Hypothetical space elevator failure

McNum · Post by **McNum** » 2003-07-04 09:31pm

Picture this:

A space elevator that is held in position with an anchor station on the ground and a geosynchronous station at the top. It is made from a flexible material to counter atmospherical turbulence and sligt drift in the top station.

What would happen if it failed? By that I mean the station at the top is disconnected somehow and the elevator starts to fall over. Assuming it's 15 km high how much damage could that thing do? Also, would it be possible to cancel the fall by disconnecting it at the bottom and thereby make it fly out into space instead of crashing?

I got the idea from an oldish cartoon called "Centurions" where they did just that. Just wondering if that's possible in real life.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-07-04 09:35pm

Maybe if they add a parachute as a security measure,i`d say none.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-07-04 09:50pm

this has already been discussed but i'll reply here.

if the ribbon cut lower then a few hundred km, it will flutter to the ground, the ends might burn up in the atmosphere. if its cut higher everything above a certain point would burn up on reentry or flutter down to the ground. no harm done.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2003-07-04 09:53pm

What would happen if you got a big heavy bar in a LEO and it crossed the path of the carbon wires?

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-07-04 09:57pm

Rye wrote:What would happen if you got a big heavy bar in a LEO and it crossed the path of the carbon wires?

it would tear the cable. duh

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2003-07-05 12:22am

Would it be possible to have some sort of mechanism that would break the cable up into small pieces upon breaking? Would that help any?

Dark Hellion · Post by **Dark Hellion** » 2003-07-05 12:31am

A lot of people would run around screaming "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!" and then a whole lot of not much.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-07-05 12:45am

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi wrote:Would it be possible to have some sort of mechanism that would break the cable up into small pieces upon breaking? Would that help any?

That was my idea in the previous thread that discussed this.

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2003-07-05 01:05am

Well depending on what the thing is made of there are several situations that may arise, if it is ribbony it may flutter, if it is ridged, well it will topple and anything underneath its path for a 50-60 kms will be crushed, though at the outer edges, it may well reach near orbital velocities and break apart, in which case, the ground beneath may well be pockmarked with craters from the debris.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-07-05 02:24am

all proposed lift designs have ribbons as their cable.

Macross · Post by **Macross** » 2003-07-05 02:34am

Im curious, how would such a structure be constructed?

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-07-05 02:39am

Macross wrote:Im curious, how would such a structure be constructed?

Launch the starter cable satellite to geosynch orbit and begin lowering it. you also extend it away from earth with a counter weight at the other end. when it touches ground, you run a small climber along the cable adding more and more, kind of like how they build suspension bridges.

I suggest you read the FAQs at http://www.highliftsystems.com/

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-07-05 02:43am

btw, all questions about breaking the ribbon are addresses at http://www.highliftsystems.com/ as well. Have a nice day.

McNum · Post by **McNum** » 2003-07-05 10:56am

No harm done, then. I guess I can chalk that idea up to pseudoscience, then. Thanks, I wondered how that Centurions episode could work. And the answer was that it couldn't.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-07-05 01:29pm

well, if an elevator was entirely disconnected at the bottom, it WOULD fly out into space, but thats because its still attached to the part thats going faster then orbital velocity