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Space Elevator Update

Posted by Zonk on from the going-up dept.

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."

3 of 557 comments (clear)

  1. kg/lb by X1011 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Operating costs estimated at 100 kg/lb, ready in 15 years at most optimistic.

    Kilograms per pound? What is that?

  2. new extreme sport.. by sentientbeing · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As long as youre wearing a spacesuit theres no reason why you couldn't base jump off to escape... ...Or for the fainter of heart - atmospheric bungee jumping!

    Man what a rush.

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  3. Re:Talk about a nonstarter! by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The surviving fragments of an orbital tether would not have the requisite mass to produce the sort of wave disturbances you postulate. Actually, from most accounts, the worst health hazard resulting from a broken orbital tether would be small fragments of nanotube floating about in the atmosphere, eventually drifting to ground level and getting lodged in the lungs (as it turns out, carbon nanotubes are about the same size as asbestos fibers...perfect for getting lodged in the lungs).

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