How does the Everyday Magnetosphere Affect a Space Elevator?
- Paper number
IAC-20,D4,3,9,x59567
- Author
Dr. Anders Jorgensen, United States, New Mexico Tech
- Coauthor
Dr. Steven Patamia, United States, New Mexico Tech
- Year
2020
- Abstract
In this paper we examine the dynamic susceptibility of a space elevator (Edwards 2000) to daily background variations of the electric and magnetic variations in the geospace environment. The elevator consists of a thin carbon nanotube ribbon extending to approximately 15 Earth radii in the equatorial plane where it is terminated by a massive counterweight. The elevator is so long that it extends through the inner magnetosphere and radiation belts past geostationary orbit and, at times, into interplanetary space. As a result, different segments of the space elevator encounter different regions of magnetic and electric fields. As the elevator rotates with the earth, it experiences diurnal variations in the fields and because these fields are not necessarily symmetric so are the forces possibly also not symmetric, leaving the question open as to whether energy pumping can take place. Electric fields will induce currents in the ribbon which interact with magnetic fields to apply forces to the ribbon. These fields and forces are in general not necessarily symmetric and thus net driving forces are possible. Accordingly, we have devised a spectrum of possibilities and applied them to a well understood model of a space elevator. We utilize numerical simulation which incorporates symplectic integration to examine storm and cargo scenarios to portray realistic dynamic responses. We will report on to what extent asymmetries in the fields can cause energy pumping into the space elevator system.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)