Will Humans Built Orbital Ring Around Earth In Our Lifetime?
Building an orbital ring around Earth is one of the most complex tasks humans have yet to figure out. After British Engineer Paul Birch proposed the idea of the orbital ring as a massive ring that would be built around Earth in 1982, scientists debated how this futuristic concept would be brought to life.
So, what exactly are orbital rings and when will humans advance enough to build one around our home planet? Continue reading to find out.
What is an Orbital Ring?
Orbital Ring is a massive human-made ring that would be built around the globe in low Earth orbit. Paul Birch, a British scientist and engineer proposed the concept in 1982. He suggested that cables would hang down to our home planet from these massive rings that would encircle the Earth.
The ring will be made to rotate at a speed that its centrifugal force will be strong enough to withstand the force of Earth’s gravity. Hence, future engineers that will construct this megastructure will make it rotate at a speed of about 10 km/sec, greater than the low Earth orbit velocity moving at 8 km/sec.
How Humans Will Build Orbital Ring?
As humans advance technologically, the need to launch more payload into space and conduct more extensive research in orbit will surely arise. The orbital ring will be of great need to our descendants. Scientists suggest that the construction of orbital rings will require strong materials like iron or copper.
However, engineers who will build the project will make the materials that will be used for the construction stronger and more durable. The cables hanging down from the orbital ring will be designed to move faster than regular orbital velocity.
Hence, an outward force will exist to create an internal resistance within the cable. This tension will counter the force that would try to bend the cables and enable them to carry loads. The engineers will add a motorized design that will operate on the cable.
This motorized platform will operate in the opposite direction moving at a great speed that will make it look stationary when observed from the ground. Once the motorized vehicle reaches above the Earth’s equator, it will move at 9.5 kilometers/second facing the cable.
At this point, the cable might be stationary and will be brought down to create a strong space elevator. Futurists estimate that this space elevator will be 500 kilometers (310 miles) long. It will be constructed using powerful materials that will last for decades without maintenance.
Once the construction of the orbital ring is completed, it will be used as a space tourist center, space station, extremely high-speed space vehicle, and for many other purposes.
How the Ring will operate
Paul Birch revealed that the orbital ring will swing eastwards by the ring station which it will be tethered to. This movement will make the orbital ring move around Earth instead of being stationary in a fixed location in space. This implies that the orbital ring will follow the rotation of Earth to move.
Within 24 hours, the Orbital Ring will move above selected locations on Earth. Its cables will be in the geostationary without even reaching the geostationary altitude. The engineers constructing the Orbital Ring will build many stations that can be positioned at any suitable point on Earth.
These stations can also be moveable. The network of orbital rings might be built across Earth to carry passengers and cargo from any point on Earth.
Will Humans Built Orbital Ring Around Earth In Our Lifetime?
Building an orbital ring in our lifetime may not be possible. Paul Birch, the British engineer that first proposed this concept revealed that it would cost around 31 trillion dollars to complete the ring. Currently, no space agency can afford the construction cost of this sophisticated structure.
Birch revealed that the ring will be built as an inflatable space structure that will be placed in a low Earth orbit, slightly above the equator. The ring will not be in actual orbit around Earth. Its technologies will use electromagnetic to operate on superconducting magnets.
It will be constructed as a ring space station that stays in a particular location above Earth. Short elevator cables will hang down from these ring space stations. They will be built with high tensile strength to mass ratio material which will increase its durability and ability to withstand the force of gravity.
Now, if we check the technical difficulties, humans may be decades, if not centuries into the future from building such a groundbreaking technology. However, as we advance technologically as a civilization, we will grow into the age of making available every material for the construction of this megastructure.
Once we are ready, we can then proceed to bring Paul Birch’s ambition into a reality. What do you think about the future of humans building an orbital ring around Earth?