A Cry Heard Round The World: Kim Sun-Il died desperate and alone, but he did not die unheard.
Looking At And Longing For Mars: Reflections on a childhood dream.
A Robot May Not Harm a Human Being. Is The Opposite True?: Thoughts on the future rights of artificial intelligence.
Long After The Boys Of Summer Have Gone: What makes a relationship work?
Winter Of Our Feline Discontent: What the cat wants, the cat gets. But what DOES it want?
To Tell The Truth: There may be no honor among thieves, but can't we find it even in a few good men and women?
Should The Human Brain Retire?: We know that we cannot win forever. We know that machines will continue to improve. So why don't we let the human brain retire gracefully now, with honors?
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Published: Sep 16, 2005 01:41 PM
Sat - September 13, 2003
Next Floor, Orbit: NASA's Space Elevator Rushes Toward
Reality
—Arthur C. Clarke, The Fountains of Paradise (1979).
The elevator would deliver satellites, spacecraft, power, and people into orbit along a 36,000 km. cable track. The earthbound end would be tethered to a base station, probably in the middle of the Pacific Ocean near the climatically temperate equator. The other end would be attached to an orbiting object in space acting as a counterweight, the momentum of which would keep the cable taut as the Earth rotates so that electromagnetic vehicles could climb and descend it.
Beyond the transfer station at its top outbound space vehicles could continue on the elevator track at near escape velocity. Minimal energy would be required for launch to the Moon or other deep space destinations because the rotation of the elevator in its 24-hr orbit with the Earth would act like a sling to throw its payloads out of orbit.
A 36,000 km structure would easily be the tallest manmade structure ever created. By contrast, the world’s tallest office building, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, stands just 452 m. in height.
NASA estimates that it would take about $7 billion to turn the concept into reality and hopes to have a final elevator design by next year.
This is one elevator that I wouldn't mind waiting for after pushing the call button.
Updates:
1. Several readers have asked how NASA would build the space elevator. Proposed plans would use human construction crews for the lower stages and robot maintenance and construction fleets supported by high-altitude balloons for higher stages.
The tallest buildings and towers constructed today are assembled from either a crane anchored in the elevator shafts of the structure that lift themselves up the structure as construction moves higher or multiple cranes that can lift each other up higher as needed. Occasionally, flying crane helicopters are used as well.
As towers reach higher and higher altitudes, new types of cranes, aerial platforms, and vehicles will be needed to support construction operations. Construction may also closely resemble the assembly of railway tracks in which a construction device lays track in front of it and then rides this track to lay the next segment.
2. The conference is now over. To read about how it went, click here.