Progress on Several Fronts

Hi Friends,

Wow! It’s only Tuesday evening, and it already seems like a packed-full week! (with much more on the agenda for the rest of the week/weekend).

1) Documentaries KS Update – Again, there’s TWO KS campaigns running that are supporting the Space Elevator story! The first is Skyline – at 91% with just 42 hours to go! And the other is Shoot the Moon – at 52% and eight days left. Both of these are worthy projects; both teams have been to my offices, my home and interviewed members of my team and members of my technical advisory board. Yet, despite their similarities, each is telling a unique story. Skyline is focused on the long-term goal of building Earth’s Elevator to space, and Shoot the Moon is concentrating on LiftPort’s near-term Lunar Elevator. Please consider supporting them. I have backed both! (At the very least, watch their pitch videos; that will give you the flavor of what they want to accomplish. And Ben’s team recently updated their pitch – so it’s well worth watching again!)

2) Reddit AMA & Google Hangout -- At Ben, Mahad, and Alexis’s (from Shoot the Moon) request, I’m doing another Google Hangout with them on Thursday morning. And, for the first time ever, I’ll be doing a Reddit Ask Me Anything tomorrow morning! Details for both are linked. (And if anyone is sensing a bias here, there isn’t one. I’d have happily worked more with Skyline, but they marketed differently, and didn’t ask me to work with their media efforts. Remember – both these teams are 100% independent of LiftPort Group.)

3) ColOmbia Robotics Team -- Thank you! I really appreciate the support we’ve gotten from our friends in Latin America. Folks have contacted me from Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Panama. There’s about 15 of you, so far, and we’d eagerly be interested in more. There’s plenty to be done, and it’s not all ‘robotics’. Communications, marketing, ‘story telling’, operations and management would all be welcome. And as for my mistake in spelling, I apologize. I have lived near the Columbia River, in Washington State, for several years, and made the mistake of assuming they were spelled the same way. But in a strange way, this little error showcases exactly why this project has not had much success is crossing cultural and language barriers. Please excuse my error, and help me bring this program to the world by assisting our team.  We'll meet with the local team on Thursday evening and begin working.

4) Major US School Meeting -- I can’t go into details, because nothing is finalized. But I wanted to share an important update that I hope will lead to many exciting developments in the future. As some of you know, when LiftPort 1.0 was active, we had about 60 universities participating in the project. When the company collapsed, those relationships were stagnant and eventually died. Well, I’ve had two meetings so far, and it looks like one of those programs is about to formally rise like a phoenix, and restart. This is very very important! Keep your fingers crossed. (Currently, we only have one school actively involved. I’ll highlight that schools accomplishments in a few days.) Adding a second program makes it MUCH easier for other schools, professors and students to get involved.

5) Business of the LiftPort Group -- As has always been the case, the business of LiftPort Group is the development of other businesses; companies that use the intellectual property we create on our mission to build #SpaceElevators. We’ve been having a lot of success on that front lately, and we have TWO spin-off corporations that will take flight in the spring. Watch for updates on our new alloy, and on our robotics technology. This week was a very good week for both new companies.

6) Friendship (Planetary) Bracelets -- Finally, the Planetary Bracelets are done. All the beads are complete, all the labels and other goodies are finished, and this level of the KS rewards will be finished this weekend. Thank you for your patience over the fiasco that was my life, last year. Now that my family is healthy again, things are getting done!

7) Toastmasters Win -- It’s minor, but tonight I won a speaking completion with my local toastmasters club. Because of my position as the spokesman for this project, I’ve decided that I needed to be a better public speaker. So a few weeks ago I joined, and tonight, I won. That was nice validation that I’m on the right path. (And another small victory in my decision to move my home and office.)

8) Let’s Play Café Opening -- Last but not least, my best friend, David – whom I have known since Fall 1982 – is opening a video game arcade! If you’re in the Seattle region, or want game supplies, come to his shop or visit his site. Why am I promoting this to the Kickstarter community? Because he has built 19 of the 20 LiftPort robots, and this project would not be where it is, without his loyal and faithful effort.   He – single-handedly – kept this project afloat during the dark-days when LiftPort 1.0 was out of business. More soon! 

​Take care, Michael Laine, President, LiftPort Group