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Gravity Variant on a Tether
My questions concerns the gravity gradient on an orbiting tether, let's say
1,000 km long. The center of mass for the tether would determine its orbital velocity so the portion of the tether above the c.o.m. would be travelling faster than its orbital velocity would require and the tether below c.o.m. would be travelling slower than its orbital velocity would require. In a microgravity environment, the sensation of freefall is experienced because the forward orbiting velocity is equal to the downward pull of gravity. What happens when you are below the tether and your orbital velocity is slower than it should be and is thus less than the pull of gravity? Will freefall not exist in the stations or gondolas below the tether's center of mass? Also, above the tether's c.o.m. would gravity be pulling you "upwards" away from the Earth? I hope I've gotten the fundamentals correct. TangoMan |
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