... I'm amazed by how many people get hung up on the travel time to orbit. As Monte Davis wrote - The initial elevator will be for cargo -and - humans make up...
8195
Herbert Murray
hcm1955
Oct 4, 2007 10:40 pm
The first generation space elevator needs to be thought about as a system to move stuff into space for 1 % of what it now costs. it is not about travel time it...
8197
Herbert Murray
hcm1955
Oct 4, 2007 11:01 pm
... http://www.sandia.gov/media/NewsRel/NR2001/flyer.htm ... a ... this...
8198
Andreas
awnd329
Oct 5, 2007 3:57 am
... transport ... Just to set the record straight, I did not write the above excerpt and mostly agree with Vern. ... Right. These people must have been quite...
8199
spacelifejunkie
Oct 5, 2007 2:39 pm
Here is a link to an article claiming a breakthrough in bonding nanotubes to a plastic like material. http://www.physorg.com/news110727530.html Looks...
8201
Herbert Murray
hcm1955
Oct 11, 2007 1:35 am
... BTW Space Elevator is mentioned on page 35 of the report...
8202
roger curnow
rogertheunbe...
Oct 11, 2007 10:34 pm
It seems unlikely to me that DOD would finance anything unless it is maneuverable enough to avoid satellite killer missiles. [Non-text portions of this message...
8203
Herbert Murray
hcm1955
Oct 12, 2007 8:45 am
DOD is more likly to put up an anti missle system to protect SPS systems. It was a divison of DOD the organized the study and is making positive sounds in...
8204
Barry
bseegebarth
Oct 14, 2007 6:17 pm
Here are two problems with the Edwards Space Elevator that no one on this group or anyone else in the SE community seems to be talking about. 1.DURABILITY....
8205
harvey trevillion
hetrevillion
Oct 14, 2007 6:17 pm
With some more research and development, this could be the right pathway to our needed SE ribbon. Looks enticing. Harvey spacelifejunkie...
8206
Simon Hastings
terenot
Oct 14, 2007 6:28 pm
On the issue of durability - many designs currently call for climbers which build up the tether bit by bit as they climb it. Similarly "repair" climbers could ...
8207
Jo Jaquinta
jim_plummer
Oct 14, 2007 10:53 pm
... Quite possibly because it is fairly well covered in his book. A wide, flat ribbon is resistant to appreciable damage from micrometeorites. Having a base...
8208
Herbert Murray
hcm1955
Oct 15, 2007 12:55 am
... Section 10.2 of Edwards report in the link section of this group (found at: http://www.spaceelevator.com/docs/472Edwards.pdf) explains how the baseline...
8209
Herbert Murray
hcm1955
Oct 15, 2007 1:07 am
Yes this is a positive development. Edwards baseline design is 60% CNTS with the balance as some type of substrate. The polymer matrix referenced in the...
8210
Barry
bseegebarth
Oct 15, 2007 8:40 am
The inflatable space tower idea is nothing new. There are several designs being proposed in the scientific community. Most notable is the one being floated...
8211
Ed Minchau
spider_boris
Oct 15, 2007 12:06 pm
The inflatable tower would have to have considerably more pressure in its walls than one atmosphere at the bottom of the tower, or else it would collapse. If ...
8212
Paul Wolfenbarger
phred4269
Oct 16, 2007 12:38 pm
Barry, As a structural engineer I have to agree with Ed's assessment. If you draw a free body diagram just below the pulley attachment and actually calculate...
8213
Barry
bseegebarth
Oct 17, 2007 7:31 am
Here are your calculations Ed. The material I would suggest using would be readily available graphite epoxy, like that used for aircraft with a weight of...
8214
Herbert Murray
hcm1955
Oct 17, 2007 5:06 pm
Scanning thru Bolonkin's paper "Optimal Electrostatic Space Tower" left me with a basic question: Is the electron gas referenced in the paper: A. Electron...
8215
Andreas
awnd329
Oct 17, 2007 7:03 pm
Putting aside the fantastic 120,000 km tower filled with the fabled "electron gas" (which I have never heard of) of Mr Bolognkin, it is reasonable to assume a...
8216
Andreas
awnd329
Oct 17, 2007 7:08 pm
Had you bothered to read only as much as just the Wikipedia article on the space elevator, you would have found meteorite damage and malfunctions of various...
8217
GEddieA95@...
Oct 17, 2007 7:30 pm
In a message dated 10/17/2007 2:09:02 P.M. Central Daylight Time, awnd329@... writes: Although some would like to, people will probably never ride the...
8218
Andreas
awnd329
Oct 17, 2007 9:01 pm
Commercial spaceflight has only very recently come down to the decamegabuck range (from non-existence), and there is still a lot of room for improvements, even...
8220
Herbert Murray
hcm1955
Oct 18, 2007 11:29 am
... After reading thru the paper again, I believe I got it all wrong. I will post comments later. Still a working model needs to be built to demo the concept ...
8221
musthavemorestuff
musthavemore...
Oct 19, 2007 8:15 pm
... on ... soak ... Personally, I have always had the view that the ribbon would have a cover. I know, I know. The weight! The weight! No problem, it's gotta...
8222
Herbert Murray
hcm1955
Oct 19, 2007 9:16 pm
For those that are in the NYC area A.BOLONKIN will be speaker at NSS Chapter event. One may even have a chance to ask him about electron gas. Since the other...
8223
Dave Handwerk
dhandwerk
Oct 26, 2007 7:32 pm
Hi, I agree that the cost should be more realistic, perhaps $2B. In addition to the restaurant, cell-phone antenna, and upper atmospheric research station, one...
8224
Andreas
awnd329
Oct 28, 2007 4:03 am
... The tower/mass driver combination is not too outrageous an idea. Unfortunately electromagnetic mass drivers are neither small nor light. A better solution...
8225
Graham Addis
grahamaddis
Nov 2, 2007 12:22 pm
... Nice idea, but it would need lots of work in making sure everything's balanced. Graham...
8226
Andreas
awnd329
Nov 2, 2007 6:31 pm
... Balancing the sling will be a walk in the park once you've balanced that 100 mile tower... Seriously, all it takes is a counterweight. The tower will have...
