Living In The Asteroid Belt – part 3 – Getting There
Previous articles in this series:
1-INTRODUCTION
2-GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
GETTING THERE
- Rockets that use chemical reaction thrust in both solid form and liquid form have been the only option for many years. But they require a massive amount of thrust requiring large fuel tanks and limiting payloads. Historically, they have been expensive and discarded after a single use. Modern rocket design is incorporating re-usable rockets which brings down some of the costs, but they still have the same payload limitations.
- Ion drives use low thrust levels and greatly reduce fuel requirements and the associated cost, but they are not practical to use for lifting payloads into orbit from a gravity well. Their constant gentle thrust builds up velocity over time making them efficient for moving around in space, once there.
- Space elevators were only theory until carbon nanotubes were discovered and still have never been built. Their design uses low lift energy and comparatively low velocity climbing up a ribbon cable into space. They require a high initial cost, but low ongoing maintenance and are far more efficient than any other option.
SEE ALSO:
The Space Elevator Concept
The next article in this series will be about:
4-MINING
