An idea that, at first, seems absurd, from 2045 may start to become reality: the creation of a space elevator that, taking advantage of the centrifugal force of the Earth’s rotation, will keep a cable stretched 100 thousand kilometers long, in order to enable the first space elevator in history. If all goes well, the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) will be among the contributors to this fantastic undertaking. The request for participation in the undertaking has already been submitted by Inmet to the North American space agency (NASA) and to the Japanese company Obayashi. China is also carrying out research aimed at developing such a structure. Current studies cover concepts, construction, implementation and operation of the elevator. According to Inmet, a project of this magnitude would enable Brazil to “make a great leap” economically, socially and technologically. Advantages Among the projected advantages are reducing the cost of sending payloads into space; the possibility of transporting any material to space daily and in unlimited quantities; the creation of new space stations; launching fragile structures such as solar power satellites to provide clean, renewable energy; “unbeatable” Earth observation points for military and intelligence applications; and advances in telecommunications, meteorology and the environment. In the specific case of Inmet’s area of operation, in addition to making it possible to send new meteorological satellites into space (expanding the ability to monitor the atmosphere), the space elevator will help in covering remote areas over oceans and continents, and will favor “in a way significant”, the development of Brazilian agriculture. “In summary, the elevator will be an alternative permanent transportation structure for space with zero carbon footprint, capable of moving millions of tons of cargo in an environmentally neutral approach, as well as enabling significant environmental missions that will improve the Earth’s environment,” informed Inmet. Cable To facilitate the understanding of this structure, just understand that the space elevator is a kind of vertical cable car connected to a cable under tension. With the Earth’s rotation, it would remain stretched out in a similar procedure to tying a stone to a line and rotating it. “The most advanced studies on the subject support the installation of a base station on the earth’s surface, where the cable would be attached and would extend up to 100,000 kilometers (km) in altitude. With that, one end would remain fixed to the base, while the other would continue floating in space attached to a counterweight, which would keep the cable always taut as it followed the planet’s rotation. That’s because the competing forces of gravity at the lower end and centrifugal acceleration at the far end keep the cable under tension and stationary in a single position on Earth. According to the institute, the base station, called an anchor, will probably be installed on the high seas, in the South Atlantic, close to the equator, where there are no records of storms and lightning. Stations According to the researchers, the elevators will be able, along the 100,000 km route, to make “strategic stops in Earth’s orbits, where space stations with countless purposes should also be installed”. Rockets and spacecraft can be launched using this structure. To support such weight, the material to be used will be “highly resistant and of very low density”. One of the indicated materials is graphene single crystal (composed of six infinitely bonded carbons), also called “graphene sheet”, which is about 100 times stronger than steel, being able to withstand extreme temperatures, strong winds, radiation and meteorites. According to initial studies, the cable can be climbed by “mechanical means (traction elevators) into Earth orbit using a laser energy beam system that will hit the photovoltaic panels of the elevators and energize an electric motor.” Installation of the elevator could be done in several stages and with the help of large conventional rockets and spacecraft structures. “In the initial stage, the transport of the entire 100,000 km cable would be carried out to low Earth orbit, where the satellites are below 2,000 km. At this point, the spacecraft would be assembled and then tethered up to geosynchronous orbit (35,800 km altitude or about a quarter of the distance to the Moon). From there, the unfolding of both ends of the cable would begin until the lower one reaches the Earth’s surface and the upper one reaches a height of 100,000 km. The counterweight at the upper end would be a set formed by the spacecraft and elevators, which would later reinforce the cable”, detailed Inmet.
Agência Brasil
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