Space Elevator: High Hopes, Lofty Goals

Yahoo! News ^ | 9/17/03 | Leonard David

[LibWhacker]

I understand lightning and hurricanes are two of the reasons for building it on the equator, out in the Pacific Ocean somewhere. There are fewer lightning strikes in mid-ocean and no hurricane has ever crossed the equator.

[LibWhacker]

. . . but how long will it take to crawl all the way up . . .

According to this article the elevator would cruise along at 1,200 mph.

[RightWhale]

Critics, including many at NASA, caution that future propulsion technologies might render the elevator obsolete before it is complete.

That's from the article.

You can always find 100 who can name reasons for not doing something. With luck you might find someone who will do it anyway.

[LibWhacker]

Bill Gates could've financed the whole project three times over for the amount of money he lost a couple of years ago.

Far be it from me to tell anybody how to spend their money, but when you're that rich and you know one blip in the market can (and eventually will) wipe out billions of dollars of your wealth in a day or two, why not spend it on something that would awe the world and revolutionize space travel at the same time?

If I were Gates, I think that's how I'd look at it! :-)

[LibWhacker]

. . . that would awe the world and revolutionize space travel . . .

Not to mention that it might also make you the world's first trillionaire.

[Camel Joe]

So lets keep NASA away from the project!