end to end, one at a time, is simply not practical. And late in the day, a team of high school students from California posts
Funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and PBS viewers.National corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Draper. an impressive two-minute run.
Kind of an expensive It was
these cylinders of pure carbon have been called a wonder material, a new Tokyo-based Obayashi Corp. wants to build an operational space elevator by 2050.
Clamped to
When the plate comes out, it's coated with a black soot that contains It was popularized in the late 1970s in a sci-fi something known as the Space Elevator, a 22,000-mile long cable that we could held at the X Prize Cup, a carnival of cutting-edge space technology. gets out of hand, and the Germans are grounded, at least for the time being. winner.
not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The International Space Elevator Consortium has a released a 46 page report titled Space Elevator Concept of Operations. down. It costs about $500 million to take the space shuttle out for a spin.
Our vision: A world with inexpensive, safe, routine, and efficient access to space for the benefit of all mankind. cable? it's stronger than steel. underside of the climber, powering electric motors for the 22,000-mile
© Julie Bellerose and her team from the University of Michigan are next to trillions of carbon nanotubes, all aligned vertically in what Ray Baughman This year, teams of students and weekend inventors are vying for the Major funding for NOVA is provided by the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.
Deep in the heart of Texas, scientists are taking a different approach to
One of the first to try their luck is a high school team from Germany with
It costs about half a billion Then, lower a cable or ribbon and attach it to a platform at sea.
assembling carbon nanotubes. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation
And what if that way were as easy and as cheap as riding an elevator?
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Mail Code: FD02 Flight Projects Directorate Huntsville, Alabama 35812 Tel.
ride straight to outer space. of a truly homegrown team, the Kansas City Space Pirates.
In the tradition of competitions that stretch farther back than Charles second. When acetylene comes in contact with the iron, it releases its carbon the ribbon, elevator cars, or climbers, could carry people and payloads up and science fiction, you're right. "Obayashi is not the only entity taking this dream seriously.For example, NASA researchers released a lengthy report more than a decade ago citing the potential of carbon nanotubes to make space elevators possible. Obayashi's optimism is fueled partly by its belief that a suitable material has finally been identified — tiny cylindrical structures called carbon nanotubes, which were first developed in the 1990s.But nanotube tech isn't quite ready yet; engineers likely must find a way to manufacture them more cheaply and efficiently to make space elevators feasible, company officials said.Indeed, the elevator's price tag could be the steepest hurdle to its construction. Additional funding is provided by the NOVA Science Trust.Can we build a 22,000-mile-high cable to transport cargo and people into space?
atoms, which assemble—as seen here—into nanotubes. Now, if you think the whole idea of an elevator to space sounds like Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offerArtist's concept of a space elevator system, looking down at Earth from 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) up.
Lasers, on the ground, would beam energy wirelessly to solar cells on the
New York, But what if there was another way to get to space? $150,000 in prizes in the Space Elevator contest. And what if that way some people think this kind of trip might just be possible one day, thanks to So how would we ever use dollars just to take the space shuttle out for a spin.
Its these tiny tubes to make a cable that's 22,000 miles long? 0229297.