Dry run; so far, so good

Some wind issues cropped up during the first helicopter flight necessitating a ‘re-thinking’ of some of the flight procedures.  Once those were ironed out, the helicopter ascended again and we were able to see a battery-powered climb (using the KC Space Pirates) climber all the way to the top, and with a successful descent and recovery.

The helicopter was getting a bit low on fuel, so it is being refueled and will then bring the cable aloft again.  LaserMotive is next up to do a battery powered climb and then USST.

If you go to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Space-elevator2, you can watch the action live.  You can also log into the chat (if you have a Twitter account) and ask questions – I’ll be moderating this.  I also have a mike and will try some commentary too.

Finally, you can get up-to-the minute status comments at www.twitter.com/segames.

I don’t want to jinx anything, but all is looking very good!