Space Elevator Update

TheMadReaper writes "The 2005 edition of the Space Exploration Conference in Albuquerque, NM came to a conclusion earlier this week. A large fraction of the conference was devoted to the Space Elevator. Surprisingly, there hasn't been much news coverage of this conference, perhaps because it doesn't have Space Elevator in its name. The most interesting fact I got from the conference is that money is really starting to exist in the space elevator world mainly thanks to the work of Dr. Bradley Edwards at ISR and at Carbon Designs, Inc. The strong nanotube talk was also more promising than last year."

Comments

I invented the space elevator

[AtariAmarok]

"...and I propose that we call it "the Space Superhighway".

(In a pinch, some might call it the Nanobahn. Once some drunken shuttle pilot hits it and causes it to fall and wrap around the planet, it will be known as the World Wide Wire.)

Re:Building a ladder to heaven

[NanoGator]

"It'll cast a shadow pretty much across the entire planet."

Are you sure about that? The Sun is a very VERY large source of light. Additionally, the atmopshere does a very good job of diffusing it. Yes, it'll create a shadow, but across the whole planet? It's doubtful the cable would even be wide enough to be visible a few miles away.