Michael Laine from Liftport gets high marks for his recent presentation at Seattle’s Science on Tap (what a great name!).  We find out how he copes with a missing laptop power cable while swilling a Rogue Nut Brown…

This Science on Tap idea is very cool – I’ll have to look into setting up something like that around here…

The Avion, the student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, has a story about the Space Elevator in its current online edition.  You can find the story here.

Good article from CNNInternational.com about the Space Elevator.

Over at the Space Elevator Reference site, they are sporting both a new look and two new contributors.  The new look is very smart, but the real news are the two new contributors; Dr. Bradley Edwards and Dr. Bryan Laubscher.  I look forward to many interesting posts from these two visionaries.

From the LiftPort blog…

This is very cool – congratulations to LiftPort!

I had earlier posted that the Second Biennial Space Elevator Workshop is being held on March 25-28,2007 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Over at The Space Elevator Reference, Marc Boucher points out that abstracts of papers to be presented at this conference are due by September 15th.

Tim Miller of the Strategic Projects department of the Museum of Science in Boston has informed me that they are now in the “preliminary planning phase” of creating a stand-alone interactive exhibit, dedicated exclusively to the space elevator.  It will introduce the fundamental concepts in physics, astrodynamics, and materials science necessary to get such a system to function. The exhibit will also feature multimedia stories and interviews from the scientists and engineers working on the project.  If the prototype of this exhibit proves successful, it may be displayed in science museums all over the country.

The design work is taking place at Museum of Science in Boston, but it is part of a larger nationwide consortium of science centers and museums.  Funding for this project has come from President Bush’s National Nanotechnology Initiative.

For more information about this project, please contact Tim Miller at tmiller AT mos.org.

According to the published schedule, Michael Laine, Founder and President of LiftPort, is scheduled to give a presentation at this year’s Dragon Con convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Michael will be presenting on Saturday, September 2nd at 7:00pm in a track entitled “The Space Elevator – 2006 Progress Report”.  According to the published schedule, his talk will be on “What the LiftPort Group has been working on, including key technologies, and successes and failures over the past year. Where we are in our step-by-step development of a complete space-access infrastructure.”

In addition to hearing this presentation, I’d like to go to Dragon Con, if for no other reason than to meet some of the cast members from Babylon V, my all-time favorite Sci-Fi series.  Maybe next year…

In this Indian (sub-continent, not Native American) online newspaper article, Dr. S. S. Verma discusses various space technologies, including Space Elevators.  I thought it interesting because it’s just another indication of how far and wide this idea has spread.

IMHO, India is going to be a world power in the not-too-distant future.  They will certainly have the technical capabilities to build a Space Elevator, once it becomes possible.  And paraphrasing Robert Heinlein; “the laws of Physics work for everyone”.

The Space Engineering and Science Institute and Sponsors present
Space Exploration 2007
The Second International Conference and Exposition on Science, Engineering, and Habitation in Space, and the Second Biennial Space Elevator Workshop

March 25-28, 2007

Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Conference topics to include:

Planetary exploration, bases, habitation, space station.
Engineering and construction in space and on the Moon and Mars.
Space access, space transporation.
Space elevator technologies and advanced concepts.
Entrepreneurial ventures in space / for space.
Space power, space resource development.
NEO’s.
Space Commerce, law, and education.

The website for the conference is: http://www.sesinstitute.org/

This information from Andy Price – thanks, Andy….

According to a brief bio at The Code Project, “Ph. D. Petr Ivankov worked as scientific researcher at Russian Mission Control Centre since 1978 up to 2000. Then he worked as developer and software architect at private companies.”

Dr. Ivankov has posted the code and equations he says will calculate the stress/strain on a hypothetical Space Elevator cable here.

It would be very cool if someone (maybe one of the interns at LiftPort? 🙂 ) looked at this and gave an opinion.

My calculus was never worth writing home about, but I was a programmer for a long time and should be able to download, install and run this thing.  Number 17 on my list of projects…

A belated notice of the initial LiftPort Book Signing Tour.  Congratulations again to LiftPort…

In this undated article, Steve Price gives a good summary of the concepts and technologies behind a future space elevator.  A good primer, if anyone needs one…

Update August 19th.  I’ve discovered that this was an article written in 2000 and referenced on this blog here.  It’s a fine article, though, and worth the repeat mention.

Over at MSNBC.com, Alan Boyle talks about LiftPort’s being “in the midst of a two-month test to see if a balloon-based platform, moored to the ground, can serve as a reliable relay for Internet traffic in remote areas — serving “the guys that everybody else forgot,” said the company’s founder and president, Michael Laine.”  LiftPort says they have a customer for this technology already, LightSpeed Broadband, who want to use this in order to provide wireless Internet services for the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington.

Also in this article, LiftPort’s founder and president Michael Laine talks about the delays they’ve encountered in getting their nanotube factory up and running and a possible moving-back of their 2018 target date to get a space elevator operational.  I hope it doesn’t move back too far – I’ll be a senior citizen by then and I still see this as my best way of getting into space…

The Space Frontier has released a White Paper highly critical of NASA’s strategy to service LEO.  In it they call for America to commit to using the private sector to service all LEO-destined crew and cargo services by 2010.

Though this report does not directly speak to building or using a Space Elevator, it certainly is relevant to it as most of us in the SE community believe that Private Enterprise is the way to go for space exploration and exploitation.  This study makes a solid case for getting NASA out of this role as quickly as possible.

(Bob Munck alert – the report is in pdf format)

In an earlier post, I had discussed the idea of skydiving from space.  Michael Laine from LiftPort had commented about “a business proposal that is being worked up, with our balloon based lifter test platforms that carry people up to about 5 miles, and they can jump from there… it would be a wild ride, and it should be possible within 2-3 years.”

Here’s an article from Space.com about someone who wants to parachute / free-fall from an altitude of 25 miles.

I think I’ll just watch…

This article at Investors.com discusses the current state of Space Elevator development.

This is the latest salvo from the Space Frontier group, urging Congress to take the money currently allocated towards finishing the Shuttle missions (approximately $20 billion, according to them) and redirect it towards commercial development of space.

It’s hard to argue with that logic.  I was a fan of the shuttle for a long time, not so much because I thought the Shuttle was the be-all and end-all of space delivery systems, but it was SOMETHING that kept a US presence in space.  But the Columbia disaster really changed my mind.

I wonder what LiftPort and/or Brad Edwards could do with $20 billion…

This is from Andy Price’s email list;

As the editor for the American Astronautical Society’s bimonthly publication Space Times, and a regular recipient of the e-mail traffic you sponsor on carbon nanotubes and space elevators, I’d like to offer you and the members of your group the opportunity to submit an article/s for our magazine.  This is an incredibly important subject, and I’d be willing to consider an entire issue dedicated to the topic if you or your associates had the interest.

I’ve attached a copy of our article submission guidelines as well as a PDF of our March/April issue.  Thank you for your consideration, and best of luck in the continuing quest to turn “The Fountains of Paradise” into a reality!

Jonathan Krezel
Editor
Space Times

I’ve attached their article submission guidelines here and a pdf (Bob Munck alert) of their March/April 2006 issue here.

A couple of people have already stepped up to volunteer articles and I’m trying to come up with a way that I can contribute as well.  If anyone is interested in contributing, please contact Andy at aprice(AT)healthspace.ca.

Dr. Bradley Edwards has recently set up a new personal webpage.  You can find it here.

Aviation Week & Space Technology has a recent article about On-Orbit Automation; efforts being made to robotically repair and refuel satellites.  At the National Space Society’s Space Elevator Special Interest Chapter, they have a copy of the article.  As they point out, this type of technology will play a significant role in Space Elevator development.

Zhiping Xu, Lifeng Wang and Quanshui Zheng propose that “condensed multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CMWNTs) can greatly enhance intershell shear strengths by several orders, and can simultaneously generate higher tensile strengths and moduli respectively than those of ordinary CNTs…It is believed that CMWNTs featured with those properties can be taken as excellent candidates of super fibers for creating space elevators.”  You can find the details here.

In the June 10th-16th issue of The Economist (the issue with picture of Zarqawi on the cover), there is a fine article summarizing the current status of the space elevator project.  This article is also available online here.

The estimable Jim Dempsey (again, via Andy Price) weighs in on the Pugno controversy and Dr. Brad Edwards comments on it.  Writes Mr. Dempsey;

Brad, your response was a good “well wait a minute” response. In particular, from my unfounded point of view, I key in on your statement:

– assumes that all CNTs will be damaged (it appears to be on a 100 nm length) and that
– none of them interact with each other in a supportive manner.

One of the major factors in building suitable SE tether material is in obtaining adequate supportive interaction without the expense of unwieldy excess mass. Anyone familiar with traditional cordage understands that supportive interaction is the key element in constructing a reliable defect tolerant cord (tether in this case).

As a thought experiment assume one were to produce 100,000KM long SWNT.  Assume you were to somehow clamp only the ends of the bundles. Given this scenario (and excluding Van der Vaal’s or electrostatic interaction) any defect subsequently introduced into a given SWNT in the bundle would weaken the bundle by one SWNT capacity. It is a virtual certainty that given the length of each SWNT this unsupportive bundle would quickly degrade. By the introduction of a suitable supportive interaction mechanism, the load bearing capacity of a damaged SWNT can bypass the local of the defect. In reading Pugno’s paper there appears to be no anticipation that a suitable supportive interaction mechanism could be found any time soon.

I am optimistic. I believe the problem is solvable, I believe it will be solved; I believe it will be solved within 5 years. But what would I know; I am not a molecular chemist.

If I “were” a molecular chemist, I would be a brash molecular chemist, I would buck the establishment, I would not be afraid to say “why not”.

I would take what little I do know, and inject this knowledge into an unrestricted pool of properties and characteristics, then draw upon this to produce subsequent precursor knowledge which goes back in the knowledge pool, and repeat the process until the solution is found.

Our current problem of finding the ideal (an acceptable) supportive interaction mechanism could potentially be an ideal candidate for genetic programming (see: http://www.genetic-programming.com/johnkoza.html).

What we know is:

Using an Atomic Force Microscope you can place and move about individual atoms on a flat crystalline surface.

We know that a supposedly flat crystalline surface at the atomic scale is bumpy.

We know that given different specimen atoms for a given surface will have different affinities to “stick” within depressions of the bumpy surface.

Given this knowledge:

I would begin experimentation with a graphene planar surface.  The experimentation preferably could be performed by way of genetic programming as it would be much faster and more comprehensive than physical lab work.

The elusive prey would be that which causes good “stiction”.  Something that “falls” deep into the surface but does not penetrate the surface. The test subjects need not be limited to atomic (ionic or charge neutral) selections but would also include molecular forms.

Next, with this reasonably large collection of potential candidates, reconfigure the simulation (or lab tests).

Then experiment with “dusting” the SWNT and bundling the SWNT to determine an optimal candidate and dusting density which produces good protection against slippage between SWNT and who’s dusting density is commensurate for the anticipated probability of environmental damage to the SWNT.

Added to the mix I would experiment with collecting various numbers of said dusted SWNT bundled and held together with a cladding.  The purpose of this cladding is not to add tensile strength but to ensure a tight binding of the SWNT bundles such that the stiction from the dusting can do its work.

The said above dusted, bundled and cladded SWNT’s would be produced in large quantities and would exhibit the mechanical and processing properties of micro fibers. Call these DBCSWNT (Dusted, Bundled, Cladded SWNT).

The above DBCSWNT would be placed en mass into a binding mixture of PET or PET-like agent and drawn many times to ensure good alignment and packing density of the DBCSWNT. Then after evaporation of solvent and curing of binder the end result is a thread of any desired length and diameter. The cross section of which need not be circular. Hexagonal cross section might be a better choice.

These threads would then be twisted or braided into larger diameter cordage (fractional mm) which is finally incorporated into the ribbon.

To date, and without being privy to what is being done, experimentation is being performed by placing the SWNT directly into the PET or PET-like agent, i.e. the stiction dusting and cladding steps above are omitted. It is my gut feel that the key to or breakthrough to manufacturing suitable tether material is in the stiction dusting and cladding components of the above mentioned process. But then, what to I know, I am not a molecular chemist.
 
Jim Dempsey

Michael Laine, Founder and President of the LiftPort Group, will address the Bay Area Future Salon on June 22nd.  Details can be found here.

At The Oklahoman, Jim Stafford tells his readers about the Space Elevator.

Further thoughts from Dr. Edwards (again via Andy Price) on the Pugno study:  

“The supportive interaction between the CNTs already exists in several forms:
1) van de Walls forces
2) physical “knotting” or twisting like cotton or any other fiber and
3) functionalized nanotubes

Any one of these could be used to cross link CNTs and effectively transfer loads and greatly reduce the overall strength reduction of any weak CNT.  There are a couple other options as well, but these have been shown to work.  By not including this in a discussion of a macroscopic material, Pugno is insuring that the material will fall apart.  Compare a raw mat of cotton to a spun cotton thread – the performance is a little different.  I can assure everyone that raw cotton fibers are not perfect throughout their length (much less so than quality CNTs) but strong threads can still be made from them.”

Forwarded from Andy Price, and with the kind permission of Dr. Edwards, following are his initial thoughts on the Pugno study;

“The paper by Pugno has been beaten around a bit.  I just read the paper, very interesting.  Let me run through a few thoughts on it.

I start off worrying when someone creates his own theory and simulation to model everything from nanoscale to megascale (nanotubes to Earth) especially when there are plenty of molecular models out there.  But having said that, let me assume his simulation is perfect for a nanotube.  He appears to have scripted the paper to claim the cable will break (he repeats this claim at least four times throughout the paper often with the note that it is his opinion) – a second worry when an author appears to be trying to prove a conclusion.  Here are a few notes I made on his discussion:
– references and then ignores coatings to eliminate atomic oxygen erosion.
– states radiation damage will cause defects but doesn’t discuss the amount.  Damage seen in experiments is minimal for carbon fibers in the radiation fields around Earth.
– I may be wrong but it appeared to me that Pugno was using a macroscopic model to represent a damaged nanotube as a solid tube with a physical hole in it.  He certainly discusses this and then discusses missing bonds so I would be curious to know which one he went with.  I will need to look at this again.
– uses an erroneous theoretical maximum of 100GPa for the tensile strength of CNTs.  CNTs have been measured at strengths from 150GPa to 200 GPa and he references one that is at 109GPa.  His final 30GPa is directly related to this.
– uses the strength of long CNT bundles to prove his arguments.  CNT bundles are not a valid comparison because they can have very short CNTs and limited interaction.
– assumes that all CNTs will be damaged (it appears to be on a 100 nm length) and that none of them interact with each other in a supportive manner.
This is from a quick read of the paper but essentially as far as I understand, Pugno makes some poor assumptions to argue that there will be damage to all the CNTs in a ribbon, calculates that each CNT will degrade 70% and then jumps to the conclusion that the ribbon will degrade 70%.  As far as I can tell he doesn’t look at or consider the structure of the CNT threads, the interactions of the CNTs, real defect type and frequency, techniques to reduce defects in production, the real defect production rates in space, the maximum measured CNT strengths, …  The paper didn’t strike me as very good scientific work.
Having said all of this, people will view my remarks as biased – a reasonable assumption.  I have attempted to be objective because I would like to know the answers as well.  I would like to request that others examine this material as well.
I applaud the attempt to examine the materials issue, but don’t think Pugno has provided a good analysis in this paper.”

Thank you Andy and Dr. Edwards.

This NYTimes article describes Chicago’s newest exhibit at the Museum of Science & Industry; Leonardo da Vinci and other “Modern-day Leonardos.”  One of the new ideas described is the Space Elevator.

As a Chicago area resident, this exhibit is on my “must see” list for this summer.

An article from RedOrbit.com discussing nanotechnology and its possible applications, including a Space Elevator.

In this Nature.com article, the author cites a study by Nicola Pugno of the Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, which indicates that carbon nanotubes are not strong enough to make a Space Elevator because of their “inevitable defects”.  And, he says, even if the defect problem could be overcome, “damage from micrometeorites and even erosion by oxygen atoms would render them weak. So can a space elevator be made? “With the technology available today? Never,” he says.”

This article has, obviously, generated quite a stir.  Some of the debate can be seen over at the Yahoo Space Elevator forum.

As a long-time fan of the concept of a Space Elevator, and having previously devoured the thin amount of literature available on this subject, I have been eagerly awaiting this book. I was not disappointed.

This book, compiled and edited by LiftPort, Inc., has multiple authors; it’s a collection of essays about various aspects of the Space Elevator. Each entry is unique and stands on its own. Some authors tout the benefits to be gained from constructing this highway to the solar system. Others give us a description and/or suggested solution to a problem to be overcome in its construction while still others create a vision of what civilizations that have Space Elevators might be like. All are valuable and contribute to the theme of the book; Space Elevators will greatly increase our access to earth orbit and beyond and will give humanity its first “broadband access” to space.

Several of the essays struck a particular chord with me. Joan Horvath’s “Turning Space Launch into a Business” does an excellent job of describing the transition of space launches from a government program into a private enterprise. Ben Shelef’s “The Lifter: The Space Elevator’s Robotic Workhorse” and Dr. Kare’s “Powering a Space Elevator” give us a good overview of how Lifter’s might actually work. And LiftPort’s own Michael Laine makes a fine case for why private enterprise should take the lead in this undertaking in his essay “The Business Basics of Space Elevator Development”. Other readers will have their own favorites, too, I’m sure. My favorite line in the book is in Piotr Jagodzinski’s excellent essay “Why International Public Inclusion is Important” where he writes “…space should be open for all, not just a few astronauts and a couple of rich guys.” I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly.

Criticisms? I would like to have seen the issue of Radiation being addressed as well as the issue of Space Debris. Both of these problems are well known and an essay or two sharing the current thinking on these issues would have been quite informative. Finally, a nit; I have to mildly complain about the cover of the book. No serious proposal that I’m aware of has been made to anchor a Space Elevator anywhere but in water, on the equator, usually in the Pacific Ocean. The cover of the book, however, shows a hypothetical Elevator anchored somewhere in the Eastern United States. But none of these criticisms diminish the value of this book. It’s a fine accomplishment and should contribute to LiftPort’s efforts to make Space Elevators something that the public is aware of and, more importantly, demands.

The book is available directly from LiftPort and also from Amazon. Buy it.

Update 22MAY06 – Here is the Space.com announcement about the book.  In it is also mentioned a multi-city tour this summer to promote the book.  I hope they make Chicago…

In this Space.com / adAstraOnline article about the recently concluded International Space Development Conference, the author says that the Space Advocates who attended this conference were united in the view that “space exploration can and will make life better on Earth.”

The Space Elevator was mentioned as an enabling technology.

Jim Louderback, PC Magazine’s editor-in-chief, writes about two topics discussed at the just concluded Future in Review Conference, Nanotechnology and Space Exploration.

Using a Space Elevator to get to space was, shall we say, not enthusiastically endorsed.

As announced on the Foresight Nanotech Institute website, Michael Laine, founder and President of LiftPort, will be giving a presentation “on the topic of using nanotech to build a space elevator.”  This presentation will be on Tuesday, May 30th, at 12:30pm Eastern time and will be available via webcast for those of us not able to attend.

Mark your calendars…

One of the known problems which will have to be solved before a Space Elevator can become a reality is space debris.  I ran across this article, detailing one of the sources of debris.  In 1963, the Air Force launched a rocket that put 480 million tiny copper needles into space, and, according to the same article, some of them are still there.  Interesting reading.