As If Space Elevators Aren't Cool Enough, They Might Fix Themselves, Too

[Judi Lynn]

By Charles Q. Choi, Space.com Contributor | October 26, 2018 04:02pm ET

Space elevators to ferry passengers and cargo to and from orbit could be built using existing materials, if the technology takes inspiration from biology to fix itself when needed, a new study finds.

In theory, a space elevator consists of a cable or bundle of cables that extend thousands of miles to a counterweight in space. The rotation of the Earth would keep the cable taut, and climber vehicles would zip up and down the cable at the speed of a train.

The ride up a space elevator would likely take days. However, once a space elevator is built, a trip to space on the technology could be far cheaper and safer than on a rocket. Space-elevator technology is now getting tested in real life in the Japanese STARS-Me experiment (short for Space Tethered Autonomous Robotic Satellite-Mini Elevator), which arrived at the International Space Station on Sept. 27 aboard Japan's robotic HTV-7 cargo spacecraft.

The concept of the beanstalk-like elevator to space dates back to an 1895 "thought experiment" from Russian space pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Since then, such "megastructures" have often shown up in science fiction. The key problem in creating space elevators is building a cable strong enough to withstand the extraordinary forces it would encounter. ['Pillar to the Sky': A Space Elevator Q&A with Author William Forstchen]

More:
https://www.space.com/42267-space-elevators-that-heal-biology-inspiration.html?utm_source=notification

[lapfog_1]

1. I just finished reading this not too long ago...

https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/14680/3-Challenges-for-Engineering-A-Space-Elevator.aspx

[krispos42]

2. They would have to build linear accelerators above the atmosphere...

... to actually it things in orbit. Otherwise things you bring up there won't stay up there. The tether's rotational velocity would be way too slow for thousands of miles. Anything you detach would simply fall down.

Only at the center of gravity is there orbital velocity. At 500 miles up, the rotational speed of the tether would be a little more than Mach 2, but orbital velocity is Mach 25.

But build some accelerators, and you can raise a payload up to the right altitude, then just kick it forward to the required velocity.

[caraher]

3. True, but geostationary orbit is a useful place for a hub

What I don't like about the article is that the discussion about self-repair mechanisms leaves unanswered the obvious question: is there a plausible proposal out there for self-repair technology of the kind required?

[denbot]

4. There is already too much space debris orbiting the planet.

A 15mm bolt hitting a cable at 15,000 mph would cause a tremendous amount of damage.