The Space Elevator building our future太空电梯建设我们的未来.pptVIP

The Space Elevator… building our future Space Elevator Basics The SE in Literature The Space Elevator in Science Fiction From SciFi to NASA Proposed System: Overview First elevator: 20 ton capacity (13 ton payload) Constructed with existing or near-term technology Cost (US$10B) and schedule (15 years) Operating costs of US$250/kg to any Earth orbit, moon, Mars, Venus, Asteroids Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) Deployment Overview Ribbon Design Initial Spacecraft Climbers Power Beaming Power is sent to deployment spacecraft and climbers by laser Solid-state disk laser produces kWs of power and being developed for MWatts Mirror is the same design as conventional astronomical telescopes (Hobby-Eberly, Keck) Anchor Anchor station is a mobile, ocean-going platform identical to ones used in oil drilling Anchor is located in eastern equatorial pacific, weather and mobility are primary factors Challenges Induced Currents: milliwatts and not a problem Induced oscillations: 7 hour natural frequency couples poorly with moon and sun, active damping with anchor Radiation: carbon fiber composites good for 1000 years in Earth orbit (LDEF) Atomic oxygen: 25 micron Nickel coating between 60 and 800 km (LDEF) Environmental Impact: Ionosphere discharging not an issue Malfunctioning climbers: up to 3000 km reel in the cable, above 2600 km send up an empty climber to retrieve the first Lightning, wind, clouds: avoid through proper anchor location selection Meteors: ribbon design allows for 200 year probability-based life LEOs: active avoidance requires movement every 14 hours on average to avoid debris down to 1 cm Health hazards: under investigation but initial tests indicate minimal problem Damaged or severed ribbons: collatoral damage is minimal due to mass and distribution Technical Budget Advantages Low operations costs - US$250/kg to LEO, GEO, Moon, Mars, Venus or the asteroid belts No payload envelope restrictions No launch vibrations Safe access to space - no explosive propellants