I’ve been reading about this subject but I find it difficult to understand because of the large amount of opinions out there about how it would work and why we aren’t building it right now if our actual technology is enough to do it, also because it would be a way to get rid of greenhouse gases apart from the different applications to our plans to space exploration.
In: Engineering
As you go to a higher orbit, the orbital speed decreases, and the distance travelled increases. As a result the orbital period increases. At 35,786 km it is exactly 24 hours. So a satellite above the equator remains fixed above a certain spot.
Start spooling cables both up and down, and the lower cable isn’t quit moving at orbital velocity for it’s altitude, pulling the satellite down, while the higher cable is slightly exceeding orbital velocity and pulls the satellite up. Do it right and this cancels out.
Bring a long enough cable and the bottom touches down on the equator. Fix it securely and spool a bit more out at the top, and the cable will try and pull off from the ground. It can now lift something.
Attach a solar powered lift and you can ride it for 35,786 km all the way to geostationary orbit.
Currently we haven’t got a cable strong and light enough to be 100km long without snapping under it’s own weight. Also putting 70,000km of cable into geostationary orbit is well beyond any rocket we have. Also all countries on the equator are not places you’d want to leave trillions of dollars of infrastructure.
Latest Answers