LiftPort Staff Blog

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February 2nd, 2008

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/sexy 3d toons
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