02-18-2018, 05:50 PM
putting things into geosynchronous orbit
TomK,
The top of a space elevator would by necessity need to be at geosynchronous orbit so the elevator would remain in a fixed position as the earth rotated. Do you know whether there is a way an orbiting spacecraft could dock with the space elevator at any point lower than 22,000 miles above the earth? Or would the speed of the spacecraft need to be so reduced to match the elevator at a lower orbit, that the spacecraft would lose altitude and return to earth?
Recycle Puna. Humans, although probably not you personally, have already left 400,000 pounds of trash on the moon. - YouTube's Half As Interesting
TomK,
The top of a space elevator would by necessity need to be at geosynchronous orbit so the elevator would remain in a fixed position as the earth rotated. Do you know whether there is a way an orbiting spacecraft could dock with the space elevator at any point lower than 22,000 miles above the earth? Or would the speed of the spacecraft need to be so reduced to match the elevator at a lower orbit, that the spacecraft would lose altitude and return to earth?
Recycle Puna. Humans, although probably not you personally, have already left 400,000 pounds of trash on the moon. - YouTube's Half As Interesting
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves