Only 10 more days until the start of the Space Elevator Games.  I’m not associated with any of the Climber or Tether teams, but I can imagine the frantic pace they’re working at now to finalize their entries. 

The Climber competition seems to get most of the attention and there’s no doubt that it will be visually very appealing – watching each team’s entry as it attempts to climb faster and with more weight than their competitors.  But I think the tether competition is going to be very interesting, too.  As Michael Remington of Team Astroaraneae puts it “The tether competition will be head-to-head, while the lifter competition is essentially a time-trial.”  As of now, there are three tether competitors who definitely will be there and two more who may or may not make it.

In the tether competition, two tethers will be mounted on a pulling mechanism.  The pulling mechanism will do its thing while the tethers will be trying to stay in one piece.  The scoring mechanism is essentially a measuring and lockout circuit; it will measure when one of the tethers breaks or stretches more than allowed.  When this happens, a signal will be sent to light up a lamp signifying the winner (the other tether, of course), while the lockout circuit will prevent the winning tether from lighting up the other lamp.  Matches are best two out of three.  Tethers may weigh no more than two grams.

A two-gram “House tether” may be used as one of the competitors in order to create evenly numbered brackets.  This depends on how many competitors show up.  If there are four entries (a distinct possibility), they’ll be divided into two brackets of two each to compete, with the two winners competing against each other for the right to compete for a chance to win the prize.

Once a head-to-head winner has been declared, it will be matched against a three-gram House tether.  If it can beat this tether, then it will be awarded the $200,000.00 Prize money.  As the House tether will weigh 50% more than the competitors tether (three grams vs. two grams), this means that the competitors tether must be 50% stronger than the House tether to win the prize.

The plan is to increase the strength requirements each year (as well as including new requirements when appropriate).  Teams know this; Patrick Littlejohn of Team Snowstar states; “The Snowstar Tether group has been working since January 2006, with an emphasis on extensive testing in order to get the best results out of conventional materials. As the competition progresses through 2010, we hope to incorporate more and more next gen materials into our research and development until one day a working elevator is a reality.  If we win, we will be throwing one hell of a party.”

The official tether competition rules can be found here and this year’s tether entrants can be found here.

The latest from the Spaceward Foundation:

Hello Folks.It took till now, but we’ve finally been given permission to share with you a bit of very good news.NASA’s Centennial Challenges program has increased its commitment to our project, and we now have a total of $4,000,000 in prize purse to disburse over the next 5 years. Yes, that’s right – 10 times the purse we’ve had so far, and a solid commitment through 2010 – two things which will enable us to take our program to the next level.To make the most efficient and prudent use of these funds, we will follow an escalating prize purse strategy – this year’s prize purse will remain $200,000 per each of our two competitions, increasing to $300,000 in 2007, and so on, until we reach $600,000 in 2010. Any unwon prizes (and we do not intend to have a winner every year – that will mean we have made it too easy!) will automatically roll over to the following year.Still, the same catch that applied last year will continue to apply in the years to come – NASA provides us with the prize money, but not with operating funds. In order to bring our operations to a level that matches the prize purse, we need to get commercial sponsorship.We’re therefore asking you, our fan base, to act as our ambassadors. We have started a phenomenon that spawns the nation and the globe. This year’s games are an order of magnitude larger than last year’s, and we have every opportunity to take the 2007 games literally through the roof – but it all depends on how well we perform this year, both technically and commercially.

Ben Shelef of Spaceward and Elevator2010 gives us the latest goings-on for the upcoming Space Elevator Games.  Lots of info here – be sure to read it all. 

Hello folks, and greetings from Elevator Central.

In this issue:

– I&Q week – the place to be.
– Status report.
– Sponsorship opportunities at the games.
– Volunteers for Las Cruces.
– Special thanks.

* I&Q week

Probably the most interesting part of the games this year will not happen during the competition itself, but during the week leading to it.  In this week, we will set up a little “Olympic village”, at the county fairgrounds next to the airport. The purpose of this week is for the teams to assemble and integrate their Space Elevator climbers with our track infrastructure.  Since many of the teams are driving to the competition in RVs, the Space Elevator village will take on a very special character – this is where people from all over the world, who have spent the last year pursuing the same dream, will get a chance to meet for the first time and work together towards making that dream come true. We expect some rivalry, of course, but as one of the team members expressed himself in an email not too long ago, the real competition is with the skeptics out there. Based on our experience with the teams of last year, this will be a very special time.  We want this to become the beginning of a yearly Space Elevator tradition where the Space Elevator community gets together to exchange ideas.

I&Q week (Integration and Qualification) will also determine which teams are good enough to participate in the competition itself.  In order to qualify, the teams have to complete a 30′ ascent at a quarter of the competition minimum speed – slightly less than 1 foot per second.  We wish all 12 teams the best of luck!

* Status report

With 12 climber and 4 tether teams remaining in the running, the competition is promising to be a high-octane event.  We don’t want to spill too many beans, but let’s just say that from what we already know, Ken Davidian from NASA’s Centennial Challenges program had better get these large cardboard checks printed nice and pretty…   and get a pen to sign them!

Climber row, our 2-day Space Elevator museum at the X-Prize Cup, is shaping up beautifully – 200′ long, 30′ wide, and 30′ tall, it will barely be large enough able to contain the climbers, many of which span more than 15′ in diameter. The race track is coming along nicely too, with help from Dave Carty (the same guy that created the Space Elevator multimedia CDs). Roger Gilbertson of the bay area robotics society has agreed to be our MC, and will be narrating the event and interviewing our guests throughout the two competition days.

* Sponsorship opportunities

We have been shy so far about getting sponsorship for the games, frankly, because we did not know how well the competition will shape up. (Rather go unsponsored than not deliver on what we promise – right?) Well – we are now very confident that the competition will be spectacular, so are opening up sponsorship opportunities.  If you or your company like Space Education projects, think the Space Elevator is important, and would like exposure to 25,000 of space-curious spectators and all the who’s who of Space 2.0 – please check out the information at http://www.elevator2010.org/site/sponsorshipXP.html 

Large business or small, private or corporate, we have an option that will work for you. 

* Volunteers for Las Cruces

As mentioned before, we’re looking for on-site help at Las Cruces. An advanced team will arrive at Las Cruces on or about 10/12, and will start working setting up I&Q week at the fairgrounds.  If you are a resident of Las Cruces or El Paso, or if you want to join us for the entire week, please email us.

Our travel schedule is not final yet, but we will be able to pick up people along the Bay area – Los Angeles – Phoenix – Tucson – Las Cruces route.   Please include the date from which you can be available.

* Special thanks

We’d like to thank so much the exceptional people of Las Cruces who are making this possible by going all out and giving us a hand:

– Mayor Bill Mattiace.
– County engineer Jorge Granados.
– Ken Wooten of Wooten construction.
– Phil Cordova of Alliance Riggers & Constructors in El Paso.
– Jon Benson and Mark Medoff of New Mexico State University Creative Media Institute.
– Pat Hynes of New Mexico State University and New Mexico Space Grant Consortium.
– Peter Diamandis and the X-Prize Crew, including Rick Winquest, Mike Kelly, Paul Birkeland, and Nicole Jordan – without whom none of this would have been possible.

* As usual…

Our web site:  http://www.spaceward.org/
Space Elevator competition:  http://www.elevator2010.org/
Our web shop:  http://www.elevator2010.org/site/shop.html
——–

That’s that for this update… 3 Weeks and counting – we hope to see you soon in Las Cruces.

Sincerely,

  The Spaceward Crew

I learned today that Dr. Bradley Edwards is in the final stages of releasing two new books relating to the Space Elevator.  The first, written in conjunction with Phil Ragan, is a book dedicated to explaining the concept of the Space Elevator to the layman.  It’s entitled “Leaving the Planet by Space Elevator“.

The second book is co-edited by Dr. Edwards and David Raitt and is a collection of Sci-Fi stories resulting from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) contest for young authors who wanted to write about the Space Elevator.  It’s entitled “Running the Line“.  I had posted about this contest earlier.  The ESA story about this contest can be found here.

Dr. Edwards is planning on bringing several cases of these books to the upcoming Space Elevator Games so you can get an autographed copy of these books there (which is what I’m planning on doing).  They will also be available via Amazon (and other places, I’m sure) and when they’re out, I’ll post a follow-up.

This is great news – I’m really looking forward to both of these books!

Many weeks ago, the Space Elevator Reference site promised us a new look and contributions by Dr. Bradley Edwards and Dr. Bryan Laubscher.  They’ve now delivered on both.

Bryan Laubscher has delivered his Vision Statement and Dr. Edwards has commented on the upcoming Space Elevator Games.

Space.com has posted an article discussing the upcoming Space Elevator Games (being hosted by X PRIZE Cup).  Dr. Brad Edwards, Ben Shelef of The Spaceward Foundation and Michael Laine of Liftport are quoted.  A link to one of the SE Animations is also provided.

On the LiftPort blog, Kansas City Space Pirates team captain writes that he is looking for volunteers to help out at the upcoming Space Elevator Games.

This is a recent press release from the Spaceward Foundation about the upcoming Space Elevator Games.  It is a summary of what the games are about, why the Space Elevator is important and how they are being held in conjunction with this year’s X PRIZE Cup.  The Press Release is in .pdf format.

This is the latest press release sent out by the Spaceward Foundation concerning the upcoming Space Elevator games.  We learn that 15 teams appear to be competing (down from the original 24).  Twelve of the teams will be competing in the Lifter competition and three in the tether competition (though a fourth may make it here also).  We also get a snapshot of some of the teams.  The Press Release is in .pdf format.

You can now get your tickets for the X Prize Cup, which includes admission to the Space Elevator Games.  If you haven’t made your travel plans yet, don’t delay – attendees will undoubtably fill up all the hotels in Las Cruces and the surrounding area.

A Discovery Channel (Canada) summary of the upcoming Space Elevator Games.

Good article about the upcoming XPrize cup + Space Elevator Games.  Photos from last year’s competition plus some good background information.

Over at NewScientistSpace.com, there is a nice article on the current state of Space Elevator development.  To read the entire article, you must subscribe to the publication.

The article discusses the Space Elevator games (as part of NASA’s Centennial Challenge), Tethers Unlimited MAST project, and the leading role that private industry will have to play in this endeavor.

Elevator2010 has just sent out an email to its elevator2010-announcements list.  It is quoted below, in its entirety, thanks to the kind permission of Ben Shelef, co-founder of Elevator2010.  If you want to get these announcements directly, all you have to do is to subscribe to the Elevator2010 announcement list at their website – I encourage you to do so.  And Ben, thanks for the very kind words about this blog.

Hello folks, and greetings from Elevator Central.  It’s been a long time since our last update.

We are now a less than 2 months before the competition, and things are beginning to ramp up.

In this update:
– Formal venue announcement
– Multimedia Space Elevator CD-ROM
– Space Elevator Blog
– Qualification Week
– Details on how you can help with the competition
– IAC conference pointer

——-

X-PRIZE:
First and foremost, we have signed an MOU with the X-PRIZE foundation to hold the games at the X-PRIZE Cup in New Mexico on October 20th.  The Cup is the most natural place for us to hold the competition – a weekend dedicated to emerging space technologies.  Please check out their web site (http://www.xprizecup.com).  We’d like to thank Peter Diamandis for his kind offer and cooperation!   This cup is a full-blown airshow style event, and we can think of no better way to spend the weekend – be there of be square!
CD-ROM:
In advance of the event, and in response to many requests, we have produced a Space Elevator Multi-Media CD-ROM which explains and illustrates the Space Elevator concept, its history, and Spaceward’s plans for advancing its cause.   The CD-ROM contains Alan Chan’s incredible computer generated Space Elevator movie, news coverage of last year’s competition, and a 50 minute narrated slideshow telling the story of the Space Elevator, starting in 1960 and continuing through today.  The CD-ROM, like the rest of our branded items, is available as a gift acknowledging your donation at http://www.elevator2010.org/site/shop.html. We also talked Alan Chan into throwing in a trailer for one of his current Sci-Fi projects, “Postcards from the Future”.  Special thanks goes to Dave Carty, who produced the CD.

Space Elevator Blog:
There’s a new Space Elevator web site in town – https://www.spaceelevatorblog.com.  Ted Semon has been doing a phenomenal job with this Blog, and he deserves your support – check it out.

Qualification Week:
As you know, we have a lot more teams registered this year than we had last year. ( 20 vs. 8 )  For this reason, we will be holding a “testing and qualification” week, on site, starting on 10/14. Only teams that can run successfully on a short 30-foot test track will move on to the main 200-foot event. For those of you who want to experience the competition up-close and personal, we’re looking for volunteers to help during that week – see below for details.

Volunteer:
We are looking to expand our staff of volunteers now, since the work pace is picking up. If you think you can help and have the time, please contact us at elevator2010 AT spaceward.org. There are three types of help we’re looking for:

1. Work that needs to be done between now and the show.  We need help with planning, engineering work, general office work, and planning.  Did we mention planning?
2. Help with running the qualification week (10/14 – 10/22).  This is the core volunteer group that will help run the event.  We will meet several times in the period leading to the competition, but the bulk of the work will be during that week, full time, on site.  Example includes: video shoot and narration, technical hands, forklift and general driving, etc.  A volunteer RV will depart Mountain View on 10/13 (Friday evening) and drive back 10/22 (Sunday evening)
3. Help during the show itself (10/20 – 10/21). This will include helping with various tasks at the event itself:

We will publish a more specific list of positions we need in the coming weeks, but if you have the ability to contribute time, please let us know now.

IAC:
Finally, for our fans in Europe, we’d like to point out this year IAC conference, to be held on October 6th in Valencia, Spain. Other then being a great international space forum, the conference will have a full Space Elevator session.  The conference home page is at http://www.iafastro.com/index.php?id=78
That’s it for this update.  We do have a few more things cooking, but we’re going to hold off on those until they’re ready, and this will give us good reason to send another update your way soon (rather than wait 3 months)

As usual, our links:

Spaceward:  http://www.spaceward.org
Elevator2010:  http://www.elevator2010.org
Shop/Donations:  http://www.elevator2010.org/site/shop.html

Cheers,

  Ben, Meekk, and the test of the Spaceward crew.
_______________________________________________
Elevator2010-announcements mailing list Elevator2010-announcements AT spaceward.org
http://www.spaceward.org/mailman/listinfo/elevator2010-announcements