Beschreibung
Increasing efforts to move into space have driven the need for new facilities that are capable of simulating weightlessness and other space gravity conditions on Earth. Simulation of weightlessness/microgravity (approximately 10-6g) is conducted in different earthbound and flight-based facilities, often with poor availability. Otherconditions such as lunar or Martian gravity withtheir partial Earth gravity/hypogravity cannot beperformed at a large scale for scientific researchon Earth. For multiple Earth gravity/hypergravity,simulation centrifuges are available, but they donot allow the possibility of abrupt accelerationchanges. To support this wide range ofconditions, a new technique is being developed tocombine all of these requirements into a singledrop tower facility. Currently under construction,the Einstein-Elevatorof the Hannover Institute of Technology at the Leibniz Universität Hannover is an earthbound tool created for simulating micro-, hypo-, and hypergravity research with a high repetition rate. The facility will be capable of performing 100 experiments per day (8-h work shift) , each creating 4 s of microgravity. For the first time, statistics can be applied in experiments under space gravity conditions at favorable costs and short mission times. The Einstein-Elevator offers room for large experiments with a diameter up to 1.7 m and a height up to 2 m as well as weights up to 1,000 kg. To perform largerexperiments under different gravitational conditions, it was necessary to develop an innovative drive and guide concept. The Einstein-Elevator will be available for general research under different gravity conditions from 2018 onward
