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The Construction

The Advantage

The Advantage

If this type of transport system is built, a rapid fall in the cost of boosting a spacecraft into orbit can be seen. The largest single cost in launching the space shuttle is the rocket fuel, but with a space elevator, which takes its initial launch energy from an electrical-power station on the ground, the need for rocket fuel is totally eliminated. Such a space-transportation system allow the public to take trips into space for about the same price as a plane trip.
As the vehicle rides farther up the cable, it requires less electrical energy, relying more on the centrifufal force produced by the spinning counterbalance mass to pull it into orbit. By the time that the vehicle reaches he end of the cable, it could be moving as 6.79 miles per second (10.93 kps). At this speed, a vehicle could detach from the cable and fly off into space at speeds fast enough to reach Mars in days or weeks instead of months.

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