SPACE ELEVATOR. ALTERNATIVE DESIGN SOLUTIONS

摘要

Nowadays, all prerequisites exist to assume that construction of space elevator is realizable in the near future. Meanwhile, no technologically mature way of the strength-sufficient material production has been achieved, but it only gives humanity more time for the conceptual research in other areas of space elevator design. This paper tries to embrace several main issues, connected with space elevator design, operation and maintenance. A range of possible solutions to these issues is proposed. Amongst them: tether length decrease by the means of the counterweight mass increase using space debris, tether tapering optimization, electric powering of climbers in atmosphere and power beaming in space, High Stage One alternatives.