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Going Up?...all the way to Geosychronous Orbit

A couple of articles on a concept found in science fiction from Arthur C. Clarke and others: a tethered orbital elevator system! At first glance if one is unfamiliar with the concept it sounds like something from a hallucination - but the physics works, and with recent new developments in materials technology, the means are also now available.

The big advantage: CHEAP cost to orbit, especially compared to rocketry. Check these articles out: one from this weeks Sunday (London) Telegraph, and the other from none other than the big gorilla of the blogosphere hisself: Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds writing on Tech Central Station.

Click on image to enlarge. (Image from liftport.com)

Stairway to heaven

The race is on to build the first "space elevator' - long dismissed as science fiction - to carry people and materials into orbit along a cable thousands of miles long.

In a significant step, American aviation regulators have just given permission for the opening trials of a prototype, while a competition to be launched next month follows in the wake of the $10 million (£5.6 million) "X Prize'', which led to the first privately developed craft leaving the Earth's atmosphere, briefly, last year.

Folks, this isn't pie in the sky conceptualizing - it's going into the engineering phase - that's about as concrete as it gets!

Space Program: Looking Up

I've written here in the past about NASA's work on space elevators, and on the new leaner, meaner, prize-oriented approach favored by NASA Administrator Mike Griffin. Now there are some signs of real progress on a number of fronts. As I noted earlier, NASA was offering prizes for space elevator research. That's still going on, but there are some new studies suggesting that space elevators may be closer to practicality than previously thought.

Indeed!

As the confirmation of John Roberts draws near, we're beginning to see how Democrats and Republicans will vote for him. Most of us figured that the Dems would play nice with Roberts and stifle the next nominee, all the while...

From CNN: Oil prices fell in an unusual trading session Sunday after a weakened Hurricane Rita struck the U.S. Gulf Coast away from a major refining hub in Houston, although at least two big refineries were damaged. November Brent crude...

How does the old saying go about wherever the beautiful women are, so too is the revolution? If that's the case, we're winning. The exact wording of the phrase escapes me, and after visiting the link I think you'll see...

The Vikings release the plans for a new stadium. I suggest the name The Vomitorium. At least that would be truth in advertising. Now the Vikings can stink in style....

Now this is news: Tyra Banks Proves Breasts Are Real on TV. Link safe for work, as is the photo. Er, unless you work for James Dobson or something. (And yes, I am posting this just for the Google searches....

It turns out many of the horror stories coming out of New Orleans in the wake of Katrina were, well, false. It seems the claims of social breakdown were highly exaggerated. I wait patiently for the media to correct itself....

'Corpse Bride' Stares Us Cold in the Face

The new movie "Corpse Bride" is getting great reviews. And it's probably destined for a pretty good take at the box office. But it could have been much more. If it had been more faithful to its source material, it would have been a profound film, not just an entertaining diversion. Indeed, if "CB" had been truer to its cultural and sociobiological roots, the film would have also made a signal contribution to Western Civilization.

Hollywood stuff is not generally the type of thing that the Chief is inclined to pay a lot of attention to, but Jim Pinkerton's comments concerning Tim Burton's newest flick are worth reading and pondering.

Check it out.

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