[extropy-chat] good space shuttle article

[Jay Dugger]

On 8/3/05, Henrique Moraes Machado <hemm at openlink.com.br> wrote:
> Why not start thinking *seriously* about space elevators? I don't think anyone can feel confortable with the idea of being pushed to space by a huge bomb on his back.
> 

Risk vs. reward? It seems good to me, but YMMV.

Space elevators in general do seem best, even better than beamed power
lifting. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beam-powered_propulsion) They
share some similarities with it, and offer the advantage of momentum
transfer for payloads at the high end. Brad Edwards argues that the
first such elevator offers overwhelming advantages in space access,
and that it won't cost all that much.

If memory serves, the recent conferences identify a couple of problems
with the idea. Nothing insurmountable, I think. Active damping of
oscillations seemed the very hardest to do.

-- 
Jay Dugger
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