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Space Elevators Could Be Lethal

Posted by kdawson on from the fried-by-van-allen dept.

Maggie McKee writes, "A new study reports that passengers on space elevators of current design could be killed by radiation. Even traveling at 200 kilometers per hour, passengers would spend several days in the Van Allen radiation belts, long enough to kill them." Looks like the elevator scientists will get this one solved before liftoff.

14 of 428 comments (clear)

  1. tinfoil hats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    will tinfoil hats help?

  2. Thank you, whistleblower!! by cliffiecee · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is why the First Amendment is so important- to expose Corporate Greed! Greed which led space elevator manufacturers to produce elevators without the neccesary safety precautions. How many people have to DIE in the name of profit? How long will it be before space elevator travel is actually made safe? It should have been done BEFORE the elevators were even built, damnit!!

    Thank you Maggie McKee, for planting a seed for the grassroots "Space Elevator Safety" movement!!

  3. Re:Rockets? by plover · · Score: 4, Funny
    How much thrust would a rocket need to zip you through those sections if you waited to fire it until reaching, say, 500 - 800km?

    How much thrust could a rocket thruster thrust if a rocket thruster could thrust rockets?

    --
    John
  4. Stupid headline by nsayer · · Score: 5, Funny
    Space elevators can be lethal

    So can regular ones. Your point?

  5. Just use a Mass Driver by MrScience · · Score: 4, Funny

    The solution, of course, is more speed! With a mass driver, and 1000+ Gs acceleration, you too can zip right through that hazardous Van Allen belt in record time!

    --

    You quitting proves that the karma kap worked. The most annoying of the whores shut up. --CmdrTaco

  6. Re:Aqua viva by GIL_Dude · · Score: 5, Funny

    Right, and since it expands when it freezes, the people in the "living compartment inside" will not only be frozen to death, they will also be squished.

  7. Other risks! by StikyPad · · Score: 5, Funny

    Additionally, the space elevator is expected to be very tall, taking riders several miles above the surface of the earth where, experts say, they could fall to a harrowing death. And if that's not bad enough -- it turns out that if the earth were to suddenly stop spinning, the entire space elevator could come crashing back down to the ground!!! I, for one, will from now on refer to them only as "Space Elevators of Death!" in order to raise awareness about this potentially leathal issue!

    --
    https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
  8. Re:Aqua viva by HolyCrapSCOsux · · Score: 4, Funny

    While it is up there, the water will be processed through the humans. The water used in the trip down will have a nice soothing yellowish tint.

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    0xB315AA8D852DCD3F3DCA578FD2E0BF88
  9. Well known effects of Van Allen Belt radiation... by Microsift · · Score: 5, Funny

    Everyone knows exposure to this radiation is nearly always benign...in fact, 75% of the people exposed to this radiation found it to be beneficial. The remaining 25% were less pleased, apparently having super-strength and near invulnerability does not make up for the fact that one's body is covered with rocks and people call you a "Thing."

    --
    My other sig is extremely clever...
  10. No, you fool! by nightsweat · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you eat the pizza you destroy your shield!

    And just where do you think you're going to get pizza for the return journey. No, my friend, these are critical protective pizzas, not for eating. In space, there are no wood-burning ovens. Or mozarella.

    Order the pizzas frozen from Domino's so you won't be tempted to actually eat them.

    --

    the major advances in civilization are processes which all but wreck the societies in which they occur - A.N. White
    1. Re:No, you fool! by nightsweat · · Score: 4, Funny

      So we're going to rely on bigger and bigger pizza pies to protect our bigger and bigger space investments? My god, man, you're talking about a pizza larger than we're capable of baking. And think of the tomatoes necessary for such an operation!

      I forsee a Pepperoni gap between us and the Russkies.

      --

      the major advances in civilization are processes which all but wreck the societies in which they occur - A.N. White
    2. Re:No, you fool! by Chris+Burke · · Score: 4, Funny

      So we're going to rely on bigger and bigger pizza pies to protect our bigger and bigger space investments? My god, man, you're talking about a pizza larger than we're capable of baking. And think of the tomatoes necessary for such an operation!

      Yes! Space-based pizza infrastructure doesn't have the inherent weight problem that a ground-based one does, so we could theoretically build truly gigantic pizza ovens, powered with nuclear weapons. Let's ressurect Cold War tech for the Cold Pizza War!

      I forsee a Pepperoni gap between us and the Russkies.

      I'm afraid it's the Italians we'll have to be worried about. I hear they're already planning a space-based pizza-pie so large that with it's crust side facing earth it would appear as large and bright as the moon from the ground. It's codenamed Amore, and I hear they already have a nationalistic song about it.

      We could go on for days :)

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
  11. Re:Aqua viva by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Dude, it's obvious! Dehydrate it, then when you reach space, just add wate...damn!

  12. Killed? by seebs · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... Or given SUPERPOWERS!

    You guys can't fool me, I saw that documentary about those people on the space station. I wanna be the one who can be all stretchy!

    --
    My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/