Space Elevator
- Thread starter PMN1
- Start date
Actually the 'floating' site makes a lot of sense.
Granted everything has to come by ship, but larger amounts of cargo can be moved to and from the site. (Cargo will have be to transported to where ever the elevator is - why not by ship)
There is a certain safety factor involved as well. If there was an accident, the 'fallout' would be on unoccupied ocean rather than settled areas.
One sci-fi technique for building the space elevator is to 'mine' space and build the elevator down from space using space materials.
Do you anticipate transfering all the material necessary for construction up from earth?
Where will you get the shuttles required?
Granted everything has to come by ship, but larger amounts of cargo can be moved to and from the site. (Cargo will have be to transported to where ever the elevator is - why not by ship)
There is a certain safety factor involved as well. If there was an accident, the 'fallout' would be on unoccupied ocean rather than settled areas.
One sci-fi technique for building the space elevator is to 'mine' space and build the elevator down from space using space materials.
Do you anticipate transfering all the material necessary for construction up from earth?
Where will you get the shuttles required?
Hendryk
Banned
Good points, but the political arrangements would be tricky. It would have to be put under UN jurisdiction, since any country attempting to claim sovereignty would be blocked from doing so by everyone else--it's not like the US president can point at a map of the Pacific Ocean and say "Here, this spot is now American territory. Got a problem with that?"Johnestauffer said:
Flocculencio
Donor
PMN1 said:
This "obvious disadvantage...to money making orbits" combined with Singapores track record of political stability is just why I could see the Japanese, Chinese, Indians and Aussies getting in on a project with Singapore as Hendryk has said.
And a consortium like that would probably build it faster, cheaper and more efficiently than the Western countries. Singapore's probably one of the best options for a politically neutral international "spaceport".
Hendryk said:
Sea Launch isn't put under UN control, its an International Partnership but not a UN controlled one.
http://www.sea-launch.com/
If anyone tried attacking it then I suppose then it becomes piracy.
A few notes:
The current plan has it (the elevator) being in the central pacific (near the equator) on a large (guarded) floating platform. This is to account for the small and constant shifts in the ribbon. This area was also picked for its lack of meterological activity.
The real kicker with the nanotubes is trying to prepare a material out of them that can be used for the ribbon.
As for if it breaks...well it depends on where it breaks.
If it breaks near the bottom or top, no real problem...just hurry and reattach. The problem is if it breaks in the middle where we will see most of the bottom part fall and break up in the atmosphere. The knowledge of how nanoparticles affect the environment is still being investigated.
I forget the actual number, but I believe the estimate was that with a working space elevator, the cost of placing something in orbit is reduced to about $100 a pound.
The current plan has it (the elevator) being in the central pacific (near the equator) on a large (guarded) floating platform. This is to account for the small and constant shifts in the ribbon. This area was also picked for its lack of meterological activity.
The real kicker with the nanotubes is trying to prepare a material out of them that can be used for the ribbon.
As for if it breaks...well it depends on where it breaks.
If it breaks near the bottom or top, no real problem...just hurry and reattach. The problem is if it breaks in the middle where we will see most of the bottom part fall and break up in the atmosphere. The knowledge of how nanoparticles affect the environment is still being investigated.
I forget the actual number, but I believe the estimate was that with a working space elevator, the cost of placing something in orbit is reduced to about $100 a pound.
Faeelin said:
If its a ribbon as some of the current suggestions plan then it shouldn't do much at all - its in the FAQ's on the links i've posted (i have another but its at home and i cant rememeber it off hand).
Ben Bova had a falling Mars Space elevator causing havoc in Red Mars but the curent thougts are much different from his.
Johnestauffer said:
Well you would need an initial construction in orbit for paying out the initial thread but once you have that, you can use that same thread to build it up.
Also since being able to build an elevator you must have some new very strong but lightweight material - you should now be able to build single stage to orbit craft out of it to get you there to start with.
With the materials we are talking about it theory you may be able to make Venture Star, DC-X, Skylon etc viable not to mention a very big Heavy Lift vehicle (for instance Sea Dragon with its 550 ton payload - which already is (in theory)).
http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/searagon.htm
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Flocculencio said:
Yes, which is why the instant it becomes possible there will probably be a mad rush to be the first - there isn't currently the market for even one but at the costs associated with a Space Elevator, the market should grow massively - someone on another site pointed out this is truely a 'field of dreams' venture - and I cant see Europe or the US wanting to loose out to any other international consortium.
Another link to Space elevators
http://uplink.space.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=businesstech&Number=159176&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=
http://uplink.space.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=businesstech&Number=159176&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=
Flocculencio
Donor
PMN1 said:
First or second you probably would see a second "Space Race". All I'm saying is that Singapore is a logical and very strategic point for any Eastern Hemisphere consortium.
Flocculencio
Donor
PMN1 said:I fully agree that its a logical place but logic doesn't alway win over politics even when it has physics on its side?
Once again politics in the West, yes- I fully agree with you on that.
However, in the East, Singapore is the best choice and neutral ground for all parties in the hypothetical Sino-Japanese-Indian-Aussie-Singaporean consortium. You seem to be going on the assumption that there will only be one space elevator under sonctruction. While the americans are building theres in the Pacific and the EU is working on theirs in Guania a parallel project might well be going on in Singapore.
And once the three are up it's Singapore which has the existing infrastructure and position as a global trade centre to win out.
Flocculencio said:
My post 31 did point out that once possible there will be a mad rush to build especially if the cost is only $10 billion - equivalent to the rush to build the tallest skyscraper but with much more at stake.
Given the problems should one be destroyed for whatever reason after the world has become dependent on them then multiple elevators for each 'group/consortium' would be sensible.
You may be right about the Singapore one being in a better position but times change.
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If the US needed a land based space elevator, we couls simply retake Liberia. After all it was a proxy American territory until the 1990's. Liberia is also very close to the equator. Im sure the Liberians wouldnt terribly mind becoming US citizens considering the status of their country today.