That is science and tech for knowledge's sake, not a plan to make a profit. Certainly there are some things that will benefit from being manufactured in a low or zero gravity environment but so far nothing that will turn a profit off of setup costs that I'm aware off.
It's not that I don't admire the ambition. I do. But I really don't think that unfettered commercialization of even low missiles into space is a good idea.
From what I've read we do not know the potential effects this could have on the Ozone and upper atmosphere. We seem to be ignoring the precautionary principal with these projects.
> That is science and tech for knowledge's sake, not a plan to make a profit.
To be fair, there wasn't much business incentive (although certainly a lot of political incentive) to go to the moon in the first place. But it ultimately led to numerous new technologies and markets, most notably GPS.
I'm not saying it's necessarily a good investment, but the biggest wins are always the biggest surprises (Google, Amazon, AirBnB, Apple were all initially hated by investors).
By "local" manufacturing I was referring to manufacturing plants on Mars itself to support other initiatives on Mars, in response to a comment comparing manufacturing on Mars to on earth.
Raw materials transport seems the major constraining factor. Assuming some types of raw materials will be available on Mars, there's a high chance local Mars manufacturing of some basic goods will be more cost effective than manufacturing on Earth and transporting it.
It's not that I don't admire the ambition. I do. But I really don't think that unfettered commercialization of even low missiles into space is a good idea.
From what I've read we do not know the potential effects this could have on the Ozone and upper atmosphere. We seem to be ignoring the precautionary principal with these projects.