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Kurzgesagt (In a Nutshell), Space Elevator – Science Fiction or the Future of Mankind?

Space Elevator – Science Fiction or the Future of Mankind?

It's hard to get to space

As much as we all wish there were an easy,

and affordable way to see our planet floating in the dark

Right now, the only way is to become an astronaut or a billionare

But there is a concept that might make it possible

-while serving as the starting point for the exploration of the universe-

The space elevator

How exactly does it work?

To understand how a space elevator will get us into space

We must first understand what an orbit is

Being in orbit basically means falling towards something,

but moving fast enough to miss

If you throw a ball on earth it makes an arch through the air,

and then hits the ground

In space, gravity makes you move much the same way,

but if you move sideways fast enough

the curvature of the earth makes the ground fall away beneath you

as fast as gravity pulls you towards it

So, to enter Earth's orbit rockets have to go up

and sideways fast

By contrast, a space elevator taps into energy from Earth's rotation

to get the cargo going fast

Imagine a child spinning a toy on a rope with an ant on the child's hand

As the ant climbs out along the rope

it starts to move faster and faster as it ascends

Compared to rockets, with cargo launched on an elevator

you only need to provide the energy to go up

Fast sideways movement comes free with the Earth's rotation

But the space elevator would without a doubt

be the single largest and most expensive structure ever built by humans

So, is it worth it?

It all comes down to costs

Rockets burn a huge amount of rocket fuel

just to get a small amount of cargo into space

At current prices, it costs about $20,000 to put one kilogram of payload into space

that's $1.3 million dollars for the average human

$40 million dollars for your car

billions for an international space station This immense cost is one of the major limitations of human spaceflight

Even with advancing technology,

this cost isn't likely to be comparable with the price of an airline ticket anytime soon

A space elevator would solve this problem

After construction,

a space elevator is projected to reduce the cost one hundredfold to $200 per kilogram If an inexpensive space elevator costs 20 billion dollars,

then we'll recoup our losses after launching only one million tons

Close to the weight of two international space stations

So what would a space elevator look like in real life?

A space elevator has four major components:

the tether, anchor, counterweight and climber

The elevator part of the space elevator is the tether and the climber

It extends from the surface of the Earth to space

The climber is like a conventional elevator carriage

A chamber that works its way up and down the tether

At the base would be an anchor

pinning the tether to the Earth along with a port for climbers

At the top is the counterweight which holds up the tether

The tether is held tight like a rope

and supported from above by the tension from the counterweight

Located higher than 36,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface

At the counterweight could be a space station,

a launching point for all missions from the spaceport elevator

But can we actually build one?

It's hard to say

The biggest challenge is the tether

It needs to be light, affordable

and more stable than any material we can produce right now

There are promising materials like graphene and diamond nanothreads,

but even they may not be strong enough

And aside from being incredibly strong,

the tether would also have to withstand atmospheric corrosion, radiation

and micrometeorite and debris impacts

Additionally, it takes several days to climb the elevator

How do we power the climber?

It requires a lot of energy to go up

Do we need a nuclear reactor on our elevator carriage?

Or do we beam it power from the ground with a super powered laser?

And where do we get the raw materials for a 36,000-kilometer-long tether?

Do we make it on Earth and launch it into space?

Or do we make it in space and lower it down to the Earth?

Could asteroid mining be the answer?

Put simply, there are still some major technological hurdles to overcome

And a space elevator is not without risk

Should the tether break, it would collapse in spectacular style

If it breaks near the anchor

the force exerted by the counterweight will cause the entire elevator to rise up

ascending into space

Should it break near the counterweight

the tether will fall,

wrapping around the world and whipping the end off

The resulting debris in orbit could pose serious problems to future spaceflight

If we build a space elevator on Earth, we have to do it right the first time

For these reasons some experts have proposed first building

a space elevator on the Moon

The Moon's gravity is much weaker than the Earth's

so a flimsier but existing material like kevlar

could serve as a tether

Even with all these challenges,

the payoff of having a working space elevator would be immense

It might be the first step to truly becoming a space-faring civilization

Maybe we will never build a space elevator,

but in trying to do so we might learn an awful lot

And when it comes to the exploration of the universe,

there can't be too many dreams of a glorious future

Subtitles by the Amara.org community

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Space Elevator – Science Fiction or the Future of Mankind? |Aufzug|||||||der Menschheit |宇宙エレベーター||||||| Space Elevator - Science Fiction oder die Zukunft der Menschheit? Ascensor espacial: ¿ciencia ficción o futuro de la humanidad? L'ascenseur spatial : science-fiction ou avenir de l'humanité ? 宇宙エレベーター-SFか人類の未来か? 우주 엘리베이터 - 공상 과학 소설인가, 인류의 미래인가? Kosminis liftas - mokslinė fantastika ar žmonijos ateitis? Ruimtelift - Science Fiction of de toekomst van de mensheid? Winda kosmiczna - science fiction czy przyszłość ludzkości? Elevador Espacial - Ficção Científica ou o Futuro da Humanidade? Космический лифт - научная фантастика или будущее человечества? Uzay Asansörü - Bilim Kurgu mu Yoksa İnsanlığın Geleceği mi? Космічний ліфт - наукова фантастика чи майбутнє людства? 太空电梯——科幻小说还是人类的未来? 太空電梯──科幻小說還是人類的未來?

It's hard to get to space Es difícil llegar al espacio

As much as we all wish there were an easy, Aunque a todos nos gustaría que fuera fácil,

and affordable way to see our planet floating in the dark y asequible de ver nuestro planeta flotando en la oscuridad

Right now, the only way is to become an astronaut or a billionare ||||||||||||Milliardär ||||||||||||億万長者 Op dit moment is de enige manier om astronaut of miljardair te worden

But there is a concept that might make it possible Pero existe un concepto que podría hacerlo posible

-while serving as the starting point for the exploration of the universe- |dient|||||||||| -sirviendo de punto de partida para la exploración del universo-. -tussen dienen als uitgangspunt voor de verkenning van het universum-

The space elevator

How exactly does it work?

To understand how a space elevator will get us into space

We must first understand what an orbit is

Being in orbit basically means falling towards something, Estar en órbita significa básicamente caer hacia algo,

but moving fast enough to miss pero moviéndose lo suficientemente rápido como para perderse

If you throw a ball on earth it makes an arch through the air, ||||||||||Bogen||| ||||||||||弧||| Si lanzas una pelota a la tierra, ésta forma un arco en el aire,

and then hits the ground

In space, gravity makes you move much the same way, En el espacio, la gravedad hace que te muevas de forma muy parecida,

but if you move sideways fast enough pero si te mueves hacia los lados lo suficientemente rápido

the curvature of the earth makes the ground fall away beneath you |Krümmung|||||||||| |曲率|||||||落ちる||| la curvatura de la tierra hace que el suelo caiga debajo de ti 地球の曲率があなたの下に地面を下げる

as fast as gravity pulls you towards it tan rápido como la gravedad te arrastra hacia ella 重力があなたをそれに引き寄せるのと同じ速さで

So, to enter Earth's orbit rockets have to go up Así, para entrar en la órbita terrestre los cohetes tienen que subir だから、地球の軌道に入るためにはロケットは上昇しなければならない

and sideways fast y de lado rápido

By contrast, a space elevator taps into energy from Earth's rotation |||||nutzt ab||||| |||||利用する|||||

to get the cargo going fast |||Fracht|| para que la carga vaya rápido

Imagine a child spinning a toy on a rope with an ant on the child's hand ||||||||Schnur||||||des Kindes| ||||||||ロープ||||||| Imagina a un niño que hace girar un juguete sobre una cuerda con una hormiga en la mano

As the ant climbs out along the rope |||klettert|||| Mientras la hormiga trepa por la cuerda

it starts to move faster and faster as it ascends |||||||||steigt comienza a moverse más y más rápido a medida que asciende

Compared to rockets, with cargo launched on an elevator

you only need to provide the energy to go up

Fast sideways movement comes free with the Earth's rotation El movimiento lateral rápido es gratuito con la rotación de la Tierra

But the space elevator would without a doubt Pero el ascensor espacial sin duda

be the single largest and most expensive structure ever built by humans

So, is it worth it? |ist||| Entonces, ¿merece la pena?

It all comes down to costs Es||||| Todo se reduce a los costes

Rockets burn a huge amount of rocket fuel

just to get a small amount of cargo into space

At current prices, it costs about $20,000 to put one kilogram of payload into space |||||||||||Nutzlast|| |||||||||||ペイロード||

that's $1.3 million dollars for the average human

$40 million dollars for your car

billions for an international space station This immense cost is one of the major limitations of human spaceflight ||||||||Einschränkungen|||der bemannten Raumfahrt |||||||||||宇宙飛行

Even with advancing technology, ||fortschreitender|

this cost isn't likely to be comparable with the price of an airline ticket anytime soon ||||||||||||Fluggesellschaft|Flugtickets|| no es probable que este coste sea comparable al precio de un billete de avión en un futuro próximo

A space elevator would solve this problem

After construction,

a space elevator is projected to reduce the cost one hundredfold to $200 per kilogram ||||voraussichtlich||||||hundertfach||| ||||予想される||||||||| If an inexpensive space elevator costs 20 billion dollars, ||preiswert||||| ||安価な||||| Si un ascensor espacial barato cuesta 20.000 millones de dólares,

then we'll recoup our losses after launching only one million tons ||wieder hereinholen||||der Einführung|||| ||回収する||||||||

Close to the weight of two international space stations Cerca del peso de dos estaciones espaciales internacionales

So what would a space elevator look like in real life? ¿Cómo sería un ascensor espacial en la vida real?

A space elevator has four major components:

the tether, anchor, counterweight and climber |||Gegengewicht||Kletterer |||おもり|| el anclaje, el contrapeso y el trepador

The elevator part of the space elevator is the tether and the climber La parte elevadora del ascensor espacial es el anclaje y el escalador

It extends from the surface of the Earth to space |erstreckt sich|||||||| |広がる||||||||

The climber is like a conventional elevator carriage |||||||Kabine El escalador es como una cabina de ascensor convencional

A chamber that works its way up and down the tether |Kammer||||||||| Una cámara que sube y baja por el anclaje

At the base would be an anchor |||würde||| En la base habría un ancla

pinning the tether to the Earth along with a port for climbers |||||||||Anschluss||Kletterer fijando el anclaje a la Tierra junto con un puerto para escaladores

At the top is the counterweight which holds up the tether En la parte superior está el contrapeso que sostiene el anclaje.

The tether is held tight like a rope La atadura se mantiene firme como una cuerda

and supported from above by the tension from the counterweight y sostenido desde arriba por la tensión del contrapeso

Located higher than 36,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface Situado a más de 36.000 kilómetros sobre la superficie terrestre

At the counterweight could be a space station, En el contrapeso podría haber una estación espacial,

a launching point for all missions from the spaceport elevator un punto de lanzamiento para todas las misiones desde el ascensor del puerto espacial

But can we actually build one?

It's hard to say

The biggest challenge is the tether

It needs to be light, affordable

and more stable than any material we can produce right now

There are promising materials like graphene and diamond nanothreads, |||||Graphen|||Nanofäden |||||グラフェン||| Er zijn veelbelovende materialen zoals grafeen en diamant nanodraden,

but even they may not be strong enough

And aside from being incredibly strong, Y aparte de ser increíblemente fuerte,

the tether would also have to withstand atmospheric corrosion, radiation ||||||widerstehen||Korrosion| ||||||耐える||腐食|

and micrometeorite and debris impacts |Mikrometeoriten||| |微小隕石||| e impactos de micrometeoritos y escombros

Additionally, it takes several days to climb the elevator Zusätzlich||||||in den Aufzug steigen|| |||数日|||||

How do we power the climber? Wie|||||

It requires a lot of energy to go up

Do we need a nuclear reactor on our elevator carriage? |||||||||車両

Or do we beam it power from the ground with a super powered laser? ¿O lo alimentamos desde el suelo con un láser superpotente?

And where do we get the raw materials for a 36,000-kilometer-long tether? ||||||||||Kilometer||

Do we make it on Earth and launch it into space? ¿Lo fabricamos en la Tierra y lo lanzamos al espacio?

Or do we make it in space and lower it down to the Earth?

Could asteroid mining be the answer? ¿Podría ser la minería de asteroides la respuesta?

Put simply, there are still some major technological hurdles to overcome ||||||||Hürden|| En pocas palabras, todavía hay que superar algunos obstáculos tecnológicos importantes

And a space elevator is not without risk

Should the tether break, it would collapse in spectacular style Si se rompiera, se desplomaría de forma espectacular...

If it breaks near the anchor Si se rompe cerca del ancla

the force exerted by the counterweight will cause the entire elevator to rise up ||ausgeübte||||||||||| ||加えられた||||||||||| la fuerza ejercida por el contrapeso hará que todo el ascensor se eleve

ascending into space aufsteigend in den|| 上昇する||

Should it break near the counterweight Si se rompe cerca del contrapeso

the tether will fall,

wrapping around the world and whipping the end off wickeln|||||peitschen||| |||||鞭打つ||| envolviendo el mundo y azotando el extremo

The resulting debris in orbit could pose serious problems to future spaceflight Los desechos en órbita podrían plantear graves problemas a los futuros vuelos espaciales.

If we build a space elevator on Earth, we have to do it right the first time

For these reasons some experts have proposed first building Por estas razones, algunos expertos han propuesto construir primero

a space elevator on the Moon

The Moon's gravity is much weaker than the Earth's |der Mond||||schwächer|||

so a flimsier but existing material like kevlar ||dünner|||||Kevlar ||より薄い||既存の||| así que un material más endeble pero existente como el kevlar dus een flimsier maar bestaand materiaal zoals kevlar

could serve as a tether

Even with all these challenges,

the payoff of having a working space elevator would be immense |Nutzen||||||||| |報酬||||||||| la recompensa de tener un ascensor espacial en funcionamiento sería inmensa de beloning van het hebben van een werkruimtelift zou enorm zijn

It might be the first step to truly becoming a space-faring civilization |||||||||||raumfahrenden| |||||||||||宇宙航行| Podría ser el primer paso para convertirnos en una civilización espacial. それは本当に宇宙を旅行する文明になるための第一歩かもしれません。

Maybe we will never build a space elevator, もしかしたら、私たちは宇宙エレベーターを決して建設しないかもしれません。

but in trying to do so we might learn an awful lot ||||||||||eine Menge| pero al intentarlo podríamos aprender muchísimo しかし、それを試みることで私たちは非常に多くのことを学ぶかもしれません。

And when it comes to the exploration of the universe, Y cuando se trata de la exploración del universo,

there can't be too many dreams of a glorious future

Subtitles by the Amara.org community