Japan announces plans to have a space elevator

[anglo byte]

Japanese construction giant Obayashi announces plans to have a space elevator up and running by 2050
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-21/japanese-construction-giants-promise-space-elevator-by-2050/5756206

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[Vod]

Japanese construction giant Obayashi announces plans to have a space elevator up and running by 2050
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-21/japanese-construction-giants-promise-space-elevator-by-2050/5756206

2050. 

My expected termination date is in 2046.  I'll never see it. 

[Nemo1024]

Japanese construction giant Obayashi announces plans to have a space elevator up and running by 2050
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-21/japanese-construction-giants-promise-space-elevator-by-2050/5756206

About time. I hope that all the nations will contribute as this is the best Earth unifying project that one can think of.

[TheButterZone]

That they're talking about carbon nanotubes makes it sound legit (from what I've heard in previous discussions of space elevator construction), but 7 days travel time? Ffffuuuu, the moon didn't even take that long, how slow/far away is the space station going to be?

[zetaray]

Sounds like a part out of a sci-fi novel. Will we have the technology to make carbon nano tubes that long?

[BenRayfield]

2050? Rediculous. I plan to be intergalactic and who knows how many dimensions exploring the 3 kelvin wormholes spread across the "empty" space, in mass produced ships as cheap as cars, by then.

"Right now we can't make the cable long enough. We can only make 3-centimetre-long nanotubes but we need much more... we think by 2030 we'll be able to do it."

http://www.kurzweilai.net/forums/topic/toward-a-system-of-playdough-like-tools-that-hold-tools-operated-by-reshaping

If people help us get this started, as I havent personally flown higher than a few feet flapping my arms and could really use some researchers and infrastructure related stuff, then I think nanotubes would come just after the planned molecule printer phase, after which is crystals with certain thermodynamic properties to touch the field with.

[Nemo1024]

That they're talking about carbon nanotubes makes it sound legit (from what I've heard in previous discussions of space elevator construction), but 7 days travel time? Ffffuuuu, the moon didn't even take that long, how slow/far away is the space station going to be?

The anchor point of the elevator would need to be at the geostationary orbit, 35786 km away. So the speed of the elevator capsule would be about 213 km/h on average. I guess there are some resonance considerations and the strength of the cable that would limit the speed. Still, it's not about the speed, but about the throughput and the energy used to lift a certain amount into the orbit. The biggest benefit is that once the elevator is operational, you can bring something useful down from space and use that as a counterbalance to bring something else up, thus using the minimum of energy for transportation.

[Lethn]

Have people even considered the physics implications of keeping stuff in place with a bloody cable? Nevermind the fact that terrorists would have easy points of attack you also have to take into account the weather, Japan isn't cosy like Western Europe where there is only some relatively minor ( lets be honest here ) floods and the occasional heavy downpour. They'll have to contend with Tsunami's, hurricanes and heavy snowstorms depending on where they building it not to mention the earthquakes on the surface that could easily just shake apart half the elevator and leave the other half detached and drifting in orbit.

I haven't even gotten to the political and military implications of such an elevator yet, I'm sure the Japanese are smart and it is a possible theory but we have a better chance of developing spaceships which can simply fly up and break the atmosphere and it would be cheaper too than building an orbital elevator, there would also be less difficulty in defending them as well because of them being fast moving objects that would simply go into space and then dock on the space station rather than hanging their defencelessly for several generations.

[Grand_Voyageur]

That they're talking about carbon nanotubes makes it sound legit (from what I've heard in previous discussions of space elevator construction), but 7 days travel time? Ffffuuuu, the moon didn't even take that long, how slow/far away is the space station going to be?

IMHO 7 days could be good enough 4 goods if they get savings respect to traditional launches.

[Nemo1024]

Have people even considered the physics implications of keeping stuff in place with a bloody cable? Nevermind the fact that terrorists would have easy points of attack you also have to take into account the weather, Japan isn't cosy like Western Europe where there is only some relatively minor ( lets be honest here ) floods and the occasional heavy downpour. They'll have to contend with Tsunami's, hurricanes and heavy snowstorms depending on where they building it not to mention the earthquakes on the surface that could easily just shake apart half the elevator and leave the other half detached and drifting in orbit.

I haven't even gotten to the political and military implications of such an elevator yet, I'm sure the Japanese are smart and it is a possible theory but we have a better chance of developing spaceships which can simply fly up and break the atmosphere and it would be cheaper too than building an orbital elevator, there would also be less difficulty in defending them as well because of them being fast moving objects that would simply go into space and then dock on the space station rather than hanging their defencelessly for several generations.

As a matter of fact, yes.

Read Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars Trilogy".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson#The_Mars_trilogy

The initial construction cost of a space elevator is big, but the subsequent running is less costly the hurling the ships out of the gravity well.
this is the case with all the large technological leaps.

[noviapriani]

This is just a marketing stunt to garner attention to the company. We are not even close technology wise, and you cannot guarantee a product for a date when it is currently physically impossible.

[Nemo1024]

This is just a marketing stunt to garner attention to the company. We are not even close technology wise, and you cannot guarantee a product for a date when it is currently physically impossible.

People as a species should start thinking several generations forward and cooperate across nations if they want to survive, rather than wondering if you'd get 150% revenue tomorrow and wondering where to start a war to get that revenue.

And for the naysayers, to put things into perspective, it's only some 60 years ago that we started venturing into space, and only some 110 years ago that we started flying, but the dream was there long before that.

[Honeypot]

Typical japs. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

[Dr. Pepper]

Typical japs. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

Typical Honeypot. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

[Rigon]

One part of the world is discussing a space elevator while another part believes that the appearance of a red cross worker will lead to ebola. In 100 years we will look back and laugh at how strange it was that certain areas were able to so effectively stunt their own societal progress.

[Honeypot]

Typical japs. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

Typical Honeypot. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

What's the problem - got pricked enough to pop out and start bitching?

[Nemo1024]

Typical japs. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

Typical Honeypot. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

What's the problem - got pricked enough to pop out and start bitching?

Begone to the ignore list. Haven't seen any constructive comments from you, only badmouthing, so I don't expect to see anything good either...

[Honeypot]

Typical japs. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

Typical Honeypot. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

What's the problem - got pricked enough to pop out and start bitching?

Begone to the ignore list. Haven't seen any constructive comments from you, only badmouthing, so I don't expect to see anything good either...

LOL

[Lethn]

Typical japs. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

Typical Honeypot. All that mouth and little to back it up with.

What's the problem - got pricked enough to pop out and start bitching?

Begone to the ignore list. Haven't seen any constructive comments from you, only badmouthing, so I don't expect to see anything good either...

It's amazing how many people rise to this guy and don't realise what a moron he is just from looking at the post history lol

[Chris_Sabian]

This is just a group of scientists and engineers talking about a possible future project.  The materials for construction do no exist currently to build a structure ~40,000km high.