Posted on 08/20/2015 1:07:19 PM PDT by Red Badger
20 km Space Tower
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Exploring space while seated on Earth, gazing up on screens in museum theaters or at home via VR headsets. is exciting but the top imagination-grabber is the very idea of finding a way to access space. This is the present-day realm of creative thinking over space elevators, in the use of a giant tower to carry us to space.
Scientists working on space elevators are thinking about materials and designs that can be used to access space as an alternative to rocket technology. A sign of the times is the upcoming Space Elevator Conference 2015 which takes place this month in Seattle.
Imagine, said The Spaceward Foundation, the space elevator, serving as a track on which electric vehicles called "climbers" can travel up and down carrying about 10 tons of payload."There are no intense gravity-loads during the trip, no acoustic vibration, no onboard fuel, nor any of the rest of the drama (and cost) associated with rocket launches," it added.
Now a Canadian company, Thoth Technology in Ontario, has a patent for a space elevator to access space. It would reach 20km (12 miles) above the planet. Its engineers said the technology could save more than 30 percent of the fuel of a conventional rocket— spacecraft and people could be lifted to a level in the atmosphere requiring less force to launch.
As GCR (Global Construction Review) News described it, this is a freestanding space tower concept, held rigid by pressurized gas.
In Fast Company, Charlie Sorrel had some thoughts on this: " The patent does say that the elevator could be scaled to reach 200km, but that's a little like saying that your bank balance could be scaled to reach $1 billion—it's technically true, but the execution may prove tricky."(The patent said the tower could be further scaled to provide direct access to altitudes above 200 km and with the gravitation potential of Low Earth Orbit [LEO].)
The patent document reads: "The present invention is a self-supporting space elevator tower for the delivery of payloads to at least one platform or pod above the surface of the Earth for the purposes of space launch. The space elevator tower may also be used to deliver equipment, personnel and other objects or people to at least one platform or pod above the surface of the Earth for the purpose of scientific research, communications and tourism."
Thoth's approach suggests an interesting alternative. Eric Mack in CNET wrote, "Technically speaking, getting to space hasn't become any easier over the past half century or so. It still requires using huge rockets to create a massive enough amount of force to push a payload beyond the grip of Earth's gravity." Or, as Information Week put it, "Rockets are extremely hard to launch off the face of the earth because of gravity and air resistance."
In contrast, said Mack, the space elevator uses "much simpler gravity-defying technologies to access space."
David Wagner of Information Week said Thoth is using "technology that, for the most part, we already have (to build the building at least). It uses modular tubes of Kevlar-polyethylene composites filled with helium. The tubes are much lighter and forgiving than modern building materials, and the helium helps hold the structure up."
"From the top of the tower, space planes will launch in a single stage to orbit, returning to the top of the tower for refueling and reflight," said Dr. Brendan Quine, the inventor and a professor at York University's Lassonde School of Engineering.
Thoth Technology is a space and defense company in the business of services and products for space applications.
Explore further: Giant nets could remove orbiting space junk
More information: thothx.com/news-2/
www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week29/OG/patent.html
One bad landing and poof.
Why, it’s as easy as landing on a barge...
I’d imagine the wind will be a problem.....................
I once watched video of a 180 ft water storage tank falling over - it was impressive, and caused a lot of damage to the surrounding area.
It’s hard to imagine the catastrophic effects of a +/- 64,000 ft tall tower toppling over.
“Why, it’s as easy as landing on a barge...”
...or an aircraft carrier.
Meaning that it’s not easy but it’s not impossible, either.
And, perhaps, earthquakes...
Twelve miles, deck crew would have to be on oxygen and
pressurized suits?
Twice as high as Everest...
Too many problems.
I think they’ve been hitting the thoth.
What happens if you get stuck halfway up? You’ll need a parachute and O2 bottle........................
Dr. Octopus once threw Spider-Man against a water storage tank on top of the Daily Bugle building, and the water drenched J. Jonah Jameson.
“As GCR (Global Construction Review) News described it, this is a freestanding space tower concept, held rigid by pressurized gas.”
That’s a pretty novel idea for a space elevator. The main problem for space elevators is that their sheer weight makes it impossible for them to maintain structural integrity. However, if you made the tower like a dirigible, filled with gas that is lighter than air, then you could use buoyancy to offset the weight, at least enough to make the structure viable.
However, it would require a whole heck of a lot of lighter-than-air gas. I just calculated, for a 20km tower with a 10,000 sq m footprint, you would need 16,400,000 kg of hydrogen to fill it (helium would be safer, but would weigh and cost a lot more). Though, my calculation didn’t account for variance in density of the gas as you get higher in the atmosphere, and you could use less gas to just achieve neutral buoyancy, while filling the rest of the structure with air to keep it rigid.
Using a perfect circle 7,925 miles in diameter, a 12 mile long line rising normal to the surface of the circle would be visible from over 300 miles away.
Obviously the earth’s surface has mountains, valleys and other terrain imperfections which would affect that distance in the real world, but such a “space elevator” would be visible from a VERY long way away on a clear day.
And that is definitely going to f-— up SOME selfish liberals’ “view shed”.
Somewhere, a Moslem terrorist has printed out this picture and drawn a bullseye on it.
An aircraft carrier is moving at roughly 40MPH at sea level into the wind. The landing and take off speeds increase with altitude.
I am also curious as to how it is kept stable. The Sears Tower for example the Willis(Sears) Tower sways about 3 feet and it is a fairly rigid structure. This elevator is about 40 times as high and is inflatable.
“The landing and take off speeds increase with altitude.”
True, and with the thinner atmosphere, you have to rely less on lift and more on pure thrust to gain altitude. At least that is what I’ve learned from playing Kerbal Space Program :)
“Too many problems.”
Actually, those problems are miniscule compared to the problems with launching stuff into space the conventional way. That’s why the concept is so attractive, even with all the problems attached.
With a traditional structure, yeah, that would be disastrous, but if the structure is basically a bag filled with gas, with some struts to keep it rigid? If it’s going to fall, it will rupture on the way down, the gas will escape, and only a fraction of it will actually hit the ground. I’m sure it would still be a disaster, but not nearly as bad as a 12 mile high traditional structure collapsing.
Spider-Man #12 (May 1964) — “Unmasked by Dr. Octopus!”
J. Jonah is watching the battle from his office window, when Dr. Octopus throws Spider-Man into a water tower, releasing a barrage of water that soaks J. Jonah.
Mr. Jameson says, “Blast him! That’s the real Spider-Man, all right!! Parker would never have had the nerve to soak me that way!”
(Earlier in the story, Dr. Octopus had defeated and unmasked Spider-Man, who had been weakened by a 24-hour virus, but because Spider-Man had fought so feebly, everyone assumed Peter Parker was only imitating Spider-Man to try to save Betty Brant.)
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