Space elevators have long been a staple of science fiction. Now, scientists in Japan will test space-elevator tech from the
International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Posted on 09/10/2018 11:11:18 AM PDT by ETL
The push for a space elevator took a step forward this week when a team of researchers from Shizuoka University in Japan announced that they will launch an experiment to the International Space Station next week.
In the experiment, which will be the first of its kind in space, two ultrasmall cubic satellites, or "cubesats," will be released into space from the station. They will be connected by a steel cable, where a small container — acting like an elevator car — will move along the cable using its own motor. A camera attached to the satellites will record the movements of the container in space, according to the Japanese newspaper The Mainichi.
Each cubesat measures just under 4 inches (10 centimeters) on each side. The cubesats will be connected by a 33-foot-long (10 meters) steel cable for the "elevator car" to move along, according to the report.
The materials for the experiment, which was developed by researchers at the Shizuoka University Faculty of Engineering, will launch to the space station Monday (Sept. 10) on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's next Kounotori cargo ship, H-IIB Vehicle No. 7. It is scheduled to launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan's Kagoshima prefecture at 6:32 p.m. EDT (2232 GMT) on Monday, though it will be early Tuesday morning (Sept. 11) local time at the launch site.
Engineers have been dreaming of a space elevator for decades.
In 2012, Tokyo-based Obayashi Corp. announced plans to build a space elevator by 2050. The concept has also caught the attention of Google X, Google's division for big ideas, in the past, as well as an X Prize competition. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a division of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., also announced last year that it plans to have an operational space-elevator system by 2045.
While experiments to extend a cable in space have been conducted before, the new Japanese experiment will be the first test to move a car-like container on a cable in space. If the experiment is successful, it could significantly boost interest in the space-elevator transportation system, a concept that many people still doubt is plausible.
Although the space-elevator concept was once thought to be the stuff of science fiction, some aerospace engineers believe the idea is essential to the future of space exploration as an alternative to building ever-larger rockets;in terms of payload, rocket power has more or less reached its limitations.
The cost of moving people and materials into Earth orbit would be dramatically reduced, thus enabling the construction of larger space stations and a lunar base, and even helping to serve as a starting point for a crewed Mars mission, space-elevator advocates have said.
"In theory, a space elevator is highly plausible," Yoji Ishikawa, leader of the new experiment's research team, told The Mainichi. "Space travel may become something popular in the future."
Obayashi Corp. estimates the total cost of a fully functional, first-generation space elevator to be 10 trillion yen (about $90 billion) — almost the same as that for the maglev train project connecting Tokyo and Osaka.
The Shizuoka University team's space-elevator experiment comes on the heels of the International Space Elevator Consortium's (ISEC) 2018 Space Elevator Conference in Seattle last month, where dedicated scientists, engineers and invited speakers gathered to discuss the latest developments, share new ideas and scrutinize new concepts for the novel space technology.
I read an article about those cubesats a year or so ago. Pretty amazing concept. They could end up applying something akin to Moore’s law to satellites.
I thought the Space Elevator was a plot device on the old Lost In Space series?
They need advances in cable material for a real space elevator to work, but it will be pretty cool when they have one working.
Another brilliant idea from Arthur C Clarke.
The communication satellite worked so well.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” - Authur C Clark
I’m confused. Doesn’t that mean if the earth side part of the elevator is fixed the satellite would have to be in a geosynchronous orbit? If the earth side part is not fixed wouldn’t it drag on every high feature in its path?
I predict that thing will become the biggest lightning rod of all time.
Guaranteed failure.
A cable from the surface of the Earth to a satellite. I’m sure the engineers have calculated the stress that would be on the cable due to gravity, and the weight of the cable itself, plus the effect of winds and the movement of the cable through the atmosphere because it is being dragged by the rotating Earth to which it is attached. Also, they will have carefully considered all possible scenarios in which something can go wrong and have assured themselves that the humans in the space station are not in danger when the cable snaps or a plane flies into it or a hurricane or a tornado whips it around or lightning hits it.
Engineers think of everything, and they never create structures that collapse.
“I predict that thing will become the biggest lightning rod of all time”.
Space lightning? I’d never heard of it.
Stratosphere...linens, cookware, glasses & underwear.
They might want to review the TSS program (Tethered Satellite System). Didn’t work out so well for them.
I've heard of "Rods from God", but this would be a "Flail from Hell" ...
Cable strength is only one of the problems.
Questions of mass transfer, the balancing of the
mass of the elevator as it starts its climb to when
it reaches the mid-point of the cable and begins to
shift it’s mass to the station are probably a subject
discussed by the engineers.
One Doctor in a Bonanza and you’re screwed.
Yes to both. The space terminus would be in geosynchronous orbit.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.