NASA Announces Results From Beam & Tether Challenges
As part of an ongoing program to tap into the creativity and insights of non governmental engineers and scientists, NASA has programs and competitions to push the envelope of technical development. One of these programs deals with the technical requirements of a Space Elevator, a permanent physical link to an orbiting space station that will be used to lift payloads to orbit without the need for rocket engines.
This is an idea that has been around since the fifties, featured in several top notch fictional works, and all the engineers have been waiting for is the development of a fiber or material strong enough to use as the main shaft of the elevator.
Sir Arthur C. Clarke recently revised his orignal projection on when they'll stop laughing about building the Space Elevator."As its most enthusiastic promoter, I am often asked when I think the first space elevator might be built. My answer has always been: about 50 years after everyone has stopped laughing. Maybe I should now revise it to 25 years."
It seems that we are getting closer to the day when this dream can become a reality.
Work has been progressing on two fronts, a stronger "tether" using advanced composites, and a "climber" that draws the energy for its climbing motors from light beamed to solar panels on the climbing vehicle.
NASA and The Spaceward Foundation announced the results of the 2005 Beam Power Challenge and Tether Challenge. Eleven teams competed in the two competitions over the weekend at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. Although no team claimed this year's prizes, historic firsts were achieved.
In the Beam Power Challenge, teams had to build robotic climbers that could scale a 200-foot cable powered only by the beam from an industrial searchlight. The team that lifted the most mass in a certain time would win the $50,000 prize. Although no team made it to the top of the cable, Team SnowStar from the University of British Columbia achieved the first beam- powered climb of approximately 20 feet. The University of Saskatchewan Space Design Team had the farthest beam-powered climb, approximately 40 feet.
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