vansig wrote:
Actually I even wonder: what is the advantage of using a tether? Basically the only problem it addresses is avoiding reaction mass.
reaction mass is the single largest problem in rocketry!
it’s time for new physics; i want that reactionless thruster now, please. there may be no other way to get to the stars
The tether also eliminates the need for multi-G force liftoff and re-entries, which opens space tourism to almost anybody. Just as reaction mass has geometric multipliers, minimizing it has geometric dividers. The less mass of any type that you need, the better off you are.
I’d like to see at least one variation of a tractor beam. One pushes against mass, the other pulls toward a large mass.
