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Dynamic Orbital Rings
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Technology > Application > Infrastructure
Technology > Application > Megascale Engineering
Technology > Application > Infrastructure
Technology > Application > Megascale Engineering
Orbital rings suspended by dynamic, mass-stream technology | |
 Image from Steve Bowers | |
| These paired orbital rings consist of a single, flexible mass of silicate fibre coated in magnetic material; other mass-streams use individual mass-particles which can be individually controlled magnetically | |
To construct a planetary surface-to-orbit fixed elevator it is necessary to have a stable end point in space to locate the upper terminal. For many planets this is the so-called geostationary orbit (GO) where the orbital speed is the same as the speed of planetary rotation. However many moons and tidally locked planets have a slow rate of rotation, making the GO very distant.
Sometimes one of the stable Lagrange points is convenient for a very long space elevator, especially as these points of stability are often the first off-planet areas of a solar system to be developed with orbital habitats.
Another system is the dynamic orbital ring, a solid ring in a lower orbit (LO) which remains stationary relative to the planet or moon by thrusting against a ring of particles which are continuously recycled. Keeping the rotating ring moving at very slightly higher than orbital speed for that height allows the stationary ring to maintain altitude. The ring can be prone to sideways instabilities so ion thrusters are used to keep station.
 Image from Steve Bowers | |
| Terraformed Venus is surrounded by a Dynamic Orbital Ring, mosty constructed from carbon extracted from its original atmosphere | |
Space elevators can be then suspended from the ring, building inwards on each side at an equal rate to maintain balance. The provolved arachnids of genus Hobo Sapiens and Aranea cosmoi have become masters of the Orbweb elevator as it has become known.
More applications of mass-stream technology are described here: Space fountains and Orbital Rings
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Development Notes
Text by Steve Bowers
Initially published on 07 July 2002.
Initially published on 07 July 2002.
