A Worldly Invention - Still Just a Dream

In an effort to design something that in itself is just in peoples imaginations require the know how and the ingenuity to even begin on such a project. One such heavenly project is one that still only sounds like science fiction, but in actuality may be something that can happen in our lifetimes.

So here is the basic fact. With the high cost of rocket power to catapult a ship filled with humans into outer space requires allot of money and resources. So now what about this.. How about a space elevator?

That sounds like a neat idea, because with such a thought, the need for expensive rocket power will be greatly diminished. The thought would be to tether the top of the elevator by attaching it to a geosynchronous satellite, and then drop it to earth. The idea seems like it would be pretty simple, but when you really think about it, there are so many factors that must be overcome to have something like this succeed. It may be a far fetched idea, but there are people now all over the world who do not think so. Now there is serious research happening all over the world in an effort to make the far-fetched-sounding idea a reality.
Imagine now that goods could be carried into space cheaper, and allot safer than having to deal with rockets. Experimentation is now taking place. Engineering teams are working in the middle of the Mojave Desert who are now competing with other teams of engineers for a $2 million prize. All you have to do to win the prize is to build a prototype of an elevator able to crawl up a cable or supporting structure hanging from a satellite. "Space elevator research is important because it is a way to build a bridge to space instead of ferrying everything by rocket," said Smitherman, who has conducted research and published findings on the effort.

Who else is involved in such an idea? Would you believe Microsoft. They are one of the sponsors to an annual space elevator conference, and countries like Japan and Russia are major contributors trying to turn the theory into reality.

So what are the known hurdles at the present time, the things that are keeping such an idea from becoming reality?

First, a material that may be strong enough to make cables that would be able to haul large loads into space. No such material exists at this time. What is needed is something that is at least 25 times stronger that what is now commercially available.
Second, would be how to keep the cable from getting clobbered by meteorites or space junk floating around in space.
Third, the cost would well exceed $20 billion for something stretched out to orbit.
Fourth, it can be affected by weather, such as lightning or bad storms.

Like other projects in this modern age, the price tag for such a project will most likely grow, maybe even double in cost before actual assembly of such a device is made.