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

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