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Space Elevator Going Up

Posted by michael on from the penthouse-suite dept.

Adlopa writes "The Guardian newspaper reports on scientists' efforts to realise the space elevator, as first described by Arthur C Clarke in his 1979 novel 'Fountains of Paradise'. Advances in materials science mean that 'a cable reaching up as far as 100,000km from the surface of the Earth' is no longer an impossibility and 70 scientists and engineers are discussing the idea at a conference in Santa Fe today."

4 of 684 comments (clear)

  1. Re:what i really want to know is... by gustgr · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Well, more 200,000 Km it would have a 3rd floor at least [Moon] but I think that would be dangerous, you know, the Al Qaeda could stole or destroy the moon ...

  2. Re:Kind of scary. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait
    Yeah, and since the good ole USA is not suspect to "some localized devastation" it's not a world-breaker?

    This is a fucking insane idea for following reasons:

    a) The immense danger if it falls down.
    b) It's an extreme threat to all airborne traffic.
    c) It does not advance space travel. We already can get to the low orbit safely and at a reasonable cost (I'm not talking about the shuttle) and build stuff there. What we need now is the political will to go back to Moon, build a base there and go for Mars and the outer planets. Manned. Robots are good for science but they'll never get us off the planet.

  3. So..... by Sphere1952 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Which equatorial country is the U.S. going to invade?

    --
    Big Brother Bush is doubleplus ungood.
  4. Re:Kind of scary. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    "Burning up would create the same stuff that charcoal makes, CO2. Potentially less toxic than second hand cigarette smoke."

    Why don't you go to the garage, close the doors and start the engine of your car. I doubt that you will be alive after few hours.