Space Elevators The Green Way to Outer Space
Dec 31, 2015
Space Elevators
The Green Way to Outer Space
Elevator car
Bottom pulley
Top pulley
Cable
Normal elevator Construction
Cable to Space Station
Cable from Space Station
Clamp
Elevator Car
Clamp
Pulley Space Elevator base
A moving belt space elevator compared to one with climbers
1. Ten times the cargo throughput2. Six times the energy efficiency3. Almost zero net energy for passenger travel
Two SE Design Scenarios
1. Strong tether material – Specific strength more than 50 x 106 N-m/kg
2. Weak tether material – Specific strength less than 20 x 106 N-m/kg.
Single cable as Counterwieght
Upper pulley Moving cables for off-planet launches
Space station at GEO Moving cables for lifting elevator cars from earth Base station on Earth
Strong tetherDesign
42.2 Mm GEO Station
11x Cable load 19.3 x 106
18 Mm 6x Cable load 19.3 x 106
11.1 Mm 2x Cable load 18.1 x 106
8.7 Mm 1x Cable load 16.6 x 106
6.4 Mm
Weaker cable Design
Transfer pulleys between loops
Elevator car passing over pulleys
Cable reel Extendable frame Cable reel Load to earth Motor Motor Counterweight
Construction Satellite
Orbital Energy and Angular Momentum
Rotational Energy and Angular Momentum
GEOGEO
EarthEarth
Energy considerations in constructing a space elevator
Counterweight
Construction Satellite Geostationary Orbit
Splice Earth
Cable reel
Feeding out cablefrom the ground
Pull of single cable
SE pulley
Coriolis force
Cable attached Reel of to ground cable
Raising the SE loopswith their pulleys
Upper pulley
Space station at GEO Base station on Earth
Finished Space Elevator
GEO Station
Earth
Feeding out cables for multi-loop SE
Clamp Cable wrapped around capstan to releave tension on rising cable.
Reel of Cable Earth
Cable feeding details
Tapered SEunder construction
Reel of cable unwinding over existing tether
New addition of cable
Constructing a tapered SE
GEO
Earth
Advantages of a Space Elevator With Moving Cables
•Lower cost of construction•Faster construction•Lower cost of operation•Much higher throughput•Shorter time to space•Minimizes radiation exposure•No movable base station•Easier maintenance
Costs for constructing the first Space Elevator:
Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$300MRocket launch to GEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $150MInitial seed satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100MBase station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100MLabor and overhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100MSpace station skeleton and elevator cars . $150MAdditional design and engineering costs . . $50M
Total cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $950M
Space Elevator Station In Synchronous Orbit
Counterweight
Load to Mars
25,000 km
Geosynchronous Orbit Rotation of the Earth Earth
Slinging a load to Mars from the SE
Load on the SE at the release point is only 1/40th g.
Complete Colony En route to Mars
Space Elevator
Earth Moon
L1 Point
Zero relative velocity transfer point
Lunar Space Elevator
Lunar Space Elevator Relationships
The papers with the details of this presentation are available at my website:
www.techonomics.biz
(In the ABOUT page)