Space Elevator Teams Compete for NASA Prizes

Hugh Pickens writes "The University of Saskatchewan's has the first place climb in the Second Annual Space Elevator Games being held this weekend at the Davis County Event Center in Salt Lake City. Teams are competing for $1,000,000 in NASA prize money. Although the idea of a space elevator has been around for decades, the space technologies needed to support it have yet to be created. The non-profit Spaceward Foundation has hosted an annual competition since 2005 to build a super-strong tether, or get a robot to climb a suspended ribbon. In the robot climber competition, teams have to get their device to hurtle up a 100-metre-long ribbon, suspended from a crane, at an average speed of two metres per second. The climber must be powered from the ground: strategies include reflecting sunlight from huge mirrors on the ground to solar panels on the climber; shining lasers from the ground up to similar panels on the robot; or firing microwaves up at the climber. Qualifying rounds have been taking place all week, and although high winds and rain have caused delays, four out of eight teams have made it into the finals. There are no outdoor climbs today because of bad weather but some of the tether competitions will happen indoors later this afternoon."

Comments

Re:elevator music for 4 months straight

[timmarhy]

it's simpler because it actually works.

how much power do you really expect to get from a beam like that? the answer is fuck all. definately not enough to move any significant weight.

and i didn't say they were magiclly powered dipshit. you could suspend solar array's via large helluem balloons. obviously you read generator and assumed i meant gas powered when in fact generator could be anything that generates power.

Migod, are they bored or what?

[aqk]

I know Saskatoon is a rather boring town, bu do they have to resort to this kind of crap?

Somehow, I suspect my Canadian tax dollars are paying for much of this pseudo-science.

Why don't they establish a science chair to examine the possibility of extracting sunbeams from cucumbers?
I'd be willing to donate some pinoqachole chit for this more worthwhile project!