3 ms·

A space elevator seems like a much better concept for the Moon. If we could make a permanent Moon base with a space elevator, then it would be possible to use m

A space elevator seems like a much better concept for the Moon. If we could make a permanent Moon base with a space elevator, then it would be possible to use materials from the Moon to assemble things in orbit. Such a base would make it possible to start exploring the rest of the Solar system in earnest.

rbanffy 8y ago
Launching from the Moon is cheap - magnetic rail and solar power can do the job and cut the need for propellant significantly and there is water enough to make e lot of propellant for delta-v's you'll need. With all that slack, we can relax a bit with mass and use simpler techniques to build ships. A lot of 3D printing and automated manufacturing. On the not-so-bright side, we'll have to develop new metallurgy and other industrial processes based on local chemistry. Where would the counterweight have to be for one end to be in high Earth atmosphere, balancing atmospheric drag with lift and gravity? My math tells me the end would be traveling at a relatively tame 260 kph.
kurthr 8y ago
Putting an elevator (or more likely a sky hook) at a lunar Langrange point makes some sense, because the tether doesn't have to reach the entire distance if we allow for 0.2km/sec injection/drop-off speeds. That's important, because lunar elevator/hooks are much longer than earth based equivalents, even though their strength and taper ratios are much more achievable (e.g. polyethylene 4:1). You'd want to keep launched weight for the tether as low as possible. A huge advantage is that a hook at the far lunar Lagrange 2 would be very close to escape velocity (e.g. asteroids or GEO). http://hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2016/08/lunar-sky-hook.html http://hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2016/08/lunar-sky-hook.html http://hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2015/05/eml2.html http://hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2015/05/eml2.html

rbanffy 8y ago

Launching from the Moon is cheap - magnetic rail and solar power can do the job and cut the need for propellant significantly and there is water enough to make e lot of propellant for delta-v's you'll need. With all that slack, we can relax a bit with mass and use simpler techniques to build ships. A lot of 3D printing and automated manufacturing. On the not-so-bright side, we'll have to develop new metallurgy and other industrial processes based on local chemistry. Where would the counterweight have to be for one end to be in high Earth atmosphere, balancing atmospheric drag with lift and gravity? My math tells me the end would be traveling at a relatively tame 260 kph.

kurthr 8y ago

Putting an elevator (or more likely a sky hook) at a lunar Langrange point makes some sense, because the tether doesn't have to reach the entire distance if we allow for 0.2km/sec injection/drop-off speeds. That's important, because lunar elevator/hooks are much longer than earth based equivalents, even though their strength and taper ratios are much more achievable (e.g. polyethylene 4:1). You'd want to keep launched weight for the tether as low as possible. A huge advantage is that a hook at the far lunar Lagrange 2 would be very close to escape velocity (e.g. asteroids or GEO). http://hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2016/08/lunar-sky-hook.html http://hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2016/08/lunar-sky-hook.html http://hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2015/05/eml2.html http://hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2015/05/eml2.html