Can a spaceship, shuttle, or satellite shoot a cable to the earth or is there research?

now put the two things together and you have boro-diamondoid.

There is also the possibility of weight, I mean, getting it up into space, to be shot back down to earth.

200+ miles of cable, unless it is as light as silly-string, is going to be heavy.

Take 4 gauge copper wire, for example.

According to many charts, it ranges from 129lbs per 1,000 feet. to 158 lbs for 1,000 feet.

1 mile - 5,280 feet.

1 mile of 4 gauge copper (129lb weight) wire would be 681.12 lbs.

200 miles of that wire, would weight 136,224 pounds.

If I am not mistaken, tho I probably am. The space shuttle, while it was operation, had a limitation of 60,600 lbs that it could carry.

So, glad we're not trying to use 4 gauge copper wire for this..

that is why carbon nanofibers would fail (individually) to support the weight of the cable at orbital distances. but once you have lengthy fibers (a meter or several meters would do) you can wind and weave them into a "rope" that is much stronger than it's individual fibers all together.

That said even a woven cable of carbon nanofibers would not support much more than it's own weight. and even that is questionable. However the diamond fiber probably would and boron nanofibers probably would.

On the other hand you cannot just stop with the length to orbit. it would get pulled down by traffic. You need at least one and preferably 2 more cables going off a long distance from the orbital anchor in higher orbit to act as counter weight/balancers.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
You'd probably want to have it based/tethered to the Earth at the equator somewhere too.

It would make things easier but could be overcome!

originally posted by: stormbringer1701

On the other hand you cannot just stop with the length to orbit. it would get pulled down by traffic. You need at least one and preferably 2 more cables going off a long distance from the orbital anchor in higher orbit to act as counter weight/balancers.

The magic number would be 3, in a triangle.

However, the distance between the three anchor points is the question.. I'd think you'd want them spread out over a wide area, rather then all within a 50 mile radius.

Just my thoughts.

a reply to: stormbringer1701

I was thinking find the right braid for strength and a protective coating or tube over it. Even if it means the coating protects a separate material as a idea.

This looks like it might be a good place to base the space elevator...You might have to build up the island a bit though:

Baker Island /ˈbeɪkər/ is an uninhabited atoll located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean about 3,090 km (1,920 mi) southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbor is Howland Island, 42 mi (68 km) to the north-northwest; both have been territories of the United States since 1857, though the United Kingdom considered them part of the British Empire between 1897 and 1936.

Located at 0°11′41″N 176°28′46″W.[1] the island covers 2.1 km2 (0.81 sq mi),[2] with 4.8 km (3.0 mi) of coastline.[2] The climate is equatorial, with little rainfall, constant wind, and strong sunshine. The terrain is low-lying and sandy: a coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef with a depressed central area devoid of a lagoon with its highest point being 8 m (26 ft) above sea level.[2]

you know what the best thing about the nano diamond discover is?

This:

Another surprising aspect of this research is that the diamond nanothreads were quite easy to make. The scientists used a machine at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to compress a sample of benzene — a liquid that consists molecules of six carbon atoms joined in a circle, with one hydrogen atom linked to each carbon. Then, as they slowly reduced the pressure, the carbon atoms shuffled around to create a ribbon of carbon tetrahedrons — diamond nanothread. The scientists aren’t entirely sure why this happened — but it’s probably something to do with the high pressure breaking the benzene rings apart into individual carbon atoms, and then orderly polymerization (long chains) as pressure is released. Importantly, the diamond nanothreads produced in this way are two-dimensional — they’re only one molecule thick, but infinitely long.

or maybe this:

The apply-extreme-pressure-then-remove-pressure-slowly technique might work with other liquids, creating a whole new range of materials

or was it this?

these diamond nanothreads should be the strongest, stiffest material that’s conceivable within our current understanding of the universe. One of the reasons we haven’t built a space elevator yet is that we don’t really have the right materials for it — but diamond nanothread might be capable of withstanding the almost inconceivable stresses that a 60,000-mile-high structure would have to endure.

originally posted by: randomthoughts12
a reply to: stormbringer1701

I was thinking find the right braid for strength and a protective coating or tube over it. Even if it means the coating protects a separate material as a idea.

diamonds are forever. but boron is foreverer.

originally posted by: Cygnis
There is also the possibility of weight, I mean, getting it up into space, to be shot back down to earth.

200+ miles of cable, unless it is as light as silly-string, is going to be heavy.

Take 4 gauge copper wire, for example.

According to many charts, it ranges from 129lbs per 1,000 feet. to 158 lbs for 1,000 feet.

1 mile - 5,280 feet.

1 mile of 4 gauge copper (129lb weight) wire would be 681.12 lbs.

200 miles of that wire, would weight 136,224 pounds.

If I am not mistaken, tho I probably am. The space shuttle, while it was operation, had a limitation of 60,600 lbs that it could carry.

So, glad we're not trying to use 4 gauge copper wire for this..

This is where it gets tricky yes. But enough to test. Plus you could make shipments....once it it there weight in orbit is not a big factor. Unwinding it I would hope could be calculated. I was very curious though how gravity would effect as your unwinding if you get it low enough on the object in space.......Could you imagine pulling a spaceship from orbit with a rope lol...

To do it and have the cable tethered on earth, the object that's firing the cable would have to be in a geosynchronous orbit over the earth's equator. The altitude for a geosynchronous geostationary orbit is 26,199 miles. So first you'd have to find a 26,200 mile cable. I also imagine it would require a cable with an insane tensile strength.

Overcoming those two problems is not something I see happening anytime soon.


Just for emphasis, we're NOT looking at a 200 mile cable. We're looking at a 26,200 mile cable.

@randomthoughts:

geostationary yes definitely. that is one of the challenges of a space elevator in the first place. (Keeping the orbital anchor from being deorbited by the force of the traffic.) but for lower orbits... remember LEO objects are moving really really fast to stay in orbit. really fast. Sometimes 10s of thousands of miles per hour fast.

originally posted by: EternalSolace
To do it and have the cable tethered on earth, the object that's firing the cable would have to be in a geosynchronous orbit over the earth's equator. The altitude for a geosynchronous orbit is 26,199 miles. So first you'd have to find a 26,200 mile cable. I also imagine it would require a cable with an insane tensile strength.

Overcoming those two problems is not something I see happening anytime soon.


Just for emphasis, we're NOT looking at a 200 mile cable. We're looking at a 26,200 mile cable.

for the stereotypical space elevator you are right. but other concepts do not require more than a hundred or so miles. instead of a space elevator it's a space swing or catapult.

a reply to: stormbringer1701

Oh, gotcha. I've not read into space swings or such. Like you said, I was focusing solely on a space elevator or anything trying to be tethered to earth from space.

cables of any length can be manufactured from relatively short fibers so length is a matter of supply, logistics and minor engineering details.

The materials strength issue is much more difficult but it looks like we have stuff that would work once we get to a point of being able to mass produce fibers of a meter or so in length with good uniform quality.

originally posted by: stormbringer1701
diamonds are forever. but boron is foreverer.

Just remember though, borons are the gauge particle for boredom.

originally posted by: Bedlam

originally posted by: stormbringer1701
diamonds are forever. but boron is foreverer.

Just remember though, borons are the gauge particle for boredom.

lol

originally posted by: EternalSolace
To do it and have the cable tethered on earth, the object that's firing the cable would have to be in a geosynchronous orbit over the earth's equator. The altitude for a geosynchronous orbit is 26,199 miles. So first you'd have to find a 26,200 mile cable. I also imagine it would require a cable with an insane tensile strength.

Overcoming those two problems is not something I see happening anytime soon.


Just for emphasis, we're NOT looking at a 200 mile cable. We're looking at a 26,200 mile cable.

You realize that height is higher then the circumfrence of the Earth (24,901 miles), right?

The ISS is only 249 miles above us.

The Thermosphere extends to only 500 miles at the absolute tops, which puts you firmly in space, in a vacume, where you'll freeze and there is no air.

Space Wiki

26,200 miles is far beyond the commonly accepted Kármán line, which is 62 miles above us. It is defined as the "edge of space".

Even the Exosphere, which extends to 6,213 miles.. is far below your 26,200 mile statement.


Cheers!

it has to be at or pretty near the 26K mark because otherwise the orbital anchor will outpace the ground anchor and wire wrap and or face plant into the earth at 5 digit speeds. unless you invest in tons and tons of propellant in continuous use for the lifetime of the tether.