Japan to build worlds first space elevator

Japan to build worlds first space elevator

au.news.yahoo.com

Japan is planning to spend $9 billion on a massive space elevator to lift people and objects into orbit.

Humans have always looked to the heavens, and now Japan is helping fulfil a dream that has been a favourite with science fiction writers and NASA base boffins for years.

(visit the link for the full news article)

The strange very strange part about this news is, its not posted on the normal American news sites.
I even searched yahoo news in the science section and its not there.
I only found it on UK Australian and EU news sites.
Maybe NASA don't like announcement about anyone else building space elevators.

au.news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, as they said in the article, first they have to get carbon strand technology up to par before they can build the thing.

Using the centrifugal force of the earth to keep the top end up... it makes me wonder how they're going to get it up there... are they going to tie one end to a rocket and hope it can counter the drag?

Should be interesting indeed.

20 years away, they're estimating. That's within my lifetime... I'm looking forward to it.

please close this tread. it was here before this one.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by drsmooth23
please close this tread. it was here before this one.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Similar topic different type of article the one I posted says "They are building a space elevator" yours just talks about the idea.
This is an announcement from them actually saying about them planning on building it and the cost etc.

From cyborg housemaids and waterpowered cars to dog translators and rocket boots, Japanese boffins have racked up plenty of near-misses in the quest to turn science fiction into reality.

Now the finest scientific minds of Japan are devoting themselves to cracking the greatest sci-fi vision of all: the space elevator. Man has so far conquered space by painfully and inefficiently blasting himself out of the atmosphere but the 21st century should bring a more leisurely ride to the final frontier.

For chemists, physicists, material scientists, astronauts and dreamers across the globe, the space elevator represents the most tantalising of concepts: cables stronger and lighter than any fibre yet woven, tethered to the ground and disappearing beyond the atmosphere to a satellite docking station in geosynchronous orbit above Earth.

Up and down the 22,000 mile-long (36,000km) cables — or flat ribbons — will run the elevator carriages, themselves requiring huge breakthroughs in engineering to which the biggest Japanese companies and universities have turned their collective attention.

There's already an existing thread
www.abovetopsecret.com...

No sense in having tons of different threads on the same subject.