Yuri Nikolaevich Artsutanov (russian: Ю́рий Никола́евич Арцута́нов; 5 October 1929 – 1 January 2019) was a Russian
engineer born in
Leningrad. He was one of the pioneers of the idea of a
space elevator.
The February issue of the ISEC Newsletter is devoted to his life and place in history and features reminisces and photographs from his colleagues in the West, including his attendance at the 2010 ISEC Space Elevator conference.
Biography
Artsutanov was a graduate of
Leningrad Technological Institute
Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology (Technical University) (russian: Санкт-Петербургский Технологический Институт (Технический Университет)) was founded in 1828. It is o ...
. In 1960, he wrote an article "V Kosmos na Electrovoze (en. ''Into space with the help of an electric locomotive'')", where he discussed the concept of the space elevator as an economic, safe and convenient way to access
orbit and facilitate
space exploration
Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by robotic spacec ...
.
Artsutanov developed his idea independently from Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who in 1895 proposed an idea of building an ''orbital tower''. Artsutanov's concept was based on the linking of geosynchronous satellites to the ground with a cable. He suggested using the
satellite as the base from which to construct the tower since a geosynchronous satellite will remain over a fixed point on the equator. By using a
counterweight, a cable would be lowered from the
geosynchronous orbit
A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...
to the surface of
Earth while the counterweight was extended from the satellite away from Earth, keeping the center of mass of the cable at the same height above the Earth. The ideas of Tsiolkovsky's compression-structure concept and Artsutanov's tension-structure concept differ in that a compression structure is well outside conceivable future capabilities, while the tension-structure is much easier to build and maintain, and is considered possible with near-future technologies.
Artsutanov later went on to propose other concepts involving
space tether
Space tethers are long cables which can be used for propulsion, momentum exchange, stabilization and attitude control, or maintaining the relative positions of the components of a large dispersed satellite/spacecraft sensor system. Depending on t ...
s, including the lunar space elevator, and using
rotating tethers for space transportation.
[J. Pearson]
Space Elevator History
See also
*
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host.
He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...
References
Sources
* Artsutanov, Yuri; ''V Kosmos na Electrovoze'';
Komsomolskaya Pravda
''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (russian: link=no, Комсомольская правда; lit. "Komsomol Truth") is a daily Russian tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper, founded on 13 March 1925.
History and profile
During the Soviet era, ...
, July 31, 1960
*English translation and recreation of original 1960 Russian article: http://images.spaceref.com/docs/spaceelevator/Artsutanov_Pravda_SE.pdf
External links
Spaceward.org Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Artsutanov, Yuri
1929 births
2019 deaths
Russian aerospace engineers
Engineers from Saint Petersburg
Soviet engineers
20th-century Russian engineers
Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology alumni