Spin-Gravity Drum Processor

Category: [TECHNOLOGY] Type: [Asteroid Mining Equipment, On-Site Resource Processing]

1. Summary

The Spin-Gravity Drum Processor is a mobile, robust piece of industrial equipment designed for the primary, on-site processing of captured asteroids, particularly hydrated C-type (carbonaceous) bodies or those rich in metallic ores. After an asteroid is secured and spun up by a [Spooler Net-Capture Tug], this telescoping titanium drum is bolted over the netted rock. Internal induction heaters then volatilize ices and certain minerals, while the drum’s own rotation (typically $3 \, \text{rpm}$ providing $\approx 0.3 \, g$) aids in material separation and handling. This initial processing significantly reduces the mass that needs to be transported to secondary refining hubs.

2. Data Block / Key Parameters (Typical Unit)

Relevant Equations/Relationships:

• Interior Gravity: $g_{\text{int}} = \omega^2 R_{\text{drum}}$ (where $\omega$ is in $\text{rad s}^{-1}$)
• The processing throughput is determined by heating efficiency, material composition, and the time required to extract volatiles and separate phases.

3. Narrative Detail & Context

Transporting raw, unprocessed asteroid material across vast interplanetary distances is inefficient. The Spin-Gravity Drum Processor is a key innovation in the [Belt Mining Workflow] that addresses this by performing initial resource extraction and concentration directly “on-rock.” This significantly reduces the mass of material that needs to be hauled by [Rock Shepherd Tugs – A-Type] to downstream refineries.

Deployment & Operation: Once an asteroid has been captured by a [Spooler Net-Capture Tug] and set into a stable, slow rotation (around $3 \, \text{rpm}$), a Spin-Gravity Drum Processor is brought in.

1. Mounting: The drum, often delivered in telescoping sections for easier transport, is maneuvered by a support vessel and bolted securely over the netted asteroid, effectively encasing a significant portion of it. The asteroid’s existing spin provides the rotational force for the drum.
2. Heating & Volatilization: Powerful induction heaters integrated into the drum walls heat the asteroid material within to temperatures around $1200 \, \text{K}$. This intense heat causes water ice and other volatile compounds (like methane, ammonia, simple organics) to vaporize.
3. Centrifugal Separation & Condensation: The drum’s rotation, creating an artificial gravity of about $0.3 \, g$ on its inner surface, plays a crucial role. Denser, non-volatile materials (regolith, metallic ores) are pressed against the outer wall of the drum by this centrifugal force. The lighter, vaporized volatiles migrate towards the less dense center (the drum’s axis). These vapors are then drawn off through a centerline condenser unit, where they are cooled and separated. Water is typically flash-frozen into manageable “cakes” or blocks. Other useful organics like pitch or ammonia precursors are also condensed and collected.
4. Material Output: After a processing cycle (e.g., 30 days for a $10 \, \text{kilotonne}$ C-type asteroid), the primary products are:
   • Water Ice Cakes: $\approx 2 \, \text{kt}$ – vital for life support, propellant, and industrial processes.
   • Anhydrous Regolith Briquettes: $\approx 6 \, \text{kt}$ – dried, compacted slag, rich in silicates and oxides, destined for [Volatilisation Furnace Banks] for further refining into glass foams, metals (like magnesium), and boron-rich slag for [NECL Dark-Shops].
   • Mixed Organics: $\approx 0.2 \, \text{kt}$ – tars, pitch, ammonia, etc., valuable for chemical synthesis. The remaining asteroid husk, now significantly lighter, might be discarded or further processed if it contains other valuable non-volatiles.

Magnetic Sieve Variant (for M-type Asteroids): For processing metallic (M-type) asteroids, a variant of the drum incorporates a powerful ($5 \, \text{Tesla}$) superconducting magnetic grid. As the heated, fragmented asteroid material tumbles within the slowly rotating drum, this grid efficiently segregates ferromagnetic grains (primarily Nickel-Iron) from the silicate gangue, achieving around 88% recovery and yielding high-purity Fe-Ni ingots.

Control Systems & “Used Future” Feel: Reflecting the constraints of the [Wildcode Crisis], the Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) that manage the drum’s heating cycles, condenser operations, and material handling systems are robust analogue optical controllers, drawing less than $200 \, \text{kW}$ and inherently immune to greycell malware. A Spin-Gravity Drum Processor in operation is an imposing piece of industrial hardware clamped onto a spinning rock. Its titanium exterior would be heat-stained and possibly impact-scarred. Vents would occasionally release superheated steam or non-condensable gases. The entire assembly would hum with the power of its induction heaters and the rumble of the processed regolith compacting against its inner walls.

4. Canon Hooks & Integration

• Mass Reduction for Haulage: Dramatically improves the efficiency of the mining supply chain by concentrating valuable materials on-site and reducing the inert mass that needs to be transported.
• Enables Processing of Diverse Asteroid Types: Different drum configurations (standard volatiles, magnetic sieve) allow for targeting a wider range of asteroid compositions.
• Requires Prior Asteroid Prep: Dependent on the asteroid being successfully captured, netted, and spun up by a [Spooler Net-Capture Tug].
• Output Feeds Refineries: The processed water ice, regolith briquettes, and metal ingots are the primary feedstock for secondary refining hubs like [Ceres/Callisto Refinery Nodes].
• Maintenance in Hostile Environments: Repairing or maintaining these complex machines while attached to a spinning, heated asteroid in vacuum is a hazardous job for specialized engineering crews.

Story Seeds:

1. A Spin-Gravity Drum Processor attached to a particularly valuable asteroid suffers a critical bearing failure in its telescoping deployment mechanism, threatening to send the entire multi-tonne drum spinning off into space unless a daring repair can be made.
2. The centerline condenser unit on a drum processing an unusually volatile-rich comet fragment becomes overwhelmed, leading to a dangerous pressure buildup and the risk of an explosive steam release.
3. A new type of “bio-leaching” drum processor is prototyped, using engineered extremophile microbes to extract trace elements from regolith at lower temperatures, but the risk of biological contamination is high.
4. During the processing of a metallic asteroid with a Magnetic Sieve Drum, an unexpectedly strong, localized magnetic anomaly within the asteroid interacts catastrophically with the drum’s superconducting grid, causing a massive energy discharge.

5. Sources, Inspirations & Version History

• Primary Source: o3 & tel∅s Notes (Asteroid & Resource Extraction Infrastructure Stack - Primary Processing; Spin-Gravity Drum Processor tech-wiki entry).
• Inspiration: Real-world concepts for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) on asteroids, industrial rotary kilns and drum dryers, magnetic separation techniques in mining, and challenges of processing materials in space.
• Version History:
  • v0.1 (2025-05-13): Initial draft by Gem (2.5 Pro).