Assemble
Colony Ship in Earth Orbit
How to Colonize an Asteroid
Assemble
Colony Ship in Earth Orbit
The modules of the colony ship will have to be launched into earth orbit for assembly. The launch of these modules will be the single most expensive (financially) part of the project.
In early 1993, the cost of launching materials into earth orbit was approximately two million U.S. dollars per ton. As launch technologies improve, and foreign competition for customers opens up, these costs should fall, but probably no more than fifty or sixty percent.
Once the modules are in earth orbit, they will have to be assembled into the completed colony ship and all systems tested.
Launch, assembly, and testing of the modules could take as much as six months to a year, and some form of housing and life support will have to be provided for the construction crew. Again, with luck, the international space station (whatever they end up calling it) may be available for housing (at a HUGE fee!).
