spacecraft electrical lift up around earth to geo

8/14/2019 Spacecraft Electrical Lift Up Around Earth To GEO

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Carousel Spacecraft Electrical Lift Around the Earth Up To

GEO

J. E. D. Cline1

1P O Box 9243, Glendale, CA 91226-0243, USA jed-

[email protected] http://www.kestsgeo.com

Abstract. Intended to provide new solutions to major crises upcoming

for mankind, the earth-encircling carousel form of space elevator could have

major impact on civilization. Intent is to solve crises in energy, greenhousegas, recycling of toxic and high entropy materials, sustainable space access,

and room to grow. Very unconventional to today's Aerospace and even to

anchored tether space elevators, the electrically powered and supported Carou-

sel form of space elevator would have a conceptual complexity level very

similar to the common CD drives found in today's computers. The much larger

perimeter of the Carousel, however, would resemble the 131,300 Km loop of

an Orbital Transfer Trajectory between Earths equatorial radius and GEO.

1. Intent

This is a conceptual design outlining the functional principles of a potential near-future

space access transportation system, its interface with civilization, the enabled applications in

space for the sustenance and expansion of civilization, and anticipated effect on civilization. The

introduction of a major new application set of technology needs to explore both technological

feasibility and potential impact on civilization in the environment. Intended to provide new

solutions to major crises upcoming for mankind, the earth-encircling carousel form of space

elevator could have major impact on civilization, requiring utmost of wisdom and integrity.

Intent is to solve crises in energy, greenhouse gas, recycling of toxic and high entropy materials,

sustainable space access, and room to grow.

2. Conceptual Complexity and Physical Size

Unconventional to today's Aerospace and even to anchored tether space elevators, the

Carousel form of space elevator would have a conceptual complexity level very similar to thecommon CD drives found in today's computers. Utilizing both rotary and linear synchronous

electric motor functions for supporting and servo positioning the main track structure, along with

directly lifting spacecraft vehicles up from the ground to GEO and gently returning them from

GEO to the ground while reclaiming much of the spacecrafts energy during descent, a poten-

tially very high transportation efficiency system is envisioned here.

The rather small electrical motor structure of the common CD drive does not compare

with the much larger perimeter of the Space Carousel. It would have a very much larger physical


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perimeter size, resembling the 131,300 Km eccentric loop of an Orbital Transfer Trajectory

around the planet, extending between Earths equator and up to GEO above the far side of the

planet.

3. Structural Mass Support: Primarily a Rotary Motor Function

The rotary motor function is provided by the entire hoop structure seen as a whole. The

earth-stationary part of the somewhat OTT-shaped structures weight is primarily supported by

the stored kinetic energy of electromagnetically coupled motor armature mass streams circulat-

ing within the structure, rather than being supported strictly by the molecular bonding energy of

conventional structure component materials. The armature segment mass streams coast around

the planet sliding at high velocities along magnetic levitation tracks, then are re-accelerated back

to servo-controlled velocity as they pass through the synchronous mass drivers in the earth sur-

face terminal site. Such a site might be within an equatorial-aligned tunnel in the Andes moun-

tains. The mass stream velocity is chosen to be sufficiently faster than orbital transfer velocity so

that their resultant outward centrifugal force slightly more than offsets the force of gravity on the

stator structure with its loads, to provide an overall tensile upward stress on the structure.

4. Spacecraft Lift to GEO: Servoed Linear Motor Function

The servoed linear motor function would be utilized by the mass stream electrodynamic

inductive drag lifting of the spacecraft up along the carousel structure from the ground up to

GEO, and gently return back to the ground while reclaiming much of the spacecrafts mass de-

scending energy.

Additionally, the upward-motion sides of the contra-rotating armature mass streams would

be laterally distributed within the cross-section of the structure. Servo controlled differential

electrodynamic drag among the mass streams would provide some lateral differential twist to

compensate for wind and other lateral forces on the structure.

Figure 1. Sliding armature segment energy-momentum transfer along a curved track structure

Armature Segment

Sliding Track Track experiences upward thrust

while armature segment experi-

ences downward thrust


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Figure 2. Armature mass rapidly circulating around the planet electr0odynamically drags

spacecraft up to GEO.

5. The Earth Surface Terminal Site

For example, a ground terminal site built within an east-west tunnel through the Ecadorian

Andes mountains, would enclose a hard vacuum facility. This facility primarily contains the

synchronous mass drivers that replenish the kinetic energy of each armature segment after it has

coasted around the planet along the structures maglev track system, and provides the optimum

exit velocity vector as it exits into the hard vacuum enclosing tubing containing the magnetic

levitation tracks. The mass drivers have the mass of the earth to thrust against as they acceleratethe armature mass streams down through the tunnel along the maglev tracks. The tubing en-

closes a hard vacuum environment, protecting the meteroric velocity armatures from contact

with the air in the atmospheric portion of the path around the planet. The armature mass streams

are paired as contra-rotating sets, to cope with their gyroscopic precession as the planet rotates.

The path of the armature segments take a cycloidal shape, as they follow the planetary rotation

as they also rotate around the planet.

Dots represent armature

se ments mass stream

Spacecraft being raised

by Escalator Carousel

Spacecraft being lowered

by Escalator Carousel

Earths equator

Geostationary Earth Orbit

Synchronous mass driver for

armature mass stream

Space Escalator Carousel

motor structure


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6. Electrical High Lift Efficiency Would Enable Valuable Applications

A proposed new transportation system needs to provide initial vision as to what possi-

bilities it would allow. Since the electrical equivalent of the energy that is given to a mass by

moving it from the equatorial surface up to GEO is only 15.7 KWh/Kg, an electrically powered

2 Escalator Carousel

7 Mass spec recycler

1 Earths equator

8 Shielded habitat

6 Microwave beam

5 SSPS

4 GEO Spaceport

3 Captive spacecraft

9 GEO

10 Ground terminal

11 GEO terminal

1

3

4

2

3

3

6

6

5

8

7

5

9 10

11

Figure 3. Overall shape of the transportation structure around the Earth,

along with some of its important applications it could enable construction in GEO


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transportation system functioning with an order of magnitude of that value, seems likely to allow

applications such as these:

Construction of adequate Satellite Solar Power Stations in GEO to cleanly powerworldwide civilization worldwide, dropping CO2 accumulation.

Construction of large scale solar powered mass-spectrometer type total recycling plantsin GEO to change toxic or entropicaly amalgamated waste materials back to useful

forms. Provide economical lift of those materials between the ground and the plants in

GEO.

Shift all spaceport reaction engined vehicle launch facilities up to GEO, electrical lift tostart journeys already 91% up out of earths gravitational energy well, making entirely

new kinds of space ventures possible.

Construction of prototypes of passively shielded Stanford Torus type, 10,000 personeach, comfortable space habitats in GEO.

7. Utilizing Low Density Construction to Minimize Catastrophic Damage

Design of the carousel type space elevator might incorporate low density components to

control potential damage to other structures. For example, in case of uncontrolled catastrophic

collapse of the transportation structure, when impacting the Earths atmosphere, wide dispersion

of mass within the cross section of the structure could enable disintegration higher in the atmos-

phere, minimizing damage to the earths surface.

8. Scaling of Structure Up to Operational Capacity Size

The design needs to provide for bootstrap scaling of the structure up to full capacity girth,

starting from the millimeter-girth needed for relatively low cost and risk during emplacementtries of the "seed" structure, and for the eventual orderly dismantlement and component recy-

cling of the original structure; for the the ground-coupled push on a full ring of GEO space habi-

tats to prevent orbital decay collapse.

9. Future Work

Next stages of this project ideally would form a multi-faceted approach. A very wide range of

topics need to be addressed. These include, in part:

Mathematical modeling of the overall transportation system, synchronous with earthsrotation. Provision to deliver thrust to massive structures it enables built in GEO, so as

to offset their long term orbital decay, as part of the overall model, as well as the servo-positioned transportation function..

R & D on the basic armature mass stream technique for transferring energy and mo-mentum along inductive magnetic levitation tracks, with the synchronous armature

segments sliding along in a hard vacuum provided by the structure at velocities between

10 and 40 Km/s.


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Prepare for practice with earth-encircling emplacement techniques for the counter rotat-ing millimeter-cross-section seed structures. later versions would be designed for being

scaleable up to commercially successful transportation capacity size.

A side project to put a prototype 1,000 person toroidal rotating habitat in upper LEO, todo real R&D on site in preparation for self-sufficient larger Stanford Torus type cities

in space, the small proto being lifted by unmanned dual reusable tug vehicles which se-

quentially emplace, into a ring form, the wet launched prefab habitat modules designed

to serve as their own fuel tanks during launch.

Explore ways to deal with lack of acceptance by the present business system. Empha-size the opportunities it would create for them, such as providing electrical power for

all nations, total recycling of their worst waste products, spaceport facilities high in

GEO, and options for passively shielded large scale living space built in GEO.

Grants for these projects, along with a grant for the authors more effective contributions,

would hasten this project along in a timely fashion.

10. Conclusions

Given wholesome adequate means for human coping with stress of change during the de-

velopment, construction and application of a carousel space elevator project with its enabled

applications, this system surely could provide wholesome new direction to the vigorous drama of

people in the flow of civilization to increase the survivability of all, in the race for completion

and application before exhaustion of petrochemical energy supplies.

References

Clarke, Arthur C., The Exploration of Space, Cardinal edition June 1954.

Cline, J E D (JEDCLINE1), ENERGY/TRANSPORT SYSTEM, GEnie Space Library file

#563, 1988 (http://www.kestsgeo.com/pages/geniefiles/g563.html)Cline, J.E. David, Treehouse Haven, Meditation Magazine, 1989

Cline, James E. D. (JEDCLINE1), LONGTRANS 2, GEnie Space Library file #927, 1989

(www.kestsgeo.com/pages/geniefiles/g927.html)

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www.kestsgeo.com/pages/cobetse.html

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spacecraft electrical lift up around earth to geo

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