Refueling in Lagrange – Part 2

Lunar Space elevator concept
NIAC Lunar Space Elevator concept Climber configuration.

Refueling in Lagrange Part 1

Recent Lunar Space Elevator Study for NASA’s NIAC by Jerome Pearson: Lunar Space Elevator

Once the refueling base is established, the next step is the Lunar Space Elevator. Existing materials can’t hoist mass from Earth to Geosynchronous Orbit, but they can lift mass from the Moon to either Lagrange 1 or 2. This would revolutionise the refueling economics, making the Moon the Staging Post for the rest of the Solar System. A solar powered crawler could carry propellant tanks up from the Moon to load waiting space vehicles.

Jerome Pearson – independently of Yuri Artsutanov – invented the Space Elevator, but also advocated for the Lunar version first in 1979.

Pearson’s company is here: Star Technology and Research

As well as propellant, the Moon could ultimately supply materials for interplanetary spacecraft. But where will the materials for the Elevator comes from? Does it have to come from Earth? Refueling in Lagrange Part 3