Space Elevator—A Revolutionary Space
Transportation System
Arun K. Misra and Stephen Cohen
1 Introduction
It is expected that space elevators will have a large impact on the method of deployment of Earth-orbiting satellites by offering a more efficient and elegant approach
compared to the chemical rockets. A space elevator consists of one or more tethers
(or ribbons) stretching from the surface of the Earth, somewhere on the equator, to a
counterweight located beyond the geosynchronous altitude (Fig. 1). The tether will
be in tension due to the gravitational and centrifugal loads. Climbers will be used to
raise payloads from the surface of the Earth to space, similar to a regular elevator
moving across floors of a building. The satellite placement, when accomplished in
this manner, rather than by conventional rockets, is expected to be of the order of
50–100 times less expensive [1, 2]. For example, the current cost of placing a payload
at the geostationary orbit is about $20,000/kg using chemical propulsion; this can be
reduced to about $500/kg by utilizing a space elevator [2]. It is possible that several
space elevators will operate simultaneously at any given time.
The idea of the space elevator was first conceived by Tsiolkovsky [3] in 1895,
apparently inspired by the Eiffel Tower. Artsutanov [4], in 1960, discussed a similar
concept in which a cable would be lowered from the geostationary altitude to the
surface of the Earth utilizing a counterweight. In 1975, Pearson [5] conducted an
in-depth technical study of the orbital tower proposed by Tsiolkovsky and Artsutanov. Since then, many technical investigations have been carried out by various
researchers.
A. K. Misra (B)
McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C3, Canada
e-mail: arun.misra@mail.mcgill.ca
S. Cohen
Vanier College, Montreal, QC H4L 3X9, Canada
e-mail: cohens@vanier.college
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
U. S. Dixit and S. K. Dwivedy (eds.), Mechanical Sciences,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5712-5_5
105
Transportation System
Arun K. Misra and Stephen Cohen
1 Introduction
It is expected that space elevators will have a large impact on the method of deployment of Earth-orbiting satellites by offering a more efficient and elegant approach
compared to the chemical rockets. A space elevator consists of one or more tethers
(or ribbons) stretching from the surface of the Earth, somewhere on the equator, to a
counterweight located beyond the geosynchronous altitude (Fig. 1). The tether will
be in tension due to the gravitational and centrifugal loads. Climbers will be used to
raise payloads from the surface of the Earth to space, similar to a regular elevator
moving across floors of a building. The satellite placement, when accomplished in
this manner, rather than by conventional rockets, is expected to be of the order of
50–100 times less expensive [1, 2]. For example, the current cost of placing a payload
at the geostationary orbit is about $20,000/kg using chemical propulsion; this can be
reduced to about $500/kg by utilizing a space elevator [2]. It is possible that several
space elevators will operate simultaneously at any given time.
The idea of the space elevator was first conceived by Tsiolkovsky [3] in 1895,
apparently inspired by the Eiffel Tower. Artsutanov [4], in 1960, discussed a similar
concept in which a cable would be lowered from the geostationary altitude to the
surface of the Earth utilizing a counterweight. In 1975, Pearson [5] conducted an
in-depth technical study of the orbital tower proposed by Tsiolkovsky and Artsutanov. Since then, many technical investigations have been carried out by various
researchers.
A. K. Misra (B)
McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C3, Canada
e-mail: arun.misra@mail.mcgill.ca
S. Cohen
Vanier College, Montreal, QC H4L 3X9, Canada
e-mail: cohens@vanier.college
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
U. S. Dixit and S. K. Dwivedy (eds.), Mechanical Sciences,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5712-5_5
105