Today we received the very sad news of the passing of one of Science-Fiction’s and Science-Fact’s true giants, Sir Arthur C. Clarke.  Sir Clarke recently celebrated his 90th birthday (chronicled here and elsewhere).

He introduced millions (including this blogger) to the concept of a Space Elevator through his blending of fiction, prediction and fact in the brilliant book, The Fountains of Paradise.  He became a household name with the release of the movie 2001 – A Space Odyssey and his coverage of the Apollo moon missions along with Walter Cronkite.  He invented the idea of the Communications Satellite and had Geosynchronous orbit unofficially named after him (Clarke orbit).  His other literary accomplishments are too numerous to list and his fans are legion.

Though his body became feeble in his later years, his mind stayed alert and active.  I eagerly await the publication of his final book (‘The Last Theorem’) which he co-wrote with Frederik Pohl.

We will miss you Sir Clarke, I will miss you.  When Space Elevators become reality, I’m sure that one of them will be named after you.

Rest in Peace…

(Picture from the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation website)

(PS – thank you to the numerous readers and friends who emailed me about this event)

On March 18th, 1965, Soviet Cosmonaut Alexsei Leonov became the first human to ‘walk’ in space.  What does this have to do with the Space Elevator?  Lots…

A current scenario for building a space elevator is to lift it’s 80 ton (initial weight) into Low Earth orbit via four Shuttle launches.  Once it’s there, it’s going to have to be assembled.  This will take humans in space suits to complete.  Once the Space Elevator is then lifted to Geosynchronous orbit,  it will take humans in space suits to maintain it – being able to work in space is a CRITICAL skill for constructing and maintaining a Space Elevator.

So, congratulations Alexsei!

From the Wikipedia entry about this event:

“He was outside the spacecraft for 12 minutes on March 18, 1965, connected to the craft by a five-foot tether. At the end of the 12-minute spacewalk, Leonov’s spacesuit had inflated in the vacuum of space to the point where he could not reenter the airlock. He opened a valve to allow some of the suit’s pressure to bleed off, and was barely able to get back inside the capsule.”

(Picture from Britannica.com)

Some additional news / updates:

One of the members of the press which attended last year’s Space Elevator Games was Paul Verhage, from the Nuts & Volts magazine.  He’s written a two part series about the Games.  The first one is now out and available here (note; subscription needed, or you can just pick up this copy at your newstand), in the March, 2008 issue.  Paul tells me that Part II of his report will be in next month’s issues.

I am informed by Lasermotive’s Tom Nugent Jr., that their team member Jordin Kare was recently quoted on Fox News.com.  The title of the story; “There’s No Easy Way to Get to Alpha Centauri” discusses ways to explore other star systems, including Bussard Ramjets, Orion (old ‘bang-bang’) and Solar Sails boosted by lasers (which is where Jordin comes in).

Finally, the Queen’s Space Engineering Team, having just successfully filled team positions VP Finance, VP Marketing and VP Sponsorship, have now announced that they are “still in the progress of looking for more members to be on the design team. We’re hiring executive design positions as well as looking for general members to be on the team.”