I've been interested in Space Elevators ever since I first encountered the concept in Arthur C. Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise, and although the thought of an elevator to orbit sounds outrageous at first, new materials have made it theoretically possible. In fact, LiftPort Group, a comercial company, plans to have their elevator in operation by 2018.
The space elevator consists of a ribbon made from carbon nanotubes, anchored to an offshore platform on one end, and a counterweight on the other end, which happens to be about 62,000 miles up. Mechanical "lifters" climb this ribbon, carrying their cargo into space. A short video demonstrates how it will work.
To validate the concept, NASA and the non-profit Spaceward Foundation are sponsoring a competition this weekend, to see which team can build the best climbers and strongest ribbons. The ribbon they'll be climbing is just 50 meters - a bit short of the 100,000 kilometers of a real space elevator - but you've got to start somewhere. I'll let you know how it went.
By the way, this is the first of NASA's Centennial Challenges, a "program of prize contests to stimulate innovation and competition in solar system exploration and ongoing NASA mission areas. By making awards based on actual achievements, instead of proposals, Centennial Challenges seeks novel solutions to NASA's mission challenges from non-traditional sources of innovation in academia, industry and the public."
No comments:
Post a Comment