Orbital Plots

I wonder about the future of space exploration: how to finance projects beyond Earth's orbit and gain experience in space exploration and colonization?

My answer is: Orbital plots

Creating basic, scalable infrastructure that provides a stable orbit, communication, and energy (and its storage) for tenants could be a solution. Initially, autonomous orbital plots maintained by robots and avatars could later host the first commercial astronauts.

The prospect of more affordable space flights from companies like SpaceX will enable smaller businesses to access orbit, opening up opportunities for a wider range of industries. These platforms can be accessible to various parties without restrictions and available to all nations worldwide.

Orbital plots would be most beneficial for projects that don't require a specific orbit for operation. The main goal is to lower the costs of maintaining private devices in orbit, making them more affordable and independent of proprietary infrastructure and engines. Such devices could also spend a long time in orbit, without dependence on their own resources.

Orbital plots could host existing and future services, such as:

• automated zero-gravity experiments
• remote sensing
• Internet access provision (part of a network, or access points of more such networks)
• zero-gravity factories for alloys, drugs, and transparent aerogels
• microchip factories
• deployment of lab modules from various countries
• hosting space hotel modules from multiple companies at once
• deep space missions refueling
• sensors useful for the detection of NEOs
• small autonomous space telescopes
• space debris removal
• maintenance robots servicing satellites

.. and many more.

Orbital plots could facilitate moving heavy industries to space, as envisioned by Jeff Bezos turning Earth into a protected nature reserve for the benefit of all humanity.

An interesting possibility is converting the ISS into an orbital plot, as NASA plans to hand it over to private companies within the next decade. This could be a starting point for future projects (with support from companies like Amazon).

The experience gained can be applied to constructing larger structures further from Earth, attached to asteroids, hosting multiple private parties, and sending manufactured goods back to our planet.