The Space Elevator All Saints’ College of Technology Presented By:- Md.Zeya Karim Md.Hisabuddin Ansari Shabbir Khan (ME, VI sem)

What is a Space Elevator? it’s a fixed structure designed to transport material from earth’s surface into space. its goal is to replace rocket propulsion.

The Concept earth Climber cable counterweight Center of mass for the elevator Geosynchronous orbit

The constituents of a space elevator Base station / Anchor Cable Climber Counter weight

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

Cable : Carbon Nanotubes 5km continuous 1% CNT composite fiber The cable must be made of a material with a huge tensile strength. A tensile strength of ~65–120 GPa – Not strong enough yet but a viable plan is in place to get there (Carbon Designs, Inc.)

Ribbon Design The final ribbon is one- meter wide and composed of parallel high-strength fibers Interconnects maintain structure and allow the ribbon to survive small impacts Initial, low-strength ribbon segments have been built and tested

Climbers Climbers built with current satellite technology Drive system built with DC electric motors Photovoltaic array (GaAs or Si) receives power from Earth 7-ton climbers carry 13-ton payloads Climbers ascend at 200 km/hr 8 day trip from Earth to geosynchronous altitude Power is sent to deployment spacecraft and climbers by laser Solid-state disk laser produces kWs of power and being developed for MWatts

Counter Weight Two dominant methods proposed – a heavy object like a space station extending the cable itself well past geosynchronous orbit

Challenges & Solution Induced Currents: milliwatts and not a problem Radiation: carbon fiber composites good for 1000 years in Earth orbit (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 Health hazards: under investigation but initial tests indicate minimal problem

SE Operating Budget Anchor maintenance5Annual Operating Budget per year in US$M Climbers each Tracking system10 Anchor station 10 Administration10 Laser maintenance20 Other30 TOTAL (50 launches)135 This is ~US$250/kg operating costs to any destination.

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 or dangerous launch or re-entry forces Easily expandable to large systems or multiple systems Easily implemented at many solar system locations

Applications Solar power satellites - economical, clean power for use on Earth Solar System Exploration - colonization and full development of the moon, Mars and Earth orbit Telecommunications - enables extremely high performance systems

The space elevator is a revolutionary Earth-to-space transportation system that will enable space exploration Design, deployment and operational scenarios for the first space elevator have been put together. Potential challenges have been laid out and solutions developed. Development of the space elevator requires an investment in materials and engineering but is achievable in the near future with a reasonable investment and development plan.Conclusion

References Space Elevator Concept. LiftPort Group. Retrieved on 2006 March 5.Space Elevator Concept 2006March 5 David, Leonard (2002). The Space Elevator Comes Closer to Reality.The Space Elevator Comes Closer to Reality The Space Elevator. Institute for Scientific Research, Inc.. Retrieved on 2006 March 5.The Space Elevator2006March 5 Cascio, Jamais (2005). Ribbons, Sheets and the Nanofuture. Retrieved on 2006 March 5.Ribbons, Sheets and the Nanofuture2006March 5 Gassend, Blaise (2004). Animation of a Broken Space ElevatorAnimation of a Broken Space Elevator

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