The Space Elevator is Feasible

By | December 1, 2009
3 Comments

That according to Sander Olson’s interview of space elevator expert Dr. Brad Edwards (H/T Brian Wang). Highlights of the interview:

Small quantities of some nanotubes have been made that are sufficiently strong to be used in a space elevator. We would obviously need to produce hundreds of tons of such nanotubes to build a space elevator. With sufficient funding, we could create a nanotube-based material appropriate for a space elevator within a couple of years.

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Nanotubes of lengths up to an inch can already be created. These materials can be bundled together to form arbitrarily long lengths of cable that would be appropriate for a space elevator. So the primary problems at this point are not technical but rather economic and political.

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For a 20 ton climber, a 20 megawatt laser would be needed. Boeing has already demonstrated thin-disk solid state lasers that are 50% efficient, and Boeing is capable of bundling these lasers together to create a megawatt laser today. So by employing 20 of those megawatt lasers in concert we would have the requisite laser power.

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The initial stage would require 4 launches of a heavy lift, Saturn V class rocket. After that it would take several years of sending up climbers. The initial rocket launches would put up two 10 centimeter ribbons. The climbers would attach additional ribbons, like a spider spinning its web. There are scenarios for 8 launches, but the general concept is similar.

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The entire process of building and deploying could be done within a decade. Initial estimates are that it would cost $10 billion to build. Even assuming cost overruns and delays, the project could be built in a dozen years for not more than $20 billion.

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Given sufficient funding, I am confident that the space elevator could be up and running within 15 years. There are no insurmountable technical issues to the concept. The show stoppers at this point are funding and support. This is unfortunate given that the space elevator has the potential to reduce the cost of getting to orbit to perhaps $20 per pound, including human passengers. The space elevator, more than any other project or concept, has the capacity to quickly open up the field of space and create a massive space-based industry.

  • https://blog.speculist.com Phil Bowermaster

    NASA needs to scrap its current rocket debates and get full-bore behind this idea. We need big earth-launched rockets to construct space elevators – they need to get going with the new Saturn V. Long term moon settlement and planetary exploration should all be predicated on getting the space elevator going.

  • Steve Gall

    The biggest unsolved problem, as I understand it, is the flexing and waving of the cable itself once in place, creating an unstable platform for the climber. How is this issue being addressed?

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  • MikeD

    Have you seen how much money is allocated in the Stimulus bill for NASA to build space-taxi to International Space Station? I say put that money into the elevator project and use ISS as counterweight. Let’s get on with it!

    Not only would we have a space elevator as a primary goal, but the secondary results of new technologies would likely be worth as much as the elevator itself. I’d like to be able to go to Home Depot/Lowes and purchase 100′ of nanotube – might sound laughable now, but once we have contractors tooling up to make miles of it, a few extra feet should be easy. Well, maybe it won’t be available at the hardware store – I just remembered what happened in Niven’s Ringworld when that stuff starts cutting through normal materials :)