With the 'space elevator' ever 'get off the ground'?

Question

There were ideas in the making for a space elevator. A tower some 65,000 feet up anchored down to earth by magnetism. The top would be supported by orbiting satellites. The actual craft that would go up and down this tower would be cargo ships that could be placed in sub orbit then onward to open space. There was even drawing of a modified vehicle (shaped like the space shuttle) that could carry passengers on a sight-seeing excurison to watch the sunset. It would be kept on the tower that was made of some nano metals using huge magnets.

Answer 1

Building something with the tensile strength to stay in place suspended hundreds or even thousands of miles high is daunting enough, but bordering on the possible in the coming decades.

The real issue is driving an electric current through the system.

Assuming that room temperature superconductors become a reality, I would assume the whole idea becomes technically feasble within 30-40 yers.

Economically feasable means needing an infrastructure resource that allows daily space shipments. give that anothe decade or two later as Asteroid mining becomes economical and or necessary to suplant earhtly resources.

My guess: 2066

Answer 2

Well, a tower 65,000 feet up is only 12.3 miles up. That does take you above most of the earth's atmosphere, so it might actually be useful for launching satellites, although the satellites would still need lots and lots of fuel to achieve orbital speed

Geosynchronous satellites orbit at 26,200 miles. I don't see how they could help support a 12.3 mile high tower. Perhaps you meant that the tower was 65,000 miles high. That structure would be stable if you could use material strong enough to prevent it from being snapped apart. However, no material known today is remotely close to being that strong.

Answer 3

A substance strong enough to build the elevator doesn't yet exist. There are other technical problems, as well. This will fall into the same category as 'gravity trains'. They're a neat idea, and might even be feasible in some far off future, but they're nothing more than a fantasy at today's technological level.

* - Gravity trains are trains that would travel through tunnels built from some destination straight through the Earth to another destination. If technically feasible, a person could travel from New York to London in 42 minutes, New York to Tokyo in 42 minutes, New York to Sydney in 42 minutes, all just using Earth's gravitational force to propel the trains.

Answer 4

No way. For one you would have to think about how would such a structure be able to protrude the Atmosphere into space with burning up from pressure or popping like a balloon? Second. Such a Structure would cause too much problems with flight navigation and Air traffic. Everyone around that part of the world would have to think about Flying through clouds and stormy weather without hitting the thing. Seeing that Image it would be 911 every day for whatever fool owned the Building.

Answer 5

It has been hoped that a cable made of carbon nanotubes would be strong enough to serve as a space elevator. However, recent calculations suggest that carbon nanotube cables will not work.
In order to function, a space elevator ribbon would need to withstand at least 62 gigapascals of tension. Laboratory tests have demonstrated that flawless individual nanotubes can withstand about 100 gigapascals of tension; however, if a nanotube is missing just one carbon atom, it can reduce its strength by as much as thirty percent. Bulk materials made of many connected nanotubes are even weaker, averaging less than 1 gigapascal in strength.
It therefore appears that the defects described above would eliminate carbon nanotubes as a usable material for a space elevator cable. So much for nanotubes hope.
Keep on working scientists!!

Answer 6

The entire idea is sound and could be made with modern day technology if we pushed a few limits and took some chances.

The problem at this point, at least for NASA, is that they have an extremely restricted budget and thus they have to go with things that are a little safer and cost a lot less.

I can see that unless something else comes along, we'll see this in the future.

Hope this helps.

Buddhadan

Answer 7

Not in our lifetime.

The materials do not currently exist. Although it is possible that someday carbon nanotubes will be manufacturable in the proper lengths and form, for some time to come the cost will probably be prohibitively expensive compared to the cost of chemical rockets.

Answer 8

no