Updates from LaserMotive…

On the LaserMotive blog, they have recently posted two updates.

The first is a continuation of their “Meet the team” series and introduces us to Joe Grez.

Joe Grez has a jumble of education. It includes a BS in physics, a minor in music and art, a few years of architecture studies, half of a yacht design associates degree, coursework in various engineering disciplines, industrial design (IDEO), and manufacturing process, plus a seriously healthy dose of project management coursework, some of which stuck.

He really does have a very interesting biography – check out the post!

The second update talks about their newest sponsor, Brion Toss Yacht Riggers.  What does a ‘Yacht Rigger’ have to offer a Space Elevator Power-Beaming / Climber team?  From the blog:

“Early on, we tried making our own continuous loop cable, but the quality was not stellar, and the cable eventually wound up fraying and breaking. After much searching, we found a local company that still practiced the old art of making long splices in steel cable. As you can see, the results are pretty nice.”

The competition racetrack in this year’s Space Elevator Games is a steel cable (as opposed to the ribbon used in previous years).  To create a cable that can run continuously on a treadmill requires that you be able to splice it into a continuous loop – something that the Brion Toss group does.  Perhaps they should also talk to DeltaX, the MIT Tether competition team, about how to splice together their tether…

Check out the posts…

(Picture of the steel cable from the LaserMotive blog – click on it for a slightly larger version)