“The manufacture of tether-quality material for a space elevator still needs more development, but the trajectory to a high-quality industrial product is clear. It is not unreasonable to think that, as this graphene process continues apace, space elevator tether production could begin in 5 to 10 years using graphene as its material.” — “The Right Stuff,” Spaceflight, June, 2023. See also our web page on Space Elevator Tether Materials: The Crux of the Matter.

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Our vision: Space Elevators are the Green Road to Space while they enable humanity's most important missions by moving massive tonnage to GEO and beyond. They accomplish this safely, routinely, inexpensively, and daily; they are environmentally neutral.

 

“Space Elevators are the Green Road to Space” and “Space Elevators are the Transportation Story of the 21st Century” are the last two studies with focus on heavy cargo movement to GEO and the planets, in a green manner.  

 

Frequently asked questions: which materials, what is a space elevator, what is its history and more.

 

Over 700 references and citations covering the full spectrum of space elevators.

Galactic Harbours will Unify Transportation and Enterprise.The Galactic Harbour will be the volume encompassing the Earth Port and stretching up in a series of cylinders to include two tethers and the region just beyond the Apex Anchors.In summary, …

Galactic Harbours will Unify Transportation and Enterprise.

The Galactic Harbour will be the volume encompassing the Earth Port and stretching up in a series of cylinders to include two tethers and the region just beyond the Apex Anchors. Larger image.

In summary, customer product/payloads will enter the Galactic Harbour at the Earth Port and exit at some point along the tether. Along the way, there will be tremendous enterprise development such as easy assembly at GEO, refueling operational satellites and construction, among other things, and release from the Apex Anchor for trips to interplanetary destinations.

Note from the ISEC CHIEF ARCHITECT: ELEVATE - 2024

Space elevators position humanity to address Earth’s challenges from a new vantage point.  We are on the brink of transforming our relationship with space, offering an eco-friendly, cost-effective, and efficient logistics method to transport large cargoes into space.  This gateway will provide unparalleled opportunities in space exploration, resource utilization, and satellite assembly.   Starting in the late 2030s, space elevator infrastructures will deliver satellites and other payloads to GEO, the Moon and Mars at the rate of 30,000 tonnes, every year. This surpasses the total launched between 1957 and 2022. Indeed – a seismic shift! By harnessing electricity for lift, each space elevator promises daily deliveries of up to 14 tonnes to geostationary orbit (GEO), dramatically reducing the environmental impact as compared to rocket launches. Space elevator designs have an unmatched 70% pad mass to GEO efficiency, as compared to only 2% for rockets. They have the potential to unlock solutions to Earth's most pressing challenges such as harvesting solar power from space, climate monitoring, and global communication networks.  As humanity stands on the cusp of this new era, these ribbons from ocean to space offer the promise of making space accessible to all, fostering global cooperation, positioning humanity to address Earth's challenges, and inspiring a sustainable future for our planet.

Peter Swan, Ph.D.
FBIS, FAIAA, MIAA
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