A Small Climb For Man (Space Elevator)

Who ever said that building an elevator to the stars was impossible? It seems that one company is envisioning just that--and putting those plans into practice.

(Spaceref.com) LiftPort Group, the space elevator companies, today announced that it has successfully completed its second round of preliminary tests of its high altitude platform and robotic lifters. [...]

In this phase of testing, conducted earlier this month in Arizona, LiftPort successfully launched an observation and communication platform a full mile in the air and maintained it in a stationery position for more than six hours while robotic lifters climbed up and down a ribbon attached to the platform.

The robots were able to climb more than 1500 feet, surpassing the previous record of 500 feet. A space elevator is not only feasible, but also less costly than sending a rocket into orbit. Constructing a space elevator will not be easy, as one can tell by how high Lift Port intends to build the structure.

(Spaceref.com) A revolutionary way to send cargo into space, the LiftPort Space Elevator will consist of a carbon nanotube composite ribbon eventually stretching some 62,000 miles from earth to space.

The LiftPort Space Elevator will be anchored to an offshore sea platform near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, and to a small man-made counterweight in space.

Mechanical lifters are expected to move up and down the ribbon, carrying such items as people, satellites and solar power systems into space.

Although many nations may prefer to send their cargo, astronauts, etc. via rocket ship, such a procedure may be too costly for their national budget. A space elevator will probably be inexpensive and enable less developed nations to launch satellites into orbit as their is no cost for rocket fuel.

Constructing an item such as this will take enormous effort, but if successful, Lift Port may be the first modern company to build the eighth wonder of the world.



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