Dreaming of Space: Take a Space Elevator!

Presentation by Peter Swan, Ph.D., 21 April 2023, International Space Education Summit, sponsored by Human Space Program. Grand overview of the promise of the space elevator.

SLIDES: Dreaming-of-Space-Pete-Swan-2023-04-21.pdf [13 MB]

ABSTRACT: To paraphrase the International Space Elevator Consortium, a space elevator can be thought of as a vertical railroad into space. A tether stretches from Earth to an Apex Anchor a hundred thousand kilometers into space. Elevator cars travel up and down the tether carrying cargo and passengers to and from space. Space elevators are not science fiction; they are, in fact, the most promising space/travel-related infrastructure on the drawing boards today. This discussion will introduce space elevators, describe their design and mechanics, potential benefits, future plans and impediments. A quick update of space elevator status is descriptive when referring to the term “Modern Day Space Elevators.” This term has surfaced as the Space Elevator has matured through eight Space Elevator architectures described by David Raitt in a 2021 Quest Magazine article. As the name implies, the Modern Day Space Elevator has evolved from a dream to a scientific reality that can move us into the second phase of development (Engineering Development). This change in maturity occurred as the limiting factor of the tether material has been identified and new materials hold great possibilities. The latest idea for tether material is Single Crystal Graphene which has been shown to be strong enough and can be manufactured long enough.

The five major thrusts for the development of Modern Day Space Elevators focus on the following statements:

  • Space Elevators are ready to enter Engineering Development

  • Space Elevators are the Green Road to Space

  • Space Elevators can join advanced rockets inside a Dual Space Access Architecture

  • Space Elevators’ major strength as a permanent transportation infrastructure is its ability to move massive cargo to GEO and beyond daily, safely, inexpensively and accomplish this while being environmentally neutral (30,000 tonnes to GEO per year)

  • Space Elevators inherently have the economic strengths of strategic investment, ubiquitous access, and uninterrupted exchange of resources between the Earth’s surface through the GEO region toward CisLunar and Mars.