The essence of space development rests on our ability to transport material and people safely, reliably, and cost-effectively into low-Earth orbit (LEO). Although substantial growth may occur when extraterrestrial resources are utilized, the seeds for development will be Earth-based resources transported to LEO. Beyond spacecraft payloads, cargo items such as water, food, fuel, raw materials for on-orbit industrial processes, and structural elements should be transported as simply as is feasible and with a minimum of complex systems. This essay presents the concept and offers a first-order analysis of a magnetic levitation launch assist system - MagLifter - for the placement of spacecraft and cargo payloads into LEO. MagLifter offers a robust design for the deceptively simple and decidedly crucial logistics problem of materials placement in space.
MagLifter for Cargo Transport to Low Earth Orbit
Seventh International Conference and Exposition on Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Business in Space ; 2000 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Space 2000 ; 556-566
2000-02-18
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
MagLifter for Cargo Transport to Low Earth Orbit
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2000
|Low earth orbit satellite systems benefit rail cargo transport
Tema Archive | 2000
|Cargo launch vehicles to low earth orbit
NTRS | 1990
|Cargo Launch Vehicles to Low Earth Orbit
NTIS | 1990
|Two priority cargo earth-to-orbit transports
NTRS | 1979
|