Questions tagged [space-elevator]
Questions about a hypothetical transportation system between Earth and space that would not require large rockets to transport payloads.
79 questions
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Why is using a space elevator cheaper than rocket power?
Why is rocket power so much less efficient? In both cases you want to lift a given weight a certain height. What does climbing a tether give you that you don't have when using rockets? Wouldn't a ...
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What technological barriers do we need to overcome to build a space elevator?
The concept of a space elevator unfortunately still seems like one confined to fiction, at least for now. However, I've heard some sources claim that carbon nanotubes could be the first material ...
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If we build a space elevator from Earth surface to GEO, could I step off it at GEO and remain in GEO?
Ignore for a moment the question of whether building such a space elevator is practical. Let's also ignore the minute delta-v involved in "stepping off" something in orbit. If we were to build a ...
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Could a partial space elevator be practical and useful?
Would it be technologically and economically practical to build and operate a space elevator that only provided transport between lower and higher orbital paths? Such a mechanism would only avoid some ...
user56
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Why isn't it possible to build a space elevator at the north pole?
Why isn't it possible to build a space elevator at the north pole? Why does it have to be built on the equator?
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What's the path of something dropped from a space elevator
What sort of paths would payloads follow after being released from a space elevator such as the one described in Clarke's Fountains of Paradise?
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Why can't they just drop a solar winch down from a shuttle and have planes fly up and clip things on?
Why can't they just drop a solar winch down from a shuttle and have planes fly up and clip things on? I know of the idea to have a space lift but the cable necessary is too expensive. Why can't we ...
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Would reusable rockets render the idea of space elevators useless? [closed]
With the expected advances in reusable rocket technology within the next decade, will constructing a space elevator become meaningless? Or will it still be way cheaper, safer and convenient to use ...
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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 ...
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Between a space elevator on Mars versus the Moon, which would have lower material strength requirement?
On one hand, the Moon has lower gravity, and the gravity from Earth also reduces the distance the it has to span. This is particularly true for EML-1, and a little less so for EML-2. I don't know if ...
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Why does the material for space elevators have to be really strong?
If the space elevator platform (The very top) is orbiting a planet in a geosynchronous orbit, wouldn't the forces on the elevator "rope" be minimal?
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How long would it take to ride to the top of a space elevator?
The question What is a “space elevator”? describes two key points about the length of a space elevator: equatorial geosynchronous orbit at 22,245 miles (35,800 km) above mean sea level, and an ...
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Space Elevator Between Doubly-Tidally Locked Bodies
Space elevators may be a reality only in the future, but I know we have the basic principles down pat. Something has been bugging me, though. If we had the proper materials, we could build such an ...
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Reverse Lunar Space Elevator
The possibility of a space elevator from the lunar surface is discussed in this question. A lunar elevator for the purpose of return to Earth could be achieved at the L1 Lagrange Point between Earth ...
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Would Starship be able to lift mass to orbit (both low and geo-stationary) cheaper than "any" space elevator?
A comment to an answer to a question about Mars missions stated that using Starship to launch mass to orbit would be cheaper than a space elevator. I didn't imagine that. I know that space elevators ...
