Not Science Fiction: An Elevator to Space

NY Times ^ | September 23, 2003 | KENNETH CHANG

[presidio9]

[abigail2]

Thanks for the article. Great

[LiteKeeper]

SPOTREP

[The_Victor]

Long discussion of the this subject (same conference different writer) posted here.

[dljordan]

I'm wondering about static electricity build up. Remember the tether experiment where they got zapped with MUCH more electricity than they thought they would produce?

[scouse]

Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky proposed a tower thousands of miles high.

Shades of Nimrod and his multi-lingual work force. :^))

[Consort]

What about that enormous figure 8 that is traced in orbit and on the ground by orbit eccentricities?

[conster-nation]

It would take about a week for one to reach geosynchronous orbit...

The first space elevator would be built to carry only cargo, not people...

The toughest part about lifting people might be training them to endure bad music for a full week...

[Clock King]

Arthur C. Clarke -- The Fountains of Paradise

link

[Defiant]

Al Qaeda is already working on a plan to blow it up.

[RightWhale]

"What a wonderful idea if you could ever make it work,"

The problem with engineers and scientists is that they usually don't include a business plan with their technological wonders. Sometimes they do, of course, but usually not. Anyway, this should be done if only to learn more about nature. Like an amateur radio operator stringing up an even bigger antenna, you don't know what will happen.

[BlazingArizona]

It would take about a week for one to reach geosynchronous orbit, 22,300 miles up, where a satellite circles the Earth in exactly one day, continuously hovering over the same spot on the Earth's surface.

A lot longer than that if some twirpy kid presses every button on the way up...

[ido_now]

"A lot longer than that if some twirpy kid presses every button on the way up..."

I think either an atomic powered pogo stick or a trampoline made out of silly puddy would be cheaper.

[js1138]

I wonder if it wouldn't be wise to anchor this thing to a floating platform rather than to an existing land mass. This would avoid territorial and political disputes that would otherwise be associated with any suitable land along the equator. It would also eliminate the effects of earthquakes, volcanos, etc.

[hosepipe]

How many indian snake charmers would be needed to play the flutes to hold the ribbon up ?...

Liberals if they had any sense they would'nt be liberals...

[Protagoras]

Where are the sky hooks?

[NonZeroSum]

That only happens with non-equatorial orbits. A geostationary orbit has no ground track, just a ground point.

[solzhenitsyn]

Thanks for the ping, abigail2. I'd wondered if something along these lines might be feasible some day. Very interesting story!

[abigail2]

You're welcome. FAntastic isn't it? Fabian, do you like science?

[Nam Vet]

"A lot longer than that if some twirpy kid presses every button on the way up..."

I wonder if they addressed the "Flatulence Factor" in their equations.

Nam Vet