Description:
This is a technological synthesis
utilizing the concepts of SPS/Powersat,
power storage rings, Launch Loop, and
Starbridge.  The synthesis results in
a design that supplies electrical power to the Earth, as well as
providing an enormous space transportation
capability.

Keywords:
energy/transportation,SPS,Powersat,Launchloop,Starbridge,colonization,
spacefarin
 ---------------------------------
 

ELECTRICAL POWER + SPACE TRANSPORTATION = SPACEFARING

by  J. E. D. Cline      September 31,1988

Ref: GEnie Spaceport file #553

This is a technological conceptual synthesis utilizing the
concepts of SPS Powersat, Power Storage Ring, Electrical
Power Transmission Line, Launch Loop, and Starbridge.  Its
intent is to provide a stimulus for a greatly expanded space
program through its byproduct of providing large amounts of
pollution-free electrical power delivered to meet the more
immediate needs of people on Earth.

The EXPECTED PROBLEM is that progress is far too slow to
achieve space colonization prior to Earth losing too many
species' genotypes, and preserving its balanced ecology
needed to provide indefinite support of a teeming
civilization, and that reaction-engine propulsion technology
uses too much of Earth's resources to be practical for
mass exodus to space.

The PROPOSED SOLUTION is to merge several leading-edge space
concepts into a design which has a byproduct of supplying
great amounts of electrical power to Earth-surface power
grids, for the more immediated needs' attention of everyday
life.

The EXPECTED RESULTS are a renewed interest by the average
person in a greatly expanded space program, resulting in the
construction of combined electrical power systems and space
transportation systems such as proposed herein.  This system
would take the load off the fossil fuel supply now being
consumed as the primary source of power on Earth, while at
the same time a space transportation "highway" system is
providing massive transport of materials and people between
Earth surface and space settlements. A spacefaring society
civilization transfers the majority of humanity into
artificial worlds built in Geosynchronous orbit and in the
L-4/L-5 libration points 240,000 miles from Earth, while the
Earth's ecology is gradually restored to a function of
preserving a diversity of species genotypes.
The conceptual synthesis will be presented next, followed by
a brief description of the component concepts, then the
sequence of actualization will be described briefly.

The CONCEPTUAL SYNTHESIS: A Solar Power Satellite located in
a geosynchronous orbit converts solar energy into
electrical power.  This electrical energy is used to
accellerate a stream of ultrafast objects headed down an
enclosing guide tube or ring toward the Earth's surface
terminal.  At the Earth terminal, some of the electrokinetic
energy is tapped off to feed into the Earth surface
electrical power grid, and the rest is redirected back
toward space in the enclosing tower tube or ring.  The
massive stream of ultrafast objects is accellerated
electromagneticaly to add energy to it, and decellerated
electromagnetically to extract energy from it.  Some of its
electrokinetic energy is transferred to the tubular guideway
used to keep the air out where it is in the Earth's
atmosphere, and to provide support and power for the
transportation system that runs along its length. The result
is an electrical power supply for Earth, and a self-powered
economical transportation link connecting the Earth's
surface with geosynchronous orbit.

The SPS POWERSAT concept was proposed in the "60's by Peter
Glaser.  Located in GEO, it converts the endless solar
energy there into electrical energy through use of vast
silicon solar cell arrays, or by using a Helium-Brayton
turbine system.  The original SPS concept then used a
powerful microwave beam to beam the gigawatts of power to
the Earth's surface.

An ELECTRICAL POWER TRANSMISSION LINE: is what connects
electrical power sources with the users of electrical power.
On earth the lines are made of copper or aluminum wires,
and connect sources such as hydroelectric, fossil fuel oil
or natural gas, nuclear-electric and wind generator power
plants, with their customer homes and industrial users.

POWER STORAGE RINGS: were proposed to store electrical power
produced during the low-demand hours of the day, and then
add their energy during peak power demand hours.
Hydroelectric power storage is used now. This concept would
use a huge ring enclosing and guiding a massive stream of
hurtling ultrafast objects, which stores energy
electrokinetically.  Power is added or extracted from the
storage ring stream by accellerating or decellerating the
massive stream electromagnetically.

LAUNCH LOOP: a powerful space transportation concept by
Keith Lofstom, would be similar to the power storage ring
concept.  However, it only touches the Earth's surface at
one point; from there it bounces up to geosynchronous orbit,
then circles back down around the Earth to reconnect at the
same point on the surface.  In the version proposed by Earl
Smith in "The Texas and Universe Railroad" the Earth surface
terminal would be located in Texas, resulting in requiring
passing over only one other country, and being subject to
the state's lenient railroad regulatory agency.

STARBRIDGE: another powerful space transportation concept
proposed by Ron Hyde in about 1983.  It would be a
dynamically-supported Earth tower, reaching from the Earth's
surface toward space.  Located at the slope and base of a
mountain, Earth-sourced electrical power is used to
accellerate a vast stream of ultrafast beryllium disks
(which have a magnet attached to each one) in an
electromagnetic accellerator on the mountain slopes.  The
accellerator directs the stream down the mountain, around in
a loop, and back up the mountain slope; the stream then
continues upward in a vacuum withing a tube supported by
energy extracted from the electrokinetic energy contained
within the moving stream.  At the top end of the Starbridge
tower, a reflector returns the stream of objects back down
the tube to return for re-accelleration in the mountainside
accellerator.  This transportation system would consume
prodigious amounts of Earth resource electrical power, but
would be able to lift payload mass equal to that of every
human being on Earth in a matter of a couple of weeks!
The Launch Loop and the Starbridge concepts...or a
derivative of them...offer a way to create a "highway"
between Earth surface and space.  Their source of power
would be electrical, and once such a megaproject is built,
in this conceptual synthesis it would  enable powering
itself by a dedicated Solar Power Satellite, thus taking the
burden off the Earth for the energy to transfer payloads
between EArth and space.  In principle it takes only a few
cents' worth of electricity, about 16KWHr, to lift a
kilogram to geosynchronous orbit from the Earth's
surface...in contrast to the thousands of dollars it costs
per kilogram of payload using conventional reaction engine
propulsion systems. Supplying excess electrical power from
the Powersat to energize the Earth surface electrical power
grid would pay for the construction of the energy/transport
system, and help take the load off of fossil fuel reserves,
preserving them for the much more critical petrochemical
feedstocks needed for the future.

SEQUENCE OF ACTUALIZATION of this concept starts with power
from conventional electrical power sources being used to
lift and power-up the structure of such a transport system,
then components of a prefab Solar Power Satellite is sent up
the system for installation at its geosynchronous orbit
terminal.  Thereafter solar energy from the SPS is used to
support and run the transportation system and also to supply
electrical power to Earth's surface, put into the
conventional power grid at the bottom end of the structure.
Power is transferred along the transportation sturcture in
the form of the kinetic energy of a stream of extremely
fast moving objects.  Power is put into, and taken out of,
the syustem by electromagnetically accellerating or
decellerating the stream of objects.  The stream flows in an
airless tube which is itself supported by electrical drag
on the massive stream of ultrafast objects within itself.
Energy is supplied to Earth surface, and a highway to space
is created to enable civilization to move into space.
Although still conceptual in nature, the potential of such
concepts for moving absolutely enormous amounts of material
and people from Earth and space in a short time at
relatively very low cost using somewhat elevator-like means,
could totally change the way things are built in space.
These concepts suggest that a "highway" to space may be
feasable using near-contemporary technology, supplying
electrical power to Earth as a byproduct, and enabling
civilization to have an exodus into artificial worlds built
in near-earth space, and start the healing of Earth's
ecology and preservation of a maximum of diversity of
species genotypes.  It is important that we do start this
soon.

     J.E.D.CLINE1 (GEnie address)
     James Edward David "Jim/Jed/Dave" Cline
     5632 Van Nuys Blvd. #110
     Van Nuys, CA 91401
     (818) 909-0143

Apologies are offered for all errors or ommissions.  All
comments which can be used to improve future rewrites of
this will be appreciated.  Perfecting analysis, engineering
realism and socioeconomic factors are needed to provide
feedback to improve the conceptual synthesis' viability.