Space Elevator – Science Fiction or the Future of Mankind?
-
0:00 - 0:03It's hard to get to space
-
0:03 - 0:06As much as we all wish there were an easy,
-
0:06 - 0:08and affordable way to see our planet
floating in the dark -
0:08 - 0:13Right now, the only way is to become
an astronaut or a billionare -
0:13 - 0:16But there is a concept
that might make it possible -
0:16 - 0:19-while serving as the starting point
for the exploration of the universe- -
0:19 - 0:21The space elevator
-
0:21 - 0:23How exactly does it work?
-
0:32 - 0:36To understand how a space elevator
will get us into space -
0:36 - 0:38We must first understand
what an orbit is -
0:38 - 0:42Being in orbit basically means
falling towards something, -
0:42 - 0:44but moving fast enough to miss
-
0:44 - 0:48If you throw a ball on earth
it makes an arch through the air, -
0:48 - 0:49and then hits the ground
-
0:49 - 0:53In space, gravity makes you move
much the same way, -
0:53 - 0:55but if you move sideways fast enough
-
0:55 - 0:58the curvature of the earth makes the ground
fall away beneath you -
0:58 - 1:00as fast as gravity pulls you towards it
-
1:00 - 1:04So, to enter Earth's orbit
rockets have to go up -
1:04 - 1:06and sideways fast
-
1:06 - 1:12By contrast, a space elevator
taps into energy from Earth's rotation -
1:12 - 1:13to get the cargo going fast
-
1:13 - 1:18Imagine a child spinning a toy on a rope
with an ant on the child's hand -
1:18 - 1:21As the ant climbs out along the rope
-
1:21 - 1:24it starts to move faster and faster
as it ascends -
1:24 - 1:28Compared to rockets,
with cargo launched on an elevator -
1:28 - 1:30you only need to provide
the energy to go up -
1:30 - 1:34Fast sideways movement comes free
with the Earth's rotation -
1:34 - 1:36But the space elevator would without a doubt
-
1:36 - 1:40be the single largest and most expensive
structure ever built by humans -
1:40 - 1:43So, is it worth it?
-
1:43 - 1:46It all comes down to costs
-
1:46 - 1:48Rockets burn a huge amount of rocket fuel
-
1:48 - 1:50just to get a small
amount of cargo into space -
1:50 - 1:56At current prices, it costs about $20,000
to put one kilogram of payload into space -
1:56 - 1:59that's $1.3 million dollars
for the average human -
1:59 - 2:01$40 million dollars for your car
-
2:01 - 2:04billions for
an international space station -
2:04 - 2:08This immense cost is one of the major
limitations of human spaceflight -
2:08 - 2:10Even with advancing technology,
-
2:10 - 2:15this cost isn't likely to be comparable with the
price of an airline ticket anytime soon -
2:15 - 2:18A space elevator would solve this problem
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2:18 - 2:19After construction,
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2:19 - 2:25a space elevator is projected to reduce the cost
one hundredfold to $200 per kilogram -
2:25 - 2:28If an inexpensive space elevator
costs 20 billion dollars, -
2:28 - 2:33then we'll recoup our losses
after launching only one million tons -
2:33 - 2:36Close to the weight
of two international space stations -
2:36 - 2:39So what would a space elevator look like
in real life? -
2:39 - 2:42A space elevator has four major components:
-
2:42 - 2:46the tether, anchor, counterweight
and climber -
2:46 - 2:50The elevator part of the space elevator
is the tether and the climber -
2:50 - 2:53It extends from the surface of the Earth to space
-
2:53 - 2:56The climber is like a conventional
elevator carriage -
2:56 - 2:58A chamber that works its way
up and down the tether -
2:58 - 3:01At the base would be an anchor
-
3:01 - 3:04pinning the tether to the Earth
along with a port for climbers -
3:04 - 3:07At the top is the counterweight
which holds up the tether -
3:07 - 3:09The tether is held tight like a rope
-
3:09 - 3:12and supported from above
by the tension from the counterweight -
3:12 - 3:16Located higher than 36,000 kilometers
above the Earth's surface -
3:16 - 3:19At the counterweight
could be a space station, -
3:19 - 3:23a launching point for all missions
from the spaceport elevator -
3:23 - 3:25But can we actually build one?
-
3:25 - 3:27It's hard to say
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3:27 - 3:28The biggest challenge is the tether
-
3:28 - 3:31It needs to be light, affordable
-
3:31 - 3:34and more stable than any material
we can produce right now -
3:34 - 3:38There are promising materials
like graphene and diamond nanothreads, -
3:38 - 3:40but even they may not be strong enough
-
3:40 - 3:42And aside from being incredibly strong,
-
3:42 - 3:46the tether would also have to withstand
atmospheric corrosion, radiation -
3:46 - 3:50and micrometeorite and debris impacts
-
3:50 - 3:52Additionally, it takes several days
to climb the elevator -
3:52 - 3:55How do we power the climber?
-
3:55 - 3:58It requires a lot of energy to go up
-
3:58 - 4:01Do we need a nuclear reactor
on our elevator carriage? -
4:01 - 4:05Or do we beam it power from the ground
with a super powered laser? -
4:05 - 4:09And where do we get the raw materials
for a 36,000-kilometer-long tether? -
4:09 - 4:12Do we make it on Earth
and launch it into space? -
4:12 - 4:15Or do we make it in space
and lower it down to the Earth? -
4:15 - 4:17Could asteroid mining be the answer?
-
4:17 - 4:22Put simply, there are still some major
technological hurdles to overcome -
4:22 - 4:25And a space elevator is not without risk
-
4:25 - 4:29Should the tether break,
it would collapse in spectacular style -
4:29 - 4:31If it breaks near the anchor
-
4:31 - 4:34the force exerted by the counterweight
will cause the entire elevator to rise up -
4:34 - 4:36ascending into space
-
4:36 - 4:38Should it break near the counterweight
-
4:38 - 4:39the tether will fall,
-
4:39 - 4:41wrapping around the world
and whipping the end off -
4:41 - 4:46The resulting debris in orbit could pose
serious problems to future spaceflight -
4:46 - 4:50If we build a space elevator on Earth,
we have to do it right the first time -
4:50 - 4:53For these reasons some experts
have proposed first building -
4:53 - 4:55a space elevator on the Moon
-
4:55 - 4:58The Moon's gravity
is much weaker than the Earth's -
4:58 - 5:01so a flimsier but existing material
like kevlar -
5:01 - 5:02could serve as a tether
-
5:02 - 5:04Even with all these challenges,
-
5:04 - 5:07the payoff of having a working
space elevator would be immense -
5:07 - 5:12It might be the first step to truly becoming
a space-faring civilization -
5:12 - 5:15Maybe we will never build
a space elevator, -
5:15 - 5:18but in trying to do so
we might learn an awful lot -
5:18 - 5:21And when it comes
to the exploration of the universe, -
5:21 - 5:24there can't be too many dreams
of a glorious future
- Title:
- Space Elevator – Science Fiction or the Future of Mankind?
- Description:
-
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Space Elevator – Science Fiction or the Future of Mankind?
- Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 06:32
Eduardo Portet edited English subtitles for Space Elevator – Science Fiction or the Future of Mankind? | ||
Eduardo Portet edited English subtitles for Space Elevator – Science Fiction or the Future of Mankind? | ||
Marcin Puc edited English subtitles for Space Elevator – Science Fiction or the Future of Mankind? |