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Russian scientists first envisaged a fixed link to space, and the idea was popularised by the British sci-fi writer and vision-ary, Arthur C Clarke, in his 1978 novel, The Fountains of Paradise.

The theory behind the space elevator is deceptively simple. With a base station on Earth and an orbiting satellite, solar-powered "climbers'', each carrying up to 20 tons, would crawl up a single cable into space over several days. The cable would be held up by the rotation of a 600-ton satellite counter-weight, much like a heavy object at the end of a spinning rope.

Until recently, the concept seemed doomed by the technology available, not least finding a material strong enough to make such a long cable, able to withstand extreme temperatures.

Scientists now believe that a material known as carbon nanotubes could be bound together to make a ribbon, rather than a cable, three-feet across but just half the width of a pencil.

Nanotubes, which are microscopic cylinders of carbon, are currently being developed by a number of companies, including GE and IBM. In one experiment, a sheet of nanotubes one-thousandth the thickness of a human hair could support 50,000 times its own mass.

"Elevator 2010'', which is to be launched on October 21 in California, will offer an annual first prize of $50,000 for the best design for both a tether - or ribbon - and a lightweight climber. It is being run by the Spaceward Foundation, which promotes space exploration, and has the backing of Nasa, which has given $400,000 in prize money. At least 10 teams will take part in the first contest.

Brad Edwards, a board member of the foundation, says the initial development could be ready "in the next couple of years", with the elevator itself being built in another decade.

"We are talking about getting this up in about 15 years,'' Dr Edwards predicted.

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Developers propose a floating base station near the equator, more than 400 miles from the nearest flight path.

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One conception:

You don't want to get stuck on that elevator.

[ 26 September 2005: Message edited by: Albireo ]

And I would think that the lack of multiple stops along the way would seriously hamper one's odd's of Hitting the standard elevator joke trifecta.

[ 26 September 2005: Message edited by: Albireo ]

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Originally posted by 'lance:
Some wag would probably insist on programming the music from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Over and over and...

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What about flying debris in low orbit? Meteorites etc? How strong is the ribbon, again? I wonder if they could make it 'smart', as in able to repair itself after minor damage...

Presumably the anchor at the top would have to have some way of staying in place if the ribbon broke - it would be a bit alarming to be eating dinner in the space station, then hear a 'pop' and get flung out into space...

[ 26 September 2005: Message edited by: Albireo ]

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Originally posted by Hephaestion:
Arthur C. Clarke first predicted orbital satellites, and they became reality; is his concept of a "space elevator" about to become true as well?

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Originally posted by Mr. Magoo:
Why not just a space escalator?

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Do we dare dream of a world where your scions have been wiped out by science gone awry?

[ 27 September 2005: Message edited by: Fidel ]

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Originally posted by Mr. Magoo:
Why not just a space escalator? We could have a contest to name it, and see how many dudes write in "Stairway to Heaven!!"

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Originally posted by Southlander:

Doesn't the object on the end of the rope have to spin quite quickly around the earth, therefore the teather point down here would have to slide around the earth in a little groove, and everyone living near it could hear it zing every time, as it went past. If you could hear it comming, you could dash out and tie little parcels on it as it went past, and they would shoot up to the reciever in the space station. Have to watch for junkmail.

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An object in orbit at ~36,000 km has an orbital period of ~24 hrs. This is called a geostationary orbit.

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Originally posted by Mandos:
Dupont Circle Station in Washington DC. It's like, ridiculous.

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Isn't Dupont Circle actually two escalators?

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Originally posted by Albireo:
If a crew of two rides up the elevator with the cargo, and one of them farts, everybody will know who did it. And if the trip takes a few days, holding it in won't be an option.

[ 26 September 2005: Message edited by: Albireo ]

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A three-day competition at the NASA Ames Research Center, which wrapped up Sunday, brought together callow college students and grizzled engineering hobbyists to design a ``space elevator'' -- a platform rising beyond the Earth's atmosphere along a super-strong ribbon of carbon ``nanotubes'' that could, one day, carry cargo into space much more cheaply than rockets.

Just as the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk lasted only 12 seconds, the seven ``robot climbers'' entered in the competition didn't ascend more than a few dozen feet up a tether attached to a giant crane. And none performed well enough to win the $50,000 grand prize.

But they broke a barrier on Sunday nonetheless -- proving that the idea is not some science-fiction fantasy.

``If we get financing, it'll be one or two years'' before a space elevator becomes a reality, said Brad Edwards, a former staff scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory who has written a book on the subject.

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