Uploaded May 2014 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
With current space launch technology, eighty percent of a rocket's mass is fuel while the actual payload is only six percent. A great deal of monetary and energy resources are devoted to overcoming Earth's gravity. To send up one pound, it costs roughly ten thousand dollars. Eliminating the use of rockets to transport payloads to space could be both cost effective and environmentally friendly. One potential space transportation system to replace rocket technology is a space elevator. A space elevator is a physical connection from the surface of the Earth, at the equator, to a point in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) approximately 35,786 kilometers above the Earth. The elevator's center of mass is placed at a point in GEO to allow the elevator to remain in phase with the same point on the Earth's surface. The purpose of building a structure of such extraordinary proportions is to provide a significantly cheaper and safer method for transporting both payloads and persons to space. If the space elevator is constructed, it would reduce the cost per pound by a factor of 1000. However, for it to be feasible, it requires cost efficient and high strength-to-weight materials that can withstand the many hazards associated with space. Given that most materials are either too dense or fragile, advances in materials are required to make elevator's construction a true possibility.
With the advent of nanotechnology, scientists are claiming that the once fictitious project can now become a reality. Carbon nanotubes provide the tensile strength, lightness, and flexibility to build the tether for the space elevator. In recent studies, it has been shown that they are about 100 times stronger than steel and can stretch up to 14 percent before breaking. However, the challenge still remains of processing these carbon nanotubes to extend to macroscopic sizes. When chained together to form large bundles, the nanotubes lose some of their individual strength. To combat this, researchers are discovering new ways of processing this material to create a stronger structure. Carbon nanotubes have the real potential of bringing the space elevator to life and ushering in a new era of space exploration.
Citations:
Belluci, S. (2005). "Carbon nanotubes: Physics and applications".
Physica Status Solidi (c) 2(1):
34-37.
"Carbon Nanotube Bicycle Technology." N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May
2014.
Meo, M.; Rossi, M. (2006). "Prediction of Young's modulus of
single wall carbon nanotubes by molecular-mechanics-based
finite element modelling".Composites Science and
Technology 66 (11--12): 1597--1605.
Kumar, Mukul, and Yoshinor Ando. "Chemical Vapor Deposition of
Carbon Nanotubes: A Review on Growth Mechanism and
Mass Production." Thesis. Meijo University, 2010. Journal of
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 10 (n.d.): 3739-758. Print.
Pugno, Nicola M. "On the Strength of the Carbon Nanotube-
based Space Elevator Cable: From
Nanomechanics to Megamechanics." Journal of Physics:
Condensed Matter 33rd ser. 18
(2006): n. pag. Virgo. Web. 5 May 2014.
Smitherman, D.V. "Space Elevators: An Advanced Earth-Space
Infrastructure for the
New Millennium." National Aeronautics and Space
Administration 8 June 1999, n.pag.
sciencebuzz.org/sites/default/files/images/carbon_nanotubes.jpg
http://www.anff.org.au/micro-and-nano-fabrication/materials-node/chemical-vapour-deposition.html
innovationintextiles.com/video-carbon-nanotube-fibre-breakthrough
http://%3A%2F%2Flabs.cas.usf.edu%2Flamsat%2Ffacilities%2Ffacilities%2520-%2520deposition.html
youtube.com/watch?v=19nzPt62UPg
russianspaceweb.com/tsiolkovsky_legacy.html
lce.hut.fi/research/eas/nanosystems/proj_nanotubes
youtube.com/watch?v=ZwiXUAY2LuE
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Types_of_Carbon_Nanotubes.png
gizmag.com/threadlike-carbon-nanotube-fiber/25777
space.com/14656-japanese-space-elevator
http://news.rice.edu/2014/02/13/rices-carbon-nanotube-fibers-outperform-copper-2/
science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast07sep_1
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator
bisbos.com/space_elevator.html
lofi.forum.physorg.com/Space-Elevator-%28Beanstalk%29-Possible_19208.html
http://teachers.yale.edu/curriculum/viewer/initiative_10.05.02_u
spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/a-hoist-to-the-heavens
http://www.gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/mimicking-gecko-feet/
dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=284153
wired.com/2009/03/nanomuscle
en.clipdealer.com/preview/image/001/500/072/previews/5--1500072-Multi%20Walled%20Carbon%20Nanotube%20on%20White%20Background.jpg
physnews.com/nano-materials-news/cluster456781896
youtube.com/watch?v=e-QFj59PON4
With current space launch technology, eighty percent of a rocket's mass is fuel while the actual payload is only six percent. A great deal of monetary and energy resources are devoted to overcoming Earth's gravity. To send up one pound, it costs roughly ten thousand dollars. Eliminating the use of rockets to transport payloads to space could be both cost effective and environmentally friendly. One potential space transportation system to replace rocket technology is a space elevator. A space elevator is a physical connection from the surface of the Earth, at the equator, to a point in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) approximately 35,786 kilometers above the Earth. The elevator's center of mass is placed at a point in GEO to allow the elevator to remain in phase with the same point on the Earth's surface. The purpose of building a structure of such extraordinary proportions is to provide a significantly cheaper and safer method for transporting both payloads and persons to space. If the space elevator is constructed, it would reduce the cost per pound by a factor of 1000. However, for it to be feasible, it requires cost efficient and high strength-to-weight materials that can withstand the many hazards associated with space. Given that most materials are either too dense or fragile, advances in materials are required to make elevator's construction a true possibility.
With the advent of nanotechnology, scientists are claiming that the once fictitious project can now become a reality. Carbon nanotubes provide the tensile strength, lightness, and flexibility to build the tether for the space elevator. In recent studies, it has been shown that they are about 100 times stronger than steel and can stretch up to 14 percent before breaking. However, the challenge still remains of processing these carbon nanotubes to extend to macroscopic sizes. When chained together to form large bundles, the nanotubes lose some of their individual strength. To combat this, researchers are discovering new ways of processing this material to create a stronger structure. Carbon nanotubes have the real potential of bringing the space elevator to life and ushering in a new era of space exploration.
Citations:
Belluci, S. (2005). "Carbon nanotubes: Physics and applications".
Physica Status Solidi (c) 2(1):
34-37.
"Carbon Nanotube Bicycle Technology." N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May
2014.
Meo, M.; Rossi, M. (2006). "Prediction of Young's modulus of
single wall carbon nanotubes by molecular-mechanics-based
finite element modelling".Composites Science and
Technology 66 (11--12): 1597--1605.
Kumar, Mukul, and Yoshinor Ando. "Chemical Vapor Deposition of
Carbon Nanotubes: A Review on Growth Mechanism and
Mass Production." Thesis. Meijo University, 2010. Journal of
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 10 (n.d.): 3739-758. Print.
Pugno, Nicola M. "On the Strength of the Carbon Nanotube-
based Space Elevator Cable: From
Nanomechanics to Megamechanics." Journal of Physics:
Condensed Matter 33rd ser. 18
(2006): n. pag. Virgo. Web. 5 May 2014.
Smitherman, D.V. "Space Elevators: An Advanced Earth-Space
Infrastructure for the
New Millennium." National Aeronautics and Space
Administration 8 June 1999, n.pag.
sciencebuzz.org/sites/default/files/images/carbon_nanotubes.jpg
http://www.anff.org.au/micro-and-nano-fabrication/materials-node/chemical-vapour-deposition.html
innovationintextiles.com/video-carbon-nanotube-fibre-breakthrough
http://%3A%2F%2Flabs.cas.usf.edu%2Flamsat%2Ffacilities%2Ffacilities%2520-%2520deposition.html
youtube.com/watch?v=19nzPt62UPg
russianspaceweb.com/tsiolkovsky_legacy.html
lce.hut.fi/research/eas/nanosystems/proj_nanotubes
youtube.com/watch?v=ZwiXUAY2LuE
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Types_of_Carbon_Nanotubes.png
gizmag.com/threadlike-carbon-nanotube-fiber/25777
space.com/14656-japanese-space-elevator
http://news.rice.edu/2014/02/13/rices-carbon-nanotube-fibers-outperform-copper-2/
science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast07sep_1
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator
bisbos.com/space_elevator.html
lofi.forum.physorg.com/Space-Elevator-%28Beanstalk%29-Possible_19208.html
http://teachers.yale.edu/curriculum/viewer/initiative_10.05.02_u
spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/a-hoist-to-the-heavens
http://www.gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/mimicking-gecko-feet/
dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=284153
wired.com/2009/03/nanomuscle
en.clipdealer.com/preview/image/001/500/072/previews/5--1500072-Multi%20Walled%20Carbon%20Nanotube%20on%20White%20Background.jpg
physnews.com/nano-materials-news/cluster456781896
youtube.com/watch?v=e-QFj59PON4
