What if zero g is the best or only place to manufacture something? Varda grows crystals in space to make medicine that works better than when grown in a gravity well.

> it is economically unfeasible to manufacture or mine anything in space if it needs to be transported down or up

leave it in space then; massive star ships shouldnt need to come down to planets anyway

>>it is economically unfeasible to manufacture or mine anything in space if it needs to be transported down or up the gravity well of any planet

Hydrolysis can be used to make Hydrogen, so as long you have enough ice. You fill it up with fuel needed to go up again, and send in down with the gravity well with the payload.

economicaly unfeasable for you perhaps, but what Elon is offering is a chance to be in the first wave of routine commercial access to microgravity, 1000kg mass and durration of your choice, and if you can achive the materials science objective to make something, that wasn't, possible, and have a market, then it's just manufacturing, and for many business concerns, negative data is worth the same as positive, because it refines where to put there research efforts, which there competition will have to guess at.again 1000kg's , crazy!, makes building the module SO EASY, mass to BURN baby, go! go! go!