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Cable Space Launcher is a facility for delivering payload and people into outer space. This method was offered and researched in [1]. Method uses, in general, engines and a cable located on a planetary surface. The installation consists of a space apparatus, power drive stations located along the trajectory of the apparatus, the cable connected to the apparatus and to the power stations, and a system for suspending the cable. The drive stations accelerate the apparatus up to hypersonic speed. The estimations and computations show the possibility of making these projects a reality in a short period of time (two project examples are computed: a launcher for tourists and a launcher for payloads). The launch will be very cheap at a projected cost of $1–$5 per pound. The cable is made from cheap artificial fiber widely produced by modern industry [1]. As driver can be used electrostatic engine [2].

Technique

The installation includes (see notations in Fig. 1): a cable; power drive stations; winged space apparatus (space ship, missile, probe, projectile and so on); conventional engines and flywheels; and a launching area (airdrome). Between drive stations the cable is supported by columns. The columns can also hold additional cables for future launches and a delivery system for used cable.

RL-F1.jpg
Fig. 1. a. Launcher for a crewed space ship with single cable. Notation: 1 – cable contains 3 parts: main part, outlet part, and directive part; 2 – power drive station; 3 – cable support columns; 4 – winged space apparatus (space ship, missile, probe, projectile and so on); 5 – trajectory of space apparatus; 6 – engine. b. A fixed slope small launcher for projectiles.

The installation works in the following way. All drive station start to run. The first power station pulls the cable, 1, connected to the winged space apparatus. The apparatus takes off from the start area and flies with acceleration along trajectory 5. When the apparatus reaches the first drive station, this drive station disconnects from the cable and the next drive station continues the apparatus acceleration, and so on. At the end of the distance, the winged apparatus has reached hypersonic speed, disconnects from the cable, changes the horizontal acceleration into vertical acceleration (while it is flying in the atmosphere) and leaves the Earth’s atmosphere.

The power stations contains the engines. The engine can be any type, for example, gas turbines, or electrical or mechanical motors or an electrostatic engines (in last drive stations). The power drive station has also an energy storage system (flywheel accumulator of energy), a type transmission and a clutch. The installation can also have a slope and launch a projectile at an angle to horizon (Fig. 1b).

This method was offered at World Space Congress-2002, Oct. 10–19, Houston, TX, USA [1] and was developed in [2]-[3]. The high speed electrostatic engine was developed in [4].

References

The researches in this topics were presented as Bolonkin’s papers IAC-02-V.P.06, IAC-02-S.P.14 at World Space Congress-2002, Oct. 10–19, Houston, TX, USA, and as variant AIAA-2003-8057 at symposium “The Next 100 years”, 14–17 July 2003, Dayton, Ohio, USA.

A. Bolonkin, Earth Accelerator for Space Ships and Missiles, Journal of British Interplanetary Society (JBIS), Vol.56, No. 11/12. 2003, pp.394-404.

Published in book "Non-Rocket Space Launch and Flight", by A.Bolonkin, Elsevier, 2006, Ch.2 (see also [1770] ).

[1771] . Electrostatic liner engine.