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Japan starts space elevator experiments

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Re: Japan starts space elevator experiments

#81

Post by DoreenMichele »

mipmap04 wrote: post #72
DoreenMichele wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if they want this to be a fancy burial service where we slingshot your corpse into space for kicks.

I don't doubt there's a market for that service.

Yes, but it's a completely different market from folks desiring a space elevator.

Also, it makes the need for muzak nonexistant because all your passengers are dead and can't hear it anyway. Seems to me that defeats the purpose of trying to time the trip to coincide with the length of a particular song.

Re: Japan starts space elevator experiments

#82

Post by zepearl »

Thinking about a "counterweight" orbiting a planet to which it is connected by a cable:

as the cable offers resistance to the planet's atmosphere, and as the planet's atmosphere is active/changing, the "thing orbiting" would still have to have an excellent aerodynamic shape to survive the planet's atmospheric effects, right? (as e.g. the lower part of its cable would probably soon or later be "pushed" by winds therefore initially speeding up the counterweight but lowering its altitude - and/or later after some iterations of push/pull generating maybe a slingshot-effect, sending it into a potentially full crash-course towards the atmosphere/planet's ground).

Re: Japan starts space elevator experiments

#83

Post by holografix »

ourmandave wrote: post #3

The cars would travel at up to 200kph and arrive at the space station eight days after departure from Earth. These early cable experiments are important, but someone should also be working on the composing an 8 day Elevator Muzak score that won't drive you insane.

There’s only so much bossa nova one can endure.

Re: Japan starts space elevator experiments

#84

Post by Barrin92 »

Someone wrote: post #70
Barrin92 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

six oval shaped cars with those measurements each is about 780 square meters in total. The average Tokyo condo is about 65 square meters (for a family of three). Somewhat unpleasant for 30 people but not really that small. Like 3 people in one Tokyo apartment density wise.

”Obayashi envisages a space elevator using six oval-shaped cars, each measuring 18m x 7.2m holding 30 people, connected by a cable” I can’t see how one would read that other than as each car holding 30 people. You would need an extra comma to make it six cars holding 30 people in total: ”Obayashi envisages a space elevator using six oval-shaped cars, each measuring 18m x 7.2m, holding 30 people, connected by a cable”

I read it as the entire elevator carrying 30 people, and this article seems to confirm it (https://www.zmescience.com/research/japanese-space-elevator-...)

Having 30 people in one car including gear, provisions and sharing sanitation seems absurdly small if not logistically impossible

Re: Japan starts space elevator experiments

#85

Post by gnarbarian »

pasta wrote: post #61
yohann305 wrote: post #15

i remember reading here on HN someone explaining why space elevators are not possible. I can't recall why, but he/she had very convincing arguments. Anyone here remember that thread and can link it back here? Thanks

I think the argument was that we don't have materials that are stong enough and light enough and cheap enough at the same time.

IIRC Specifically there are no materials we can currently produce (at that scale) which would be capable of supporting the weight of the cable alone. Let alone cars that ride along it.

Re: Japan starts space elevator experiments

#86

Post by comboy »

zepearl wrote: post #82

Thinking about a "counterweight" orbiting a planet to which it is connected by a cable: as the cable offers resistance to the planet's atmosphere, and as the planet's atmosphere is active/changing, the "thing orbiting" would still have to have an excellent aerodynamic shape to survive the planet's atmospheric effects, right? (as e.g. the lower part of its cable would probably soon or later be "pushed" by winds theref…

Centrifugal force would keep straightening it up.

Re: Japan starts space elevator experiments

#88

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

jessaustin wrote: post #8
sandworm101 wrote: post #2

Carbon nanotubes are cool, but i will believe space elevators possible once someone shows me a carbon nanotube rope i can climb with. I'd settle for a bike or motorcycle chain. A nanotube-based shoelace would be worth a noble prize or two.

It could be that shoelaces and space elevators turn out to be on the same side of some tipping-point technological breakthrough.

I’m guessing you mean to say carbon nanotube shoelaces.

But it’s amusing to think of it the other way: any society technologically advanced enough to have invented the shoelace will inevitably invent the space elevator.

Re: Japan starts space elevator experiments

#89

Post by p1mrx »

Keyframe wrote: post #77
p1mrx wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The medical technology for human stasis doesn't seem particularly unattainable, when compared against building a carbon nanotube tether into orbit. Some mammals are able to hibernate for months.

So far, for humans, that lives within same realm that warp drives occupy in science fiction.

If bears were capable of warp drive, then I would agree with you.
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