jedcstuff

2007-08-12

Solid KESTS

kests solid

A highly useful form of KESTS to GEO has been extensively described for many years, such as on www.kestsgeo.com. It would avoid the need for super strength low weight materials of a space elevator anchored tether, and also deliver lift energy all along its extent from ground to GEO and back, along its loop around the planet (or a moon). Functioning overall as a multiple armature electric motor, supported by the dynamics of its centrifugal forces generated within itself by velocity of some of its parts.

Although, using modern science and engineering techniques, they have not all been put into use together in such a configuration yet; and it would involve dispute of use of space between ground and GEO, unfortunately, even though it would essentially eliminate need for objects in that equatorial area.

There are too many current stakeholders in that area of apace and they need to reclaim their investments, and so block KESTS to GEO type projects, even though KESTS to GEO could be millions of times more effective in the expansion of civilization into space; one can understand, however, current space stakeholders need to get their reward, and they now run the game.

So, there may be some much simpler projects of lower risk, done briefly, to get some experience in KESTS to GEO type structures.

(Note that I hope those who utilize these concepts in order to make their big projects, consult my writings for some usage principles, although they no doubt would be focused on some specificity which will make them money or power; I just hope they use it wisely. Especially since they seem to seem to consider me expendable and not worth involving... some psychological quirk I suppose.)

Anyway, consider instead a simple hoop structure encircling the planet, that is also a synchronous electric motor's extended armature, but instead of streams of discontinuous armatures, a continuous armature loop be used, its perimeter moving at, say, 15 Km/s, above orbital velocity all along its perimeter. Outstretched in circular shape much like the proverbial cowboy's lasso, and restrained to go past the earth surface through the electric motor's stator (such as in a tunnel in equatorial mountain) its perimeter of many times that of the Earth's (or associated moon) the spinning hoop would extend far above the farside of the planet relative to the surface contact point. Having fairly constant velocity despite areas rising and falling within the earth's gravitational field, tensile stress in the material needs to take up the additional load, increasing the higher it gets above the earth.

Such a structure would therefore not need much of the accommodations of the current configuration of KESTS to GEO design. It would have some interesting natures to evaluate. Being a continuous structure, no need to build in the innate station-keeping magnetic levitation of an enclosed track-way. Although traveling at meteoric velocity even in the atmospheric portion, it is not having to punch through the atmosphere like a meteor does. Just what happens to the air molecules that do bounce off the hoop sliding past it at 15 km/s is part of the overall question; I think it would form a boundary around the structure, and would need input power to the structure to make up for the energy losses.

The structure would be mostly to evaluate these effects, along with the other dynamics of a centrifugally stretched hoop around the earth.

Payloads might be lifted up the structure in the form of tubes within which the hoop slides, the tube sections using magnetic repulsion against the armature magnets to center itself and obtain inductive lift up the upward side of the spinning hoop. It would have to come down the same rising side of the hoop, however, to be gently lowered back to the ground, using less inductive drag than needed to support its weight wherever it is in the gravitational field at the time. Thus, unless the lifter tubes are all removed when they get to GEO and kept up there, only one lifter would be able to use this kind of simple structure at a time to get between ground and GEO. Conceivable the materials for building a SPS in GEO could be done this way, if the pieces are all individually small; the overall payload capacity by being run continuously day and night, can move an impressive mass. Remembering that this would be an electrically powered space access system, unlike conventional rocket launch technology now used to access GEO, space projects would become a whole new ball game.

And once we become comfortable with such a structure, maybe we will have the courage to go for the far more useful, but more complicated, KESTS to GEO.

J E D Cline
http://www.escalatorhi.com
http://www.kestsgeo.com

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