Exponential Tethers for Accelerated Space Elevator Deployment

TL;DR

This paper introduces exponential tethers for space elevators, enabling more efficient deployment by allowing simultaneous reeling in and out without altering the overall structure, thus improving construction speed.

Contribution

It presents a novel exponential tether design that simplifies and accelerates space elevator deployment compared to traditional climber-based methods.

Findings

Exponential tethers allow simultaneous reeling in and out.

The method improves deployment efficiency significantly.

Cloning of space elevators becomes more feasible.

Abstract

An exponential space elevator is a space elevator with a tether cross-section that varies exponentially with altitude. With such an elevator it is possible to reel in tether material at one end of the elevator while reeling out at the other end, without changing the overall taper profile. I show how to use this property to build up or clone a space elevator much more efficiently than with standard climber-based methods.