Space Elevator

Chris Biedrzycki
Ned Cameron
Mike Gruener
Erick Haro
What is a Space Elevator?
What is a Carbon Nanotube?

Can be thought
of as a sheet of
graphite (a
hexagonal lattice
of carbon) rolled
into a cylinder.
 Why CNTs?
 Young's modulus is over 1 Tera Pascal
 Strength 100x that of steel at 1/6 the weight
(estimated tensile strength is 200 Giga Pascal)
Categories of CNTs
 Multi-walled nanotubes
characterized by formation
of nanotubes within
nanotubes

 Single-walled nanotubes
Growing CNTs
 CNT
Fabrication
 Chemical Vapor Deposition
• Involves heating a catalyst material to high temperatures in a tube
furnace and flowing hydrocarbon gas through the tube reactor
• The materials are grown over the catalyst and are collected when
the system is cooled to room temperature
• Key parameters are:
– Hydrocarbons
– Catalysts
– Growth Temperature
• CVD process involves the dissociation of hydrocarbon molecules
catalyzed by the transition metal, and the dissolution and saturation
of carbon atoms in the metal nanoparticle
• Both MWNT and SWNT can be grown by CVD methods
– MWNTs use acetylene gas for the carbon source and a growth
temperature between 600 – 800°C
– SWNTs use carbon monoxide or methane for a carbon source and a
much higher growth temperature (900 –1200°C)
CNT Fabrication
 Arc Method

• Carbon Atoms are evaporated by a plasma of Helium

gas that is ignited by high currents passed through
opposing carbon anode and cathode.

He Arc-Discharge
• Excellent Method for the production of both MWNT
and SWNT
• CNTs are obtained by controlling growth conditions
– Pressure of gas in discharge chamber
– Arcing Current on a collector outside the furnace zone
 CNT Manufacturers
•Carbon Solutions •Nano Carb Lab(NCL)
•CarboLex •NanoLab, Inc
•Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc. •Nanostructured and Amorphous
•Fullerene International Corporation Materials, Inc
•Junye Nano Materials, Co. •Nanosys
•Luna Nanomaterials •Catalytic Materials LLC
•Luxtera •INPT
•Nanocs International
•Nanoledge
•Oxonica
•Showa Denka KK
•Deal International Inc.
•Micro Tech Nano, Inc
Making Ribbon
Ribbon
Problems Encountered

• Cost – High production costs

• Separation – Untangling nanotubes

• Length – 63,000 mi is a lot of ribbon

Applications to Elevator
Elevator in Orbit
Deployment
Anchor
The Climber
 To Infinity and Beyond….
Gigantic antenna – Capable of receiving radio waves from distant
sources
Large Geosynchronous Station – capable of hundreds of permanent
residents, science labs, pharmaceutical factories
Settlements on Mars, Moon, Venus
 Troubleshooting
Cable breakage – unrepairable
2x safety factor
If breaks, some will splash down, some will burn
up
Still create less waste than burning a rocket
Nano-epoxy (Nano-tape) – Still in the developmental stages
High winds - 155mph winds (Class 5 hurricane) can snap
the ribbon
position is not in a high wind, or hurricane area
Electricity – Is a concern, but chosen location avoids
lightning strikes.
Oscillations –7-hour natural frequency actively damped by
the anchor
Radiation – Components are good for 1000 years in orbit
Mobility
Anchor can move ~1 km each day to avoid debris and
satellites
Anchor is ~400 mi from all shipping and airplane routes
Using current materials? – No.
 Entities Involved
3M Corporation
Art Anderson Associates
Augur Aeronautical Centre
Bennett Optical / Compower
Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc.
Lockheed Martin
European Space Agency
Flight Materials Group
Foster-Miller, Inc.
Harvard University
HighLift Systems
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Nanoledge
NASA - Johnson Space Center
Owens-Corning
Princeton University
ReyTech
Rutgers University
U of Mississippi – Space Law Center
T. Y. Lin International
Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory
University of Kentucky
 Pricing
Component Cost Estimate
Launch Cost $1.02 B
Cable Production $390 M
Spacecraft $507 M
Climbers $367 M
Power Laser $1.5 B
Anchor Station $120 M
Tracking Facility $500 M
Other $430 M
Contingency (30%) $1.44 B
Total $6.2 B

•Now, Cargo $50,000/lb •First Elevator, Cargo $100/lb

•Now, Cargo 4,000lb/day •First Elevator, Cargo 12,000lb/day
Method to Improve Elevator
 Use superconducting
property of nanotube
ribbon
 Maglev type ascention
Conclusion
Questions
 Thanks !!!

Online Learning Team

IRT / ITS
Drexel University