LiftPort Staff Blog

I just posted a comment on this site: http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/01/2008-space-elevator-goals-1-kilometer.html Read the article, and then the comments. I hope this is helpful to other people. I really am concerned about the proposed competition and have expressed my opinions to Ben over at Spaceward. We had two 20 minute conversations and in the end, I think my opinions were completely dismissed. That’s fine, really, this is his competition, and I resigned over a year ago from the Board of Directors, so he really does not have an obligation to listen to me. He thinks he has it covered and I hope that he is right. However, my team and I have flown 15 missions, with 18 different robots (”only” 13 robots ever flew, the rest were lab studies). That said, Balloons + Robots = Tricky and Damn Complicated. Balloons + Robots + 3 Tethers + Lasers + Solar Cells = Tricky, Complicated and Potentially Dangerous… I leave this as an exercise for the student - figure the kinitic energy of dropping a 25kilo object from 1k in the sky… We KNOW that ribbons and safety lines get tangled. We KNOW that robots and safety lines get tangled. We KNOW that tethers can snap, and balloons can float away into the sky (”ya got the FAA on speed-dial, right Nyein?”). We KNOW that balloons are complicated beasts in the best of times and wrestling with them can be a nightmare (”David, the weather report was clear! Where the Fuck did these dust devils come from?!?”) We KNOW that robots fall… (right Tom/Maureen?) We KNOW that electrical energy builds up in the lines and touching it HURTS LIKE HELL (right Nyein?). If they are not very very very careful, there will be a crater at the end of this competition. And we KNOW that objects that fall off of robots/rigging while they are climbing into the sky HURTS LIKE HELL (right Stevo?) So, while I am enthusiastic of this competition, and commend all the hard work that the teams and especially Ben and Spaceward commit to, I would like to add a note of caution. Be careful. This competition has just gotten to the dangerous level, (as if risking your “remaining eye” with the lasers was not spooky enough) and is extremely difficult. Victory is worthy of a large check! Good luck to everyone. Take care. mjl p.s. the following images (about 450) might illuminate some of the issues… http://www.flickr.com/photos/space_elevator/collections/72157600298668940/

I just posted a long response to Jeff Foust’s website: Space Politics.

I think it is worth reading, but rather than simply copy/paste it here, I think it is better if you go to his site, read the original post, and the following comments.

http://www.spacepolitics.com/2008/01/18/prospace-agenda-and-activism-issues/#comment-34675

On thing I can say - for sure - is that this form of political activism is working.  Maybe not the way CNN expected, but working none-the-less.

Finally, I am a big supporter of ProSpace, and will try my damnedest to get to DC for the March Storm.  It was a great experience a few years ago, and i think this year will be amazing.

Take care.  mjl

 This morning, I got a great email from J, he should be the guy that gets some credit for getting this ball rolling, he emailed a bunch of people, initially.

Nothing about space on last night’s debate, but we didn’t have much time to organize that. However, we have about 2 weeks left - and a lot to do.

Please pass the word - vote on current questions (Rep and Dems) and create your own question. (http://dyn.politico.com/debate/) And let’s see if we can get a “story” generated with the help of the press.

Thanks.

MJL

P.s. This is NOT a “space elevator” task, but a “we need to get ourselves out into space - for everyone” mission. The following is the message I got from John!

mjl

_____

Mjl:

I want to be involved with organizing and supporting the space communities involvement in the political process. I identified the process on politico and sent messages to the operators of spacepolitics.com, nasawatch.com, space.com, marssociety.org, SpaceX.com, spacehab.com , faculty in planetary geology and science at several universities, thespaceshow.com, bigelowaerospace.com, members of Boeing Space Exploration down in Houston, some members of Science at NASA podcast’s publication team, the facebook marssociety members, the operators of the facebook groups: “support space exploration,” “supporters of mars direct,” and “the official nasa facebook group,” to name a few. I started sending out these messages on Saturday night, and I believe that they have had a major impact.

I believe that we can organize the space community into a forceful tool that can speak loud and clear in a unified way.

One of the problems that I see with the current organizations is that they are often to specific, and while there needs to be groups that are pushing specific initiatives, the fact that they charge to be members and that they exclude some of the space community hampers their growth and effectiveness. Perhaps we should have a new website ( spaceactive.com or something) that was free and had a constantly updated list of current legislation, debates, important politicians; as well as tools like fax.marssociety.org that allowed you to call, write, fax, or text message politicians and legislators. It could become a regular place for people to stop on the Internet and do something frequently to push the space agenda.

Let me know what you think.

Ad Astra,

John

____

I think he has a great idea. So, if you want to get involved, send an email (and comment on this page) to info at liftport dot com with the subject “Political Will” and we will contact you.

Take care. mjl

***Update*** www.actionforspace.com is now live, and ready to get to work!

I just posted the following over at Jeff Foust’s site:

http://www.spacepolitics.com/2008/01/15/getting-space-questions-into-campaign-debates/

This blog post of his got me thinking, and I decided to take some action.

Read the entry and the comments over there, and then commit to taking this same action yourself, please.

This is a golden opportunity. My comments are below, and I would love to hear some remarks. If you do decide to post something on your own blog, feel free to use my words, or create your own. But please link in my info at liftport dot com address for email, as I think a mailing list of space activists might be very powerful in the future… and I think/hope your blogs and newsletters will reach beyond the typical space advocacy community.

Thanks. Take care. Mjl
________

Well, with 2 weeks left until the events, “Space” has 2 questions in the top 10, and 4 questions in the top 20… so, if we can keep up the presence and activity, and make sure we vote on each others topics, we are bound to get some of our questions asked/answered.

My request/suggestion - to forward to whatever mailing lists you have available, and ask that every person in the space activist/advocacy/think-its-cool community, respond to the space questions and ‘vote’ for what is important to them.

Does anyone remember that during dark-ages of the Internet, People magazine posted a poll for the “most beautiful person in the world”… and Howard Stern fans nominated (and won in a landslide - Hank, the Angry Drunken Dwarf… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_the_Angry_Drunken_Dwarf).

I would submit that ‘where this country goes, and what we do in space’, is significantly more important than who is the prettiest person. SO, why not rally the troops, and flood this site with the questions we want answers to? Why not vote on the issues that are important to us, and make a political statement in the process?

I’ve got a mailing list. So do many of the people that read and contribute to this site. Why not see what kind of muscle we have, and make our voice heard. The Mars Society has already sent a notice to its members. What about the Planetary and National Space Societies? What about Space Generation and Yuri’s Night? What about the students and the professors and people that work at Boeing and LockMart? What about the NASA, FAA, and NRO folks? What about the army of Science Fiction fans (worldwide) that are “true-believers” and think that ‘going to space matters’.

I propose we each do 3 things:

• Register with Politico (http://dyn.politico.com/debate/) and write 1 question for both the republican and democratic debates. I used the same question, and posted it 3 times, under the headings of “Leadership”, “Economy” and “Education”, to each party.
• Then vote on at least 15 space-themed questions that other people proposed. Remember to vote for your own question, too. I followed links from “most recent”, “most popular” and by “topic” to find the questions I wanted to vote on.
• Finally, pass this message on, via blogs, newsletters or direct comments. If you have the power to Digg or Slashdot a message, and get wider distribution, do it. If you have media influence and can get a story written about this coordinated effort, do it. Personally commit to 5 people that will follow these 3 steps.

The way I figure, it can’t hurt, and it would be a rare case of the space ‘community’ acting as a true community. You do not need to be a citizen of the US to participate. And the way I figure it, this set of space questions will affect the whole planet, so we might as well get the global space community involved.

One thing that I want to caution against – please – you can write your own question, and vote on whichever questions matter to you. But, please, don’t divide “US” into:

• Mars vs. Moon,
• Manned vs. Robots,
• Earth Studies vs. Solar System,
• NASA vs. Commercial vs. Military, or
• California vs. Texas vs. Florida.

My goal in this is not to set an agenda of “my vision is better than your vision”. That sort of in-fighting is too common in our community. My goal here is to have, at the end of the day, our (potential) political leadership hear that “WE” care about space - and that there is Federal level support for our combined goals. Once the national budget and goals are affirmed, we can then continue with our informed debate on the merits of one vision over the other.

I am not a “single-issue” voter. And I suspect that most of you are not either.

However, wouldn’t it be interesting if, by banding together, we were able to influence whom the next President of the United States were? These debates are perfect leverage points for us. We have the ability, and the reach, and the passion and the vision to make a statement that could change the world. Why not use it, and do some good? Wouldn’t it be worth the effort, if we, through these 3 simple steps, were to influence who was chosen as the leader of the United States of America. Wouldn’t it be worth the effort of these 3 simple steps if that leader were chosen because they inspired hope, and were – in fact – leading this nation (and the world) in the direction of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. And wouldn’t it be even better if they actually understood why STEM mattered in the first place.

We have a unique opportunity. Let us take it!

I will do my part. Will you do yours?

Take care. Mjl

P.s. If you want to email me, please do. Info at liftport dot com, and use the subject “political will”. I would love to get a feel for what sort of grass root activism is available ‘out there’. If there is enough, I will formalize things a bit, and create a mailing list, to keep people informed and updated. I think this particular action is short-lived (the debate is in 2 weeks), but if there is demand for it, and unity, then this list might have value later in the year.
Mjl.

***Update*** www.actionforspace.com is now live, and ready to get to work!

Del.Icio.Us updates for the day.

Well, that code from Del.Icio.Us didn’t work the way I hoped it would. It is constantly updating. As I add in new links, (8 new ones today) they rise to the top, and the links that I actually posted today, are shifting to the bottom, and eventually out of the field. While I can see that this would be helpful to most people using this tool, this is not what I wanted at all. I guess there isn’t anyway to just ‘lock down’ certain links, without massive edit of the code, and if I were going to do that, I would just write my own damn HTML file, and be done with it. Not going to happen.

Well, if it has to be this way, hopefully you will take the time to review my links, and that this commentary makes sense.

I think the ones that are the most connected to the Space Elevator are the 2 regarding the Chinese test of their Anti-Satellite rocketry last year. Further, the essay (Bob Munck alert, it is a 3M Pdf) from Patti Grace Smith is a “must read” for anyone in the space industry. It is a great pep-talk, about why we are doing what we are doing.

More tomorrow. Take care.
MJL

I must spend at least 2-3 hours every day, reading and reviewing news on the ‘net. It is often illuminating and fascinating, and occasionally depressions and, rarely, inspirational. About a month ago, I got very serious about using Del.Icio.Us bookmarks to tag the news that I thought was worth paying attention to. Currently, I have almost 150 links. Specifically news that I thought was relevant to building the Elevator to Space. As part of my criteria, I use the “Four Pillars of Infrastructure Development” and the “Five C’s”. Sometimes, I will link to things, just for the fun of it, but usually, the sites directly relate to the Elevator.

I hope you like it, and are curious enough to follow the links. Feel free to Set up an account and follow what I am linking to. I will post on the blog, with new links, and you can remark, here, if you wish. I am going to do this a couple times a week. I will do my best to provide some sort of commentary on each of the links, as to why I think it matters.

I’d appreciate comments on the articles; if they are helpful in understanding the project better, if they are interesting, if they spark some thoughts or questions about the direction I am taking, or whatever else crosses your mind?

Take care. Mjl

Moving, once again.  This time, when I land, I will be “stable” for a couple months.  I really do have some big news to impart, but I decided to wait on releasing it, until i had a consistant address, phone number, and email.  I knew this move was coming, but until the new services are turned on, I will be incommunicado for about a week.  That would be stupid to make this big announcements, and then disappear… It would have sent some weird mixed signals.

Anyway, the movers will be here in 2 hours, and my Internet access (and the computers managing it) will be packed in 45 minutes.

Wish us luck, a lot depends on this new location.

Take care.  mjl

Get your own TokBox at www.tokbox.com.

I have been asked, recently, about where I have traveled, in pursuit of an Elevator to Space.

So, I put this together. In my life, I have traveled to every state, except Hawaii, and I have lived in 9 states and 5 countries. But for these 2 maps, I specifically limited it to trips I took to develop the Elevator. You see, there is a lot you can do with a phone or an email address, but some things just need to be done in person. I have been very fortunate, and hope it will continue. I love traveling, so this nomadic lifestyle really works for me.

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

This next map is the same thing, only bigger - the world. I really love this job! For this project to work, it is going to take a global effort. You will know we are making progress when this map is more complete.

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

I will update this periodically. If you have an event or would like me to speak to a school, organization or business about this project, please contact me.

Take care.

mjl

—Canned Signature File—
Find the SpaceElevatorGuy (Michael Laine) on the ‘net:
President - LiftPort Group - The Elevator to Space Companies
Presence: http://spaceelevatorguy.jaiku.com/
Bookmarks: http://del.icio.us/SpaceElevatorGuy
Images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/space_elevator/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ElevatorToSpace
Blog: http://www.liftport.com/progress/wp/
Social Network: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/5/a95/933
Email: info (at) liftport (dot) com

Anyone in Europe want to work on a high-altitude balloon experiment?

What I was thinking of, was to develop a dangling ribbon, that would fall below the gondola of a large balloon. And then building a Lifter robot that could climb in that extreme environment.

That environment is no joke: -20 – -70C for between 2-5 hours of operation at 35K high, and then, waiting around in the cold for 36 hours, while they recover everything. The ‘bot must withstand a thump, when it falls to the ground with a parachute. Oh, and it only has 10millibars of atmosphere at that height.

So what does this all mean to a robot? It needs to be tough, and control its temperature, and battery usage. It needs to be able to handle the cold, and the brittleness that those temperatures create. It needs to be able to stay lubricated (and not have motors freeze up). These are not simple tasks.

This sort of project was slated in our LiftPort Roadmap. First, we were to do a 3K test. We prepared it, but never actually ran it. We considered our 1Mile test sufficient and were moving on past that. Last summer we were working on an 8K test, but that ran into all sorts of roadblocks – you know about them already, no money and no time. So, while there has been a lot of work done on a robot that could endure the lower part of this environment, including a “5mile high” robot, it’s never actually climbed into the sky. In 2011, when we were to tackle the 30K altitude, we had intended that to also be a laser-powered ‘bot as well.

To stay on schedule with our Road map, we have to achieve 3K, battery powered climb in 2008, 8k on batteries or laser in 2009, and then 30K on laser in 2011.So the 30K test needs to be broken into subcomponent tests. Working with ESA would be great, in that they will pay for the most expensive part – the lift itself! So, “all” we have to do, is build a robot that can climb on a string.

Anyone interested in working on this, together? Leave a remark, and I will email you.

Take care. mjl

More information here:
http://www.esa.int/esaED/SEM7IA53R8F_index_0.html
http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/edu/bexus_tech.pdf (bob munck alert)
http://www.liftport.com/papers/SE_Roadmap_v1beta.pdf (bob munck alert)

A “Web2.0” marketing guy that I follow, is shifting gears a bit. www.gapingvoid.com

Read past his cartoons (which I think are sometimes clever, sometimes dark/ironic, and sometimes sad) down to the post where he is re-prioritizing his life and personal/professional goals. I can relate.

Anyway, I commented on his post, and thought it would be relevant to you guys.

If you are interested, follow this guy. His views on marketing in a connected world are terrific. And his essays make great reading, because they are 1) thought provoking 2) funny 3) make you add to your to-do-list, in an action-oriented way.

I especially like this essay, but he has bunches that are very good:
http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/000932.html

Although he is best known for his cartoons, I think his essays are the real gold in his site.

Take care. Mjl

p.s. It is a coincidence that he posted this yesterday, as I will be posting 2 landmark essays myself, today. I tried getting these done before thanksgiving, but who am I kidding? It was thanksgiving, and my dad was home from Iraq, so I had other things to do. His change in focus and priorities mimics my own.

Hugh,

We have passed a few emails, regarding “change the world, or go home” and how it has been my company’s motto (for LiftPort - The Elevator to Space Companies) for a couple years now.

The idea of the phrase resonates with me, and the rest of my team. And there are times when you have a really bad day (http://www.liftport.com/progress/wp/?p=1139) and everything comes crashing down around you.

At that point, you have no option but to consider what the hell you are doing, and why, and come up with a plan that works.

It is good to know that you had that crisis moment before, because that is where I am, now. It is also good to know that you are “eating your own dog food” (Microsoft phrase, which I assume you know, but not everyone reading this comment will) and regrouping on your best asset - yourself.

Do yourself the favor of reading “how to be creative” with fresh eyes. Pretend you are one of us, seeing it for the first time. Let it hit you, like it hit us. hard.

I am sure you will find some good stuff in there - we did, which is why we are reading you in the first place.

Take care. Mjl

I scan all sorts of places around the ‘net that has any sort of discussion about the space elevator, and I usually post a comment or 2 on these blogs.

In response to this blog about the Space Elevator:
http://lifecruiser.com/archive/future-travel-by-nanotube/

Thanks for your interest in the project, we appreciate it.

It will be a great view! As you rise slowly to 22,300 miles above the earth, the planet will shrink and shrink, and over the course of about 1 week, you will loose your “weight”. By the time you get to the station, to have the glass of champagne, it will have to be in a sealed “sippy cup” so that the liquid does not slosh around. But I will be there, in the observation lounge, waiting for you!

And then there is also this one:http://www.linnaeus300.com/the-questions/when-can-we-take-the-elevator-to-heaven/

On this one, I find it very appealing that a researcher is expressing her excitement over building this Elevator - and I had never heard of her before this. It just proves that this idea is taking on a life of its own. I will contact her, and see if she is interested in getting more involved.

SpaceElevatorGuy (Michael Laine (today 19:05)

Developments that help get us into space - cheaply, reliably and safely, will also help feed the poor, and solve real-world problems. The message that i am sending now, is bouncing off a satellite to reach you. you and i share the same concerns about people in developing nations. But the ONLY way to provide enough energy to supply the industrial world AND the developing nations, is to go to space and build enormous solar energy collectors, and beam that power down to earth - for everyone. And the only way to do that, is to build an Elevator to Space. Learn more at www.liftport.com

Take care. mjl

If you follow these links, and decide to remark on them, please try to enlighten and educate. I often see miscommunication, and misunderstandings. I try to clear some of them up, but that is just about a full time job, just connecting to these people. And if you do comment on their site, copy to comment back here, please.

take care. mjl

Interesting topic. Story telling: http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2007/11/the-art-science.html

It has been my sole task for the past 5 years, to figure out a way to tell a story about advanced technologies, the future, and specifically cheap, reliable, and safe access to space. The most effective method I have found is to make the story “personal” to the audience, to intimately involve the people I am speaking to, with the idea I am trying to convey. I have only recently started writing (usually I am a talking storyteller, the old fashioned kind), but I found a book that helped me - a lot - “writing to change the world” by Mary Pipher. I hope this helps you too. http://www.marypipher.net/wtctw.html

Ultimately, I suspect that is why I write such long blog entries, because I am trying to engage people, and that I want help in changing the world. I am told that when I have a live audience, (and when I am “on my game”) that I am good at this. Time will tell if my writing is enough to change the world. I hope so.

Take care. mjl

I spend a lot of time reading: news, blogs, tech manuals of all sorts, white papers, science fiction, science fact, websites galore, and occasionally I find something really interesting. Today I found something that struck a chord, personally and professionally. I suspect that if you are reading this blog, you know a bit about doing something remarkable. Enjoy. I rarely find something so compelling as to pass along a link… if you have been looking over my Del.Icio.Us account, you will see that I have listed a bunch of interesting websites. This article stood out as being worth reading by Space Elevator activists.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/01/how_to_be_remar.html

Take care. Mjl

P.S. And from now on, instead of asking you to post a comment, I am going to ask you to post a remark. Also, I read recently that I should be responding to your remarks, instead of just letting them sit there. I have been counseled that this blog is a 2-way feedback loop, and if I just sit back and spew my stuff to you, without responding to your comments, then I am not really getting the “point” of writing a blog in the first place. So, I got that message, and will respond to your remarks from now on. Thanks for indulging me, while I learn this stuff. Take care. MJL