Buzz Advocates Lagrange Point Spaceport

thrasymachus writes "Buzz Aldrin has an editorial in the New York Times (free reg req) advocating a spaceport at a Lagrange point between the Earth and the moon over simply more moon missions. He emphasizes the cost and practicality of such a station, as well its potential as a 'bridge to the heavens.'"

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[erinacht]

It's actually quite a good read but not enough to make me want to register...

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Lagrange Points

[DarkDust]

A really interesting article about Lagrange Points can be found here. What I found really fascinating is the fact that it seems like that the earth pulls/pushes dust around space on the earth-moon Lagrange Points L4 and L5.

For those who dont know what Lagrange Points are..

[Manhigh]

AKA Libration Points...

For any heavenly body with a satellite in a relatively circular orbit, there are 5 points where gravitational forces and centripetal accelerations cancel each other out. Three fall on a line that connects the two bodies, and the other form a pair of equilateral triangles with the heavenly bodies.

L1 between the two bodies
L2 on the far side of the smaller body
L3 on the far side of the larger body
L4 is the "leading" equilateral point
L5 is the "trailing" equilateral point

L4 and L5 are relatively stable. Putting a station at L1-3 would require more propellant to keep it there, though not an unreasonable amount.

Personally, I'd rather go for a base on the Moon that at a libration point. Sure, it requires more propellant to get to and from there, but its also a permanent fixture, rather than something that would need to be disposed of eventually.