel from the oort cloud, and send down finished goods to the surface for your colonists. They grow the food, and provide labour. Surface based geology is a possibility, but with asteroids ebing so much richer in metals, why bother?
You may want to in order to provide a backup in case of war, and the attacks on your orbital based facilties.
http://cygo.com/asteroidway.shtml has a good section on how much metal is in a common asteroid.
Stealing ides for Solar bubbles from Savages' book and you get a solar powered smelter. Send down the metal to machine shops and you have the makings of an industrial revolution.

 

[Straybow]

Oort bodies are sooooo far away and so dispersed that harvesting is more of a pain than it is worth in many cases.

 

[Drakon]

There are also asteroid belts, or other rogue objects in a system.

It sounds like the dynamics would keep, for the most part, a symbiot relationship between the belters and the dirtsiders. For political reasons, to prevent a fracturing of such an alliance, such a symbiotic relationship is necessary. If either side is percieved to become parasitic to the other, of not giving as much as is being given, its going to cause political friction between the two groups.

For the belters, this could be disastrous. I don't think it would be as problematic for the dirtsiders though.

 

[Balakar]

Sraybow: Sure the oort cloud is far away, but the value of the material is mindboggling. And even if you move inwards to save travel time (and it strikes me as a possibility that there could be an adventure in the concept of 'Outer Folk' coming in to trade, pirate, smuggle material etc, with the 'Hotties' of the inner Area.
Even moving inwards there are materials to exploit. Imagine Venus' rings being harvested for ice and rock/ore.
Kuiper belt is a good source for metals. Imagine if Mercury was a smelting facility. Once you get OFF the planet there is a storehous of material to develop. It's only on planets that mining is tough.

Drakon: Yes, there has to be a balance of trade, and the advatages go to the Belters. Shade of 'Moon is A Harsh Mistress' for bombardment ideas.