From: nospam@nospam.net   
      
   If we ever finally start mining the asteroids, one issue that comes up is   
   that of bringing the mined metals to Earth.   
   One possibility may be a large number of heavy-duty shuttles, but that would   
   cost a great deal.   
   Perhaps it may be possible to construct large lifting bodies made of foamed   
   metals (possibly coated with reinforced carbon-carbon for entry into the   
   atmosphere).   
   These lifting bodies could be large, possibly on the scale of a 747, would   
   be nearly completely solid, and bouyant due to them being made from foamed   
   metals (bubbles filled with nitrogen).   
   They would have a little advanced hardware, such as simple thrusters for   
   manuvering and re-entry braking, and control surfaces on the outer edges to   
   guide it in for a landing in the ocean, at which point it would be towed in   
   to be melted down for whatever Earth industry would require.   
   This could be one method to bring asteroid-mined metals to Earth - bring   
   enough of it down, and it may yield profits large enough to cause the   
   Earthbourne economy to skyrocket.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)