Space elevators

Squirt · **Joined:** Jan 2008 **Posts:** 8186 **Location:**

Quote:

If space elevators work out the way the idea's advocates hope, sending payloads into orbit would become as routine as, say, sending a shipment on a freight train - except that the train would travel straight up for hundreds or thousands of miles, powered by laser beams.

But will such a "railroad to the sky" ever be built? That's the big question hanging over the 2008 Space Elevator Conference, taking place this weekend on Microsoft's Seattle-area campus. And considering that this is an event primarily attended by elevator enthusiasts, you may find some of the answers surprising.

One of the biggest advocates of the concept, the late science-fiction seer Arthur C. Clarke, said back in 1979 that the first space elevator would be built "about 50 years after everyone stops laughing."

There wasn't much laughing to be heard as the talks got under way today at Microsoft's Redmond conference center (which happens to be a five-minute walk from my newsroom at msnbc.com, a Microsoft-NBC Universal joint venture). Instead, there was a long day's worth of serious talks about way-out subjects such as orbital debris threats and power-beaming lasers.

And there were a lot of predictions: On one end of the scale, Bradley Edwards, president of New York-based Black Line Ascension and one of the pioneers of the space elevator movement, said creating a space elevator would require much less time than 50 years - as long as you had $7 billion to $10 billion to spend.

"It's really a cost issue," he told me. "If you could get the money, you could have one up in probably 12 years, 15 years."

Full Story: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/ ... 06845.aspx
Would be scary to get stuck in this elevator huh?

Barotix · **Joined:** Jul 2007 **Posts:** 9250 **Location:** Sand

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TOloseGT · **Joined:** Sep 2006 **Posts:** 7129 **Location:**

i saw a nova documentary about it, apparently, the kinda technology needed to power the elevator and the materials needed aren't available right now.

Midori · **Joined:** Mar 2007 **Posts:** 3425 **Location:**

TOloseGT wrote:

i saw a nova documentary about it, apparently, the kinda technology needed to power the elevator and the materials needed aren't available right now.

That was what the conference was about, and that documentary was before the conference too. many things change.

Inuyasha584 · **Joined:** Jun 2007 **Posts:** 1491 **Location:**

i hope it's going to have elevator music

Zypher · **Joined:** Sep 2006 **Posts:** 8705 **Location:** Canada

There already is a elevator that can go to space...

emperor3000 · **Joined:** Nov 2007 **Posts:** 1049 **Location:** Home

Zypher wrote:

There already is a elevator that can go to space...

Yeah, called a Rocket

Qosta420 · **Joined:** Feb 2008 **Posts:** 434 **Location:**

Barotix wrote:

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YES! i love civ4

Disconn3cted · **Joined:** Mar 2007 **Posts:** 3293 **Location:** WV, USA

could an elevator going into space have some kind of effect on the earths orbit?

SykoAzn · **Joined:** Jul 2008 **Posts:** 158 **Location:**

Who would want to live in space? WHERE THERE IS NO SILKROAD!

satman83 · **Joined:** Oct 2006 **Posts:** 9541 **Location:** London

SykoAzn wrote:

Who would want to live in space? WHERE THERE IS NO SILKROAD!

No SRO you say... :roll:

*runs off to buy a ticket to space*

Midori · **Joined:** Mar 2007 **Posts:** 3425 **Location:**

Disconn3cted wrote:

could an elevator going into space have some kind of effect on the earths orbit?

No, It is not large enough and it is also connected to the earth. but if what ever at the end is large enough it just might, but it would have to be VERY large.

TOloseGT · **Joined:** Sep 2006 **Posts:** 7129 **Location:**

hm...if we could construct something that had enough mass to alter earth's orbit, we wouldn't be living on this hellhole called earth.

crazyskwrls · **Joined:** Aug 2007 **Posts:** 2293 **Location:**

why an elevator? just use a rocket!

Zypher · **Joined:** Sep 2006 **Posts:** 8705 **Location:** Canada

you guys need to get with the program

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Amelie · **Posted:** Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:24 pm

emperor3000 wrote:

Zypher wrote:

There already is a elevator that can go to space...

Yeah, called a Rocket

i dont need a rocket to go to the space.

Zypher · **Joined:** Sep 2006 **Posts:** 8705 **Location:** Canada

Amelie wrote:

emperor3000 wrote:

Zypher wrote:

There already is a elevator that can go to space...

Yeah, called a Rocket

i dont need a rocket to go to the space.

All you need is Dom and I

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