Podcasts · The Rest Is Science
Space Elevators, Skyhooks, and Space Fountains
· 1 h 06 min · S1 E80
Episode Space Elevators, Skyhooks, and Space Fountains
What is the fastest, cheapest and possibly worst way to get into space?
Could a nuclear explosion launch a manhole cover beyond the Earth’s atmosphere?
And could space elevators, skyhooks or launch loops one day replace rockets?
In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) explore where space really begins, why orbit means falling forever, and how Newton’s cannon explains the motion of the International Space Station.
They also interrogate the physics of the Kármán line, orbital velocity and geostationary orbit, before asking whether humans could ever climb a staircase to space, or catch a rotating skyhook into orbit.
Plus, the far future fate of Earth, firing a bullet around the Moon, the true value of the Apollo Moon landing, the ethics of colonising Mars and whether the future of space exploration should belong to private companies or the public!
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Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek
Animator: Sam Benson
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe
Producer: Simona Rata
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn
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