Such a monster may be needed for piggy-back operations where a sequence of vehicles is arranged for operation in multiple stages, with a large skyhook towing a smaller skyhook to "separation", where the second skyhook is towing another skyhook still smaller, until the lofting of a very small "payload" skyhook, optimized for loiter operations in the upper atmosphere. It may take a very large "heavy lifting" skyhook, for the first 35000 to 45000 foot lift, and a medium sized skyhook, for the second lift, to the (80 to 90 thousand foot) operational altitude. The larger versions may not be needed, where a skyhook of medium scale proportions could be dropped out of the cargo bay of a C-17.
Such "staged" vehicle operations can be conducted with collection of skyhook vehicles, where each vehicle is optimized for the performance of its specialized role in a particular mission, in contrast to "conventional" manned operations, which require a single vehicle which must operate at all altitudes, re-adjusting for changing conditions. Managing these skyhook piggy-back operations is a much more complex proposition because they involve RPV (unmanned) operations, and because the vehicles operate in multiple stages.
They also involve more coordination and inter-agency cooperation, and intra-agency organization because of the involvement of separate support personnel for each vehicle level, as each is optimized for its specialized function. Since the logic is similar to the logic of NASA space-shots, staged skyhook operations could require a sort of "mini-Houston" organization, with shared, common goals and multiple threads of activities. At the least, skyhook air operations could require specialized protocols of air traffic control, allowing for "hard-coded" robotic software control of vehicle positionings. It may require a large support staff for applications requiring long loiters. Most MAHALO applications could require 18-hour loiters, which would run to 24/7 support, or 3 shifts.
MAHALO operations are likely to be daytime operations with para-sail to splash-down for refueling and recycling the vehicle during the night - unless some means is provided for position persistence through periodic re-fueling, by aerial refueling operations. Night-time recycling means nighttime flight operations, enabled as necessary by night-vision cameras.
It may be possible to combine unmanned skyhook vehicles into operations with the proposed, so-called "scram-jets", for sub-space "shuttle" operations. Skyhook vehicles could be used to achieve initial elevation of scramjet vehicles to operational altitudes of 100,000 feet or more, with acceleration of the scramjet to initial ignition velocities achieved by releasing the scramjet into power-dive. Scramjets capable of multisonic velocities could possibly circle the globe in 2 or 3 hours (or perhaps less), which could make scramjet vehicles useful in communications video-server applications where the scramjet vehicle is constantly communicating with ground-based stations, shifting the contents of its "video server" memory, making loads and unloads of its video data in flight-passing.
Military Applications
Although skyhook is rather versatile, and not restricted to military operations, it could be that its military applications go a long way toward paying the bill for its development. For the military, skyhook offers various attractive options, as dictated by comparative economics. The prime military user of skyhooks may be the US Navy, in making large-scale underway ship-to-ship cargo transfers a standard feature of naval logistics. It's also likely that skyhook could expand the capabilities of the Coast Guard in search and rescue.
A large Skyhook could be used to lift cargo airplanes like the C-130 "off the deck", to altitudes where an airplane is capable of independent flight. The C-130 has ideal short-field landing characteristics, but it needs a longer distance to take off. For short-field takeoffs, the military has developed JATO (Jet-Assisted Take-Off). It may be possible to replace JATO by the use of a large skyhook capable of lifting a C-130 (or any similar-sized aircraft) to 1000 ft.
Skyhook "JATO" provides VTOL capability, and does not require major modification to the aircraft. In fact, it may be a better idea than the V-22 Osprey. Skyhook is capable of suddenly but safely hoisting a Marine Harrier to combat-air-patrol level, allowing the harrier conserve its own fuel load for extended operations at CAP altitude.
In a standard configuration, skyhook gets its lift from its central thrusters, and uses smaller thrusters for horizontal maneuver. In its most typical of applications, skyhook is directed in a vertical flight path, dedicated to the task of heavy lifting. Of course, skyhook can be made capable of other modes of flight after its initial lofting, by rotational translation, which could change its vertical/horizontal orientation so that its larger thrusters are effective in creating rapid accelerations in horizontal directions. Skyhook could even be made to execute a power dive, or a "swoop" maneuver, particularly if aided by parasail.
In fact, skyhook may be the vehicle to provide the long-imagined "magic carpet ride" for freight and/or passenger operations. Skyhook could operate as an unmanned vehicle in freight operations, or perform passenger operations as a manned (but uncrewed) vehicle whose flight operations may be un-hijackable. Various possibilities arise, which may now be considered, due to advances in the field of robotics, and advances in GPS navigational capabilities (which may be a means of providing terrain-following and collision avoidance capabilities). Various approaches could be modeled and tested in simulators to "work the bugs out ".
A small skyhook could be the vehicle of choice for an air-mobile "delta-force" - particularly if it can be configured to do "swooping" maneuvers as an individual "re-entry" vehicle which a soldier rides like a para-sail. Positioning a skyhook at a high-altitude in a stand-off loiter, it may be poised to swoop back down to earth in a sort of "falconer" operation. Such maneuvers could permit "convergence" operations, with multiple "falconer" vehicles operating synchronously, with remote "piloting" functions under the control of a computer. Skyhook vehicles in convergence operations could deliver entire platoon loads, approaching from all points of the compass, and arriving at a pre-arranged point at an appointed time to take defensive positions in a strategic, forward location, massing immediately into an attack force of company or batallion level strength.
Intelligence services might employ skyhook vehicles for reconnaissance and surveillance, avoiding incidents in the future where our adversaries capture our spyplanes. Skyhook could provide a stand-off capability, using a passive repeater to communicate by LASER, or skyhook could be employed in a manner similar to a jack-in-the-box, or "pop goes the weasel" paradigm: Tow it to a spot close to the 3-mile limit, or fly it near the surface of the water, under radar. Then "pop-up" to an effective electronic-surveillance altitude for the collecting/recording of data, and backing out to sea for vehicle (and data) recovery. This could be the more effective with multiple skyhooks deployed to cover an arc of surveillance "sectors", collecting data in "search-grid" patterns. Skyhook's recovery systems could be deployed to parasail ferry the vehicles to a common recovery point. The best benefit may be obtained from a combination of these approaches, where the reconnaissance vehicles could make a stealth approach "on-the-deck", "pop-up" to an altitude needed for effective electronic surveillance, and swoop back down to a rearward, central recovery point. Closer to home, there are many ways skyhook may be preferable to blimps, in performing various roles in support of homeland security.
And there may be a host of ways skyhook may aid or enable various aspects of the Strategic Defense Initiative. For example, an AWACS aircraft at 35,000 feet has a range of 360 mile radius (by the logic described in the MAHALO discussion, earlier). Fighter airplanes flying at 1500 mph cover 300 miles in a mere 12 minutes. AWACS operators are forced to deal with fast-paced action, requiring a critically short reaction time. Skyhook elements (unmanned, of course) could be positioned in forward positions where they may be used as AWACs repeaters, giving as much as an additional 700 miles range. Skyhook is ideal for operations in harsh, extreme environments (polar regions), or as a platform for pre-positioned, stationary ABL in so-called "look-down, knock-down" role.
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