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A Space Elevator to Mars: Calculating Space Flight Trajectories

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Human habitation of other planets requires both cost-effective transportation and low time-of-flight for human passengers and critical supplies. The current methods for interplanetary orbital transfers, such as the Hohmann transfer, require either expensive, high fuel maneuvers or extended space travel. However, by utilizing the high velocities of a super-geosynchronous space…

Human habitation of other planets requires both cost-effective transportation and low time-of-flight for human passengers and critical supplies. The current methods for interplanetary orbital transfers, such as the Hohmann transfer, require either expensive, high fuel maneuvers or extended space travel. However, by utilizing the high velocities of a super-geosynchronous space elevator, spacecraft released from an apex anchor could achieve interplanetary transfers with minimal Delta V fuel and time of flight requirements. By using Lambert’s Problem and Free Release propagation to determine the minimal fuel transfer from a terrestrial space elevator to Mars under a variety of initial conditions and time-of-flight constraints, this paper demonstrates that the use of a space elevator release can address both needs by dramatically reducing the time-of-flight and the fuel budget.
ContributorsTorla, James (Author) / Peet, Matthew (Thesis director) / Swan, Peter (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05

Exploring the Benefits of Using a Space Elevator for Planetary Defense

Description

The potential threat of Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and the need for effective planetary defense strategies has become increasingly urgent. While a range of mitigation techniques exist, the development of a space elevator could provide significant advantages in planetary defense. The current mitigation strategies require the use of a rocket…

The potential threat of Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and the need for effective planetary defense strategies has become increasingly urgent. While a range of mitigation techniques exist, the development of a space elevator could provide significant advantages in planetary defense. The current mitigation strategies require the use of a rocket in order to intercept the NEOs, and therefore launch lighter interceptors at lower velocities. However, the implementation of a space elevator would allow releasing heavier interceptors at much higher velocities. These capabilities combined with faster response times, make space elevators a much more efficient response to planetary defense. By using computational simulations on MATLAB to calculate intercept trajectories and model the new orbit of the NEOs after impact, this paper demonstrates that the use of space elevators can significantly improve the current strategies for planetary defense.
ContributorsMariana Descamps, Oriol (Author) / Peet, Matthew (Thesis director) / Swan, Pete (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2023-05
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Numerical Modeling and Stress Analysis of Space Elevator Tethers

Description
Two of the most fundamental barriers to the exploration of the solar system are the cost of transporting material to space and the time it takes to get to destinations beyond Earth’s sphere of influence. Space elevators can solve this problem by enabling extremely fast and propellant free transit to…

Two of the most fundamental barriers to the exploration of the solar system are the cost of transporting material to space and the time it takes to get to destinations beyond Earth’s sphere of influence. Space elevators can solve this problem by enabling extremely fast and propellant free transit to nearly any destination in the solar system. A space elevator is a structure that consists of an anchor on the Earth’s surface, a tether connected from the surface to a point well above geostationary orbit, and an apex counterweight anchor. Since the entire structure rotates at the same rate as the Earth regardless of altitude, gravity is the dominant force on structures below GEO while centripetal force is dominant above, allowing climber vehicles to accelerate from GEO along the tether and launch off from the apex with large velocities. The outcome of this project is the development of a MATLAB script that can design and analyze a space elevator tether and climber vehicle. The elevator itself is designed to require the minimum amount of material necessary to support a given climber mass based on provided material properties, while the climber is simulated separately. The climber and tether models are then combined to determine how the force applied by the climber vehicle changes the stress distribution inside the tether.
ContributorsNelson, Alexander (Author) / Peet, Matthew (Thesis director) / Mignolet, Marc (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2022-05