Spacecraft Failures Won’t Deter First Steps to Mining Asteroids

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A satellite intended to be the first step in creating an asteroid-mining industry was destroyed last week in a rocket explosion. Its creator, a tiny startup, said the setback won’t keep the idea from taking flight.

“It’s a big, audacious statement to make, that we’re going to bring resources from space to the economic sphere,” said Eric Anderson, co-founder and co-chairman of Planetary Resources Inc.