Reach for the sky
by Chris on Feb.28, 2004, under General Thoughts and Media
CBC News is running a piece on the possibility of a Space Elevator in their News Indepth segment. Dad referred me to this one a couple of days ago, but i couldn’t spot a link to it on CBC’s site at the time. However, it eventually got discussed on /. and undoubtedly, when i get around to checking it, Mefi as well.
Even more than a return to the moon, this project is one of my fondest imaginings. The idea that we might be able to make space travel work for even people like me? How could someone not appreciate that?
Of course, in this wonderful world we inhabit, there’s weaknesses to this too; for eample the terrorist threat, which is briefly addressed in this article. Even leaving aside the present-day terrorist threats, this in and of itself could spawn a new kind of fear in the luddites that lead these sorts of things.
I guess we’ll see how it pans out — which is, more often than not, how i sign off on news items like this. I’ll admit, for all of my hopes for a better future, I too am a cynic here. It’s worth noting, though, that the comic i link to above has one of the more evenhanded visions of the (near) future i’ve seen in a while.
h6. Update:
Dave Barry also said a funny thing or two on the subject.
March 1st, 2004 on 8:26 am
I actually see the terrorist threat as very minor, no larger than it is ongoing right now. To develope this, multiple safety factors have to naturally be included for natural threats (inner space debris). The scariest scenario is breaking the ladder way up and the strand falling and wrapping around the planet. It should be quite easy to control access at the planet end to minimize terrorists. As far as a rocket/plane, the article I saw was talking of a meter wide strip, small target.