With the end of the shuttle program and an International Space Station still in need of supplies, the aerospace industry is working the kinks of out of a century-old idea to build a service elevator from Earth to outer space.
Tagged with space elevator engineering space
Can WE Build an Elevator to Space? — With the end of the shuttle program and an International Space Station still in need of supplies, the aerospace industry is working the kinks of out of a century-old idea to build a service elevator from Earth to outer space.
Tagged with aeronautical engineering
European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is back on Earth after 200 days in space. She tells the full story of the International Space Station, in orbit 400 km above our planet.
The idea of the space elevator has been around for over a century. But in recent years teams of scientists and engineers have been actively working on the concept. So could the elevator become a reality? Or is it still a case of science-fiction?
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/futuretense/stories/2010/2977165.htm
All the latest science news, in-depth features, games and conversations as they happen from around Australia and the world.
Dr Karl jets off to Cape Canaveral for a space shuttle launch. Plus: how do space elevators work?; and what is the possibility of humanity travelling beyond our solar system?
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Since November 2000, humans have been living in space on the International Space Station (ISS). Although the ISS is a remarkable engineering achievement, human space exploration has proven dangerous and costly. There is no air, gravity or food, and water has to be recycled from sweat, stale breath and urine. As we return to the Moon and aim for Mars, some argue that space colonisation is also immoral, psychologically and socially damaging and unnecessarily expensive. Beatriz De La Pava talks to astronauts, anthropologists, scientists, doctors and philosophers to investigate if it is time to abandon the dream of human space travel and come back down to Earth.
Dr. Brendan Quine discusses his design for a novel kind of space elevator.
The former International Space Station commander achieved Internet stardom with his in-space rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity." After three missions and a total of six months in space he shares what he's learned in a book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth.
As the Worlds Turn —If you’re itching it get away from it all, really get away from it all, have we got some exotic destinations for you. Mars … Jupiter’s moon Europa … asteroids . Tour some enticing worlds that are worlds away, but ripe for exploration. Also, why private spaceships may be just the ticket for getting yourself into space, unless you want to wait for a space elevator. And, why one science journalist boasts of an infectious, unabashed, and unbridled enthusiasm for space travel.
With Earth's natural resources diminishing at a rapid rate, many tech giants are dubbing space as our salvation. Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are pumping out extravagant technologies intended to establish human life on space bodies with unlimited resources. But what's wrong with these aspirations? And what does having billionaires at the fore of these conversations say about our space goals?
Featuring: Damien Williams - PhD Researcher in the Department of Science, Tech and Society at Virginia Tech. Amy Thomas - Researcher in the Indigenous Land and Justice Research Hub at the University of Technology Sydney.
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