Reading an article on fast spinning asteroids, I thought about the possibility of anchoring a habitat and refining complex to such a body with a tether long enough to create useful artificial gravity. The next thought was to tether two asteroids together to make a dumbbell spinning around a common center of mass. Suddenly all the problems of weightless mining and materials handling are moot. Each asteroid can be treated as if it were the top of a mountain, and all directions are down. However, , there is the problem of manoeuvring megaton masses into close proximity.
Then just the other day I watch Cody repair a broken Crooks tube and I had a couple of ah-ha moments in one.
Lace a contact binary asteroid into a pair of nets/bags with the mouths toward each other.
As the asteroid spins, apply a thin layer of ice to the widdershins side of each half of the pair whilst it is in shadow, for the sun to evaporate as it rotates into light. Unless I'm completely mistaken, this should slowly accelerate the asteroid's rotation, eventually causing the two halves to separate. Coating the spinward sides with a material that is efficient at both absorbing light and re-radiating it as heat, adds in the Yarkovsky Effect.
Slowly lengthen the "laces" until gravity is sufficient for mining. My guess is 5-10% of Earth normal gravity would be sufficient to hold machinery "down" and keep liquids settled in covered and suitably baffled containers.
Has anything like this been considered seriously? Would it work?
