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 MClimberElevator:2010 competition – Space Elevator Games part of X-Prize Cup, New Mexico 2006 Official Competition Blog can be found here: http://www.spaceelevatorblog.com/ Latest news here: http://www.space.com/news/061022_xprizecup_elevator.html *** October 24 Officials posted "wrapup and thoughts" on this year’s just completed Space Elevator Games. They reiterate that no one won any of NASA’s prize money and there is discussion on why. http://www.spaceelevator.com/archives/2006/10/space_elevator_24.html *** October 22 Our MClimber made history as the first team to ever successfully reach the top of the ribbon (and descend by itself). The climb was made on the first day, when wind conditions made the 200-ft ribbon oscillate wildly, and all other teams opted not to go.  MClimber on its way to the top!
With calmer wind conditions on the second day, another three teams were able to reach the top. Two of them, like us, were not able to reach the top in under a minute. A merged Saskatchewan and Spanish team combined their resources to reach the top in 58 seconds, but their climber was unable to descend by itself. Of the dozen teams in the Elevator Games, all others failed to qualify or were unable to climb the ribbon successfully.  The team getting ready for the climb!
Still waiting on news from two teams who had to compete off-site because of their microwave and IR beam power sources. As the results stand now, no team has successfully met all the competition requirements. *** October 18th Around 11pm PST the climber team finished a round of qualifying tests and officially completed all of the qualifying requirements. All four runs were successful (10 meter climb, proper descent) and several of them were accomplished including a 4kg payload. Our team is the only one to have attempted climbing with payload, and of all of the teams present, ours is the one with the most consistent climber and successful testing on the tether.  MClimber on the Tether The computer code has been updated to allow the climber to stop, recharge, then continue climbing successfully. You may remember that during our test in Ann Arbor the climber was very jerky after it stopped the first time. This was a computer glitch that has been fixed. Now after it stops and charges, it will continue climbing an equal distance to the initial climb. Some of the other teams have been having problems testing because many rely on ambient solar energy, and the day was overcast and rainy yesterday. Most of the teams are hoping to qualify yet today. The team is in good spirits, and hopes to characterize the array-spotlight system today which will give us an idea of how much power we'll get at the top. *** October 17th We finally arrived on Tuesday 10am (October 17th) in Las Cruces. After checking in at the hotel, we went directly to the Elevator:2010 site for the qualifying tests. As a first step, we took the MClimber structure and the panels outside the boxes and did a complete system verification. We met the Snowstar team from University of British Columbia and finalized our agreement with the lights: we have 6 lights at this site for the qualification and then will use the rest at the airport for the final competition. We then worked mostly the C&DH part in order to fix the uncertainties and to do the final touches on the code. The task became a lot easier after we received the pics that Brian had ordered from Michigan. Most of the other teams were already on site but none had attempted a qualifying test. Shortly after we arrived, we saw the first qualifier who used a set of mirrors to direct the sunlight. We had a competition briefing at 8pm to decide on how we would handle the last day of qualifying tests since most of the teams had not qualified. Being mostly ready, and in no need of sun, we (the MClimber team) decided to test that evening, Tuesday evening. In overall, our tests went well – we did 2 attempts – although we haven’t formally qualified yet. We realized we had to work on a better attachment system together with the palette to transport it from the construction site to the testing site. The MClimber made it to the top of the 10-m ribbon with no problem. Then, it came back on its own to half way down. At this point the MClimber stopped. We think that the stop was caused by the belay line and carabiner we used at the bottom of the climber – this most likely triggered the climber and made it to turn off as this was supposed to be our final step. After this attempt, we decided to go on again but without the belay line attached at the bottom. Again the climb was perfect – and we were getting better at aiming the panels so the climb was smoother. Note that we only had 5 x 7kW lights for this test as one of the generator had burned. On this attempt though, the MClimber did not come back. After we got it down, we realized the bottom switch was loose - which most likely got triggered from the vibrations. Wednesday’s tasks: - Solve this switch issue: After discussing with the Spaceward Foundation, we will remove the switch as it is not necessary for stopping. We had implemented it at first to comply with the obstacle detection system. With our current design, we did not need the switch to detect obstacles but figured we could use it in a way to know when we reach the top and bottom. Since the focus of the competition is to demonstrate the beam powered climb and unpowered descent, and since we control the lights ourself, we do not really need the switches. - Make the attachment of the MClimber easier to handle: We realized the palette could be used more effectively in transporting the MClimber and installing it on the ribbon. We are modifying the palette so that we can use a fork lift to bring the MClimber directly from ground to the clamping position on the ribbon without lifting any parts ourselves. We plan to make these modifications and do another test with the lights later tonight. This might depend on the other teams that need to qualify since some of them need sun and it is cloudy raining today and others still need to finish their climber. But we are in a good position for the final competition on Friday! * Testing at UofM * Click here to download a video of the testing done at UofM before they left. Program Updates - September 2006 This summer we refined our driving mechanism and integrated the solar panels with all P&E/C&DH components. So we now have a full functioning climber - or almost! We did some tests this past Sunday for the first time at a light company. Introduction The climber competition challenges university, enthusiasts and private industry teams to design and build the best possible Space Elevator climber prototype. S3FL is building MClimber, which will represent UM at the competition. The 2006 competition will be held at the X-PRIZE Cup in Albuquerque, NM on October 20-21.     Quick Facts Organized by the Spaceward Foundation Event: Climber, Tether Strength, Power Beaming (2006) Goal: To design, build and operate a space elevator climber prototype of 25 kg, powered by light, that can ascend a ribbon faster than 1 m/s carrying as much load as possible. Metrics: load X speed during ascend Date of Competition: October 2006  For more information, please contact our office (2028 Space Research Building, 2455 Hayward St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109) at 734.936.0511, or email s3fl-info at umich dot edu |
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