Space Elevator Project Begins Crowdfunded Experiment
- 10 years ago
Although the idea seems like a difficult or impossible feat, experts are working on making an elevator that can go from the surface of Earth all the way to outer space. Having an elevator take cargo into space would make sending objects into orbit significantly cheaper than the cost of launching a rocket.
Although the idea seems like a difficult or impossible feat, experts are working on making an elevator that can go from the surface of Earth all the way to outer space.
Having an elevator take cargo into space would make sending objects into orbit significantly cheaper than the cost of launching a rocket.
The idea is being tested by the LiftPort Group, based in Tacoma, Washington, which has received over 110 thousand dollars in donations from the crowd funding website Kickstarter.
Their first major step towards making an elevator that can go into space is to launch a tethered high altitude balloon that will reach up to four and a half miles high.
After the balloon has reached the highest point possible, the plan is to set up a robot to climb to the top of the tether cable.
LiftPort founder Michael Laine is quoted as saying: "We never claim that this is true-blue space elevator technology. It's an analogy that helps us understand the problems."
So far, no one has been able to develop a material that would be strong enough to support its own weight when it is suspended thousands of miles into space.
Although the idea seems like a difficult or impossible feat, experts are working on making an elevator that can go from the surface of Earth all the way to outer space.
Having an elevator take cargo into space would make sending objects into orbit significantly cheaper than the cost of launching a rocket.
The idea is being tested by the LiftPort Group, based in Tacoma, Washington, which has received over 110 thousand dollars in donations from the crowd funding website Kickstarter.
Their first major step towards making an elevator that can go into space is to launch a tethered high altitude balloon that will reach up to four and a half miles high.
After the balloon has reached the highest point possible, the plan is to set up a robot to climb to the top of the tether cable.
LiftPort founder Michael Laine is quoted as saying: "We never claim that this is true-blue space elevator technology. It's an analogy that helps us understand the problems."
So far, no one has been able to develop a material that would be strong enough to support its own weight when it is suspended thousands of miles into space.