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In this phase of testing, conducted earlier this month in Arizona, LiftPort successfully launched an observation and communication platform a full mile in the air and maintained it in a stationery position for more than six hours while robotic lifters climbed up and down a ribbon attached to the platform. The platform, a proprietary system that the company has named "HALE" (High Altitude Long Endurance), was secured in place by an arrangement of high altitude balloons, which were also used to launch it. The robotic lifters measured five feet, six inches and climbed to a height of more than 1500 feet, surpassing its last test record by more than 500 feet.

...but nobody really understands it. Main issue seems to be adding a couple of dimensions to our existing model of space-time: http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/mg1892533 1.200-take-a-leap-into-hyperspace.html

There's a basic explanation of the known forces (Strong, Electronmagnetic, Weak and Gravity

There are quite a few ideas kicking about:

scalar-tensor-vector gravity (STVG)

Modified Newtonian Dynamics
General Relativity,
Quantum Gravity,
The http://www.halexandria.org/dward155.htm">Zero-poin t Field,
Superstring Theory,
M-theory,
Inflation/Cosmology,
Yilmaz gravitation, and
Membrane Gravity

Law of Universal Gravitation,

And there's also Intelligent Gravity

Unfortunately, there is no one simple experiment to prove any of these either true or false.

There's also an article on this in New Scientist, which has the following interesting quote:

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=dn8 701&feedId=online-news_rss20

NASA is also looking ahead to future challenges. Sponberg told New Scientist that the programme has already commissioned two studies - one by the X-Prize Foundation in Santa Monica, California, and one by Paragon Space Development Corporation in Tucson, Arizona, both in the US - to look into a possible challenge for the first private human orbital flight.

"These studies have recommended setting a prize for developing a three-person spacecraft at a relatively low cost of $100 to 150 million," Sponberg says. But he adds: "There are funding and safety issues associated with such a prize that we are still working on."

He says the programme will also soon release a request for proposals for studies of a prize for the first private lunar robotics lander.

• $6.234 billion for space operations, such as the shuttle and the International Space Station
• $5.330 billion for science
• $3.978 billion for exploration systems, including the development of the shuttle's replacement, the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV)
• $0.724 billion for aeronautics research

The science programme, which Griffin called one of the nation's "crown jewels", increases by just 1.5% compared to 2006. Furthermore, science will receive annual increases of just 1.0% from 2008 to 2011, according to the budget request.

Such slow growth is down to NASA removing $2 billion from the science budget over the next five years to help cover projected cost overruns of $3 billion to $5 billion to fly the shuttles safely until they are retired in 2010.

In the broader context of planetary science, I believe they mean that it is a small rocky body (if you call something 5 and 1/2 Earth masses small) as opposed to a gas giant such as Jupiter and Saturn. There's more on New Scientist.

They've had to utilize the theoretical particle, called a graviton, which appears from the vacuum of space wherever stars are densely packed, making gravity stronger.

a theory of modified gravity, which has no need of dark matter......although in dispensing with dark matter

For biodiesel created with conventional crops the bottleneck is like you said, that there isn't enough enough aritable land on the planet to create as much biodiesel as we currently use in gasoline and diesel. Algae based biodiesel solves this problem but is significantly more expensive to produce than convientional biodiesel last time I checked

                Perhaps there is enough land and perhaps not, I don't know. What I do know is that it opens up some interesting lines of thought.

        Picture this: Man lands on Moon and builds a few Domes, maybe partially buried. Inside the dome we set up some farms, built to produce biodiesel, but as a bonus the plants also make Oxygen, a much needed item in our space-faring society.

        Thanks to [insert scientist from future here]'s revolutionary research, biodiesel can be converted cheaply to run a deep space propulsion unit, allowing manned exploration of the Solar System using fuel created in space,sometimes shipboard, along with the food and air(efficient, eh?)

        At the same time the Lichen Barrier was grown in orbit of Earth, based on the principle that lichen, a mix of algae and fungi, can survive in space for up to 2 weeks, http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=dn8 297, and thanks again to [future scientist], the lichen can be used to produce more biofuel and medicines. As an unexpected bonus, the Lichen Barrier turns out to filter harmfull radiation from space to levels near what they would be if the Ozone layer was intact.

Ok, maybe I've read one too many Sci-Fi novels, but it's at least worth looking at, eh?

Moreso than not, because this is the first step in inventing a robot that flings politicians into deep space.

So, how far along are they on this politician deep space launching robot? And, speaking of this does anyone have anything to which I could to get elected? Or cheap long-duration spacesuits?

Heck, I hear that there's an as yet untouched asteroid at which you could even target the robot.

Indeed. And with this recent and fortuitous New Scientist article, there's even the possibility of comparatively complex life-forms surviving in space, allowing complete, high-order organisms to conduct some form of panspermia.

I also notice the IDer I was responding to hasn't come back on any of the points I raise... yet again ...

CL1Ck H3RE f0r h0t RuSS1aN D0ub1e Atm0SPh3R1C PEn3traTI0N!!!11@

<PS type="joke" target="humorless"/>

The story in New Scientist is here

Cost. I mean the 1st design of the ISS cost $9 billion and that was the budget to build the thing as well. And the designed was floored, wasn't 0G enough, produced too much micro-gravity. The whole thing was scrapped.

So more money and the international community was dragged in. New design drawn up.

The problem with the ISS now is that all the inputting countries know its not really worth it ($$$ wise), but no country wants to be the party pooper.

If anyone has been reading New Scientist recently Synopsisthere was a 4 page article on moon dust and moon base building. The dust can be melted into a glass silicate quite readily, for making roads and landing pads. Low effiency solar panels can be produced by rovers (wasnt that on /. a while back not sure Article). Moon dust is also an irratant, eye and skin wise, also more needs to be known about long term exposure to moon dust. So much finer and sharper than anything dust on earth.

Cost. I mean the 1st design of the ISS cost $9 billion and that was the budget to build the thing as well. And the designed was floored, wasn't 0G enough, produced too much micro-gravity. The whole thing was scrapped.

So more money and the international community was dragged in. New design drawn up.

The problem with the ISS now is that all the inputting countries know its not really worth it ($$$ wise), but no country wants to be the party pooper.

If anyone has been reading New Scientist recently Synopsisthere was a 4 page article on moon dust and moon base building. The dust can be melted into a glass silicate quite readily, for making roads and landing pads. Low effiency solar panels can be produced by rovers (wasnt that on /. a while back not sure Article). Moon dust is also an irratant, eye and skin wise, also more needs to be known about long term exposure to moon dust. So much finer and sharper than anything dust on earth.