I've located some Earth Space Elevator (ESE) energy considerations being loosely tossed about by those wonderfully supportive folks claiming as knowing all sorts of positive things, as long as it pertains to their cult agenda, that'll shed some light upon what the Lunar Space Elevator (LSE) will likely require.

Even though I believe these ESE energy figures are somewhat ENRON/Arthur Andersen accounting, thus shy by at least 10 fold, none the less I'll utilize such for my calculations as based upon the very same skewed math that the ESE or bust cults like to incorporate. If the ESE energy load demand (400 w/kg) of transporting is apparently worth this estimated amount of energy installment/kg/hr, of representing what it's going to take (one-way) from Earth's surface to GSO (7 day travel), thereby suggesting upon this task reqiuiring an overall 67.2 kwh/kg, thus per 10-t = 672 MWh (that's certainly Earth dirt cheap at $3.05/lb if that energy is derived at 10 cents/kw)

Obviously with regard to the LSE having the 1/6th gravity advantage (a 36:1 overall ratio advantage right off the bat, as from the very get go), as well as by having no atmospheric friction you'd think should also be worth at least something, thus perhaps obtaining as much as an overall 48:1 advantage, which computes to the overall LSE energy demand of taking 14 MWh/10-t if the timeline of reaching the LSE-CM/ISS were of the same 7 days worth (seriously moon dirt cheap at 3 cents per pound if the surplus tether dipole energy is provided at 5 cents/kw).

Since the portion of tether dipole energy is most likely entirely surplus, in such abundance and entirely renewable without ever creating one gram of CO2 for mother Earth, the actual electrical demand cost should drop even lower.

Though there's no valid technology reason why the timeline from lunar surface to the LSE-CM/ISS should become more than 24 hrs, an average rate of advance of perhaps .8 km/s (1790 mph), though of obtaining 8 km/s at maximum (well beyond lunar escape velocity), of which this vast delivery improvement certainly isn't going to reduce the overall energy demand. In fact, since only the first 9% of travel going up is what's taking the bulk energy (0.01 G from that point on), as well as for deceleration breaking issues at the GMDE depot, including those similar issues on the way back down, I'm thinking the increased delivery rate (again one-way average) is more likely to represent at most 16 MWh/10-t. Of course the sheer volume of those tonnes per year are greatly improved upon (at least 87000 t/yr), as well as for the efficiency of whatever crews that may be utilizing the same to/from delivery scheme.

If we're having to consider reaching a peak velocity of 8+km/s (18,000 mph), obviously for such a task those drive wheels are going to become of relatively large radius. That's 8047 m/s (8.047 km/s) which if the tether gripping friction wheels were of 16+ meters radius, offering a circumference slightly over 100 meters = 80 rps X 60 = 4800 rpm. Though once sufficiently away from the surface gravity is where those nifty EMPD thrusters could take over and/or assist. A somewhat compact set of tether drive wheels, say 1.6 m radius is obviously pushing 48000 rpm, which may be equally outside of what centrifugal forces could permit, thus it seems like a take-over magnetic propulsion drive that'll somehow restrain the transport pods to the tether is certainly within the cards, seems doable especially since the raw energy has to be there anyway.

In addition to the sheer speed of delivery advantage, there's little need for the sorts of tether repair cycles as will be the case for the sensitive CNT technology, especially of their tether portion surrounded by the Van Allen zone of death, not to mention the portion exposed to horrific atmospheric issues of weather loading and of electro tera watt shock impacts or worse yet, Taliban on another mission, or perhaps just via our own friendly fire running seriously amuck once again. Additionally, of whatever LSE tether repairs shouldn't cost but 1% of what the spendy CNT technology is going to impact, plus the fact that all of the basalt fiber product that's been more than capable of managing the lunar tether endurance can be entirely of lunar origin (production energy to boot).

The LSE also will NOT be requiring 24/7 ABL defenses, nor a spendy surround of nuclear submarines with sufficient technology for fending off those uninvited sorts of folks, whereas the ESE base facility will likely require a lethal DMZ radius of at least 100 miles maintained just for common sense, thereby placing dozens of human (potential morons) in charge of those individual defenses. Due to the rather limited timeline of whatever an impending doom needs to respond to, where only a couple of those buttons pushed will make or break the otherwise daily boredom (what could possibly go wrong with that?).

Besides the LSE alternative not having to deal with those nasty Van Allen belts (zone of death), the LSE advantages still offers the significant exclusion of dodging other satellites, absolutely no commercial aircraft, certainly damn little atmospheric considerations, plus having tether dipole energy stored into massive counter rotating flywheels as to power-up the LSE as well as those arrays of 100 GW laser cannons. Some of those laser cannons can be those deployed along the tether dipole element as tensioned towards Earth, or at the very end point instrument-platform reaching sufficiently deep into the Van Allen zone of death, to a range of perhaps 50,000 km from Earth. At the efficiency of 33%, and the divergence of 0.5 milliradian, chances are that at such close range all sorts of dastardly things could be accomplished, or perhaps those of entirely humanitarian functions as long as our resident warlord and his gang of DHS/NSA/DoD thugs have nothing whatsoever to do with their application.

Considering that our sun normally delivers 750 watts/m2, the 55.5e3 W/m2 is certainly worth noting, especially if we're talking about an array of ten, as that's become worth 555e3 W/m2. Obviously there will be another 10% loss in getting all of that energy to the surface on a relatively clear day, though the divergence can be spread or focused to suit the task, a 0.05 divergence is also possible, thus a another ten fold enhancement of concentration is certainly within the cards if need be.

Once again, the LSE offers a technology win-win for humanity, for Earth sciences, for manned missions to even really pathetically stupid places, like a thoroughly frozen and irradiated to death Mars, or for otherwise offering a good jumping off pitstop for missions to Venus L2, where I do believe the next ISS platform should be stationed. Of course, the VL2/ISS will most likely become lunar fabricated out of basalt composites, constructed and outfitted at the LSE-CM/ISS depot, as well as for obtaining all the necessary tonnage of shielding mass for fending off radiation and impacts. Since we're already assembling and outfitting in zero-gravity, the added lunar basalt mass surrounding the internal VL2/ISS abode could be as much as 100 meters worth in depth, could even end up looking exactly like a sister LSE-CM/ISS (Borg sphere), which should scare the living charcoal briquettes right out of those lizard folks.

This VL2/ISS should become an "all-in-one" diplomatic package, loaded to the brim if need be with everything we've got to throw at those Venus heathens. As otherwise this dreadful sphere of impending doom and gloom we send off to VL2 is at least capable of taking on whatever hits from their defenses. Eventually our included fleet of Venus shuttle/airship crafts will be capable of making those nighttime touchdowns upon one of those existing elevated tarmacs, presumably abducting numbers of their folks for a little exploratory examination, returning them under extensive medications and/or frontal lobotomy so that they'll have little if any recollection of what just transpired. We could even go about intentionally infecting them with inferior human DNA just for the sport of it, then utilize our laser cannons to transmit a few of those burning bush messages, sort of on cue, thereby creating whatever illusion(s) of God that we'd care to indulge ourselves with (what could possibly go wrong?).

Think about this opportunity as sort of being better than sex, that of cultivating an entire species of nocturnal lizard folk for bidding our future nasty stuff, just like we utilized the Taliban (again, what could possibly go wrong?).

On the other hand, we could become a little humbled and privileged to even interchange laser packets of smut, let alone truthful information that'll benefit both worlds. Of course, in order for that to ever happen (besides Hell freezing over) means that we'll need to sort of start all over, as we simply can't initiate any first time interplanetary relationships based upon lies being told by the lying liars that so many of us are, nor can we apply those skewed laws of physics that's been the backbone of nearly everything NASA since those grand old cold-war Apollo days, and/or of skewed intelligence that's supposedly representing our superiority over WMD. I personally vote for the Dogon tribe as being Earth's ambassadors, as what could those nice folks possibly do that would get us in trouble?

Perhaps I'll need to establish a sufficient failsafe clause that'll moderate the potential misuse of those laser cannons, perhaps by having the Dogon tribe holding onto the "lock-box" for the essential second key, in that manner no laser cannon shall become reconfigured and/or initialized without their express concent. As another robotic failsafe solution, should one or more laser cannon run amuck, another dedicated security laser cannon would take those others off line at all cost (obviously this phase will have a reliable LINUX operating system).

I certainly hope this page hasn't gone entirely over your heads, nor between your legs, as I intended an honest mid-section if not a direct head-shot that'll get your attention as far away from what's been going so terribly wrong with our resident misleadership, onto the topics and reality of what's obtainable as well as affordable in spite of all the incoming flak, that should be at least heading truly nice folks in the right direction, without any intentional carnage implied.

Just in case some of the new-comers are a wee bit lost; All of this lunar interest is in regard to my LSE (Lunar Space Elevator) and/or GMDE (Guth Moon Dirt Express) depot, as a means/gateway to an end (actually many ends):
https://guthvenus.tripod.com/gv-cm-ccm-01.htm
https://guthvenus.tripod.com/space-radiation-103.htm
https://guthvenus.tripod.com/earth-moon-energy.htm
https://guthvenus.tripod.com/moon-sar.htm