Space elevator will be built around 2015

Since we're looking at economics and finance, has anyone figured out what
the opportunity cost will be of NOT building a space elevator or some other
economical means to get above the atmosphere? We really need to increase
the resources available to us, and I think I would vote for Island One.

--
Chad Lupkes

http://www.seattlewebcrafters.com/
"E.R." wrote in message
om...
"Dr. O" dr.o@xxxxx wrote in message
...
"E.R." wrote in message
om...
(MattWriter) wrote in message
...
The estimates given are $6billion.

Someone has to say this: I wish it could happen, but built by 2015?
The odds
are not long, they are zero. The only organizations in the world
which
could
put up the money on a high-risk venture of this magnitude are the US
government
and perhaps the Chinese government, and neither has shown any
interest.
Progress in nanotube materials is not going to change anyone's mind.
It's the
money, folks.

I'd have to disagree, slightly. The capital is available from sources
other than the US or Chinese governments; I'll agree (if such was your
unspoken thought) that these sources don't have a history of investing
in high-risk enterprises. Worth noting that the projected cost is
well within the realm of funding for other infrastructure projects
funded privately.

Heck, these sources don't need to invest the whole shebang; invest
just enough to get the ribbon material up to spec; after _that_ it's
merely a matter of engineering.

And why not? I've seen VC's invest in the most ridiculous ventures in
the
90's, mostly related to Internet and IT. Although this Elevator will
require
a lot more capital, the payoffs will be assured once it works. As many
have
illustrated before, the demand is there, all we need to do is build it.

A good reason why not is that safe investments have a payoff soon
(next quarter, next year at the latest) and not 15-20 years down the
road. You can (so the thinking goes) make better and more profitable
use of captial investing in short term high payoffs than long term.

~er


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.521 / Virus Database: 319 - Release Date: 9/23/2003

Henry Spencer wrote:
Bear in mind that the elevator concept currently proposed would have
a finite working life anyway; effects occurring over decades are not
a serious concern.

How would it be decommissioned? Presumably if it were just allowed to
fall apart, it could do considerable damage on the ground.
--
Keith F. Lynch - - http://keithlynch.net/
I always welcome replies to my e-mail, postings, and web pages, but
unsolicited bulk e-mail (spam) is not acceptable. Please do not send me
HTML, "rich text," or attachments, as all such email is discarded unread.

Keith F. Lynch wrote:
Henry Spencer wrote:
Bear in mind that the elevator concept currently proposed would have
a finite working life anyway; effects occurring over decades are not
a serious concern.

How would it be decommissioned? Presumably if it were just allowed to
fall apart, it could do considerable damage on the ground.

Ahhhhhh *banging head on wall*

Why on earth do people keep thinking of Space Elevators
as this huge skyscraper which will fall on innocent people
below like the WTC coming down???

How much is it going to hurt if you drop a ribbon on someone?
From an airplane? From orbit?


-george william herbert

"Keith F. Lynch" wrote in message ...
Henry Spencer wrote:
Bear in mind that the elevator concept currently proposed would have
a finite working life anyway; effects occurring over decades are not
a serious concern.

How would it be decommissioned? Presumably if it were just allowed to
fall apart, it could do considerable damage on the ground.

1. No it wouldn't. If a goodly bit of the ribbon were to bonk you on
the head, you'd be hard pressed to feel it. If the entire thing
manages to topple, expect most of it to burn up on reentry.

2. Decommission? Unhook it from the anhcor, and as it drifts up and
west, reel it in at the GEO end. You'll end up with thousands of km
of CNT ribbon material - perfect for second hand use in space.

~er

"Keith F. Lynch" wrote in message ...
Henry Spencer wrote:
Bear in mind that the elevator concept currently proposed would have
a finite working life anyway; effects occurring over decades are not
a serious concern.

How would it be decommissioned? Presumably if it were just allowed to
fall apart, it could do considerable damage on the ground.

1. No it wouldn't. If a goodly bit of the ribbon were to bonk you on
the head, you'd be hard pressed to feel it. If the entire thing
manages to topple, expect most of it to burn up on reentry.

2. Decommission? Unhook it from the anhcor, and as it drifts up and
west, reel it in at the GEO end. You'll end up with thousands of km
of CNT ribbon material - perfect for second hand use in space.

~er

In article ,
Keith F. Lynch wrote:
Bear in mind that the elevator concept currently proposed would have
a finite working life anyway; effects occurring over decades are not
a serious concern.

How would it be decommissioned? Presumably if it were just allowed to
fall apart, it could do considerable damage on the ground.

Only the bottom few hundred kilometers would survive reentry, even
partially. You would have to recover that last little bit; this is one
reason (among several) for basing the thing on a platform at sea.
--
MOST launched 1015 EDT 30 June, separated 1046, | Henry Spencer
first ground-station pass 1651, all nominal! |

In article ,
"Keith F. Lynch" wrote:

Henry Spencer wrote:
Bear in mind that the elevator concept currently proposed would have
a finite working life anyway; effects occurring over decades are not
a serious concern.

How would it be decommissioned? Presumably if it were just allowed to
fall apart, it could do considerable damage on the ground.

Reading the report is clearly better than presuming. There would be no
damage.

Cheers,
- Joe

,------------------------------------------------------------------.
| Joseph J. Strout Check out the Mac Web Directory: |
| http://www.macwebdir.com |
`------------------------------------------------------------------'

"George William Herbert" wrote in message
...
Keith F. Lynch wrote:
Henry Spencer wrote:
Bear in mind that the elevator concept currently proposed would have
a finite working life anyway; effects occurring over decades are not
a serious concern.

How would it be decommissioned? Presumably if it were just allowed to
fall apart, it could do considerable damage on the ground.

Ahhhhhh *banging head on wall*

Why on earth do people keep thinking of Space Elevators
as this huge skyscraper which will fall on innocent people
below like the WTC coming down???


Even for any part that does fall down, as tragic as the WTC was, it fell
DOWN... not sideways.

Other than people immediately in the zone right around the WTC, no one was
killed.


How much is it going to hurt if you drop a ribbon on someone?
From an airplane? From orbit?

(Gah, now I'm getting this image of the monofilament from Ringworld.)



-george william herbert

"Keith F. Lynch" wrote:
How would it be decommissioned? Presumably if it were just allowed to
fall apart, it could do considerable damage on the ground.

Joe Strout wrote:
Reading the report is clearly better than presuming. There would be
no damage.

Where is this report? Thanks.
--
Keith F. Lynch - - http://keithlynch.net/
I always welcome replies to my e-mail, postings, and web pages, but
unsolicited bulk e-mail (spam) is not acceptable. Please do not send me
HTML, "rich text," or attachments, as all such email is discarded unread.

Hi all

"Keith F. Lynch" wrote in message
...
"Keith F. Lynch" wrote:
How would it be decommissioned? Presumably if it were just allowed to
fall apart, it could do considerable damage on the ground.

Joe Strout wrote:
Reading the report is clearly better than presuming. There would be
no damage.

Where is this report? Thanks.

www.highliftsystems.com seems to have pulled all their web contents but you
can search various Nasa sites and still find it. Search for 'elevator' and
you'll find the High lift System reports.

Otherwise checkout: http://www.isr.us/SEHome.asp

http://spacetethers.com/

http://www.liftport.com/pages/index....ge&pageID=1216

Otherwise just hit Google.

If you're still stuck I've got most if not all of the PDFs that High Lift
Systems released to the public. I'd be happy to get them to you if we can
work out a way how.


--
Keith F. Lynch - - http://keithlynch.net/
I always welcome replies to my e-mail, postings, and web pages, but
unsolicited bulk e-mail (spam) is not acceptable. Please do not send me
HTML, "rich text," or attachments, as all such email is discarded unread.


Regards
Frank