The Space Elevator Reference

The Economist Lunatic Space Elevator - Going to the Moon?

2012-08-31T17:25:46Z

The current issue of the Economist has a story on the Space Elevator: A lunatic idea? Building a lift to the moon's surface might make routine visits feasible.

Credit: Liftport.

"WHEN Neil Armstrong, who died on August 25th (see Obituary), took his giant leap for mankind, he did so from Eagle, a single-use craft of a type known as a lunar excursion module. Eagle, whose job was to ferry Mr Armstrong and his co-pilot Buzz Aldrin the 100km from lunar orbit to the moon's surface and back, weighed half as much as the command and service module that was waiting in orbit to carry them all the way back to Earth, a journey of almost 400,000km. The weight of the lunar module, on top of the command and service module, was the main reason why the Saturn V rockets that shot Apollo astronauts into space needed to be the tallest, heaviest and most powerful ever flown, a record they still hold."

Building a space elevator for the moon is not a new idea but it is one that is getting more traction as a possible first step. What's really great is getting this kind of exposure which can only foster more discussion on the space elevator.

Annual Space Elevator Conference Set for August 25-27

2012-07-17T11:09:35Z

The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) is once again holding its annual conference in Seattle and for the first time it will be held at the Museum of Flight. The 3-day conference opens on August 25th and has a theme of Operating and Maintaining a Space Elevator.

Conference events to include:

1-Day Family Science Fest

- Date: Saturday, August 25, 2012
- Time: 10am to 5pm
- Cost: Included with Museum of Flight admission
- SE 101: Introduction to the Space Elevator concept
- SE 201: You've been to SE 101, now learn more details about the SE applications, challenges, and opportunities
- RoboQuest: A family-focused event for kids of all ages featuring a robotic climber competition
- More activities are being planned

3-Day Technical Program

- Dates: Saturday, August 25, 2012 through Monday, August 27, 2012
- Time: 8am to 5pm
- Cost: See rates on the Registration page
- Space Elevator Overview Presentation: The popular conceptual design
- Strong Tether Competition: Will someone win for the strongest CNT tether?
- SE Operations and Maintenance: The theme and main focus of this year's conference
- Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Research: Latest progress in high strength CNT research
- Cosmic Study Workshop on Space Elevator Feasibility: International Academy of Astronautics four year cosmic study
- SE Impact on the Future: Transformations enabled by the SE - space exploration, resource utilization, and more
- Shotgun Science Session: Ideas not ready for prime time: rapid sequence, 5 minutes each

Obayashi and the Space Elevator - A Story of Hype

2012-02-23T09:58:13Z

When the news broke a couple of days ago on the Yomiuri Online web site that the Obayashi Corporation would be building a Space Elevator by 2050 I was skeptical. Why? Well let's examine the original article. If you use Google's Chrome web browser you have the option of having the article translated. I did that. As well a little history of the company helped.

Obayashi is a huge global construction company and like other Japanese construction companies it projects its business plan with a very long term view. So every now and then they put forward some visionary construction project. It won't get built anytime soon, if ever, but maybe, just maybe someday it will. Unfortunately that's not the case here.

I've been to Japan many times and have met with senior execs from companies similar to Obayashi, and while they have an interest in big space projects, the reality is, these are just dreams and ways to get their companies in the news.

You see this was just a case of marketing hype. It turns out that Obayashi is just about to complete work on the Tokyo Sky Tree, a 634 meter observation and communications tower destined to pull in tourists and relieve them of their money for a view of Tokyo, a meal, a souvenir etc. The Space Elevator aspect of the story, well it certainly got people's attention, the media were sucked in.

The original article didn't even mention the Tokyo Sky Tree, but subsequent ones did. The press conference was all about Tokyo Sky Tree. Of course it doesn't hurt to talk about visionary projects.

While Obayashi or some other company or consortium of companies might build a space elevator by 2050, that's like saying humans will walk on Mars by 2030. You can say it, but unless you back it up with money, plan for it and deal with the challenges inherent with such mega projects, it's just hype at this point.

You want reality? How about this. The first ever issue of the Space Elevator Journal is now available and has some great papers on the current state of development efforts to make a space elevator a reality. Forget the hype and read the real stuff which will hopefully one day lead to the development of a real space elevator.

First Issue of the Space Elevator Journal Released

2012-01-20T11:36:30Z

Ted Semon is reporting that the first issue of the Space Elevator Journal is available. It consists of eight peer-reviewed papers. The Journal will be sent out to all past and present members of the International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC). It's not available just yet on the ISEC web site but will be soon.

Google X and the Space Elevator

2011-11-18T11:11:01Z

From the New York Times comes a story on Google's X lab where top secret Google projects of the future are being researched. These are blue sky ideas that might some day pan out. One of the ideas being bandied about? The Space Elevator.

From the story Google's Lab of Wildest Dreams

"At Google, which uses artificial intelligence techniques and machine learning in its search algorithm, some of the outlandish projects may not be as much of a stretch as they first appear, even though they defy the bounds of the company's main Web search business.

For example, space elevators, a longtime fantasy of Google's founders and other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, could collect information or haul things into space. (In theory, they involve rocketless space travel along a cable anchored to Earth.) "Google is collecting the world's data, so now it could be collecting the solar system's data," Mr. Brooks said."

Michio Kaku Explains the Space Elevator for the Daily Show (video)

2011-07-26T12:42:44Z

Recently The Daily Show contacted me as they wanted to do a piece on the Space Elevator after the last shuttle program ended. I put them in touch with Brad Edwards and Ben Shelef. The result is the following video with renowned physicist Michio Kaku where he discusses the space elevator and how it could economically lift cargo and humans into space by the end of the century.

2012 Space Elevator Journal Call for Papers

2011-05-12T11:20:29Z

The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) is now accepting submissions for the 2012 Space Elevator Journal. As with the Call for Papers for the Space Elevator Conference, papers on "Strong Tethers" are encouraged while papers on any other subject relevant to a Space Elevator are also encouraged. Details are available on the journal from the ISEC web site.

NASA Strong Tether Competition Set for August 12th

2011-05-12T11:07:27Z

The NASA Strong Tether competition will be held on Friday, August 12th at the annual Space Elevator Conference being held at the Microsoft Conference Centre in Redmond, Washington. As part of its Centennial Challenges program, NASA has put up a $2 Million prize purse for tethers that can meet certain specific strength benchmarks. To this point no one has been able to win this prize. Could this years competition be the year someone wins?

The rules for the competition can be found at the Spaceward Foundation website who manage the competition while more information about the NASA Centennial Challenges program is available here.

4th Luxembourg Carbon Nanotechnology and Space Elevator Systems Summary Available

2011-05-12T10:55:35Z

The European Spaceward Association has made available a summary report from the recent 4th Luxembourg Carbon Nanotechnology and Space Elevator Systems as well as the book of abstracts.

"In his introductory address Markus Klettner, Executive Director of EuroSpaceward, pointed out the strategic focus of the year 2010 conference on carbon nanotechnology in order to boost an envisaged research project between Luxembourg laboratories and international partners on the growth of ultra-long CNT fibers that possess at the same time ultrahigh tensile strength. He emphasized the need to further advance the development of high strength macroscopic CNT fibers by focussing on the vital aspects: growing long CNTs as well as aligning and fostering international research work on mechanical properties of CNT fibers."

Download the summary report. (PDF)

Download the book of abstracts, part 1 (PDF), part 2 (PDF).

Call for Papers for the 2011 Space Elevator Conference

2011-05-12T10:25:21Z

The Space Engineering and Science Institute (SESI) has put out its annual call for papers for this years 2011 Space Elevator Conference once again being held at the Microsoft Convention Center in Redmond Washington between August 12th - 14th. Abstracts are due by June 11, 2011.

Abstracts must be in English, one page or less, and summarize a presentation suitable for the conference. For all submittals, please include the title, authors and affiliations, mail address, e-mail, and phone number of the corresponding author, and up to 10 key words. Authors will be notified of acceptance by June 20th, 2011. Final drafts of the presentations in PowerPoint or PDF formats will be due before the conference on July 22, 2011.

Submit your abstracts and papers to the Paper Submission Site.

Application for 2011 Artsutanov and Pearson Prizes Now Open

2011-05-12T10:03:24Z

The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) is now accepting entries for the 2011 Artsutanov and Pearson Prizes. Two prizes will be awarded, $1,500 and $2,500 respectively for the best papers. The deadline for submission is June 30.

"The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) Board of Directors has announced their official theme for 2011, tether development, as a way to focus the Space Elevator on the most important problem facing the construction of a Space Elevator. Tether strength is the Achilles Heel of a Space Elevator due to the fact that no materials currently exist with a high enough strength to weight ratio to build the 100,000 km long tether which is central to the elevator.

In honor of Yuri Artsutanov, the Russian physicist who first thought of the idea of a Space Elevator, ISEC has adopted the measurement of Yuris¹ when discussing the specific strength of tether materials. So how strong does the material have to be? The Space Elevator Feasibility Condition written by Ben Shelef of the Spaceward Foundation shows that a strength of approximately 30 MYuris would be required for a working Space Elevator. For reference, the specific strength of steel is about .5 MYuris. Though there are many high strength materials used around the world, ongoing research points to carbon nano-tubes (CNTs) as being the strongest candidates for success.

To encourage research in this field, the ISEC 2011 Artsutanov and Pearson prizes will both be awarded for the papers that advance the development of 30 MYuri tether. Papers will be judged by the level to which their ideas advance the field, research and data in support of conclusions are expected. The winners of each prize are awarded $1,500 and $2,500 respectively and the papers will be featured at the 2011 Space Elevator Conference.

The Pearson prize is open to undergraduate students while the Artsutanov prize is open to all².

The deadline for submitting entries will be June 30, 2011. Specific contest rules and other information about the prizes can be found on the ISEC website (http://www.isec.info)

1 A Yuri is equivalent to 1 Pascal per kilogram per cubic meter. A Mega Yuri (MYuri) is equivalent to the commonly used units of 1 Giga-Pascal per gram per cubic centimeter (1 GPa-g/cc) and to 1 Newton per Tex (N/Tex).

2 Officers and Directors of ISEC are not eligible."

Economist: Beam it up

2011-03-11T10:21:02Z

The March 14th issue of the Economist has a good article on bean power technology titled Beam it up, "Energy: Laser beams can deliver energy to machines through thin air. This might be a good way to power drone aircraft or a space elevator." This will no doubt bring more awareness to one aspect of the a future space elevator system.

"THE Pelican, a small, remotely controlled helicopter drone weighing less than a kilogram, is powered by a battery that provides about 20 minutes' flying. And yet, one evening last October, the Pelican took off, rose ten metres and hovered throughout the night. It was brought down in the morning only because the exhibition hall near Seattle, where it was airborne, was about to open for business."

Ascending Technologies of Germany built the Pelican however it uses Seattle based LaserMotive's laser system. LaserMotive is the team that won $900,000 in the NASA sponsored Power Beaming Challenge of the Space Elevator Games of 2009.

Call for Papers for the 2011 Space Elevator Conference

2011-02-28T10:54:54Z

The theme of the 2011 Space Elevator Conference is: Developing Stronger, Lighter Tethers - "30 MYuri or Bust" and seems appropriate as without advances in tether strength there won't be any material to build a space elevator in the future. So for those interested in contributing to the Space Elevator Conference the call for papers has now gone out.

The conference will once again be held at the beautiful Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond, Washington from August 12th through August 14th, 2011.

The first day of the conference, Friday, August 12th, will focus on this issue, as the biggest hurdle confronting the Space Elevator is constructing a tether that is both strong enough and light enough. The organizers specifically would like to encourage participation by materials science researchers on this exciting subject. The conference will also host that day the Space Elevator Games - Strong Tether Competition, a NASA challenge in which the tethers are subjected to a pull test to win a $2 million prize.

Here's the tentative program:

Public Presentations (details subject to change)

- A Public Space Elevator Presentation - 7pm-8pm August 11, 2011 at the Microsoft Conference Center.

- Space Elevator 101 Sessions - Saturday, August 13, 2011 - attend one of two sessions (morning or afternoon, separate from the three-day technical program) where you can learn more about the space elevator.

3-Day Technical Program (details subject to change)

- Space Elevator Overview Presentation - the popular conceptual design
Presentation of the Artsutanov and Pearson Prizes to acknowledge and reward papers that most significantly contribute to a 30 MYuri tether. For more information, visit the International Space Elevator Consortium website, from the "Activities" tab click on "The Artsutanov and Pearson Prizes".

- The NASA Centennial Challenges Strong Tether Competition - A NASA challenge in materials engineering in which the tether provided by each team is subjected to a pull test to win a $2 million prize (scheduled for Friday).

- Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Research - latest progress in high strength CNT research
SE Impact on the Future - transformations enabled by the SE, including exploration, using space resources to solve problems here on Earth, solar power platforms, extra-terran bases, and colonization.

- Roadmap Workshop - focusing on the four pillars of development, get engaged!
Shotgun Science Session - science ideas not ready for prime time: rapid sequence, 5 minutes each.

ISEC Releases its First Position Paper

2011-02-16T12:00:38Z

The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) has released its first position paper titled Space Elevator Survivability Space Debris Mitigation in the form of a 76 page self-published book. Authored by Cathy Swan, Peter Swan and Robert "Skip" Penny the report states unequivocally that space debris will not be a show stopper for the space elevator.

"The International Space Elevator Consortium has placed this position paper as a recognition that the space debris problem is an engineering one and can be mitigated. The question: "Will space debris be a show stopper for space elevators?" is answered emphatically. NO! The mitigation concepts presented change the issue from a perceived problem to an engineering concern; but, by no means is it a significant threat. This pamphlet illustrates how the development office for a future space elevator can attack this problem, predict probabilities of collision, and convert the concern into another manageable engineering problem."

Issues addressed in the report include;

- The probabilities of collision in low earth orbit, in geosynchronous earth orbit, and in medium earth orbit.

- The growth rate as it threatens an operational space elevator.

- A reasonable approach for space elevator developers to ensure infrastructure safety.

- Approaches to interrupt sources of debris.

- Mitigation of risk for the space elevator community through design, operations, policiesm and lowering the threat.

The report is available as a paperback for $14.50 or you can download it in PDF format for $5.99.

In a related news item, it was just a couple of weeks ago that news surfaced that the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was to team up with a fishing company to address the debris problem in a unique way.

- Japan's space agency teams up with fishing net maker to collect space debris

61th International Astronautical Congress Space Elevator Papers Available

2011-02-15T13:18:44Z

At the 61th International Astronautical Congress in Prague the Space Elevator and Tethers session was chaired by Dr. Peter A. Swan of Teaching Science and Technology, Inc. The session had ten papers of which eight are now available with the other two only providing abstracts. In addition several have made available their presentations. For your reference, here they are:

- Preliminary Systems Requirements for the Space Toilet on the Space Train (Paper) (Presentation), Mr. Akira Tsuchida, Earth-Track Corporation, Ms. Amie Allison, Earth-Track Corporation, Mr. Koo Ue, Japan Toilet Labo.

- Tether assisted near earth object (neo) diversion (Paper) (Presentation), Mr. Mohammad J. Mashayekhi, McGill University, Prof. Arun Misra, McGill University

- Light and strong cnt fiber spun with cnt web (Paper), Dr. Morihiro Okada, Shizuoka University, Prof. Yoku Inoue, Shizuoka University, Prof. Akihiro Ishida, Shizuoka University, Prof. Hidenori Mimura, Shizuoka University

- Wireless Power Transfer to a Moving Vehicle: Explorations with the Kansas City team for the NASA/Spaceward power beaming challenge (Paper) (Presentation), Dr. Martin Lades

- The Effect of Disturbances on Space Elevator Dynamics with Flexibility (Paper), Mr. Ryotaro Ohkawa, Nihon University, Prof. Hironori A. Fujii, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Prof. Kenji Uchiyama, Nihon University

- Numerical dynamics and stability study for twin tethered objects (Abstract), Prof. Radu Rugescu, Politechnic University of Bucharest

- Geostationary Station Keeping Control of a Space Elevator during Initial Cable Deployment (Paper), Dr. Noboru TAKEICHI, Nagoya University

- Space Elevator Road Map 2010 (Paper) (Presentation), Mr. Akira Tsuchida, Earth-Track Corporation, Ms. Amie Allison, Earth-Track Corporation

- Comfortableness in Space Elevator -- Physiological Challenge (Abstract), Prof. Satoshi Iwase, Aichi Medical University

- First Space Elevator: on the Moon, Mars or the Earth? (Paper) (Presentation), Dr. Peter A. Swan, Teaching Science and Technology, Inc.