The physicists say it's all quite do-able, but just the slacker chemists still need to invent a building material strong enough under tension (Kevlar is tough enough for a Lunar tether though)
The construction of the first one - very dangerous and expensive. The idea is that you get a geosynchronous satelite to extend two cables simultaneously - one towards the Earth and one away from it - so that the structure's centre of gravity stays constant. All the time compensations need to be made for mad high altitude winds etc. Eventually one hits the ground and then materials can travel up that cable like rail-freight.
After all that it's much easier and cheaper to build lots more of em - making rocket launches largely obsolete
The payoff is an estimated 95% cost saving for getting more space junk into orbit. If you consider a setup powered by obital solar collectors this sounds about right - there's no longer any need to spend fuel to get fuel carrying vehicles aloft.
Travel-time up into geosynchronous orbit (around 36,000 km) would be measured in days
The greatest predicted maintainence challenge is moving the cable around to dodge space junk (lol). Hence it's likely that a space elevator would terminate planetside at a movable floating platform. So I guess planet 4546B would come in handy there. But since it has to be built at the equator I'm puzzled how this would tie into an Arctic expansion.
So after reading the article, there was no explanation as to why the elevator needed to be built on the equator or a planet. I would imagine the same concept would apply to a polar elevator, but adding a mechanism to counter or adapt to the orbital spin of the planet, such as having the mooring be held in a magnetic enclosure, providing the tethering of the elevator without transferring the planetary rotation along the cable.
We have to have the satellite itself orbiting the equator, as otherwise it wouldn't be stable. (Trying to orbit the North pole would be problematic, since pesky gravity would say the center of the earth is South of us, and vice versa.)
If we tried tethering at a pole but having the satellite orbit the equator, the tether would throw off the orbit.
Edit: I re-wrote this reply may times, so please excuse that it has already been explained.
Why not have a pod/station that can transfer momentum to an additional dimensions and then harvest it... Kind of like a giant flywheel or spring.
So you'd have a pod with apparent anti-gravity - but only very temporarily - capable of landing briefly before rising to *almost* its original height and location? The vesper (original location) would then add energy to the pod.
Hey @Avimimus, not quite sure what you're getting at. Do you mean releasing a large mass from the top of the space elevator into higher orbit, but using this to hoist up a smaller, connected, freight pod that is lower down the elevator? Can you elaborate?
Why not have a pod/station that can transfer momentum to an additional dimensions and then harvest it... Kind of like a giant flywheel or spring.
So you'd have a pod with apparent anti-gravity - but only very temporarily - capable of landing briefly before rising to *almost* its original height and location? The vesper (original location) would then add energy to the pod.
This reminds me of "The Gods Themselves" by Asimov. Given current knowledge, it does sound more like magic than science though. It might be possible, who knows.
If the Vesper is right over the pole of the planet, it could also be using some sort of power to stay in place and/or move when it needs to. It doesn't necessarily have to use same model we know of now for how a space elevator works. Kind of like how an oil-drilling platform keeps its position using its own engine power.
Basically would could just say it's ~space magic~ or something, but talking about it is fun.
If the Vesper is right over the pole of the planet, it could also be using some sort of power to stay in place and/or move when it needs to. It doesn't necessarily have to use same model we know of now for how a space elevator works. Kind of like how an oil-drilling platform keeps its position using its own engine power.
Basically would could just say it's ~space magic~ or something, but talking about it is fun.
Then you follow @Kouji_San comment on continuously using power to maintain it's position. Kind of a waste.
Maybe it's on a regular orbit and it justs lands and take off, like a normal spacecraft.
The cable would need some sort of navigation system to land in the right spot. Then it would need to have some sort of secondary stations to reel in softly and avoid tensioning the entire cable all at once (the relative velocity between a low orbit station and the ground is way to fast). These secondary stations would need some way to reduce their speed relatively to the ground and some way to tension their share of cable (probably propulsion).
It would be complicated and resource intensive. Maybe with the cable attaching to a rocket mid flight.
VectorMaster22(I left my keys in the Neptune Escape Rocket when I was trying to get stuff for my time capsule)Join Date: 2018-04-23Member: 240271Members
Sadly, I don't think that the "space elevator" will ever be implemented in the Artic DLC. Although the rocket idea is more realistic, it would of been cool to ride on a giant elevator into space.
VectorMaster22(I left my keys in the Neptune Escape Rocket when I was trying to get stuff for my time capsule)Join Date: 2018-04-23Member: 240271Members
edited October 2018
Okay, currently, the Vesper won't be a base for the player, but for Alterra. The player will find Precursor information/technology and will send them to the Vesper on a rocket. The Vesper will send loot drops down, which will give the player resources needed to survive.
Okay, currently, the Vesper won't be a base for the player, but for Alterra. The player will find Precursor information/technology and will send them to the Vesper on a rocket. The Vesper will send loot drops down, which will give the player resources needed to survive.
I'm wondering if this is the only playstyle planned for? Since, in Subnautica, the devs spoofed multinationals so well with Alterra, I'm hoping the game will give you the option of either working with or against company (replay value etc.)
Okay, currently, the Vesper won't be a base for the player, but for Alterra. The player will find Precursor information/technology and will send them to the Vesper on a rocket. The Vesper will send loot drops down, which will give the player resources needed to survive.
I'm wondering if this is the only playstyle planned for? Since, in Subnautica, the devs spoofed multinationals so well with Alterra, I'm hoping the game will give you the option of either working with or against company (replay value etc.)
VectorMaster22(I left my keys in the Neptune Escape Rocket when I was trying to get stuff for my time capsule)Join Date: 2018-04-23Member: 240271Members
Okay, currently, the Vesper won't be a base for the player, but for Alterra. The player will find Precursor information/technology and will send them to the Vesper on a rocket. The Vesper will send loot drops down, which will give the player resources needed to survive.
I'm wondering if this is the only playstyle planned for? Since, in Subnautica, the devs spoofed multinationals so well with Alterra, I'm hoping the game will give you the option of either working with or against company (replay value etc.) @VectorMaster22 any info on that angle yet?
Not really, @BlueBottle . The Devs are pretty good at hiding story spoilers on the internet, let alone the Trello. What we do know is that the protagonist will be a zoologist, tasked with investigating/researching the planet, when something goes wrong (current spoilers show that a co-worker named Jeffery goes missing), so the player is forced into the water, and that gameplay will be around 10+ hours.
From reading dialogue, you can learn that the VESPER will apparently hold the player's brother. At least that's what I interpreted from it.
Of the 3 gameplay possibilities that come to mind, that makes option 2 seem the more likely:
1. Alterra's toady
2. Alterra's nemesis
3. Player's choice of role
What we do know is that the protagonist will be a zoologist, tasked with investigating/researching the planet, when something goes wrong (current spoilers show that a co-worker named Jeffery goes missing), so the player is forced into the water, and that gameplay will be around 10+ hours.
Damn Jeffery, always slacking off somewhere!
But fingers crossed this will see a return of the bio-research mechanic that once seemed planned for the first game.
Looking at the wiki I see that the Botanical Analysis Machine and the Specimen Analyzer were cut content. But, if I read it correctly, the Transfuser and Centrifuge are models from Below Zero (?)
Comments
We have to have the satellite itself orbiting the equator, as otherwise it wouldn't be stable. (Trying to orbit the North pole would be problematic, since pesky gravity would say the center of the earth is South of us, and vice versa.)
If we tried tethering at a pole but having the satellite orbit the equator, the tether would throw off the orbit.
Edit: I re-wrote this reply may times, so please excuse that it has already been explained.
Why not have a pod/station that can transfer momentum to an additional dimensions and then harvest it... Kind of like a giant flywheel or spring.
So you'd have a pod with apparent anti-gravity - but only very temporarily - capable of landing briefly before rising to *almost* its original height and location? The vesper (original location) would then add energy to the pod.
This reminds me of "The Gods Themselves" by Asimov. Given current knowledge, it does sound more like magic than science though. It might be possible, who knows.
I think so, definitely overkill.
Basically would could just say it's ~space magic~ or something, but talking about it is fun.
Then you follow @Kouji_San comment on continuously using power to maintain it's position. Kind of a waste.
Maybe it's on a regular orbit and it justs lands and take off, like a normal spacecraft.
Maybe just lowers its cable when it passes over the player's polar station?
The cable would need some sort of navigation system to land in the right spot. Then it would need to have some sort of secondary stations to reel in softly and avoid tensioning the entire cable all at once (the relative velocity between a low orbit station and the ground is way to fast). These secondary stations would need some way to reduce their speed relatively to the ground and some way to tension their share of cable (probably propulsion).
It would be complicated and resource intensive. Maybe with the cable attaching to a rocket mid flight.
FTFY
Is that the concept they're using then?
I'm wondering if this is the only playstyle planned for? Since, in Subnautica, the devs spoofed multinationals so well with Alterra, I'm hoping the game will give you the option of either working with or against company (replay value etc.)
@VectorMaster22 any info on that angle yet?
From reading dialogue, you can learn that the VESPER will apparently hold the player's brother. At least that's what I interpreted from it.
1. Alterra's toady
2. Alterra's nemesis
3. Player's choice of role
Damn Jeffery, always slacking off somewhere!
But fingers crossed this will see a return of the bio-research mechanic that once seemed planned for the first game.
Looking at the wiki I see that the Botanical Analysis Machine and the Specimen Analyzer were cut content. But, if I read it correctly, the Transfuser and Centrifuge are models from Below Zero (?)
https://subnautica.wikia.com/wiki/Transfuser
https://subnautica.wikia.com/wiki/Centrifuge