Space mining startup set for launch in US

[mojowork_n]

148. Don't make this personal, OK?

It's not so much fear as it is cost-benefit conjecture, and a jaded
appreciation for what can go wrong with the best-laid engineering
plans.

But to your points:

1.) You're still making the assumption that a 'push' is going to result
in a neat, clean, billiard-ball-precise, "thwack" and provide
anticipated results. What if the "massive object" in space isn't
as stable as it looks, and it breaks up? That's not "Murphy's
Law" it's a reflection of our lack of familiarity -- and first-hand
exploration -- of smaller neighbors in the solar system.

2.) OK, it's a "massive object." More parts to break up and
proceed in different (unanticipated) directions.

3.) NO, I'll leave writing the science fiction to you. What does plasma
have to do with anything? The article referenced mining water on
asteroids, for oxygen and fuel. Nothing to do with the pusher-
drive, or malfunctions there.

I'm not trying to be a Cassandra -- and I actually think the whole
concept is pretty cool -- but someone does need to consider the
possible worst outcomes, because they could involve the
end of all life as we know it.

...In ANY cost-benefit projection I can think of, that's one outcome I
want to evaluate carefully, before moving on.