08-12-2018, 01:08 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-12-2018, 01:14 AM by stevebowers.)
Scoopmining a gas giant would also allow the collected atmosphere to be used as fusion fuel, allowing much a greater thrust and quicker collection rates. But I haven't found any links about research into this concept yet, apart from PROFAC, which doesn't mention collection. A scoop fitted with conversion drive would be very useful for collecting atmospheric resources - but the limit would then be how fast the collected gas could be cooled down. Conversion-drive scoopships would be long and thin, with large radiative surfaces in the shadow of the scoop mouth.