All Questions
Tagged with space-elevatorlaunch
5 questions
5votes
1answer
319views
Rotovators and booster recovery: is there a free lunch here?
Rotovators have the big advantage that they don't have as much force on them as a full space elevator and thus can be constructed without such incredibly strong materials. The big downside is that ...
- 11.8k
0votes
1answer
822views
Could a space winch work?
Could you have a large winch in space with a cable hanging down, say, 60 kilometers, connected to a floating station floated by helium? The payload could be floated up by balloons, which would then ...
2votes
3answers
758views
Could pull from a space elevator be used to assist a rocket launch?
Well, more specifically, using a counterweight like you'd find in a non-space elevator to give the rocket a little acceleration before firing up and spending all that fuel-to-lift-the-fuel-to-lift-the-...
14votes
4answers
2kviews
What is a "space elevator"?
I've seen an hypothetical "Space elevator" referenced in various media the last couple of years. Is this something thats really planned in the making, or just a hypothetical scenario? How will a space ...
- 517
6votes
2answers
1kviews
Can a "free launch" from a space elevator really be free?
The question Benefit of sling shot effect with a space elevator implies that you can get free $\Delta V$ from a space elevator launch. As highlighted in this answer on SciFi quoting Sheffield book "...
- 27.2k
