Space Elevators

[Renaissance Man]

On the utility of a space elevator at higher TLs...

I'm thinking freight. The trucks vs. trains analogy mentioned by Samuelvss could certainly apply to the space elevator. It's like a fixed "rail" link up to space, allowing huge masses of freight to be shuttled up and down WITHOUT using expensive spacecraft.

If you have a starport that services lots of bulk freighters that don't have streamlined hulls, a space elevator makes a lot of sense.

Doesn't mean you don't have shuttles also ("space trucks"), but it means that both will have their uses.

And contragrav would also make a space elevator extremely efficient.

And one more point -- for planets with high law levels that restrict the comings and goings of spacecraft and demand to check all cargoes, a space elevator becomes a secure, easily vigilated conduit.

 

[Mark Morgan]

On the utility of a space elevator at higher TLs...

I'm thinking freight. The trucks vs. trains analogy mentioned by Samuelvss could certainly apply to the space elevator. It's like a fixed "rail" link up to space, allowing huge masses of freight to be shuttled up and down WITHOUT using expensive spacecraft.

If you have a starport that services lots of bulk freighters that don't have streamlined hulls, a space elevator makes a lot of sense.

Doesn't mean you don't have shuttles also ("space trucks"), but it means that both will have their uses.

And contragrav would also make a space elevator extremely efficient.

And one more point -- for planets with high law levels that restrict the comings and goings of spacecraft and demand to check all cargoes, a space elevator becomes a secure, easily vigilated conduit.

additonaly would not grav tech aos make it easier to deply a beanstalk as well as withah a few grave mudlue tagged to (with bateries serve to imporve the safety of the techer if when it ever broke

 

[far-trader]

I beg your indulgence for cleaning up your words (where I could), no slight is intended since I lack knowledge of the reasons*...

additionally would not grav tech also make it easier to deploy a beanstalk as well as with(?) a few grav modules tagged to (with batteries serve to improve the safety of the tether if when it ever broke

Certainly it would help to raise the beanstalk, and improve the safety by the addition as noted. The issue is more one of if grav tech is available, cheaply and safely, there's no reason to build the beanstalk since the grav tech is superior. I'm not sure there's any case where the two would exist together.

It might be a bit like having the choice of shipping hundreds of thousands of tons of oil by both a single supertanker and several hundred(?) sailing ships.

Sure the sailing ships (beanstalk) will work, by breaking up the shipment (multiple cars) and taking much longer (slow) while being much cheaper (little energy cost once built).

But the supertanker (grav ship) gets it there in one go very quickly, but at more cost.

Ultimately, the supertanker is much cheaper so the sailing ships are nothing but museum pieces.

I can see a world isolated from grav tech for whatever reason and needing or wanting the orbital access might build a beanstalk. And then with the increase in trade it brings they get grav tech and before long the beanstalk is just a tourist attraction while all the real lifting is done with grav vehicles.


* been known to slur my own typing in haste, thought is quicker than the fingers, of course I will sometimes justifiably blame the keyboard in other cases, and sometimes not so justifiably

 

[far-trader]

On the utility of a space elevator at higher TLs...

I'm thinking freight. The trucks vs. trains analogy mentioned by Samuelvss could certainly apply to the space elevator. It's like a fixed "rail" link up to space, allowing huge masses of freight to be shuttled up and down WITHOUT using expensive spacecraft.

The difference there is rail is almost as quick as truck* while grav is much quicker than beanstalk iirc. And of course mass isn't any more a problem for grav than it is for beanstalk. The only difference is cost. And actually we have no good idea just what the cost would be for beanstalks in Traveller would be, do we? I feel a desire to crack FF&S and see if I can work out some beanstalk construction costs, unfortunately I don't think I have the time at the moment.

* could more or less easily be as fast

 

[Mark Morgan]

indeed could be as fast or faster who know how much the stalk costs

but their is another being over traffic volume and control how things you want wizzing through the sky at once

security a beanis one object to guard what are we in the US about to start spending to try and monitor the contents of of every private plane in the USA

bulk lifting esp pipelines line stuff like refined feul highly suggest bean stalk as a option frankly if our economy were better organized trains still make much better economic sensense (as well as eco sense)

lot s of independant fusion sources powering grav modulaes the heat gfoes somewhere

BTW seriously dyslexic with eyes that compensate for it by showing my what I intended to type rather than what is there sometimes
another thing that bean stalk should be able to do is transfer waste heat is various ways and generate power if decent magnetic feilds are present

 

[Gvadakoung]

IMTU, space elevators are a commonplace at either ancient starports, or at very busy ones, as routine connectors between Starport Up and Starport Down. And yes, moving water is what they principally do.