A team made up of researchers at Shizuoka University and other institutions is set to conduct an experiment in September for a project to develop a "space elevator" connecting Earth and a space station by cable -- attracting attention as a possible dream vehicle for space travel and cargo shipments in the future. — The Mainichi
The idea of a space elevator has been around since 1895 when Russian/Soviet rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (inspired by the newly erected Eiffel Tower in Paris) envisioned a very long cable running from earth's equator to space beyond geostationary orbit with a counterweight at the top to offset our planet's gravity—maintaining an upright tether, under tension, to run cars up and down.
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"837th Floor... asteroids, rocket debris, and garden equipment..."
Another job for Elon Musk who works 100 hour weeks
I believe Arthur C. Clarke was fascinated by this subject and wrote a story about it.
Reminder: don't keep pushing the space button. You only have to press it once, folks.
What a bad idea. It seems to me that such a system - when it fails - will have catastrophic consequences. And it will fail. Materials decay. Maintenance will be sustained only as long as funding permits and the politics of funding ensures moments when those resources are cut, diverted, stolen, misspent or squandered. Flaws in construction and/or substandard contractor work are inevitable.
All man-made objects decay and fail over time. That's a given. Imagine the consequences of a several hundred mile cable falling from their full length across the landscape. Even if much of it burns up in the atmosphere, everyone for a few hundred miles around the anchor will be in mortal danger and many will die.
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