We won't have the early problems we had testing tethers in Earth's atmo. The mag field around Earth turned our carbon tube tether into a giant transformer. No such problem on Venus as it's mag field is almost non-existent. This also means that solar storms will have a bigger effect on our equipment. Keep a weather eye on Sol, we'll need to hide behind the planet if he hiccups.
Good morning. I see we haven’t left for Venus yet; the catz would have mentioned it.
My husband is on a trip today and tomorrow, so we slept late (after 7!).
I need to clear up some misconceptions.
Plants: Only the Flying Castle will be in the atmosphere of Venus. We plan to pick an altitude and planetary latitude that will maintain a constant circulation around the planet as the winds generated by its differential heating and relative cooling drive them. They are said to be quite regular.
The tether will be there to give us a connection for transportation and communication, but it will not need to support us generally. We will probably get some assist from it to remain in the proper latitude, and it will perhaps be more akin to sailing than simply rafting down the Mississippi.
Also, the tether’s purpose otherwise is that it is our means of entrance and eventual exit from the atmosphere. At our level of connection, the stress on it will be minimal. What stresses the tether is its own weight, hanging down as it does from an orbital position. That weight, because it is not orbiting, has to be attached to something that is.
Hence we bring along our pet asteroid. It has to orbit Venus at an orbital altitude that will produce a net upward force exactly counterbalancing the downward pull of the high-strength cable (with occasional hitchhiker).
However, between these two locations, our familiar Habitats A and B, still connected to the trustworthy Thrust Ring, will be sedately pirouetting around to provide the familiar simulated Mars gravity, and the artificial twenty-four hour daylight schedule provided by our solar mirror system.
They will still have a twenty-four hour day. They will still have reduced gravity. But they will have it in orbit around Venus. At this location, they will get the periodic shadow of Venus falling on them, and we will have to switch over to artificial light during those periods.
Keep in mind that Habitats A and B are the least natural locations of our food growing habitats, consisting of stacked decks of hydroponics bays, artificial rice ponds and fish ponds, precisely manicured berry and fruit orchards and pasturelands for our grazing animals.
It has always been that way since our launch. Only the Castle environs has maintained essentially natural woodlands, grain and pastureland, and even a wetland area. It is those areas to which I refer when I say the plants will need to adapt. I don’t think it will be a real problem for them. If anything, their growing light will be even more than sufficient, even if it comes unevenly distributed.
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Now, Orbital Speed: As described above, our anchor and tether constitute a rather complete system together. The matching masses far exceed that of the Flying Castle Habitat. This is a necessary design criterion, for except for lowering the Castle or eventually raising it again, the two masses have to maintain an equilibrium on their own. As noted above, the Flying Castle Habitat will be supported by the Venusian atmosphere.
It may be this concept that has people puzzled. How can the Flying Castle float in Venus air?
Keep in mind that we have reduced and will continue to reduce the overall mass of the Flying Castle, but that it still has a very large internal volume. Most of that is ordinary air, oxygen and nitrogen. We have enough air collected inside that water vapor suspended in it causes it to appear hazy up near the top of the transparent canopy. It even condenses up there and becomes “rain”. It should be noted that we collect that “rain” as it forms and then release it on an artificially imposed schedule when everyone should be sleeping. If you get rained on in the Flying Castle Habitat, you’ve been out too late!
That operation may also be affected by our new daylight schedule. We may move to a dark-only “rain” schedule, or perhaps just let the drops fall where they may.
In any case, we have a large internal volume of air. In space, even the air just contributes to our overall mass, but in a suspending medium, such as the water of Loch Ness, or the Pacific Ocean, or the heavy gas atmosphere of Venus, the outside material tends to “lift” the Flying Castle by the volume of material displaced.
In water, we ride high, but with half the equivalent lifting force of helium in Earth’s air, our oxygen and nitrogen only “weigh” enough to keep us wallowing completely immersed in the carbon dioxide of Venus. Essentially, we become an atmospheric submarine.
The Flying Castle will really fly!
As noted, we’ll remain tethered for communication and transportation, but the Flying Castle will be supporting itself as we ride the winds around Venus. It may be that we may tug on the cable or be pulled forward some by it as the winds vary, but the average will, well, average out.