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

Has anyone done this or ran simulations?

Take a spaceship, shuttle or satellite and shoot a thin cable, wire to earth from orbit. I am curious as if this is possible for test purposes and results. I would imagine ideas like this have been done or are out there. I also have more to add but need someone to point me in a better direction. Or is there nothing imaginable that could make this work yet even a dangle?

Not thinking further into functioning something like a space elevator....I am wondering some results of experimenting this way. Mainly some of these below.

-Could you shoot something to earth all the way to the ground giving the implications.
-wire size and strength, weather, orbit and stability?
-If you could what could the result be of attaching the ship to the earth in some way.
-Orbit problems, attaching slack or orbit to little slack, weather readings and issues?
-What would or could the rotation of the earth have if you could attach it?
-What would gravity do if you dangle the wire?

Again save the functioning part for another day I think. Unless this is further along than I thought.

a reply to: randomthoughts12

this is referred to as a "SKYHOOK" or space elevator it was a popular idea in the 60's and 70's

Skyhooks!

a reply to: randomthoughts12

It is actually a fascinating subject.
I would think that the stress forces in the cable, if extended from say 200 miles up to Earth would be enormous. It certainly could not free-fall, as it would wind up like space junk. I also imagine you would have to synch your speed and direction with a spot on Earth, and this would be tricky while still being able to maintain orbit altitude.

There are some on here that know a lot more about orbital velocity than I do... Would like to hear more.

BTW: SkyHook was more like science fiction, but a great idea and a lot of theoretical papers. They did not have the equipment to test any of those theories of operation at the time.

I think they experimented with a tether on the ISS. It got super charged and exploded or something. If I remember correctly they were looking into using the concept as an energy source: Just extend a cable out while in orbit and have it get charged with energy.

I think thats a huge issue. The heat as well as the charge that builds up are greater than current material science can overcome. It would all still be going really fast to stay in orbit.

a reply to: tadaman

Not to mention a whole host of other issues, like the required tensile strength, flexibility, etc. And then there's the cost to build and manufacture such a specialty material in the size and length necessary.

a reply to: charlyv

Thank you this is some of the same things that have came to mind for me as well. I am trying to get more research in the best I can. I already have some good directions now

James Oberg has research in this area. Perhaps he can comment.

a reply to: tadaman

Awesome info I will look into it. I stopped myself when I started thinking about any uses. There was way to many ideas so I started back at the idea at hand.

I would think yes temperature and charge would be two big factors to overcome. Material cost and length as well. You would have to find the right material and take baby steps most likely. I would imagine if they started some tests may be on the table still.

borophene has the strength required to hold together. but borophene is where graphene and carbon nanotubes were a few decades ago. that is not mass produceable, not quality controllable, not able to form long tubes or skeins. if those problems are worked out we will be able to at last make space elevator cable of the requisite length, diameter and strength.

www.nanowerk.com...=42160.php

Based on theoretical predictions of borophene’s characteristics, the researchers also noticed that it likely has a higher tensile strength than any other known material. Tensile strength refers to the ability of a material to resist breaking when it is pulled apart. “Other two-dimensional materials have been known to have high tensile strength, but this could be the strongest material we’ve found yet,” Guisinger said.

It is much stronger than carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotubes (though strong) do not by themselves possess the strength needed for an orbit to ground elevator cable. it may be possible to structurally engineer a configuration of carbon nanotubes that could do it but at present the knowledge and engineering for it do not exist. carbon nanotube manufacturing has advanced to the point where a meter long fiber can be produced though I do not know if that means they can be mass produced at that length yet.

Borophene may in fact be strong enough once we can reliably make fibers equivalent in length and quality to present day carbon nanotube state of the art.

a reply to: Inannamute

Yes the problems that would come with this are immense. However these can be overcame if not yet. This is also why I said simulations. Until you can find a material worth using simulate the hell out of it and run tests in the meantime.

a reply to: stormbringer1701

Wow so see now things are opening up and I am realizing how far along some of the concepts are even and how hard it must be.

originally posted by: randomthoughts12
a reply to: stormbringer1701

Wow so see now things are opening up and I am realizing how far along some of the concepts are even and how hard it must be.

there have also been articles on another form of carbon material that is stronger than standard carbon naotubes because the material is diamond sheets or ropes.

a reply to: stormbringer1701

Link broken, works as: Borophene

Cool stuff. Wonder if it acts like a giant bungee !

It's feasible. But today's technology, unless there's something underwraps, isn't quite up to doing it, as I understand it.

It'd certainly be cool. Take an elevator to a launch platform in orbit, and away you go.

Also you need to know not all skyhooks are orbit to ground elevator cables.

one concept is a cable that reaches down into the upper atmosphere or sub orbital altitude. a vehicle that gets that far is snagged and swung upward to achieve orbit or be ejected out of earth orbital space. the cable therefor does not have to be able to counter the force of gravity for the much longer cable length mass needed for an actual space elevator.

If i recall correctly another skyhook concept involves a "mothership" at suborbital altitude or lower that uses a shorter cable to catapult another craft or payload into LEO.

originally posted by: charlyv
a reply to: stormbringer1701

Link broken, works as: Borophene

Cool stuff. Wonder if it acts like a giant bungee !

Not really sure why my link does not work right but thanks for the assist.

You'd probably want to have it based/tethered to the Earth at the equator somewhere too.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Near the Equator, and high altitude, too, would help.

Robert Heinlein wrote a book titled Friday. The heroine, named Friday, used a skyhook to orbiting habitats. These were at altitude in Quito, and Nairobi (I think...), both of which are at altitude, or very near the equator. Heinlein was pretty sharp with his science...

Great book, which is apropos of little, but it sounded good in my head...

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

That is a good point. I wonder that if it was pinned at any other latitude that the whip end would seek being over the equator. Kind of keeps the US out of that anchor!

www.extremetech.com...

In this case, Penn State University researchers have created long threads of tetrahedral carbon — individual molecules of diamond, if you will. “It is as if an incredible jeweler has strung together the smallest possible diamonds into a long miniature necklace,” says John Badding, who led the research. These diamond nanothreads should have even greater strength and stiffness than carbon nanotubes (which are already one of the strongest and lightest materials in the world) and advanced polymers (such as Kevlar or Vectran). It actually sounds like the Penn State researchers haven’t physically tested their diamond nanothreads yet — they probably don’t have enough of them to test — but theoretical maths are pretty solid when it comes to materials science.