This week’s Weekend Walkabout jets to India’s space conference, Ecuador’s cosmic peak, and Greenland’s linguistic gift to space elevators—let’s get started!

We first travel to India and learn about the just-completed Global Space Exploration Conference – GLEX 2025. Hosted by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Astronautical Society of India, it took place in New Delhi from May 7-9, 2025, and was extensively covered on X (@GLEX2025). While there was no Space Elevator track, these conferences can only increase incentives for visionaries, scientists and engineers to deliver better solutions for space travel. Couple this with the ISEC proposal which states that their space elevator solution can send supplies to Mars on a daily basis and my off-stated belief that India could be a real leader in the space elevator arena and there is a lot of synergy here. Here’s to more space-related conferences in India, and, hopefully to include space-elevator tracks soon.

From India, we head south and west to Ecuador, another country that straddles the equator. In addition to this geographical advantage, Ecuador has history with space exploration, hosting a NASA tracking station since 1957, and taking control of this station from NASA in 1982. They also recently (2023) signed the Artemis Accords, a resolution affirmed by multiple countries for the peaceful exploration of space.

Ecuador’s Chimborazo, towering 6,263 m, lies just 177 km south of the equator—close enough to make it a prime candidate for a space elevator anchor. Its summit is also the point on Earth farthest from its center due to earth’s equatorial bulge, standing tall as a potential space elevator anchor. Fun Fact: Is Chimborazo’s 6,263 m summit the thinnest-aired spot on Earth? Surprisingly, no—Mount Everest’s higher 8,848 m peak has a thinner atmosphere, with fewer air molecules above, as shown by its lower pressure (314 hPa vs. 490 hPa). Still, Chimborazo’s equatorial position makes it ideal for a space elevator, leveraging Earth’s spin to lift climbers to orbit with less energy. Alas, security concerns will probably mandate a space elevator being located at sea, but imagine a tether rising from this volcanic giant, connecting Ecuador to the stars! Most Ecuadorans would refer to it as an ascensor espacial, Spanish for space elevator.

Finally, we wind up in Greenland, a place much in the news lately. In an earlier post about Greenland, I wrote about how the Thule Nano Institute was leveraging zinc nanofibers to make a space elevator. In the real world, however, there doesn’t appear to be a word in their native language (Greenlandic – known by its speakers as Kalaallisut) for space elevator. It is a polysynthetic language, meaning complex ideas can be expressed in single words by combining roots, affixes, and suffixes, sometimes forming very long words. So let me take this opportunity to add the next language to my Translation Project and propose a new word in Kalaallisut – Qilaksioqqut (pronounced KEE-lack-see-OK-coot). This can be translated as “sky lifter”. I will leave it to my myriad Kalaallisut-speaking readers to say “yay” or “nay” to my proposed new word and its pronunciation.

And that’s a wrap for this week’s Weekend Walkabout.

This edition of Weekend Walkabout starts with a Conference in the USA, moves on to another Conference in Australia and winds up with more cool artwork and a new translation from Indonesia – something for everyone!

Stateside, we kick off with the National Space Society’s 43rd International Space Development Conference (ISDC), held in Orlando, Florida, from June 19–22. ISEC, a longtime NSS affiliate, continues its tradition of hosting a full Space Elevator track—check out the lineup here and here. ISEC’s Chief Architect and President Emeritus, Dr. Peter Swan, will chair the track.

NSS, born in 1987 from the merger of the National Space Institute (1974) and L5 Society (1975), came very close to fielding an entry for Climber competition at the 2009 Spaceward/NASA Space Elevator Games. Their bold plan? Use a laser to heat a Stirling engine, driving the Climber’s power instead of relying on photovoltaic arrays. Though they ultimately didn’t compete, their tests at TRUMPF’s Michigan facility produced awesome photos and videos. Search ‘NSS’ on the blog to see them in action!

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Next, we head down under to Sydney, Australia, for the 76th International Astronautical Conference (IAC2025), set for September 29–October 3, where space elevators will again take center stage. Hosted by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), founded in 1951 in Paris, IAC2025 will feature the Space Elevator Session (IAC-25, D4.3), also co-chaired by Dr. Peter Swan – that man gets around, doesn’t he? Australia’s growing space sector, backed by its Space Agency and proximity to equatorial regions like Indonesia, makes Sydney a fitting host for discussions on tether designs and orbital hubs. ISEC’s rich history with IAC includes dozens of presentations on topics from potential tether materials to galactic harbors—explore the full list here. For more ISEC events, including past IAC talks, visit the ISEC Events page.

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Finally, we land in Indonesia, a space elevator enthusiast’s dream thanks to its equatorial perch—perfect for an Earth station. First, enjoy this conceptual space elevator artwork by Frank Lewecke, an award-winning artist featured on Dune covers and Bavarian TV’s Space Night. His vision captures the futuristic promise of an Indonesian-based tether.

Next, we add to our translation series with the Indonesian term for space elevator: lift antariksa or elevator antariksa, written in the same Latin alphabet as English. With the world’s 4th largest population (285 million) and 7th largest GDP by purchasing power parity, Indonesia’s industrial might and space agency, INASA, could make it a candidate for a future space elevator hub. Could Jakarta or Bali host the next galactic gateway?

And that’s a wrap for this week – thanks for reading!

This week’s edition of Weekend Walkabout starts in Europe, moves on for a stop in Brazil and winds up in India. And we get not one, but two new translations of Space Elevator…

We start in Europe where the WARR Student Group at the Technical University of Munich hosted the most recent space elevator related competition, EUSPEC 2024. Four teams competed: Space Robotics, Alpha Centauri, Inoue Lab Team and Meier’s 11. Check out their webpage for more details and also photos of the competition.

From the EUSPEC 2024 webpage – credit TUM/WARR.

The people behind this competition are the WARR Space Robotics people. From their website: “WARR Space Robotics is an interdisciplinary team of robotics enthusiasts at the Technical University of Munich. The team is the result of the merger of the former WARR exploration (founded in 2017) and WARR space elevator (founded in 2007) teams in 2023.” A January blog post briefly describes their participation in the Japan Space Elevator Challenge (JSPEC) held last December in Fuji, Japan.

The EUSPEC 2024 webpage mentions EUSPEC 2026 so besides the hoped-for-revival of the Space Elevator Games, we have another competition to look forward to.

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Next we jet to Brazil, where this very cool artwork by Dave Seeley imagines a space elevator located on a river in Brazil.

Looking at a map, we can see that the north branch of the Amazon River exits Brazil into the Atlantic Ocean at Macapá, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amapá. What’s really cool about this is that the equator runs right through the middle of Macapá, giving it the nickname “The Capital of the Middle of the World“. And, as we all know, the equator is the prime location to place a Space Elevator. What’s even more cool is the flag of Macapá (pictured). The flag’s red, yellow, and green stripes frame a silver Fortaleza de São José tower silhouette, eerily resembling a climber on a tether. Did a time traveler design that flag?

In Macapá, locals might call a space elevator ‘Elevador Espacial’ in Portuguese, the official language of Brazil.

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Finally, we land in India, a potential powerhouse for a future Space Elevator. I’ve often written about how I think that India could be a real contender when a Space Elevator becomes feasible. The Edwards/Westling seminal book on Space Elevators identified a couple of locations in the Indian ocean that could be prime locations for a Space Elevator Earthport and, of course, India has direct sea lanes to those locations and a real Navy that could defend them. A space elevator could boost India’s space ambitions, complementing its navy’s strength and strategic Indian Ocean access.

Business Today India recently posted a nice series of graphics (“22,000-mile cable to space”) about a potential space elevator.

And, if the Indians ever get serious about this, they’ll probably want to purchase the website spaceelevator.in – which is already taken by the Space Elevator company. From their website: “At Space Elevator, We’re Committed to Raising Your Expectations When It Comes To Vertical Transportation Solutions…Space Elevator Is A Distinguished Name In the World of Elevators And Lifts, Known For Excellence in Manufacturing And Providing Top-NotchServices“. Sounds good to me…

And this brings us to our weekly Translation Project updates. This week we’re going to get two new translations, not just one.

India has 22 scheduled (official) languages but has many more – the 2011 Indian Census recorded over a thousand distinct “mother tongues”. Of these, the languages with the most speakers are Hindi (by far), followed by Bengali and Telugu. I already have the Hindi translation in the Translation Project and am now adding Bengali and Telugu.

Bengali: মহাকাশ লিফট (Mahākāśa liphaṭa – “Great Sky Lift” or “Space Lift”) – Fun fact: In addition to being the second most common language spoken in India, Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh.

Telugu: అంతరిక్ష ఎలివేటర్ (Antariksha elevēṭar – “Space Elevator” or “Cosmos Elevator”)

And that’s a wrap for this week’s Weekend Walkabout.

Longtime readers of this blog may recall my Translation Project, an effort to translate the phrase “Space Elevator” into as many languages as possible. Before the blog went into hibernation, I had gathered 30 translations—spanning both real and constructed languages—with help from several readers. You can view the current list by clicking on the Translation Project tab near the top of the blog.

Another familiar feature was my “Weekend Walkabout,” a (mostly) weekly post exploring space elevator-related items around the world. I’m pleased to reintroduce both, combining them starting this week. Each week, I’ll add a new translation to the Translation Project and discuss it (among other topics) in my Weekly Walkabout posts. And without further ado…

Translation of the Week: Swahili – Lifti ya Anga

This week, I’m adding Swahili, spoken by over 100 million people across East Africa, to our space elevator translations. The term Lifti ya Anga (“elevator of space”) captures the dream of ascending to the cosmos. It’s particularly fitting since Swahili is chiefly spoken in Eastern Africa, a region transected by the equator—the ideal location for a space elevator’s Earth Port due to Earth’s rotational forces. Cities like Nairobi could be prime candidates for a future spaceport hub, though challenges like regional security concerns would need to be addressed. Pronunciation: “LEE-f-tee yah AH-ng-ah” (Tips: Emphasize the “LEE” and “AH” sounds, and keep the “ng” soft, like in “sing,” not “finger.”)

To celebrate, I’ve created a kanga-inspired graphic—a traditional Swahili fabric often adorned with wise proverbs. Our space-elevator-themed proverb, “Kupanda nyota, ngazi kwanza” (“To climb the stars, a ladder first”), reflects the space elevator’s role as humanity’s ladder to the stars. The kanga features a baobab tree (Swahili: mbuyu, pronounced “mm-BOO-yoo”) with a tether rising from it and surrounded by baobab flowers. I know I’ll never win any graphic design awards, but I hope I get at least a passing mark for effort…

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Shifting gears to Japan, the Oita Space Hike 2024 event last October caught my attention for its space elevator tie-in. Held on October 12–13 at J:COM Horuto Hall in Oita, this space education event—organized by Oita Prefecture and Oita Asahi Broadcasting (OAB)—aimed to inspire young people with hands-on space activities. One of its experience booths featured a Space Elevator Climber Programming Experience, where students programmed a simulated climber to navigate a tether, addressing real-world challenges like speed and stability. This kind of engagement is crucial for nurturing the next generation of space elevator innovators, especially in Japan, a hub for space elevator research with initiatives like Obayashi Corporation’s 2050 vision. I’ve reached out to my old acquaintance Shuichi Ohno from my JSEA days to see if he can share more about this event—stay tuned for updates!

And that’s a wrap for this week’s Weekend Walkabout!