The official newsletter of the International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC)

 

Our mission statement:

"...ISEC promotes the development, construction and operation of a space elevator as a revolutionary and efficient way to space for all humanity..."

ISEC Newsletter www.isec.org
February 2016
In This Issue
Membership Drive Extended
The President's Corner
Announcing the 2016 ISEC Space Elevator Conference!
The Research Lab
Call for Papers
Why Space Elevators?
Help Wanted
ISEC Affiliations
What is ISEC?
ISEC Corporate Sponsors
Visit ISEC on the Web
Follow ISEC!
Quick Links
Dear Friend,

Welcome to the February, 2016 edition of the ISEC Newsletter.

This is a very full issue, reflecting the fact that ISEC activity is beginning to uptick for the year.  Included are the official announcement for the 2016 ISEC Space Elevator Conference (including a Call for Papers), an announcement extending the ongoing Membership drive for one more week, the President's Corner discussing the terminology that is being more and more commonly used when discussing a space elevator and the latest Research column.

Also included is the first installment of the ISEC "Help Wanted" page - a place where you can learn specifically how you can help make a space elevator happen and a call for papers for upcoming issues of CLIMB and Via Ad Astra.

If you want to help us make a space elevator happen, JOIN ISEC and get involved!  A space elevator would truly revolutionize life on earth and open up the solar system and beyond to all of us.

And please don't forget to LIKE US on Facebook, FOLLOW US on Twitter and enjoy the photos and videos that we've posted on Flickr and YouTube - all under our Social Identity of ISECdotORG.

Thank you! 

ISEC
Membership Drive Extended!
 
ISEC is very pleased to announce its third annual membership drive will be extended through March 5th, 2016.  Until then, new members may join and current members can renew at a reduced rate!

Those who join or renew  at the Professional level will only have to pay $58, a $10 discount from the normal $68 rate. Professional level members are entitled to receive the print version of any issue of CLIMB, the Space Elevator Journal, or Via Ad Astra, the Space Elevator Magazine or any ISEC Report.

Those who join or renew at the Student level will only have to pay $20, a $5 discount from the normal $25 rate. Student level members are entitled to receive the electronic version of any issue of CLIMB or Via Ad Astra or any ISEC Report.

So, take advantage of the reduced rates, visit the ISEC member join/renew page and join or renew your membership now!
The President's Corner

Terminology is an important area that has not yet been focused upon.  The following summary of a lexicon of space elevator terms should help all of us communicate via common usage.  Recently, the International Academy of Astronautics and the ISEC have agreed to develop a common lexicon, with the following terms as a starting point.  Please provide feedback with new terms or enhancements for these many terms describing the space elevator infrastructure.


  • Apex Anchor Node - 96,000 to 100,000 km
  • Mars Gate - release at 57,000 km
  • Moon gate (Lunar) - release at 47,000 km
  • GEO node [36,000 km]
  • LEO gate release at 24,000 km to ellipse
  • Lunar Gravity Center - at 8,900 km
  • Mars Gravity Center - at 3,900 km
  • Tether Climbers
  • Earth Port - complex along the equator
  • Earth Terminus - anchor for tether
  • Floating Operations platform
  • Headquarters and Primary Operations Center
Keep Climbing my Friends --  Pete Swan
        (pete.swan@isec.org)
Announcing the 2016 ISEC Space Elevator Conference!

ISEC is very pleased to announce the 2016 ISEC Space Elevator Conference, once again to be held at Seattle, Washington's Museum of Flight.  From the official announcement:

"The International Space Elevator Consortium presents the 2016 Space Elevator Conference to be held August 19th through August 21st, 2016 at the Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington with the Family Science Fest on Saturday, August 20th.
 
The theme of this year's conference is the "Apex Anchor, Geo Node, and Communication Architecture."  The three-day technical conference will engage an international audience of scientists, engineers, educators, managers, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, and students in discussions of space elevator development including Technology, Business and Operations, Outreach, and Legal topics.  More details of this year's technical conference program will be posted on the conference website (http://spaceelevatorconference.org) with registration opening March 2016.
 
The Family Science Fest portion of the conference will be held Saturday, August 20th. This event is in tandem with the technical conference and is included in the Museum of Flight admission price. The Family Science Fest includes a youth robotics competition, public Space Elevator 101 and 201 presentations, exhibits from universities, science organizations, and science clubs, and much more.  This is a great event for the whole family while you explore the Museum of Flight.
 
Many thanks to our annual "GEO" level sponsors, the Museum of Flight and Microsoft Corporation, for their ongoing support for this conference."

Every year this conference gets bigger and better and this year will be no exception.  Registration will be open soon - be there or be square!
The Research Lab

The tether and climbers will pass through Earth's radiation belts and the solar wind beyond the magnetopause.  They will as a result be exposed to large fluxes of charged particles which pose a radiation hazard to humans, electronics and materials.  In order to estimate this hazard in terms of dose to passengers, cargo, equipment and the tether, it is essential to have a comprehensive model of the radiation field throughout the range of tether and climber motions.

Detailed simulations of the effects of penetrating radiation on various materials will be required in order to understand increased cancer and morbidity rates in humans, single event effects in electronics and material degradation in the tether and climbers.  Simulations of passive and active shielding arrangements for the climbers and of radiation hardening schemes for sensitive electronics must be done, and the results factored into climber and tether design.  The particle flux near the tether will also affect the electrodynamic forces it sees, thus coupling closely to its motion via the charging mechanism.

The main objectives are as follows:
  1. A complete model of Earth's radiation field from the surface to 17 Earth radii
  2. Estimate of effect on sensitive electronics in terms of percentage increase in single event upsets or other single event effects
  3. Calculation of induced activities in all materials used in the tether and climbers
  4. A simulation of the tether's electrical charging along its full length due to the radiation field
  5. For various combinations of active and passive shielding designs, simulations of the radiation field inside the climber (see item 2)
Call for Papers 

ISEC is now accepting papers for Volume 3 of CLIMB, the Space Elevator Journal and Volume 2 of Via Ad Astra, the Space Elevator Magazine.

CLIMB is a peer-reviewed Journal containing articles of a scientific or engineering nature that are related to the space elevator or to technologies that will be needed to develop and/or operate a space elevator.  A Technical Review committee will work with the authors to ensure that the rigorous standards set in Volumes 1 and 2 of CLIMB are maintained.

Via Ad Astra is a magazine devoted to any and all types of articles which relate to a space elevator.  Such articles can be technical in nature, but can also be historical information, interviews, fiction, artwork, poetry and anything else that the Editorial review team for Via Ad Astra believes would appeal to a more general audience.

Please visit the ISEC website for more details on submission guidelines for CLIMB and Via Ad Astra.

Help Wanted - Publicity Director

ISEC is looking for a new Publicity Director - are you interested?  Responsibilities for this position include:
  • Update web content at www.isec.org
  • Creation of the monthly ISEC Newsletter
  • Update of ISEC's Facebook Page, Twitter Feeds and Flickr and Vimeo accounts
  • Sending out Publicity Announcements as appropriate
  • Whatever else you can think of to get the word out!
  • Creation of a Publicity 'status report' to be presented to at the monthly Board of Directors meetings
This person will report to the President of ISEC and will be required to attend (via Conference call) the monthly ISEC Board meetings.

If you want to help in the effort to build a space elevator but may not have the 'technical chops' to contribute on the science or engineering side, this position could be perfect for you.  If you are interested, please contact pete.swan@isec.org.
ISEC Affiliations

National Space Society Update - " The annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC) is the keynote event of the National Space Society (NSS), bringing together leading managers, engineers, scientists, educators, and business people from civilian, military, commercial, entrepreneurial, and grassroots advocacy space sectors. ISDC has been held in various locations throughout North America since 1982, featuring renowned speakers such as Buzz Aldrin, Eric Anderson, Charles Bolden, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Peter Diamandis, Lori Garver, Richard Garriott, Bill Nye, Elon Musk, Seth Shostak, Simon 'Pete' Worden, and many others. ISDC also features plenary talks, keynote speakers, multi-disciplinary tracks, exhibit hall, design contests, book signing, and more.
What is ISEC?

The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) is the result of a coming-together of many leading figures and organizations who have worked long and hard over many years to promote the concept of a Space Elevator.  With organizational members in the United States, Europe and Japan and individual members from around the world, ISEC's goal is nothing less than to get a Space Elevator built.

Our Mission Statement says it all:

"ISEC promotes the development, construction and operation of a space elevator as a revolutionary and efficient way to space for all humanity"

Each year we adopt a theme which we use to focus our activities for that year.  For 2009-2010, our theme was Space Debris Mitigation - Space Elevator Survivability.  For 2010-2011 our theme was Research and thought targeted towards the goal of a 30 MYuri tether.  For 2011-2012, our theme was Operating and Maintaining a Space Elevator.  For 2012-2013, our theme was Tether Climbers and for 2013-2014, our theme is Architecture & Roadmaps. For 2014-2015, ISEC has two themes; The Marine Node and a Materials Review.

If you agree that building a Space Elevator should be a priority for all of us and you want to help make this happen, please Join Us!  Benefits include eNewsletters (such as this one), the ISEC Journal CLIMB and other items listed on our Join page.

Come and join us and help make the future happen!

The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) is a registered 501c3 charitable organization
(EIN 80-0302896)

Thank you, Corporate Sponsors !

The lifeblood of any organization such as ours is the support we receive from our members - and we thank them all.  We especially want to thank our Corporate Sponsors who have contributed funds and resources to ISEC at a higher level.





Visit ISEC on the Web
  
Visit our website at www.isec.org.  There you can join and learn more about what is happening in the Space Elevator community and what is being done to advance the concept of a Space Elevator.  Please consider joining ISEC - we foster research and sponsor Space Elevator-related causes, but to do so takes money.  Your contributions are crucial to our success.  Thank you!

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