The 2015 International Astronautical Congress will be held next October in Israel and it has a space elevator track, D4.3.:
D4.3. Technology Assessment and Space Elevators Components
The recently completed IAA study, “Space Elevators – Feasibility and Next Steps” looked at engineering, operational, and funding steps towards an operational capability. This session will evaluate the current and near-term potential of the necessary technologies. They will be evaluated with respect to the NASA TRL’s and identify risks associated. In addition, the session can accept the analysis of other issues leveraging this remarkable transportation capability of routine, inexpensive and safe access to our solar system.
Co-Chair
Peter Swan
SouthWest Analytic Network — United States
Robert E Penny
Cholla Space Systems — United States
Rapporteur
Akira Tsuchida
Earth-Track Corporation — Japan
At this year’s (2014) IAC Conference in Montreal, there was also a space elevator track, with several people who have long been involved in the space elevator effort attending and presenting. This gives me a good excuse to post a picture sent to me by one of the attendees at that conference, Stephen Cohen. Stephen presented a paper on Tether Dynamics/Oscillations at a space elevator conference several years ago and has stayed involved in the effort since then. He is also the Technical Editor for Volume 3 of CLIMB, the Space Elevator Journal.
Left to right are Professors Arun Misra, Stephen Cohen and Hironori Fujii, all experts in tether dynamics. Incidentally, Stephen is the author of the Engineer’s Pulse. If you check out the latest post in his blog, you will see a Halloween costume that only a Physics geek would dream up 🙂
(Click on the picture thumbnail to see a full size version)