![\"\"](\"\/media\/Walkabout_rev0.png\")
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 \u2013 something for everyone!<\/p>\nThis 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 \u2013 something for everyone!<\/p>\n
NSS<\/a>, 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\u2019s power instead of relying on photovoltaic arrays. Though they ultimately didn\u2019t compete, their tests at TRUMPF\u2019s Michigan facility produced awesome photos and videos. Search \u2018NSS\u2019 on the blog to see them in action!<\/p>\n Finally, we land in Indonesia, a space elevator enthusiast\u2019s dream thanks to its equatorial perch\u2014perfect for an Earth station. First, enjoy this conceptual space elevator artwork<\/a> by Frank Lewecke<\/a>, an award-winning artist featured on Dune covers and Bavarian TV\u2019s Space Night. His vision captures the futuristic promise of an Indonesian-based tether.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s a wrap for this week \u2013 thanks for reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 \u2013 something for everyone! Stateside, we kick off with the National Space Society\u2019s 43rd International Space Development Conference (ISDC), held in Orlando, Florida, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-translation-project","category-weekend-walkabout"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2540"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2556,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540\/revisions\/2556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ISDC-2025-White.png\")
<\/a>Stateside, we kick off with the National Space Society\u2019s 43rd International Space Development Conference (ISDC)<\/a>, held in Orlando, Florida, from June 19\u201322. ISEC<\/a>, a longtime NSS affiliate, continues its tradition of hosting a full Space Elevator track\u2014check out the lineup here<\/a> and here<\/a>. ISEC’s Chief Architect and President Emeritus, Dr. Peter Swan, will chair the track.<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IAC-2025-300x117.png\")
<\/a>Next, we head down under to Sydney, Australia, for the 76th International Astronautical Conference (IAC2025<\/a>), set for September 29\u2013October 3, where space elevators will again take center stage. Hosted by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF<\/a>), 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\u2019s 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\u2019s rich history with IAC includes dozens of presentations on topics from potential tether materials to galactic harbors\u2014explore the full list here<\/a>. For more ISEC events, including past IAC talks, visit the ISEC Events page<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IndonesianSpaceElevator-300x225.png\")
<\/a><\/center>Next, we add to our translation series with the Indonesian term for space elevator: lift antariksa<\/strong> or elevator antariksa<\/strong>, written in the same Latin alphabet as English. With the world\u2019s 4th largest population (285 million) and 7th largest GDP by purchasing power parity, Indonesia\u2019s industrial might and space agency, INASA<\/a>, could make it a candidate for a future space elevator hub. Could Jakarta or Bali host the next galactic gateway?<\/p>\n