What nanotubes can do

A space elevator is a revolutionary way of getting from Earth into space, a ribbon with one end attached to Earth on a floating platform located at the equator and the other end in space beyond geosynchronous orbit (35,800 km altitude).
The space elevator will ferry satellites, spaceships, and pieces of space stations into space using electric lifts clamped to the ribbon, serving as a means for commerce, scientific advancement, and exploration.

What will they think of next? They plan on building the elevator in about 50 years or so. Seems like something out of a science fiction movie to me. It would be intresting if this did become reality though. What do you guys think?

www.isr.us...
niac.usra.edu/studies


-Dagger

A zillion sci fi books have used this idea, including one that incredibly was a genetically engineered tree....

Carbon nanotubes had better be dammed strong, because this thing is going to be stressed to hell. My gut feeling is that given our current disinterest in space exploration, this idea may be 200 years out.

Also... if it turns out that there is any chance that antigravity is feasable, the tether or space elevator or whatever, is oblolete.

copcorn the interest maybe go into a lift if the spacecraft of china launches and nothing goes wrong. wiht out concurrention they will be lazy that is what is going on now look to nasa.

Dagger I had already placed a topic about the space elevator some time ago. it is some where in this same section.

Sorry about that, I didnt mean too. I guess I should check before I post

-Dagger

[Edited on 10-10-2003 by Dagger]

Doesn't matter too me! This subject needs much attention so the more it gets the better.

This is a great idea and i would wholeheartedly support this over the space shuttles or rockets, its enviromentally friendly, reusable, fast and it can carry a large payload, a strong tube possibly made of diamond or engineered to be "diamond thread" would be strong enough to hold out.

Diamond is a nice thought...but we have already figured out how to make spider's thread, the stuff's just too expensive to be realistically used. If we can make it cheaper and maybe a bit better, we'll have all the tensile strength we'll need.

www.space.com...

There's another resource in case anyone wants to do any furhter reading on the subject.

I think that a space elevator utilizing carbon nanotube technology would be an excellent idea. Even if anti-gravatic propulsion is possible, I doubt it could be implemented as quickly as a space elevator. There's a big difference between the 50 years or so it would take to design and build a space elevator, and the potential hundreds of years it would take to make anti-gravatic propulsion feasable (providing it is even possible to harness the force of gravity for use in a propulsion system).

here is the link too the topic where I was talking about.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

A space elevator is highly improbable. 50 years is setting goals a little high. I agree with copcorn; 200 is a little closer to reality.

Why is it so improbable?

I realize there are technical hurdles that must be overcome before a space elevator could ever be implemented, but what makes you think that it would take 200 or so years? The only thing that I can think of that would delay it that long is a lack of proper funding. Assuming that such a project would be well funded, would you consider 50 years to be a realistic estimate?

if progression goes as fast as with the computers and IT technology, it maybe soon. never say never and as you all know DOD has technology which go far beyond our imatination. The Department of Defence of USA has also got interest in the space elevator. So if they really got involved they probably gif some of there knowlegde to the scientists.