The Orbital Elevators [Technology]

With so Many of The World's conflicts being caused by Wide Spread Energy Shortages caused by the loss of The Last Remaining Protoculture Matrix, The Creation of The Solar Power Generation System and Orbital Elevators allowed Mankind to finally focus on The Food, Immigration, and Environmental Problems plaguing it's overpopulated World after a series of bloody wars Planetside and in Space which set Humanity's Technological Evolution back by Centuries. However, As is often the case, The National Blocs (Namely... The Union, The AEU, and The Human Reform League) controlling The Orbital Elevators were only interested in expanding their Military Forces to cement their own power by imposing a Global boycott of Earth's remaining Fossil Fuels to better Monopolize The Energy Distribution Market.

Overview:

Necessitated by high-level energy consumption as a Renewable Alternative to The Dwindling Fossil Fuel Supplies, The Orbital Elevator System, is a Megastructure originally planned by Aeolia Schenberg in 2090 to function in the combined capacity of a Space Elevator and a Solar Power Satellite. Each Orbital Elevator is comprised of two Geostationary Rings, Equidistantly Supported at 10 and 40 Thousand Kilometers (6,213.7 to 248,548.5 Miles) above The Equator by Three 50-Thousand-Kilometer-High Hybrid Compressive-Tensile Elevator Towers that end in Ballast Satellites. The entirety of the construct is shielded from Meteoroids, Space Debris, Corrosion, Weathering, Geomagnetic Storms, Radiation (from The Van Allen Radiation Belt and otherwise), and assorted other Deteriorative Agents through a Physical Energy Barrier. They are defended by The Collective Military Forces of The Nations involved in their function.

Today, In addition to providing virtually limitless Clean, Safe, Reliable Energy to The World and acting as a stepping stone to the ongoing International Pursuit of Space Colonization The Orbital Elevators also cater to Civilian Space Tourism.

Power Generation and Distribution:

With Coal and Oil virtually depleted. N² Technology far too dangerous for use as a long-term reliable power source. Geothermal and Tidal Control too expensive. The Solar Elevators were really the only choice left.

Owing to the fact that Humanity became dependent on Protoculture as it's primary source of Clean, Efficient, Renewable... and Safe Power it's loss during The Wars that nearly decimated The Human Species was a huge blow for Humanity and The Human Race wasn't the only race to be hit hard by the loss of The Last Remaining Fertile Protoculture Matrix... hundreds of thousands of Alien Species were scattered amongst the stars during the war for Protoculture with hundreds settling within what would come to be called The USC (Unified Systems Commonwealth) which makes up all of the territories currently controlled by Humanity Spanning more than two hundred and Twenty Million Light Years.

The Top Ring of Each Orbital Elevator is lined with a Sophisticated Photovoltaic Power Generation Array augmented by a fleet of roughly 30,000 Solar Power Generation Satellites that converts Solar Radiation into Electricity on an Industrial Basis for distribution to The World. The Photovoltaic Array boasts a 95% Efficiency Rating which would later be enhanced with a revolutionary new technology making use of newly discovered Gallium Antimonde Substrates capable of Absorbing and Multiplying The Sun's Energy by 400% dwarfing the energy produced by Uranium and Plutonium which were used extensively in The 20th and 21st Centuries.

The Towers carry The Energy supplied by The Elevator's Generation System to the surface where a complex system of Broadcast Energy Transmitters disseminate the power wirelessly to specially built Power Stations via Microwave Transmissions making it possible to not only send energy through the air but to direct it, Sending virtually unlimited power virtually anywhere at anytime.

Construction:

The Orbital Elevators of The Union and The AEU, Despite the unfinished condition of AEU's Elevator are virtually identical in construction and materials but little is known about The Orbital Elevator of The Human Reform League.

The Key Concept of The "Space Elevator" first appeared in 1895 when Russian Scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was inspired by The Eiffel Tower in Paris. He considered a Similar Free-Standing Tower that reached all the way into Space and was built from the ground up to an Altitude of 35,786 Kilometers (22,236.39 Miles), The Height of Geostationary Orbit. He noted that the top of such a Tower would be circling Earth as in a Geostationary Orbit. Objects would acquire horizontal velocity due to the Earth's rotation as they rode up The Tower, and an object released at The Tower's top would have enough Horizontal Velocity to remain there in Geostationary Orbit. Tsiolkovsky's Conceptual Tower was a Compression Structure, While modern concepts call for a Tensile Structure (or "Tether").

The concept of The Space Elevator evolved since Tsiolkovsky's time from a Static Compressive Structure reaching to the level of Geostationary Orbit to the current baseline idea in use today, of a Static Compressive-Tensile Structure anchored to the ground and extending to well above the level of Geostationary Orbit or approximately 100,000 Kilometer (62,000 Miles). The Base Station or The Tower forming the bulk of The Space Elevator comprises both a Compression Tower close to the surface, and a Tether Structure at Higher Altitudes. Combining a Compression Structure with a Tension Structure significantly reduces loads from The Atmosphere at The Earth end of The Tether, and reduces The Distance into The Earth's Gravity Field The Cable needs to extend, and thus reduces The Critical Strength-to-Density Requirements for The Cable Material, All other Design Factors being equal.

Component Structures:

Orbiting Satellite Station:

Built into The Orbital Elevator as a Headquarters for Military Operations for Defensive Purposes and General Maintenance.

Low Orbit Station:

Used for Commercial, Residential and Tourism Purposes. Stopping Station for Civilian Linear Trains and as a Spaceport.

High Orbit Station:

Built into The Orbital Elevator for Military Purposes as a Military Personnel Station and Mobile Suit Hangar. The High Orbital Station also houses The Elevator's Control Facilities allowing both The Soldiers and The Commanders to watch Space Operations and provides Physical Access to The Solar Array for Maintenance. Each Geostationary High Orbital Station has Over Two Billion Permanent Inhabitants as well as it's own Military equipped with Mobile Suits, I-Weapons, and Satellite-Based Weaponry.

Cable:

The Main Component of The Orbital Elevator is a cable (also called a Tether) anchored to the surface and extending into space. The Design also permits vehicles to travel along the cable from Earth's Surface directly into space or orbit, without the use of large rockets.

The bulk of The Orbital Elevators is Composed of Multiple Layers of Mass-Produced, Continuous Pseudo-One Dimensional Pure Carbon Fullerene Hyperfilaments. The Individual Nano-Engineered Strands from which The Hyperfilaments are woven are only a few Microns thick... Thinner than a spider's web but sharper than a double-edged sword with an unbelievably High Tensile Strength/Density Ratio and Rubber-Like Elasticity.

Linear Trains:

Because The Orbital Elevators are also Designed to provide Transportation for Material and Personnel from Earth to Space and Vice Versa, Each Orbital Elevator is equipped with a State-of-The-Art Planet-to-Space Orbital Train System. Each Elevator is Equipped with Three Linear Trains and each Train can carry around 40 Isotons of Cargo as well as Four Heavily Armored Passenger Cars with a capacity of 350 Passengers per car.

Linear Trains are also extensively used for Travel in Space Colonies where they function as Commuter Trains, Traveling on Electro-Dynamic Fast Rails along The Outside of a Space Colony. They are an often preferable means of travel for Long Trips due to The Strict Driving Speed Limits enforced within Space Colonies.

Base Station:

Both The Union and The Advanced European Union make use of Simpler and Less Costly Stationary Land-Based Anchor Stations while The Human Reform League's Orbital Elevator is secured to a Large Oceangoing Mobile Platform in the form of an Artificial Island called Mode Warp (Pronounced: Mo-Dee Warp) which functions as a Military Base, Weapons Testing Facility, and Genetics Laboratory.