Proposed most famously by Arthur C. Clarke in The Fountains of Paradise, space tethers are less fiction than most people might think. NASA has funded research into this technology, and at least one company, Highlift Systems, is making significant progress towards realizing a far less perilous means of moving material into space. Here is a summary.
While the initial investment of $7-10 billion may seem a bit steep, a space tether can lift payloads to orbit at about 1/100th the cost of current heavy lift rockets and shuttles.
I mourn the loss of our astronauts, and pray for their families hoping they find comfort in that their sacrifice was most noble and unselfish.
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While the initial investment of $7-10 billion may seem a bit steep, a space tether can lift payloads to orbit at about 1/100th the cost of current heavy lift rockets and shuttles.
I mourn the loss of our astronauts, and pray for their families hoping they find comfort in that their sacrifice was most noble and unselfish.