[zarf]

Not a new article, but this idea seems to be gaining momentum.

Love to see comments from Freepers on the idea.

[btcusn]

Heinalin (sp) wrote a story about this YEARS ago.

[Brett66]

Excellent article, this one answers all of the questions I see recurring on space elevator threads.

[spikeytx86]

There are countless, countless, threats and hazards to consider, especially earth quakes. However I think it is not that far fetched idea and apparently alot cheaper then I thought it would cost. With some careful study I say it is doable and something to look into. I could definitely see private sector applications from tourism, to research, to energy, and tons of other areas. I bet if the U.S., Japan, and Europe pooled resources and talent and offered to go 50/50 with the private sector this thing could be up and running by 2020.

I might sound overly optimistic, but when it comes to space and American ingenuity I am eternally optimistic and curious.

[nightdriver]

This idea has been flogged to death on previous threads.

[PUGACHEV]

You have a 600 ton counterweight at the end of an 800 ton ribbon stretching 100,000 km above the Earth's surface: if you knew how to do the math, you could determine how much the structure's angular momentum would slow the Earth's rotation. Okay, I guess it wouldn't be much, but it would be something.

[paul51]

I hope it doesn't have that crappy music in it.

[boycottliberalhollywood.com]

What are they supposed to do when they get to the top? Walk to the bus stop? Get out and hail a taxi at the curb? It's outer space! There ain't nuthin' out there! At least if you go up in a rocket, well, you're presumably going somewhere beyond simply going "up".

No wait, I got it! At the top of the elevator, there is this revolving restaurant that's sort of overrated and overpriced, but you take your out-of-town friends there anyway when they come to visit...

[timer]

I know there is a lot of enthusiasm in re to the space elevator but there are 2 main hurdles : technology and financing. The subject of lightning is glossed over. The ionosphere is a PLASMA and reactive oxygen and nitrogen atoms have been observed rapidly degrading test panels on shuttle flights. Also, if there is even the slightest chance of shorting out the earth-ionosphere capacitor(400,000 V at 1800 A average current-flow via natural lightning), that would change the entire earth's electro-potential gradient(50 V/meter)and you would have every government stomping on you like a bug. Then there is icing on the cable, van allen radiation belts, possible interactions with the magnetosphere...NASA has a tight budget already, their atmospheric scientists will come at you with their long knives....Actually we did a similar idea in the 1980s : EMSL(ElectroMagnetic Space Launch) : shooting 10 Kg projectiles into LEO with long EM cannons. Best idea was quenched superconducting rings, in a 300' to 500' cannon length. One pound in LEO(100 miles up & 5 mps)is energy-worth(mv^2/2 + mgh)about 4 KWH or about 40 cents at 10 cents/KWH. That's 16 times cheaper than postage(1 oz = 39 cents). At a system efficiency of 10% that's $4/# to LEO. Like the space elevator it would work continuously but without the problems listed above, just hypersonic BOOMS in an out-of-the-way place like Jarvis Island. But, the USSR died, SDI funding dried up; and the ROCKET SCIENTISTS at NASA didn't like to be shown up($20,000/# vs $4/#)...so the space elevator, like EMSL, is a nice idea but the same VESTED INTERESTS are still there(sharpening their long knives).

[TN4Liberty]

We could dampen earthquakes, but I wonder how we would keep some crazed Al Quada type from flying an airplane into it.