engineering

Space elevator competitions

Space elevator competitions is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Space elevator competitions rather than just read about it. In short: A space elevator is a theoretical system using a super-strong ribbon going from the surface of the Earth to a point beyond Geosynchronous orbit. The center of gravity of the ribbon would be exactly in geosynchronous orbit, so that the ribbon would always stay above the anchor point.

Key takeaways

Space elevator competitions belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Space elevator competitions to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Space elevator competitions from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A space elevator is a theoretical system using a super-strong ribbon going from the surface of the Earth to a point beyond Geosynchronous orbit. The center of gravity of the ribbon would be exactly in geosynchronous orbit, so that the ribbon would always stay above the anchor point. Vehicles would climb the ribbon powered by a beam of energy projected from the surface of the Earth. Building a space elevator requires materials and techniques that do not currently exist. A variety of Space Elevator competitions have been held in order to stimulate the development of such materials and techniques. Space elevators were first conceived in 1895, but until the discovery of carbon nanotubes, no technology was envisioned that could make them possible. Building an actual elevator is still out of reach, but the directions for research are clear. This makes the area ripe for incentive prizes like the X Prize, and prizes and competitions have been set up since 2005 to encourage the development of relevant technologies. There are two main areas of research remaining, and these are where the competitions focus: building cables ("a Tether challenge"), and climbing and descending cables ("a Power Beam challenge"). In a Power Beam Challenge, each team designs and builds a climber (a machine capable of traveling up and down a tether ribbon). In a Tether challenge, each team attempts to build the longest and strongest cable. In the Power Beam challenge climber carry a payload. Power is beamed from a transmitter to a receiver on the climber. With each competition, the tethers reach higher altitudes, and the climbers are expected to climb further. Each competition can have minimum lengths and maximum weight per meter for cables, and minimum speed and distance goals for climbers.

Space elevator challenge results Like many competitions modeled after the X prize, competitors have to meet a minimum baseline, and then prizes are awarded to the best entry that exceed that target. In 2005, there was only a climbing challenge, and none of the entrants met the minimum speed requirement of 1 m/s. Starting in 2006, Elevator:2010, sponsored by spaceward.org and NASA conducted a series of competitions. For 2006, the prize was increased, and the speed requirement dropped slightly to 50 meters in under a minute. 13 teams entered, and one was able to climb the 50 meters in 58 seconds. In 2009 at Edwards Air Force Base, the challenge was climbing a 900 m tether, and one entry managed the feat several times, with a top speed of 3.5 m/s. NASA didn't renew their sponsorship after 2009, pending "further advancements in material science". The International Space Elevator Consortium was formed in 2008, and has held annual conferences. They announced a $10,000 Strong Tether Challenge competition for 2013. The Challenge was canceled for lack of competitors. The 2011, 2012, and 2013 ISEC conferences also featured FIRST-style High School robotics competitions for climbers. and occasional competitions. The Japan Space Elevator Association held a climbing competition in August 2013. Hot air balloons were used to hoist a tether, and Team Okusawa's entry succeeded in climbing to 1100 meters, and a team from Nihon University reached 1200 meters. (The sources are in Japanese.) The Japan Space Elevator Association held a climbing competition in August 2014. Hot air balloons were used to hoist both rope (11 mm) and ribbon (35 mm x 2 mm) to 200 m and 1200 m. Team Okusawa climbed to 1200 m and descended twice. Kanagawa University carried a 100 kg payload to 123 m on the 200 m ribbon. Kanagawa University's three teams climbed respectively to 1200 m (rope), 1150 m (rope) and 1100 m (ribbon). Technical University of Munich reached 1000 m (rope).

References

External links

The Space Elevator Reference LaserMotive KC Space Pirates web site 2009 Space Elevator Games Results Archived 15 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine 2005 Space Elevator Games Results Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine How close is the Space Elevator? Archived 1 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine Space Elevator Feasibility Archived 24 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine Tech Video coverage of the Space Elevator Competition in Israel Lighthouse DEV: Spinoff of the NSS Space Elevator Team Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Space elevator competitions

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Space elevator competitions claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Space elevator competitions before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Space elevator competitions ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Space elevator competitions

In research: Space elevator competitions appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Space elevator competitions in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Space elevator competitions is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Challenge awards, Robotics competitions, Space competitions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Space elevator competitions outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Space elevator competitions in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Space elevator competitions means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Space elevator competitions out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Space elevator competitions in simple terms?

Why does Space elevator competitions matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Space elevator competitions?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Space elevator competitions.