Lagrangian elevator to the Moon-Is it possible?

This isn't an article, just a video of a Space elevator as it makes its round(s) between LEO and the Moon. Interestingly, the Bigelow inflate-able Pods are featured as the Docking habitat/ port in LEO for the elevator. I think this may be nothing more than a presentation video but interesting, nonetheless. What say you, ATS?

www.space.com...

reply to post by lostbook


Seems like a bad idea.... but then again strapping humans/cargo to a towering bomb (rocket) and blasting into space at thousands of miles per hour didn't sound safe decades ago either. Only problem I see with an elevator is space debris, and it becoming "space debris" if the tether snaps, or somehow dislodges from the moon, or pulls the satellite out of its orbit, then we have a really really really big sledgehammer knocking out our sats.

SixX18
reply to post by lostbook

 

Seems like a bad idea.... but then again strapping humans/cargo to a towering bomb (rocket) and blasting into space at thousands of miles per hour didn't sound safe decades ago either. Only problem I see with an elevator is space debris, and it becoming "space debris" if the tether snaps, or somehow dislodges from the moon, or pulls the satellite out of its orbit, then we have a really really really big sledgehammer knocking out our sats.

I think as long as the port for the elevator remains in the Lagrange point( L3), it should stay stationary as long as it's not moved out of its orbit. Maybe some of the real scientists here on ATS know the answer for sure.

reply to post by lostbook


I love the space elevator idea. It takes a lot of material though (carbon nanostructures), the mass manufacturing of which is not yet ironed out.

Not feasible at least for 100-200 years more.

Nanocarbon still in infancy. Have you seen the nanocarbon car ? looks awes...not exist yet, wait until its common and easy to produce, we dont want to put trillion dollar nanocarbon factory in space and get destroyed by debris, right ?

Space rocks may destroy it, rock, electromagnets, comets, asteroid etc, all this just whoosh and we need to rebuild it - again and again.

Gravity tug, moon might pull the satellite closer, which will reduce the tension and its pretty hard to maintain uniform tension while in operation.

If the cable snap, thats might be a problem for passing shuttle, need somehow to roll it, and the elevator probably gone.

Weight, while calculation can be done, its hard because the gravity will be bigger each time elevator reach surface, the nanocarbon weight also a problem - try multiply it with the distance, you still get big weight there. The satellite weight also might pose a problem to the cable, its a static slingshot high tension directed at earth. Snap and we probably see cities burnt.

Cost, all country currently in debt, who gonna pay ?

So...lets us just build another 2 or 3 or 4 space station first before this, OK ? (maintaining 1 is already pain in the ...)

reply to post by lostbook


not gonna happen, and seeing as its relatively hard to drill something into a dust ball, akin to nailing jello to a wall. first the moon is running away at .15 in a year or so,at the same time slowing down our rotation, the earth spins faster than the moons orbit, so you could A. slow down the moon, causing it to fall to earth or B slow down the earth changing the length of a day, while slowly increasing the amount of gravity exerted on us.

The electrical potential between the surface of the earth and space is quite high. Any space elevator will serve as a ground wire: ZAP! It's not feasible, not ever.

reply to post by SixX18


"but then again strapping humans/cargo to a towering bomb (rocket) and blasting into space at thousands of miles per hour didn't sound safe decades ago either"

Truth be told it's not that safe in this day of age!

Seems only logical that we should probably consider building a Space elevator from Earth to low Earth orbit before attempting to build one to the moon.

en.wikipedia.org...

www.extremetech.com...