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Background

It is the near future. After a major world war and limited nuclear exchange, the nations of Earth have consolidated into a few blocs. The threat of further war and the cumulative damage to the planet spur enormous private investment in colonization of space. Floating colonies surround Earth and near-Earth orbits of Sol. The terraforming of Mars has begun. A great demand for resources off-Earth has spread asteroid mining operations throughout the solar system.

As spacers fill up the inner solar system, a consortium of governments and business interests forms a company for the exploration and exploitation of Saturn: Saturn Development Corporation (SDC).

SDC's business model is to get to to Saturn first and establish a mining operation to lay first claim to the entire Saturn system. SDC is launching 6 giant semi-autonomous mining drone-ships for pulverizing small moonlets, 6 MPD drive powered intra-system tugs, and 2 solar mirror smelting arrays that will all operate within the Saturn system. Freighters with atomic torch drives will take one to two years, depending on planetary alignment, to make the transit to Saturn and back with supplies.

Problem

The goal is to get to Saturn fast, so there is no time to test the giant semi-autonomous machinery being deployed. In order to effect local repairs or alterations, a human element must be deployed to the Saturn system. Software can be upgraded and deployed remotely, from Earth. But given the travel times, hardware repairs will have to be done locally, and spare parts should be available.

Finally, surveys of the system are incomplete, or else done by competing factions and so the data is no available. Some local reconnaissance must be done to select mining targets for the semi-autonomous equipment.

What personnel skills are required to be stationed locally in the Saturn system to make this mining enterprise successful?

This question is looking for a minimum number of people with each required skillset that will compose the crew for Saturn station.

Ideas

  • Electronics repair personnel for repairing damaged electronics
  • Personnel for operating 3-d printers for making spare parts
  • Geologists for exploring the mine-able bodies of the Saturn system

Considerations

  • Crew rotation times will be in the 3-5 year range.
  • The people going will all be astronaut/cosmonaut types. The question is directed at which ancillary skills these people should have to be included.
  • There have been no experiments with growing food at this distance from the sun. Assume that all food has to be brought from home, so the fewer people you can man the station with the better.
  • Security is important. Competing spacer factions would love to sabotage or steal the equipment we have. The best protection SDC has is distance, but some other security measures should be considered.
  • Jupiter's radiation has so far prevented permanent manned establishments there. This will be the first permanent inhabited station outside the asteroid belt. Other factions may wish to put people on board for research purposes. Security may be needed for these people as well, just in case.
kingledion
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    Take a look at the mental and physical training of astronauts, I'm sure you'll find a lot of insight as to what is required of those living and working in space. –  Sep 07 '18 at 13:06
  • It would probably be significantly less expensive (in terms of fuel and complexity) to "mine" Saturn's rings rather than to land on all the moons. Does the legality of making your "claim" require landing on the moons? – workerjoe Sep 07 '18 at 13:14
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    Well, any decent corporation will start with the fundamental roles which need to be filled in. Managers, personal assistants, human resources ladies, purchasing and acquisition specialists, financial managers, accountants, project managers, operations managers, commercial project managers, employee engagement specialists, real estate and workplace services specialists, lawyers and their paralegal assistants, security guards, receptionists, call-center operators . . . Then, if there is still room on the rocket and the budget allows it, some IT people, and, possibly, one or two engineers. – AlexP Sep 07 '18 at 13:14
  • @Joe There is no mention in the text of landing on any moons. There is no intention for that to happen. – kingledion Sep 07 '18 at 13:17
  • @B.fox All these people will be astronauts. But what other skills do they need? – kingledion Sep 07 '18 at 13:18
  • This question is rather broad. On one hand you ask "What personnel skills are required" but on the other hand you list crew rotations, food production and security scanning as considerations. Could you please clarify whether you're asking for a specific skill set or rather the number and skill level of people needed for scenario – Elmy Sep 07 '18 at 13:18
  • @YElm Number and skill level; edited in. – kingledion Sep 07 '18 at 13:20
  • @kingledion I suspect all the functions of a typical society, though miniaturized. People are still people, and will act like people, unless you're augmenting them with drugs/selectively hiring and training/throwing them through some kind of Marine corps training to get them living with as little food/water/extraneous things/complaints as possible. As time goes on, you'd probably end up expanding your miniature society into a larger one which would allow for some leniencies, if not leisures. –  Sep 07 '18 at 13:24
  • I agree with @B.fox. Decide how many people you need for mining (manning the drones or otherwise), decide how many people you need for repairs, then on that basis, add roles for keeping these people alive, so people also for food production, life support, schools? Etc. – Neil Sep 07 '18 at 13:29
  • @kingledion You mentioned pulverizing moonlets. Is this necessary for you to stake a claim, or do you just need to have a human presence near Saturn? – workerjoe Sep 07 '18 at 13:36
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    @Joe The goal is human presence. – kingledion Sep 07 '18 at 13:39
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    A very broad question! The answer is similarly broad: you will need all skills. Even the ones you might think are unimportant to the actual business of mining. People are people and you're going to need some with social, culinary, spiritual, entertainment, empathetic & interpersonal skills as well as their engineering and management skills. Can the question be pared down at all? – elemtilas Sep 07 '18 at 14:09

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