Liftport's goal is a 20-ton (GVW) Lifter. !4 tons cargo capacity.
Every three days we will be able to - if it all works out - send 14 tons of cargo up a ribbon.
That's just one ribbon.
The first thing a rational operator will do is to use the first to build a second. Now you've got a spare - to be used as a backup or to build another when traffic warrants it.
Space elevators sound like a great idea until you realise the scale of infrastructure you'd have to build to operate one economically.
Some of us have thought about the scale and still think they're a pretty good idea.
Your cost estimates are pretty wild - a great deal depends on how much the thing really will cost. Edwards said 10 billion but he was (probably) just guessing based on notepad calculations. Double the value and it still wont' be that expensive - 40 billion isn't chickend feed but it's within the realm of the finaceable.
Thanks for visiting the site. Our provider went berserk at the load and downed the entire kit and kaboodle. We are working on the issue (our CMS is to blame) and should return to service Real Soon Now.
As a web site owner, traffic from/. doesn't necessarily translate into new customers, increase ad revenue, etc.
I disagree - we see an increase in attention (one metric is people signing up to our maillist at http://www.liftport.com/lists.php) every time 'space elevators' are in an entry. Granted none of these folks are customers and we're not generating revenue so YMMV.
The key words are 'near the equator'. Hurricanes don't wander across the equator. The chosen spot also has the virtue of having the calmest weather you can find on earth.
But your concern over bad weather and etc is on our minds.
Their faq on the other hand, and that analogy with the pendulum are, well, too dumbed down to be still called physics. It's the kind of over-simplification that might be good as a metaphor for laymen, but doesn't even touch the real physics involved.
The FAQ was written FOR laymen. If you know physics you'll find it dumbed down, sure, but then it's not aimed at you - it's for the majority of the people who need/desire a quick explanation without diving into pages of dense text.
it's probably about as much (or even more) a PR event as a technical test.
That fails the logic test. We don't disclose the testing location for safety reasons - if it were mostly a PR event we'd invite press (they've asked), and setup a safety area where they could not be hit if the thing breaks.
... but isn't the cable the difficult part about building a space elevator?
One of the things. It does no good to spend time/money perfecting a ribbon - which Liftport is not equipped to do without wasting a whole lotta cash - and then find the ancilliary tech needed has been ignored.
To put it another way - the potential uses for a ribbon meeting our requirements are many and varied. A lot of people are working on that. Other tech will apply to space elevators only, and we're working on that. Who else is going to need a gizmo that can go straight UP for seven days through a variety of environmental regimes without fail?
Is LiftPort promising a return in the next decade when not even the basic material exists and is thus a snakeoil scam - or is it a serious research group taking the very long view and letting all potential investors know this?
The latter. Of course you could write and ask and then you'd know but where is the fun in that?
Liftport is testing weak ribbons. The sort of ribbons they want simply do not exist. It's unobtanium.
If you read our literature (blog, press release, articles - heck you can write and ask) you'd discover we're not testing ribbons at all.
What we are doing is testing lifter technology. Sending a bot up and down in a reliable fashion is one of those easy-until-you-really-think-about-it deals. A whole lotta picky engineering needs to be ironed out to make those work in a reliable fashion.
The first thing we'll do (yes, assuming we are funded and it's actually doable - work with me) with the thing is to use to build a second. The first ribbon then goes into service as a revenue line. The second ribbon goes into backup status and (when the demand is there) can make a third for (we hope) a fraction of the cost of the first. Then a fourth. And so on.
IANAL but.. are treaties still valid if one party no longer exists? Granted the Commonwealth is a legitmate successor state, but c'mon. The environment that led to the ABM no longer exists.
Yes, naming stuff in space is supposed to follow mythology theme but I don't know why we need to continue the practice. Pluto could be the start of a break with tradition - both the Roman god of the underworld AND a friendly cartoon dog.
So.
Pluto
Mickey
Goofy
and so on through the Disney-verse. And then we've got the Looney Tunes-verse, and so on.
So while my analogy is flawed, it's far closer to the truth than yours. Given how bad mine was, think of how seriously sick and deluded you seem to us outside of your head.
You got all that from two lines of text? My sympathies to your family. Time to take your meds.
Right. So you're one of those guys that blames the woman for being raped 'just as much' as the rapist? Or the murder victim 'just as much' as the fellow with the smoking gun?
Grow up. The people to blame for this atrocity are the people that planned and executed it.
Slashdot Mirror
Liftport's goal is a 20-ton (GVW) Lifter. !4 tons cargo capacity.
Every three days we will be able to - if it all works out - send 14 tons of cargo up a ribbon.
That's just one ribbon.
The first thing a rational operator will do is to use the first to build a second. Now you've got a spare - to be used as a backup or to build another when traffic warrants it.
It still might take a while though, progress is slow, so slow."
It's not slow, it's incremental.
This is an important distinction. Incremental advances allow for a stable and mature system to emerge.
Stable and mature are good things in this environment.
Space elevators sound like a great idea until you realise the scale of infrastructure you'd have to build to operate one economically.
Some of us have thought about the scale and still think they're a pretty good idea.
Your cost estimates are pretty wild - a great deal depends on how much the thing really will cost. Edwards said 10 billion but he was (probably) just guessing based on notepad calculations. Double the value and it still wont' be that expensive - 40 billion isn't chickend feed but it's within the realm of the finaceable.
And we're back up at 15:50 local time. Be gentle, hunh?
Thanks for visiting the site. Our provider went berserk at the load and downed the entire kit and kaboodle. We are working on the issue (our CMS is to blame) and should return to service Real Soon Now.
Slashdot. Such a mixed blessing.
I wouldn't call a quaser 'mundane'. My God man where is your sense of wonder?
I disagree - we see an increase in attention (one metric is people signing up to our maillist at http://www.liftport.com/lists.php) every time 'space elevators' are in an entry. Granted none of these folks are customers and we're not generating revenue so YMMV.
Depends on what you mean by 'serious project'. Blueprints drawn up, budget allocated and space booked on a series of Delta IV flights? No.
But what is going on are a series of test and projects to refine the enabling technology, people studying different aspects of the problem and so on.
The key words are 'near the equator'. Hurricanes don't wander across the equator. The chosen spot also has the virtue of having the calmest weather you can find on earth.
But your concern over bad weather and etc is on our minds.
Their faq on the other hand, and that analogy with the pendulum are, well, too dumbed down to be still called physics. It's the kind of over-simplification that might be good as a metaphor for laymen, but doesn't even touch the real physics involved.
The FAQ was written FOR laymen. If you know physics you'll find it dumbed down, sure, but then it's not aimed at you - it's for the majority of the people who need/desire a quick explanation without diving into pages of dense text.
it's probably about as much (or even more) a PR event as a technical test.
..
That fails the logic test. We don't disclose the testing location for safety reasons - if it were mostly a PR event we'd invite press (they've asked), and setup a safety area where they could not be hit if the thing breaks.
We didn't. Might not be for PR after all
One of the things. It does no good to spend time/money perfecting a ribbon - which Liftport is not equipped to do without wasting a whole lotta cash - and then find the ancilliary tech needed has been ignored.
To put it another way - the potential uses for a ribbon meeting our requirements are many and varied. A lot of people are working on that. Other tech will apply to space elevators only, and we're working on that. Who else is going to need a gizmo that can go straight UP for seven days through a variety of environmental regimes without fail?
Is LiftPort promising a return in the next decade when not even the basic material exists and is thus a snakeoil scam - or is it a serious research group taking the very long view and letting all potential investors know this?
The latter. Of course you could write and ask and then you'd know but where is the fun in that?
Let me rephrase: Testing on weak ribbons.
Gotcha. Just making sure people know where the focus is.
You're taking all the fun out of slashdot, you know.
Liftport is testing weak ribbons. The sort of ribbons they want simply do not exist. It's unobtanium.
If you read our literature (blog, press release, articles - heck you can write and ask) you'd discover we're not testing ribbons at all.
What we are doing is testing lifter technology. Sending a bot up and down in a reliable fashion is one of those easy-until-you-really-think-about-it deals. A whole lotta picky engineering needs to be ironed out to make those work in a reliable fashion.
Why one-off?
The first thing we'll do (yes, assuming we are funded and it's actually doable - work with me) with the thing is to use to build a second. The first ribbon then goes into service as a revenue line. The second ribbon goes into backup status and (when the demand is there) can make a third for (we hope) a fraction of the cost of the first. Then a fourth. And so on.
Ah - a /. troll. You were sloppy and dismissive of the facts - I never dreamed you'd care about the math of the thing.
Fine. 75% incorrect. 100% asinine.
Sure we do. I've got a copy of the current plan on my hard drive.
We don't have any investors,
Several hundred people would say you're wrong.
We don't have a product,
That is what the test is about.
Not that a post 90% wrong is rare on /.
" Treaties signed by us and the USSR."
.. are treaties still valid if one party no longer exists? Granted the Commonwealth is a legitmate successor state, but c'mon. The environment that led to the ABM no longer exists.
IANAL but
Micky
Yes, naming stuff in space is supposed to follow mythology theme but I don't know why we need to continue the practice. Pluto could be the start of a break with tradition - both the Roman god of the underworld AND a friendly cartoon dog.
So.
Pluto
Mickey
Goofy
and so on through the Disney-verse. And then we've got the Looney Tunes-verse, and so on.
You got all that from two lines of text? My sympathies to your family. Time to take your meds.
Right. So you're one of those guys that blames the woman for being raped 'just as much' as the rapist? Or the murder victim 'just as much' as the fellow with the smoking gun?
Grow up. The people to blame for this atrocity are the people that planned and executed it.
Not my analysis but love him or loathe his viewpoint Wretchard makes valid points.
- comes-to-london.html
http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2005/07/blitz
I know - don't feed the Trolls.
But to answer your questions
1) Yes.
2) No, it's not. It's not a national park, it's a bit of trash flying around the Solar System.
3) Green Peace? Lord God spare us.