Download or read book The Space Elevator written by Bradley C. Edwards and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors take the reader through the history of the concept, technical design and economic practicalities of building an elevator to space, and, ultimately, the implications of what such a low cost transportation system would mean to society. Based on three years of NASA-funded studies and written for the technically literate layperson, Edwards and Westling discuss the recent technological advances that now make the space elevator feasible. They conclude by addressing the effects that the space elevator could have on mankind's future from communications and energy to colonizing space.
Download or read book The Space Elevator Project written by Ashley Somogyi and published by Hyperink Inc. This book was released on 2012-02-29 with total page 27 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABOUT THE BOOK The Orbital Space Elevator Project is an ongoing international endeavour to create a ground to space mechanical system that would allow man and materials to be transported into space without the use of rockets or jet propulsion. Using a laser based system, a transport vehicle would be propelled into space along a super material with over 100 times the strength of steal. This system would allow man to travel into space with as much ease, frequency, and cost as little as shipping a package to a different continent. I will soon explain to you the nearly unimaginable possibilities of a this system and how it can alter mankind's position in the universe. I have studied matters of physics at length and can be rightfully labeled a theoretical science enthusiast. In order to approach this topic with the correct frame of mind, I encourage you suspend disbelief. One cannot grasp the intention of theoretical science by applying the current limitations of human ingenuity. The whole purpose of the word “theoretical” is to give notice of something that is within the grasp of human capability but has yet to be realized by our ingenuity. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK The orbital station would sit in geostationary orbit and be the terminal point of the climber, or car, that would bring people and objects up into space. The propulsion method of the climber itself is another area of interest and concern. At the yearly Climber (Power Beaming) Competition and Tether Strength Competition, scientists from all over the world assemble and bring in prototypes of their climber systems in hopes of winning the $500,000 prize. In 2009, a Seattle-based group, LaserMotive, won $900,000 at NASA’s Centennial Challange when their laser powered robot climbed a 900-meter-long cable, suspended from a helicopter – in 7.5 minutes. Proposed methods vary widely with most stemming from a manner of laser driven propulsion, not dissimilar from the kind used in your laser DVD player. Others have proposed a track system akin to those of high speed magnetic railway lines. While a considerable portion of laser research is done by the military, they have said that they are very open to the idea of using lasers in more civilian, non-military capacities. The laser’s power generation is proposed to be driven by varied sources such as solar rays bounced off enormous mirrors, to heat based lasers. Depending on the method of propulsion, the estimated travel time between Earth and the orbital station could be anywhere from five hours to a seven and a half days... Buy a copy to keep reading!
Download or read book Space Elevators written by NASA and published by . This book was released on 2006-03-01 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is a space elevator? A space elevator is a physical connection from the surface of the Earth to a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) above the Earth .35,786 km in altitude. Its center of mass is at the geostationary point such that it has a 24-hr orbit and stays over the same point above the equator as the Earth rotates on its axis. The vision is that a space elevator would be utilized as a transportation and utility system for moving people, payloads, power, and gases between the surface of the Earth and space. It makes the physical connection from Earth to space in the same way a bridge connects two cities across a body of water. The Earth to GEO space elevator is not feasible today, but could be an important concept for the future development of space in the latter part of the 21st century. It has the potential to provide mass transportation to space in the same way highways, railroads, power lines, and pipelines provide mass transportation across the Earth's surface. The low energy requirements for moving payloads up and down the elevator could make it possible to achieve cost to orbit
Download or read book The Space Environment written by Alan C. Tribble and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The breakup of the Space Shuttle Columbia as it reentered Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, reminded the public--and NASA--of the grave risks posed to spacecraft by everything from insulating foam to space debris. Here, Alan Tribble presents a singular, up-to-date account of a wide range of less conspicuous but no less consequential environmental effects that can damage or cause poor performance of orbiting spacecraft. Conveying a wealth of insight into the nature of the space environment and how spacecraft interact with it, he covers design modifications aimed at eliminating or reducing such environmental effects as solar absorptance increases caused by self-contamination, materials erosion by atomic oxygen, electrical discharges due to spacecraft charging, degradation of electrical circuits by radiation, and bombardment by micrometeorites. This book is unique in that it bridges the gap between studies of the space environment as performed by space physicists and spacecraft design engineering as practiced by aerospace engineers.
Download or read book Pillar to the Sky written by William R. Forstchen and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-02-11 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A towering epic to rank with Douglas Preston's Blasphemy and Michael Crichton's Prey... Pandemic drought, skyrocketing oil prices, dwindling energy supplies and wars of water scarcity threaten the planet. Only four people can prevent global chaos. Gary Morgan--a brilliant, renegade scientist is pilloried by the scientific community for his belief in a space elevator: a pillar to the sky, which he believes will make space flight fast, simple and affordable. Eva Morgan--a brilliant and beautiful scientist of Ukrainian descent, she has had a lifelong obsession to build a pillar to the sky, a vertiginous tower which would mine the power of the sun and supply humanity with cheap, limitless energy forever. Gunther Rothenberg--the ancient but revered rocket-scientist who labored at Peenemunda with von Braun to create the first rockets and continued on to build those of today. A legend, he has mentored Gary and Natalia for two decades, nurturing and encouraging their transcendent vision. Franklin Smith--the eccentric Silicon Valley billionaire who will champion their cause, wage war with Congress and government bureaucracy and most important, finance their herculean undertaking. This journey to the stars will not be easy--a tumultuous struggle filled with violence and heroism, love and death, spellbinding beauty and heartbreaking betrayal. The stakes could not be higher. Humanity's salvation will hang in the balance"--
Download or read book Leaving the Planet by Space Elevator written by Philip Ragan and published by . This book was released on 2006-10-07 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An easy guide to the most exciting development in space travel since the rocket. Stripped of the technical jargon, this is a laymans guide to the breathtaking developments surrounding the space elevator: a plan to string a 100,000 km from Earth to space, revolutionising space access.
Download or read book Space Tethers and Space Elevators written by Michel van Pelt and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-06-12 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michel van Pelt explains for the first time the principle of space tethers: what they are and how they can be used in space. He introduces non-technical space enthusiasts to the various possibilities and feasibility of space tethers including the technological challenges and potential benefits. He illustrates how, because of their inherent simplicity, space tethers have the potential to make space travel much cheaper, while ongoing advances in tether material technology may make even seemingly far-fetched ideas a reality in the not too distant future.
Download or read book The Fountains Of Paradise written by Arthur C. Clarke and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2012-03-19 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of Clarke's most famous and acclaimed novels, winner of both the HUGO AWARD and the NEBULA AWARD In the 22nd century visionary scientist Vannevar Morgan conceives the most grandiose engineering project of all time, and one which will revolutionize the future of humankind of space: a Space Elevator, 36,000 kilometres high, anchored to an equatorial island in the Indian Ocean. Winner of the HUGO AWARD for best novel, 1980 Winner of the NEBULA AWARD for best novel, 1979
Download or read book Project Hail Mary written by Andy Weir and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of The Martian, a lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this “propulsive” (Entertainment Weekly), cinematic thriller full of suspense, humor, and fascinating science—in development as a major motion picture starring Ryan Gosling. HUGO AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE YEAR’S BEST BOOKS: Bill Gates, GatesNotes, New York Public Library, Parade, Newsweek, Polygon, Shelf Awareness, She Reads, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal • “An epic story of redemption, discovery and cool speculative sci-fi.”—USA Today “If you loved The Martian, you’ll go crazy for Weir’s latest.”—The Washington Post Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone. Or does he? An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.
Download or read book Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator written by Roald Dahl and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-08-16 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG! Last seen flying through the sky in a giant elevator in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie Bucket's back for another adventure. When the giant elevator picks up speed, Charlie, Willy Wonka, and the gang are sent hurtling through space and time. Visiting the world’' first space hotel, battling the dreaded Vermicious Knids, and saving the world are only a few stops along this remarkable, intergalactic joyride.
Download or read book Terraforming Mars written by Martin Beech and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-12-09 with total page 596 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TERRAFORMING MARS This book provides a thorough scientific review of how Mars might eventually be colonized, industrialized, and transformed into a world better suited to human habitation. The idea of terraforming Mars has, in recent times, become a topic of intense scientific interest and great public debate. Stimulated in part by the contemporary imperative to begin geoengineering Earth, as a means to combat global climate change, the terraforming of Mars will work to make its presently hostile environment more suitable to life—especially human life. Geoengineering and terraforming, at their core, have the same goal—that is to enhance (or revive) the ability of a specific environment to support human life, society, and industry. The chapters in this text, written by experts in their respective fields, are accordingly in resonance with the important, and ongoing discussions concerning the human stewardship of global climate systems. In this sense, the text is both timely and relevant and will cover issues relating to topics that will only grow in their relevance in future decades. The notion of terraforming Mars is not a new one, as such, and it has long played as the background narrative in many science fiction novels. This book, however, deals exclusively with what is physically possible, and what might conceivably be put into actual practice within the next several human generations. Audience Researchers in planetary science, astronomy, astrobiology, space engineering, architecture, ethics, as well as members of the space industry.
Download or read book Today s Space Elevator written by Peter Swan and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2019-09-22 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last year, the International Space Elevator Consortium assessed that basic technological needs can be met with current capabilities: and, each segment of the Space Elevator Transportation System is ready for engineering validation. Because of the availability of a new material as a potential Space Elevator tether, the community strongly believes that a Space Elevator will be initiated in the near term. Included in the book is a series of appendices that are tremendous references to the status of the space elevator today. Included are a lexicon of space elevator terms, over 750 references in the bibliography, short descriptions of eight ISEC year-long studies and two IAA 4-year studies on space elevators, as well as a summary of over 20 Architectural Notes covering the development of space elevator technologies.
Download or read book Nanotechnology in Space written by Maria Letizia Terranova and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2021-09-15 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents selected topics on nanotechnological applications in the strategic sector of space. It showcases some current activities and multidisciplinary approaches that have given an unprecedented control of matter at the nanoscale and will enable it to withstand the unique space environment. It focuses on the outstanding topic of dual-use nanotechnologies, illustrating the mutual benefits of key enabling materials that can be used successfully both on earth and in space. It highlights the importance of space as a strategic sector in the global economy, with ever-increasing related businesses worldwide. In this light, it dedicates a chapter to the analysis of current and future markets for space-related nanotechnological products and applications.
Download or read book Bullshit Jobs written by David Graeber and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2019-05-07 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From David Graeber, the bestselling author of The Dawn of Everything and Debt—“a master of opening up thought and stimulating debate” (Slate)—a powerful argument against the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs…and their consequences. Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs.” It went viral. After one million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer. There are hordes of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs. Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. “Clever and charismatic” (The New Yorker), Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation and “a thought-provoking examination of our working lives” (Financial Times).
Download or read book Burning the Sky written by Mark Wolverton and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2018-11-27 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The unbelievable true story of an American Cold War scheme to detonate nuclear bombs in space is revealed in this military history exposé. The summer of 1958 was a nerve-racking time. The Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik drew America into a game of nuclear one-upmanship. Tensions escalated between the two superpowers over their respective nuclear weapons reserves, both sides desperate for a solution to the imminent threat of massive destruction. In America, an outlandish yet ingenious idea was raised by the eccentric physicist Nicholas Christofilos: launching atomic bombs into outer space to fry incoming Soviet ICBMs with an artificial radiation belt. Known as Project Argus, this secret plan was the riskiest scientific experiment in history. In Burning the Sky, Mark Wolverton draws on recently declassified sources to tell this incredible, unknown story. Burning the Sky chronicles Christofilos’s unconventional idea from its inception to execution—when the so-called mad scientist persuaded the military to use the entire Earth’s atmosphere as a laboratory. A meticulously researched tale that reads like a sci-fi thriller, Burning the Sky will intrigue any lover of scientific or military history.
Download or read book The Darwin Elevator written by Jason M. Hough and published by Titan Books. This book was released on 2013-07-19 with total page 643 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After aliens constructed an elevator from Darwin, Australia into space, humanity established orbital colonies along the elevator's cord. Years later, those outside of the machine's protective aura were wiped out by a mysterious plague. When the elevator's virus shield begins to break down, a scavenger and a scientist must unravel the mystery of the failing alien technology to save what's left of the world.
Download or read book The Dabare Snake Launcher written by Joelle Presby and published by Baen. This book was released on 2023-10-24 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A RACE IN AFRICA TO BUILD THE FIRST SPACE ELEVATOR New money, old tribes, and international megacorps race to build the first space elevator. With a little Dabare magic, it just might work! The Sadous, an oil-rich West African family, are handed a plum contract as repayment for a decades-old favor that could tie them into an industry of the future—if the family doesn’t tear itself apart first. Two engineer daughters of the Sadou family, Pascaline and Maurie, upon whom the burden of success rests, have troubles of their own. One wants nothing more than to leave and make her own name as an engineering prodigy, while the other is troubled by fever dreams and snakes. Ethan Schmidt-Li is an ambitious megacorp executive with eyes on a big promotion—only to get more than he bargained for when put in charge of the company’s make-or-break project. Endeley Adamou is the powerful nephew of a Bakweri chieftain walking the fine line between modernization and tribal tradition. These are some of the people that Tchami “Chummy” Fabrice has brought together to an ambitious end: constructing in Africa the world’s first space elevator and ensuring the space industry that it catapults will enrich the continent and all involved. They have the carbon nanofiber, prime land around Kilimanjaro, and a captured rock in orbit for the tether. The hard part will be getting all these different people working together long enough to see it built. Praise for The Dabare Snake Launcher: “Joelle Presby’s novel is a fascinating fictional look behind the scenes of the construction of the world’s first space elevator in a near-future version of Africa that has enough grounded elements to be thoroughly believable . . . The story maintains a keen eye on the largely larger-than-life characters and respect for the business processes, customs, and beliefs of the people on the ground making things happen.” —Wole Talabi, multiple-award finalist author and editor of Africanfuturism: An Anthology “You guys should all be on the lookout for Joelle Presby’s solo Baen novel THE DABARE SNAKE LAUNCHER. It is . . . remarkable. Just truly, truly remarkable.” —David Weber, NYT best-selling author of the Honorverse series “The Dabare Snake Launcher is a very believable depiction of when this species decides to do something amazing: backstabbing, plotting, and inflamed passions galore. Presby has created a future that I could easily imagine reading on the news in a few decades, and the novel is all the better for it.” —Warped Factor “The Dabare Snake Launcher takes you on a journey of possibilities, an Africa foremost in groundbreaking technology and not focused on deprivation and poverty. Joelle’s writing is nuanced . . . There’s family drama . . . romance . . . and laugh-out-loud humour. Writing is vivid and the characters fascinating.” —Hannah Onoguwe, author and poet “Set in Cameroon, where the author lived for many years, and full of lovely detail about the local cultures, clashes between traditional and modern, and differing expectations.” —Jane Lindskold, author of the Star Kingdom series and Over Where series. Praise for Joelle Presby: “Joelle Presby has a knack for engaging characters and plots that skillfully walk the line between science and storytelling.” —Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Nebula Award-winning and Hugo Award-nominated author and editor of The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction “Presby’s prose is efficient and shows intricate knowledge of both engineering and engineering management considerations. This infuses the story with the sensibility of a techno-thriller without the usual breakneck action pace that can sometimes sacrifice character development . . . I am eager to see what Presby writes next.” —Wole Talabi, Locus Award-nominated author and editor of Africanfuturism: An Anthology
