Scientist Sees Space Elevator in 15 Years

Originally posted by mpeake
Sure, a space elevator is great and all, but call me when we get the space escelator....then I'll be impressed!

Seriously, if we ever get this thing up and running in 15 yrs or even 100 yrs, wouldn't we have advanced enough that space travel by spaceships would be much more common and much more economical? I would think that transporting goods by space vessels will be the way to go when we are talking that far ahead in time.

Currently the trends in science for a "faster space vehicle" are nothing that include the hassle of having to break with gravity. THe reason why modern ventures are so expensive is the fuel cost.. with rises by every pound you add to the craft.. so as you can see carrying payloads to space from earth in a ship is just not economical. Ferrying them by elevator will cost little and our new no gravity ships can be built in space.

This is the DUMBEST idea I have ever heard of! Yeah, I realize that it is feasible. But just because something is possible doesn't mean it should be done. How long would a trip in the elevator take to travel 62,000 miles? 1 year, 2 years, more???

Moreover, we've all riden in elevators. How can anyone expect people to just stand there, looking straight ahead and be pretending to mind their own business while they wait from their "floor" to be reached for 2 or more years!?!?!?!

This is by no means a new idea. The original idea was postualted by Sir Arthur C Clarke in his 1978 book 'Fountains of Paradise'

My Clarke is also credited as being the Inventor of the Communications Sattellite.

A Man ahead of his time.

His TV program was great as well.

Originally posted by kozmo
This is the DUMBEST idea I have ever heard of! Yeah, I realize that it is feasible. But just because something is possible doesn't mean it should be done. How long would a trip in the elevator take to travel 62,000 miles? 1 year, 2 years, more???

Moreover, we've all riden in elevators. How can anyone expect people to just stand there, looking straight ahead and be pretending to mind their own business while they wait from their "floor" to be reached

for 2 or more years!?!?!?!

Not quite.....
www.sciencenews.org...

Not that it would be quick. The space elevator would take about a week to reach geosynchronous orbit and would require another 5 to 10 days to reach the end of the ribbon, 100,000 km from Earth. Using the enormous centrifugal force there, spacecraft could be inexpensively flung toward Venus and Mars. The Red Planet might even be fitted with its own space elevator.
.............
They estimate the elevator will be able to handle 20 tons.. they'd like to reserve 13 tons for payload with the rest catering to human transport.

Originally posted by UnusualMe
Not that it would be quick. The space elevator would take about a week to reach geosynchronous orbit

Blimey, I hadn't realized it would take that long! and at 7 tons spare payload there isn't much weight for amenities... Then again just give me window view, some Rum n Coke and a comfy space-bed and I'd suppose I'd manage.

I suppose you'd get steady more weightless as well as you ascended.. that'd provide plenty entertainment!

The space elevator is a great concept. Apparently the technology is almost there, and the ROI (return on investment) could be astronomical. It would open the door to countless practical applications/uses.

When you think of it, the price tag is quite reasonable. It's too bad we don't spend more money on noble endeavors like this, instead of throwing it away on things like waging war around the world. The total cost of implementing the space elevator pales in comparison to what we've spent in the past year on Iraq. And if not for the horror of Viet Nam, we would have had working outposts on Mars long before now. It seems that fighting and making war always gets in the way of doing what's best.

What a convoluted set of values we have ...

On a different, but similar, note, I wonder if a space elevator would be an easy target for terrorists? What would happen if it became the target of a hijacked passenger jet?

i don't think a plane could do much damage unless it hit the elevator compartment... more liklely a bomb on the ground.. on the elevator on in orbit.. would be the best way to take care of it...

i would imagine though that civilians would not be taking a trip on it anytime soon...

Originally posted by UnusualMe
i would imagine though that civilians would not be taking a trip on it anytime soon...

I don't know... look how quickly commercial passenger flight took off after the Wright Bros. I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway.

Yes but with commercial aircraft... there was a reason... travel.

I doubt the orbital installation will have a Hotel/Spa .. it will be a Military or commercial venture.. maybe both. All the staff in and out of any of the key areas will have had extensive background checks, as well as being a highly educated person in an area under developement for the station.

Maybe if you are Bill gates you might buy your way up for a couple days after a strip and cavity search.

It would not be until low earth orbit and orbital cities sprouted, due to the need of a workforce.. that "the average joe" might have a chance to head on up

Hopefully someday it will lead to this
www.abovetopsecret.com...

quote kozmo:

"Yeah, sure, ok, but...

This is the DUMBEST idea I have ever heard of! Yeah, I realize that it is feasible. But just because something is possible doesn't mean it should be done. How long would a trip in the elevator take to travel 62,000 miles? 1 year, 2 years, more???

Moreover, we've all riden in elevators. How can anyone expect people to just stand there, looking straight ahead and be pretending to mind their own business while they wait from their "floor" to be reached for 2 or more years!?!?!?!"

Yeah. And godforbid somebody farted in that thing. Have you ever been in a normal elevator when somebody farted. I can't last more than 3 floors w/out gagging, let alone a trip into space.

Additional thoughts: I would see it as a circle of cables (this would provide horizontal cab stability and allow replacement of worn or damaged individual cables). The elevator cab would be encircled by 18 or so small cables. It would probably reduce the likelyhood of catastrophic failure.

Frankly i would still want to have tranquilizer if i had to watch the view zooming up into or down from the clouds.

It's a cool idea, but it just doesn't seem pratical to me. Personally I would feel safer riding on one of the current bombs to get up there then taking an elevator.

Besides with all the companies developing spacecraft now won't the cost be cheaper in the long run to fly in one of those or something developed from that technology rather then try to maintain a 40 billion dollar elevator?

I remember an episode of Star Trek that had a space elevator and I think a few guys got tossed out or somthing like that.



[edit on 29-6-2004 by outsider]

One of the biggest paradoxes of "space tourism" is that there will be no market for space tourists untill there is cheap access to space, but without a space tourism industry we will never devolp cheap space flight. At 40 billion dollars microsoft could do this much less our government. And if it did happen there would be an orbital hotel and casino within 5 years.
I wonder if ceasers palace has considered this?

Look, all the problems you guys seem to come up with have already been assessed and mostly solved by NASA and the other major organisations which are involved with this concept, I�ve been following this concept for about 3-4 years and it defiantly will be feasible within the next 15-20 years, without a doubt. The only major problem, which has been encountered, is the magnetic radiation, which the elevator will go through. The shuttle and other rocket powered spacecrafts do not encounter this problem on as much as a large scale which the elevator will because they travel through this region very fast. The space elevator is very slow and if carrying people they will have to overcome this problem. Although this is the biggest problem NASA said that they will be able to overcome this problem once they are given enough funding to tackle it.

I think this is one of the most ambitious projects which has ever proposed and whoever posse�s the first space elevator will own space until the next one is built. This reason alone is enough power to convince whichever president or other leader to start to build this endeavour.

There is also the possibility that there could be a race for whichever rivalling nations can build one first, as the tactical advantage would be immense.

another good article about the space elevator
space.com...

hmm... id rather not travel to space in an elevator... imagine the fall if you drop ....weeeeeeeee

O my a DROP.. that would be vicious.. I'm sure they will have all sorts of n to make sure that can't happen.. redundant systems.. no power brake release.. manual brake release... etc..

again they've been at this for years and have probably gone ever every possibility.

In reference to my earlier post just exactly how DO you play roulette in zero g?

i think power driven projectiles still work in 0' g

We could actually create something like this? Seems to defy the laws of physics, hopefully it will be created in my lifetime.