What is a Space Elevator?
A space elevator is a revolutionary means of transport from earth into space. Here is how it would work. First a stable platform, similar to an oil rig would be built in the sea. Then a rocket would launch a special satellite into space that would position itself in geo-stationary orbit over the platform. This means that the satellite would remain directly over the platform for its entire deployment. Next the satellite would begin to drop a ribbon or tether all the way down to earth. New technologies in nanotechnology are making the development of a light-weight but strong tether possible. Once the tether reached the platform, it would be attached. Specially designed vehicles would shuttle up and down the 100,000 km (62,000 mile) tether from earth to space. The trip would take about a week and the vehicle could be powered by a laser beam sent from earth. There are a few technological hurdles but the experts working on the research are confident that the difficulties could be overcome.
A space elevator consists of a physical connection between the surface of a planet, preferably at the equator, to a point in geostationary orbit, which for the Earth is 35,786 kilometers high. The connection is like a train or a bridge, moving people, material, and power between a planet’s surface and space. A space elevator has remarkable advantages in reliability and cost over using rockets to send people and material to space. Once the space elevator is built, the cost of travel to low Earth orbit would be several orders of magnitude smaller than using conventional rockets. The space elevator can also be used constantly, 24/7 if need be, and will be far safer to use than rockets. The History of the Space Elevator The idea of a bridge to the heavens is as old as the story of the Tower of Babel. In modern times, the idea of a space elevator was developed by Jerome Pearson in the early 1970s. Arthur C. Clarke consulted with Pearson and developed the idea of the space elevator in his no
In the video, you learn about NASA’s plans for a space elevator. Here are some of the interesting details revealed in the video: • The space elevator will use a “cable” or “ribbon” that is made of carbon nanotubes. The ribbon will be three feet wide, thinner than a sheet of paper, and will stretch from the earth (somewhere near the equator) 62,000 miles into space. At the end of the ribbon there will be a counterweight. The centripetal force of the counterweight will keep the ribbon stretched tight. • An elevator vehicle will use electric motors and treads to “drive” up the ribbon. The electricity will come from lasers on the ground that shoot upward and hit an array of solar cells on the vehicle. The solar cells will convert the laser light to electricity for the motors. The advantage of this approach is that it is much lighter than having batteries or and engine+fuel on the vehicle. • The big advantage of the space elevator is that it will cost a lot less to get things into orbit. Ri
The Space Elevator is a space transportation system that is a radical departure from rocket-based space travel. Contrary to our first intuition, it is actually possible to construct a physical “railroad to space”, such that leaving the planet will involve riding out rather than rocketing out. Building this railroad system takes two steps – laying the track, and running the trains.
