[Junior]

If only this were going to happen.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

This sounds suspiciously like a perpetual motion scam.

[COBOL2Java]

The ride down will be quite a thrill...

[jdege]

Edwards said he probably needs about two more years of development on the carbon nanotubes to obtain the strength needed.

In other words, nothing we can currently build is strong enough.

[rageaholic]

I just want my hydrogen powered car, the one every president promises.

[dead]

It'll happen one day, but not a chance in hell that it will happen in fifteen years.

Fifty, maybe.

Probably a hundred.

[el_chupacabra]

what happens if the cable is cut four feet above the ground? does it come crashing down to earth? does it fly off into space?

[bolobaby]

Price at $10 billion - LOL.

According to the latest issue of Discover (which does a piece on the space elevator)...

"The space shuttle, to name one example, was originally projected to cost $5.5 million per launch; the actual cost is more than 70 times as much. The International Space Station's cost may turn out to be 10 times its original $8 billion estimate."

So - while I support research of this area, I can only imagine that $10 billion has been grossly *misunderestimated*!

[Old Professer]

He's head of the space elevator project at the Institute for Scientific Research in Fairmont, W.Va.

I grew older in Fairmont from 1950 to 1959 when I escaped; the only thing notable about that place was crooked politicians and hotdog joints.

[shadowman99]

As cool as this sounds, I can't help but wonder: What would happen if 62,000 miles of cable fell to earth from space?

[Old Professer]

He's head of the space elevator project at the Institute for Scientific Research in Fairmont, W.Va.

I grew older in Fairmont from 1950 to 1959 when I escaped; the only thing notable about that place was crooked politicians and hotdog joints.

[Old Professer]

Sorry, I just had to say that again, especially the "escaped" part.

[theDentist]

So, aside from working on satellites and throwing waater balloons on those looking up, what else can it be used for??

[RightWhale]

Bill Gates could do this.

[LibWhacker]

Another excellent reason to crush islam now. A space elevator would be a juicy target for terrorists and we absolutely cannot permit the apemen to hold humanity back.

The cost of carbon nanotubes has to come way down and AFAIK I don't think they've figured out a way to produce long strands of them yet, which will be needed. Otherwise . . . THE SOONER WE GET STARTED, THE BETTER!

I did read an article a while back that claimed a space elevator would be obsolete before it could be completed. But it seemed like that author was making a lot of iffy assumptions about how quickly alternative propulsion research would progress.

So let's do it!

[drlevy88]

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.

What a kite string does, this will do in spades.

[Deguello]

Will we be able to see the glow of the elevator from Texas? Sure would make a nice beacon or "South Star" for orientation.

[My2Cents]

Get the Chinese to start tinkering around with this, and I see an "Elevator Gap" as a burgeoning political issue.

As I recall, Arthur C. Clark's novel had an elevator from an equitorial site, attached to a platform in space in geocentric orbit. Sounded plausible. This would be exciting.

[ElkGroveDan]

Going down?

[Izzy Dunne]

Hmmm.

The radius of the Earth is about 4000 miles (roughly).

So the radius of this orbit would be 4000 + 62000 = 66000 miles.

The circumference of this orbit would be 2 * pi * 66000 = 415000 miles.

in one day, it travels 415000 miles - that's a speed of 17270 MPH.