Space elevator!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Xeno G

That’s was I was thinking when I read the article. Isn't the exit & reentry into our atmosphere the most dangerous parts of space flight at the moment? I just can't see how something this giant could be protected from Terrorists with any amount of certainty. And you know if the world got wind of us building something like this outside of our borders (hell, even inside) there'd be at least a dozen groups bent on taking it out. A project this size would really need a good chunk of the governments on earth working together on it for it to have any chance of succeeding.

---

Fuck that, paint it red white and blue and put a bunch of fucking rockets on it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mr-K

Fuck that, paint it red white and blue and put a bunch of fucking rockets on it.

---

And that my friends is the problem with this country. Even if you're being silly there are far too many people in this nation who think like that (our current president at the top of that list).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Xeno G

And that my friends is the problem with this country. Even if you're being silly there are far too many people in this nation who think like that (our current president at the top of that list).

---

Rockets

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mr-K

This is why we can't have nice things.

---

I don't usually like to talk like that, but it's true.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by anish

In the 1960s the media said we could take vacations on the moon by now.

---

We could. They would just suck a lot.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mzo

Doesn't the moon, like, change it's location as it orbits us? Doesn't the Earth itself rotate? Would there be a small window each day where the elevator would lead to the moon?

---

The real awesome part is lassoing the moon to the elevator, so that it stays permanantly attached and we get to play God with the tide.

Not doing things because we're afraid of stupid people is pathetic. Research the tech and get this thing rolling, there's no reason we should be stuck on mudball Earth a moment longer than we absolutely have to. At the very least, a space elevator would give us a solid connection to space that we could use to run wires down for solar energy collection.

James

Hey cool, the ISR. That's right around the block from my company, and we work with them on a regular basis. Maybe I'd have some part in deploying the elevator to the moon :)

The latest issue of Discover magazine has a big article (cover story) on this. It's an interesting read, but I don't think it will ever happen.

The researcher proposing the idea has an answer for every possible hurdle, but some of them seem like wishfull thinking. Such as:

Space junk. Won't the space junk collide with the threads? The proposed answer is to move the threads periodically out tof the way of the larger space junk, and repair damage caused by smaller pieces. I don't think this will work.

I would think that developing a way to first clean up the space junk would be better.

Amother problem is terrorism. The threads will be anchored to earth in the middle of the ocean, and no one will be able to sneek up on them. Uh.. right. Plane? Missle?

Also, as said before, the idea is not to go directly to the moon, but to a space station. From there, then to the moon.

If the cultures of the world were in perfect harmony, and there was no space junk, I'm sure this could happen. But there are too many wild cards that can go wrong.

I do like however, how this could turn into a modern tower of Babel.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by James

there's no reason we should be stuck on mudball Earth a moment longer than we absolutely have to

---

Lay off the Earth's nuts, scumbag.

Quote:

---

Edwards' elevator would climb on a cable made of nanotubes — tiny bundles of carbon atoms many times stronger than steel. The cable would be about three feet wide and thinner than a piece of paper, but capable of supporting a payload up to 13 tons.

---

Wow. Imagine the paper (ummm....carbon) cut that would be possible with that. I want a bendy sword or two-man lumberjack saw made out of that stuff....NOW!