#Space Elevator

[kkirexxovo]

Sep.24.22

[kameel-sm]

Metropolis.

Originally completed on 17th June 2021.

My interpretation: High above a colony planet in the distant future orbits the infrastructure and habitats of progress. A space elevator rises up through a space station and is counterbalanced by a maglev track that circles the planet like its own ring. Various space stations and crafts sit alongside it, acting as stops for the train service in this grand metropolis.

[mindblowingscience]

Imagine a long tether linking Earth to space that could launch us to orbit at a fraction of the cost and slingshot us to other worlds at record speed. That's the basic idea behind a space elevator. Instead of taking six to eight months to reach Mars, scientists have estimated a space elevator could get us there in three to four months or even as quickly as 40 days. The concept of space elevators isn't new, but engineering such a structure would be no easy feat, and many other issues besides technology stand in the way. That's why the ambition to seriously build one is fairly recent. The Japan-based company Obayashi Corporation thinks it has the expertise.

Continue Reading.

[alphamecha-mkii]

Infinite Fleet - Tether Station Space Elevator on terraformed Mars Concept Art

[barunicle]

An advertisement for a space elevator. The block of text is the Samuel Butler translation of The Iliad specifically book 18 lines 428 to 615 when a shield is made depicting all life's virtues and struggles on one circular surface. kinda like the view of earth from space.

[sallet-lad]

Barren expanse

[spacenoirdetective]

Space elevator art by Dean Ellis from Omni magazine, July 1981

[xj4x]

[orchid1024]

space elevator idea

[dougielombax]

So!

Space elevators!

How would that work?

I mean you could destroy them SO easily.

…

IN THEORY!

*I AM NOT PROPOSING ANYTHING!*

[capitalism-is-parasitism]

Space elevator

[is1of1]

Fresh save for 1.0, and I'm almost done with tier 1 after some screwing around. I can't decide where to put the Space Elevator though. I like the rocky desert starting area but theres a lack of flat open space which is usually where i like to stick the elevator

---

I found a spot, built it.

I was running back when i took this screen cap looking up and running forward. Ran right off a cliff and splat. Laughed my ass off though

[soniabigcheese]

Space 220 Overview and "Stellarvator" Space Elevator Ride at EPCOT

John ....

[owlbearwrites]

WtW Ghost Gala - Day 5: Jack O'Lantern

Share an interesting fact you found while doing research for your WIP

Space Elevators and Space Winches

A key part of my WIP's plot requires a fast way to get from Earth into orbit at short notice. My initial idea was a space elevator, but now I'm wondering if a space winch wouldn't serve me better.

(A very good video on space elevator technology here.)

Basically, in the alternative future where Fate is the Half of It takes place (late 21st century), humanity is much farther into the space age than we can reasonably expect to be by the same point in our IRL timeline. There's a functioning Moon base, there's a lot of infrastructure in orbit (including the ARK Corporation's ever-growing Orbital Sanctuary project), and normally, travel from Earth into orbit wouldn't be a huge deal.

Short-notice evacuation following a nuclear strike alert, however, isn't normal. I have the system to quickly get the pre-approved evacuees to their assigned launch points, but the more traditional route of using shuttles isn't the safest when there are nukes flying through the air. Which is why I considered a space elevator. I was even prepared to handwave the fact that even in a world where space elevators are possible, it would be extremely unfeasible to have more than one per planet. (If the writers of Halo can do it, why can't I?)

However, I encountered a bigger problem. A space elevator requires a tether to be connected to the surface, which makes it vulnerable to destruction, shockwaves, etc. caused by nukes. And if the tether snaps, it's major yikes time for people on the elevator, people at the top, and a good chunk of the planet at the bottom. And my story needed:

The initial evacuation to be successful.

The planet-side elevator structure to remain intact, even if not functioning 200 years later. With very little maintenance. Yeah.

Which led me to looking into a space winch: something that would have a stable base in orbit, but no permanent connection to the surface. A discussion about that on Space Stack Exchange was useful (emphasis mine):

So instead of a big tower going into orbit with cables like an elevator, what if we had a satellite in orbit, something that can move to various orbits and positions. This satellite has a long cable it drops to the earth to pre-determined "Bear Traps" like we do to help land helicopters onto Frigates in rough seas. Once the cable is secured payloads are loaded, the bear trap released, and the whole thing reeled in to the orbiting satellite. ... [the cable] would likely have to be "shot" out towards the earth to a point where gravity will pull it down, or the end of the cable would need some sort of thrust guidance system to guide it out of its orbit and towards the earth. I would also imagine that the orbiting satellite would have correctional thrusters to stabilize it's orbit against the forces of pulling up extra mass from the surface.

And this is something that I believe I can make work with a little bit of sc-fi! The pre-determined evacuation points can have "lifeboat" type pods, all set to be picked up by the cable launched from the respective satellites. Things like movement speed, trajectory stability and survival of the occupants - well, that's what suspension of disbelief is for. And the planetside structure, being ridiculously smaller and simpler than a whole-ass elevator, stands a much better chance of remaining intact 200 years later.

(Now let's hope that none of the multiple winches get the cables tangled, because that would be... bad.)

P.S. No, we can't have teleporters yet because plot reasons.

P. P.S. The Moon base will be another subject for research. I expect to be drawing a lot of inspiration from Andy Weir's Artemis.

[eincline]

Mark Pernice for The New York Times.